See attached for information
Jazz is huge! When I say that, I’m referring to the amount of music out there available to the listener. Jazz, in itself is a huge course and we are only touching on it for a week. Try and immerse yourself in some of the styles of jazz. This is probably the one genre not often listened to by many. Perhaps it’s an acquired taste and takes time. Sometimes, you just need to be exposed to some of the styles and you’ll find something you enjoy and add to your playlist.
You are to choose 2 selections from the week’s listening assignments in the classroom. The other 4 selections will be your own choosing from any of the style’s of jazz included in your readings this week. Make sure you are addressing the style of jazz you are choosing. All 4 of the additional choices will need to include either a sound clip, link, or video to where the selection is located. You must discuss the style of jazz you’ve chosen and why. You may make some comparisons of your selections, but it is not necessary unless you’d like to include it. There are literally so many, many songs and styles out there. I would like you to focus more on style qualities than anything. Focus in on what makes each of your choices unique. Is it something you will choose to listen to again? Why/why not? Is jazz new to your ear? Share some of your thoughts.
So, in the end you will have 6 individual selections. Two from the assigned folder and the other 4 are totally your choice. Provide me with links to your choices. Make sure you correctly write the titles. These should be treated like a book title. Capitalize, etc. as expected. Your log should be one typed page using Times 12pt. font and single-spaced.
Save your document in rtf, docx, or pdf and upload to the assessments area of each week.
· JOPLIN: MAPLE LEAF RAG
· Download audio file:
2-124 Joplin_ Maple Leaf Rag.mp3
·
SMITH: LOST YOUR HEAD BLUES
· Download audio file:
2-125 Smith_ Lost Your Head Blues.mp3
·
OLIVER: DIPPERMOUTH BLUES
· Download audio file:
2-126 Oliver_ Dippermouth Blues.mp3
·
ARMSTRONG: HOTTER THAN THAT
· Download audio file:
2-127 Armstrong_ Hotter Than That.mp3
·
PARKER: KOKO
· Download audio file:
2-128 Parker_ Koko.mp3
·
DAVIS: MILES RUNS THE VOODOO DOWN
· Download audio file:
2-129 Davis_ Miles Runs the Voodo Down (excerpt).mp3
©McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. Authorized only for instructor use in the classroom. No reproduction or further distribution permitted without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Music: An Appreciation
Part VIII: Jazz
©McGraw-Hill Education.
Jazz Styles, 1900 to 1950
• Blend elements of several cultures
– West African emphasis on improvisation, percussion, and call-and-
response techniques
– American brass band influence on instrumentation
– European harmonic and structural practice
• Blues and ragtime were immediate sources
©McGraw-Hill Education.
Elements of Jazz
Tone color
• Usually performed by combo of 3 to 8 players
• Backbone is rhythm section
• Main solo instruments: trumpet, trombone, saxophone,
clarinet, vibraphone, piano
• “Bends,” “smears,” “shakes,” “scoops,” “falls”
Improvisation
• Created and performed simultaneously
• Usually in theme and variations form
©McGraw-Hill Education.
Rhythm, melody, and harmony
• Syncopation and rhythmic swing are features
– Rhythmic accent on beats 2 and 4
– Syncopation often occurs when performer accents note between
the regular rhythmic accents
– “Swing” results from uneven 8th notes (triplet feel)
• Melodies flexible in pitch
• Chord progressions similar to tonal system
Elements of Jazz (continued)
©McGraw-Hill Education.
Ragtime
• Dance hall and saloon music
• Piano music with left hand, “oom-pah” part
– Usually in duple meter at moderate march tempo
– Right hand part highly syncopated
– Left hand keeps steady beat
©McGraw-Hill Education.
Blues
• Vocal and instrumental form
• 12 measure (bar) musical structure
• 3-part vocal structure: a a’ b (statement, repeat of statement,
counterstatement)
©McGraw-Hill Education.
New Orleans Style
• Also called Dixieland
• Front line of horns supported by rhythm section
• Songs frequently based on march or church melody, ragtime
piece, pop song, or blues
• Characteristics
– Improvised arrangements
– Multiple instruments improvising simultaneously
– Scat singing
– Theme and variation form predominates
• Many notable performers
©McGraw-Hill Education.
Neoclassicism
• Flourished 1920 to 1950
• Based new compositions upon devices and forms of the
classical and baroque
• Eschewed program music for absolute
• Preferred to write for small ensembles
• Sounded modern, not classical
©McGraw-Hill Education.
Expressionism
• Attempts to explore inner feelings rather than depict outward
appearances
• Used deliberate distortions
– To assault and shock the audience
– To communicate tension and anguish
• Direct outgrowth of the work of Freud
• Rejected “conventional prettiness”
• Art also seen as a form of social protest
– Anguish of the poor
– Bloodshed of war
– Man’s inhumanity to man
©McGraw-Hill Education.
Swing
• Popular 1935–45 (swing era)
– Written music
– Primarily for dancing
• Large bands (usually 15 to 20 players)
• Melody usually performed by groups of instruments rather
than by soloists
• Theme-and-variations form common
©McGraw-Hill Education.
Bebop
• 1940s and early 1950s
• Meant for listening, not dancing
• Combo was preferred ensemble
• Melodic phrases varied in length
• Chords built with 6 or 7 notes, not earlier 4 or 5
• Theme-and-variations form still dominant
– Melodies derived from pop songs or 12-bar blues
– Initial melody by soloist or 2 soloists in unison
• Many notable performers including:
– Dizzy Gillespie (trumpet), Thelonious Monk (piano)
– Charlie Parker (alto sax): most famous/influential
©McGraw-Hill Education.
Jazz Styles since 1950
Cool jazz
• 1950s
• More calm and relaxed than bebop
• Relied more upon arrangements
Free jazz
• 1960s
• Similar to chance music
• Solo sections of indeterminate length
• Improvisation by multiple players at once
Jazz rock (fusion)
• In the late 1960s, rock became potent influence
• Style combined improvisation with rock rhythms
• Combined acoustic and electric instruments