MUSC 1236 (Survey of Jazz) midterm I review University of Utah

Timbre --definition

the character or quality of a musical sound or voice as distinct from its pitch and intensity.

Instruments used by jazz soloists

clarinet, alto/tenor sax, trumpet and cornet, trombone

Blue Notes --definition

Pitches slightly sharp or flat, usually a 3rd, 5th, or 7th

Triads --definition

Three stacked 3rd intervals. A C Triad would hence be C, E, G played simultaneously

Triads' association with tonal harmony

Basis of all western tonal harmony

Extended chords
--Definition

Extra 3rds stacked on a base chord. Ex. 9th, 11th, 13th

Meter --Definition

Musical durations. Organization of stressed and unstressed beats into regular, recurring patterns

Most commonly used meter in jazz

Duple meter: groups of 2 or 4

Characteristic traits of jazz

Syncopation, polyrhythm, ostinato/vamp, swing

Syncopation --definition

Accenting weak beats or placing emphasis where not expected: on weak beats

Polyrhythm --definition

a rhythm which makes use of two or more different rhythms simultaneously.

Call and response --definition

Dialogue between two musical parties

Chorus --definition

A repeating structural unit basic to form in Jazz
In Jazz, the chorus equates to a single statement of a repeating harmonic and rhythmic pattern, usually consisting of 12-32 statements of the metrical pattern
Repetition of the chorus serves as the basis for improvisation in Jazz

32-bar patterns

Consists of 4 musical phrases, each made up of 8 "bars"
A bar is a complete statement of the metrical pattern
The bulk of popular songs (written by George and Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Richard Rodgers, nd Lorenz Hart, etc.) break down into either:
AABA
ABAC
AABA '
AA ' BA "

Melodic Paraphrase --definition

Varying a known melody by
Adding notes
Makes it longer, don't think of paraphrase as shortening here.
Altering the rhythms, esp. In a manner that makes the melody swing.

Harmonic Improvisation --definition

if there's a g chord in background, you're playing notes that fits in the key of g in the melody

Licks --definition

A short recognizable melodic motif, formula, or phrase used in improvisation (which may proceed as stringing a set of licks together)

Minstrelsy --definition

Most popular form of american entertainment
Initially featured white entertainers pretending to be of African Descent

The American wind band's impact on jazz

Groups, Traveling, Cheap Instruments

Ragtime Musical Characteristics

Syncopated, bass on beats 1 and 3, chords on 2 and 4 (weak beats)

Country vs. Vaudeville Blues

Country = Casual, informal. Vaudeville = Adapted, notated, published, performed, and recorded the style for larger audiences

12 bar blues chord progression

12 bars of a I - IV - V progression. A harmonic, poetic, and formal progression often used as a chorus in Jazz (and the Blues)
Potentially originated in the 1890s, in connection with Country Blues performers

12 bar blue poetic form

Multiple stanzas, each of the 3 lines
The first two lines are identical
Resulting poetic form is aab

buddy bolden's impact on jazz

New Orleans Cornet player. His loud, raunchy style is considered the first appearance of jazz music.

buddy bolden's playing style

Loud volume
Innovative, personal sound (stemming from a distinctive timbre and attack, as well as a love for surprising audiences)

new orleans jazz circa 1910 charactaristics

COLLECTIVE IMPROV- Soloists: trumpet/cornet, clarinet, trombone
Rhythm section: drum set, guitar, and string bass/tuba. frequent stops for solos

Freddie Keppard's impact

A cornet player known for his innovative use of mutes and loud volume
One of the first Jazz musicians to leave New Orleans, departing with the Creole Jazz Band (in 1914) to play in the vaudeville theaters of LA, Chicago, New York, etc.
Refused a historic opportunity to record in 1916, since he feared the recording would allow others to copy his sound/technique

Paul Whiteman (1890-1967)

Classically trained white musician who wanted to create a more symphonic style of jazz
Known as the king of jazz, his records were extremely popular and orchestra had a long rn in a broadway night club playing for wealthy white dancers

Symphonic Jazz --definition

Retained rhythm and harmony of jazz.
Incorporated precision and predictability of jazz
Notated everything. Used orchestral instruments

stride --definition

Fast, full range of piano, complex trills, glissando, licks with right hand and chords played lower with left hand alternating

cotton club --definition

Speakeasy in new york. whites could come watch blacks perform jazz and get hammered. jungle themed.

cotton club's audience

Whites, white women

jungle music --definition

Spinoff of "Hot Jazz"
Cotton Club's Sound. Intimate, seductive, and sultry sound

Black and tan clubs --definition

Interracial venues/speakeasies in harlem

Louis Armstrong's instrument

trumpet

Louis Armstrong's innovations

Established Blues as the harmonic foundation of jazz. Emphasized soloing and improv. scat-singing. embraced pop music/jazz fusion. Taught the world the swing rhythm.

why were slaves expected to sing

so masters could locate them and gauge moods

where did slaves sing work songs

plantations originally. Later in chain gangs, mines, etc... as well

what were work songs?

Songs sung in the field to synchronize group tasks

what are spirituals?

A type of religious folk song that originated in American revivalist activity

14th Amendment (1868)

citizenship, due process, equal protection

15th Amendment (1870)

U.S. cannot prevent a person from voting because of race, color, or creed

Sharecropping

A system used on southern farms after the Civil War in which farmers worked land owned by someone else in return for a small portion of the crops.

Plessy v. Ferguson

a 1896 Supreme Court decision which legalized state ordered segregation so long as the facilities for blacks and whites were equal

Creoles of Color

In Louisiana, the Creoles are the descendents of the original Spanish and French settlers
Tended to take slaves and people of mixed blood as mistresses, which produced the mixed-race "Creoles of Color"
Prior to the Civil War, this population had a social niche above the slaves and Freedmen; the community stressed education, including musical education
Jim Crow placed them in the same class as people of "pure" African descent; thus they were subjected to the same segregation, prejudice, etc.

storyville

A New Orleans red-light district in which prostitution was essentially legal (1897-1917)
Also housed saloons, cabarets, etc.
Needed cheap musicians to perform at these establishments, as well as in parks, parades, dances, riverboats, etc.
The stomping ground of Buddy Bolden

great migration

Between 1910 and 1930, more than 1 million African Americans left the South to escape sharecropping and Jim Crow

Prohibition (18th amendment)

cannot produce, sell or import alcoholic beverages in the US

Harlem Renaissance

Blossoming on african american culture, centered in harlem, ca.
1904- afro american realty co. organized campaign to lure blacks to harlem, already predominately black
Sought to explore all aspects of black experience, sans white stereotypes
Considered primarily a literary movement
Has parallels in visual arts and jazz

Jazz Ambassadors

In 1956, the US State Department created the Jazz Ambassadors program, hiring leading American Jazz musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, and Duke Ellington to be "ambassadors" for the United States overseas, particularly to improve the public image of the US in the light of criticism from the Soviet Union around racial inequality and racial tension