Quarter 2- Module 2: Lesson 3-4: Jazz and Popular Music

2nd Quarter ValMaSci Test Reviewer

Jazz Music

An American music developed from ragtime and blues, originating in the African-American community.

Characteristics of Jazz Music

1. syncopated rhythms (making part of music off-beat)

2. Polyphonic (producing many sounds simultaneously) 

3. Improvisation (creative activity of immediate musical composition)

4. distortion of pitch and timbre (often utilize complex sounds)

Syncopated rhythms (making part of music off-beat)

Jazz musicians like to emphasize the notes that they play on the “upbeats”

Syncopation

may be affected by affecting normally weak beats in a measure, by resting on a normal accented beat, or by tying over a note to the next measure

Ragtime

• American popular musical style mainly for piano, originating in the Afro-American communities in St. Louis and New Orleans

• a variation of the “marching mode”, where the effect is generated by an internally syncopated melodic line pitted against a rhythmically straightforward bass line

Ragtime 2

Exponents of Ragtime were:

1. Jelly Roll Morton

2. Scott Joplin

Jelly Roll Morton

American ragtime and early jazz pianist and who composed:

• Frog I More Rag

Scott Joplin

• King of Ragtime

• Composed the following:

  • Maple Leaf Rag

  • Solace

  • The Entertainer

Big Band

A large ensemble form originating in the United States in the mid 1920’s closely associated with the Swing Era with jazz elements relying heavily on percussion, wind, rhythm section, and brass instruments with a lyrical string section to accompany a lyrical melody.

Bebop

• A musical style of modern jazz which is characterized by a fast tempo, instrumental virtuosity, and improvisation that emerged during World War II.

• The speed of the harmony, melody, and rhythm resulted in a heavy performance where the instrumental sound became more tense and free

Jazz Rock

• A music of the 1960’s and 1970’s bands that inserted jazz elements into rock music.

• Jazz rock is a mix of funk and R&B which stands for “rhythm and blues”, where the music used amplification and electronic effects, complex time signatures, and extended instrumental compositions with lengthy improvisations in the jazz style.

Popular Music

• “music of the populace”

• music for entertainment of large number of people, whether on radio or in live performances

Ballads

• Derived from the medieval French chanson balladee and ballade which refer to a dancing song

• originated as an expressive folksong in narrative verse dealing typically about love

• Used by poets and composers since the 18th century until it became a slow popular love song in the 19th century

• refers to a love song in a slightly pop or rock style

Variations of Ballads

1. Blues Ballads

2. Pop Standard and Jazz Ballads

3. Pop and Rock Ballads

Blues Ballads

• Fusion of Anglo-American and Afro-American styles from the 19th century that deals with the anti-heroes resisting authority

• Form emphasizes the character of the performer more than the narrative content

• Uses a banjo or a guitar as accompaniment

Pop Standard and Jazz Ballads

• blues style built from a single verse of 16 bars ending on the dominant or half-cadence, followed by a refrain/chorus part of 16 or 32 bars in AABA form

• The B section acts as the bridge, and the piece normally ends with a brief coda.

Pop and Rock Ballads

• an emotional love song with suggestions of folk music.

• This style is sometimes applied to strophic (verse-repeating) story-songs

Standards

• used to denote the most popular and enduring songs from a particular genre or style

• style is mostly in a slow or moderate tempo with a relaxed mood.

• features highly singable melodies within the range and technical capacity of listeners

Proponents of Standard

1. Frank Sinatra

2. Nat King Cole

3. Matt Monroe

Frank Sinatra

• Genre was categorized as traditional pop and jazz

• Successful singer, actor, producer, director, and conductor

Nat King Cole

• well-loved American Balladeer

• has soothing baritone voice

Matt Monroe

• English singer

• 1960s

Rock and Roll

• combination of Afro-American forms such as the blues, jump blues, jazz, and gospel music with the Western swing and country music.

• The lead instruments were the piano and saxophone and were eventually replaced by modern instruments.

• This form came during the age when electric guitars were supplemented by amplifiers and microphones to raise the volume.

• Its name is derived from the motion of a ship on the ocean, “rock and roll.”

Elvis Presley

• greatest proponent of the rock and roll style

• hit songs such as “Heartbreak Hotel” and “Blue Suede Shoes”

• complemented by his good looks and elaborate movements that included hugging the microphone as he sang. 

• style was the precursor of the British band known as The Beatles, whose compositions further boosted rock and roll as the favorite genre of the times

Disco

• rose in 70s

• rock music that was more danceable, thus leading to the establishment of venues for public dancing also called discos

• originated from the French word discotheque which means a library for phonograph records

• soaring and reverberating sound rhythmically controlled by a steady beat for ease of dancing accompanied by strings, horns, electric guitars, and electric pianos or synthesizers.

Figures of the Disco Genre

1. ABBA

2. Donna Summer (The Queen of Disco)

3. The Bee Gees

4. Gloria Gaynor

Michael Joseph Jackson

• “The King of Pop”

• born on August 29, 1958

• died on June 25 2009

• American recording artist, entertainer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musical arranger, dancer, choreographer, actor, businessman, and philanthropist

Hip Hop

stylized, highly rhythmic type of music that usually includes portions of rhythmically chanted words called rap

Rap

characterized by the artist speaking along with an instrumental or synthesized beat