Introduction: What is Jazz/Elements of Music (rhythm)

Topics we will discuss and learn:

• Foundational elements of music: Rhythm, Harmony, Melody, Form
• Instruments
• Improvisation
• How to listen to jazz an overview

Foundational elements of music: Rhythm, Harmony, Melody

            Rhythm is the pulse or the beat of the music

                        Beat – the pulse

                        Tempo – how fast or slow the pulse is

                        Meter or “time” – the measurement of the beat

            You can have rhythm without drums or percussion

            Different types of meter or “time”

                        4/4 and others like it (2/4, etc.)

                        3/4 and others like it (6/8, etc)

            In jazz the drummer usually keeps the rhythm or the “time”

            Many times however the bass is the “timekeeper”

            Swing is a main component of jazz music

                        Count 1-2-3-4 and clap on beats 1 and 3

                        Now clap on beats 2 and 4… feel the difference

                        Beats 2 and 4 are what’s considered to be the “swing” feel

                        The historical and ethnomusicological consensus is that the rhythm

came from the way Africans combine 4/4 and 3/4 rhythms to create what is known as a hemiola.  It was passed on through the subsequent generations of African-Americans who created jazz.  This rhythm makes the notes feel like they are bouncing or swinging.

Instruments

            Traditional jazz instruments are:

                        Trumpet – brass instrument

                        Saxophone – woodwind instrument

                        Trombone – brass instrument

Guitar – stringed instrument

                        Bass – stringed instrument

                        Piano – stringed percussion instrument

                        Drums – percussion instrument

Voice – physical instrument

                        (Clarinet, a woodwind instrument, is not as popular as it once was)

            Listen to recordings with these instruments and try to pick them out.

           

Improvisation

            In jazz one of the most important elements is improvisation.  It is hard to

define because people have different definitions for it.  What it comprises of is synthesizing various scales, patterns, melodic ideas and phrases into a spontaneous musical creation. 

Jazz musicians spend many years practicing the techniques of their instrument along with the fundamentals of music (music theory).  The application of these principles in performance culminates into the moment of improvisation where the musician is able to showcase his/her development on their instrument.

           

Scales – an arrangement of notes based on frequency relationships

            Patterns – an arrangement of notes from a scale

            Melodic ideas – fragments of an established melody

Phrasing - is a key part of improvisation because it synthesizes all of the

above elements.  A scale may be connected to a pattern or a melodic idea and it is this combination that creates a musical phrase.

                       

How to listen to jazz an overview

            Try to separate the instruments by ear

            Listen to each instrument separately, i.e. the saxophone, trumpet, or piano

            Structure - Most of the time the musicians play the melody of the tune

sometimes with an intro.  Then they solo over the structure of the piece allowing each musician to make a statement.  Then they end the piece by playing the same melody and sometime with an outro.

Terms to know:

            Beat

            Tempo

            Meter

            Improvisation

            Swing

Scales

            Patterns

            Melodic ideas

Phrasing