Front Line
in contrast to the Rhythm Section, these are the instruments that will usually play the MELODY and improvise SOLOS
saxophone, clarinet, trumpet, trombone
Tempo
the speed of a particular piece or passage of music
Form/Structure
the general framework of a piece of music, usually described in sections
Blues
a song structure built on 3 chords and most often 12 bars in length
Phrase
a short section of consecutive notes, usually described as melody
Song
a number of musical phrases combined together in sections
Swing
rhythmic feel common to jazz where basic pulse is subdivided into triplets
Syncopation
accenting a normally weak beat or weak part of the beat
Vibrato
the fluctuation of the pitch of a vocal or instrumental tone used as an expressive device
Chorus
the main body of the song form which is repeated many times for improvised solos
Riff
a short melodic phrase often repeated by a soloist or group
Two-Feel
a rhythm section style that emphasizes the FIRST and THIRD beat of a four beat measure
Walking Bass
a bass style in which a separate tone is played on each beat of the measure
Stop Time
a way of accompanying a soloist when the ensemble will make an accent together usually on the FIRST BEAT of each bar
Chart/Arrangement
an adaptation of a musical composition in which the arranger writes out what each individual musician has to play
Collective Improvisation
a situation when all members if a group improvise simultaneously
Boogie-Woogie
a piano style characterized by REPETITIVE LEFT HAND BASS FIGURES and improvised MELODIC VARIATIONS ON RIGHT HAND
Solo Break
a short break in the music so the soloist can begin an improvisation
Double Time (feel)
when the tempo of the music becomes twice as fast (or when that feeling is implied)
Voicing
a term describing which particular pitches are used in spelling a chord
Jazz Standard
a tune that has become part of an accepted repertoire of tunes that most jazz players know
Modulation
moving from one key/key center to another
Chord Changes/Progression
a series of chords used as a melody harmonization or for an improvised solo
Rhythm Section
the instruments in a group that provide the most prominent rhythmic and harmonic foundation of the music
usually piano, bass, guitar, drums, tuba, banjo
chops
slang term describing technical proficiency on an instrument
turn around
short series of cords used to establish a key centre
Voice leading
term used to describe how notes in a chord move to the following chord
Block cords
cords that moves in parallel motion
comping
short for accompanying; a term used to describe how a rhythm section player plays behind a soloist
scat singing
A type of singing that uses nonsense syllables in an improvised solo
ballad
A piece played at very slow tempo
jam session
and informal gathering of musicians where each soloist will have a turn to improvise usually on a jazz standard
ride cymbal pattern
A rhythmic pattern played by the drummer on a simple as the main timekeeping device
arpeggio
Notes of a cord played sequentially rather than at the same time
coda
The ending of a piece, usually made up of material outside the song structure
fake book
compilation of printed songs in basic form indicating only melody line and cord progressions
trading fours or eight
when two or more instruments will trade solo statements of four bars each
harmonic rhythm
The pace at which the cord progression of a tune moves
then
A short cord progression, often repeated for use in intros and endings
modal jazz
A style of jazz where Melody and/or Harmony is based on arrangement of modes
Bassa nova
Brazilian style of music derived from Sumbu but with more harmonic and melodic complexity
free jazz
musical style that does not typically use preset cord progressions or standard forms
Fusion
A musical style that uses electric instruments, funk/rock rhythms and improvisation
pedal point
A repeated or sustained note, usually in the base; drone
polyrhythm
more than one rhythm sounding at the same time
double stop
sounding two strings at the same time
odd metre
Time signatures the divide measures into an odd number of beats, such as 5/4 or 7/8
