Introduction to Jazz Flashcards
For the first unit in the "Appreciating Jazz" course offered through Northland Community and Technical College in Thief River Falls, MN and available online through www.minnstate.edu/online.
What is improvisation?
It is spontaneous and simultaneous composing and performing. (They are “writing” music while they are playing it.)
What are the two main jazz rhythm concepts?
Syncopation - emphasizing the space between the beats. Swing Rhythm - a looser type of syncopation that can generally be heard played on the cymbals.
What is dissonance as heard in Jazz?
It is a way of pushing boundaries (rules) and expectations (of the listeners). Music is about emotions and emotions aren’t always happy or joyful. Sometimes they are about pain and sadness.
What is Jazz interpretation?
It is a way a musician can make some sound “jazz” usually through melodic decorations, “jazzed up” rhythms, or extended chords.
What type of interactions do you see/hear in Jazz?
The performers listen to each other and react to each other like a musical conversation.
What is a solo?
To play solo means to play alone. In Jazz, it means that you are taking a turn at being the prominent voice in the conversation.
What does it mean to “lay out?”
If you are in a conversation, you take turns being the lead voice. Same with Jazz. To “lay out” means to give someone else a turn.
What is comping?
It is short for the word “accompanying.” It’s a term used to describe what a piano or guitar does when it plays chords in a way that supports a soloist.
What is a walking bass?
This is a description of a playing style used by an upright bass (acoustic bass, standing bass, etc…) player when they play notes of the chords on every beat, “walking” up and down the chords.
What is a ride rhythm?
The ride rhythm is the jazz swing rhythm as played on the ride cymbal (the largest cymbal) in a drum set.
What is meant by dropping bombs?
In several kinds of Jazz, the drummer does not hit the bass drum on every beat. If the drummer keeps time elsewhere, then they can ad musical exclamation points using occasional hits on the bass drum.
What are the common wind instruments used in Jazz?
Flute, Clarinet, several Saxophones from the saxophone family (Alto, Tenor, and Baritone are the most common)
What are the common brass instruments used in Jazz?
Cornet, Trumpet and Flugelhorn, as well as the Trombone and Tuba
What is meant by the term doubling?
This is a skill generally used by saxophonists that have also learned how to play other woodwinds, typically the clarinet and flute.
What is a mute?
A mute is a tool used by brass players (not woodwinds) to modify their sound by placing it in the bell (large opening) on their instrument.
What is MIDI?
It is an acronym for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. It was devised in 1983 to allow keyboards and other instruments to control computers and their software.
What is an EWI?
It is an acronym for Electronic Wind Instrument. Prior to the EWI, only drummers and pianists could input music into a computer, but now, so could wind and brass players.
What is the melody?
This is the part of a piece of music you generally hum or sing along with. It is generally the most recognizable part of a piece. Specifically, it is a series of pitches sung/played in a specific order and in a specific rhythm (short and long directions).
What is harmony?
This is the “other stuff” going on under a melody that supports it. In Jazz, most of the harmony is supplied by the guitar and piano in the rhythm section because those 2 instruments can play chords.
What is rhythm?
This refers to the way a piece of music moves through time in a series of notes with short and long durations.
What is a riff?
This is a small, repeated musical idea that can be used to create a melody, or support a melody when multiple instruments join together.
What is phrasing?
In the musical conversation, wind players need to breathe and so create melodies that match their breath. Or non-wind instruments also phrase their melodies by incorporating brief rests into their constructed melodies.
What is a chord?
There are varying definitions. Some say it is a construction using 2 or more notes, but most chords have at least 3 notes that are generally played at the same time. They are vertical where a melody is horizontal.
What is a chord progression?
This is a series of chords played one after the other. We will learn about both the 12-bar Blues chord progression and about the Rhythm Changes.
What are chord symbols (not cymbals)?
In written music, chord symbols are a short-hand used by musicians to quickly convert groups of notes.
What is a lead sheet?
This is music formatted for a Jazz musician that provides the melody, the chords, form, and the words (if there are any). From there, jazz musicians can create brand new versions of the same piece each time they perform.
What is a fake book?
A fake book is a collection of lead sheets and is what “gigging” (performing for money) jazz musicians use when they are on a job, at least until they memorize all of the music.
What is the pulse/beat?
Generally, when listening to popular music, you can tap your foot to it. That is the pulse, also known as the beat. The beat is described as being fast or slow and steady or not.
What is the tempo?
Tempo is the speed of the beat/pulse, fast or slow.
What are bars/measures?
Once you determine the beat or a piece you will find that those same beats are grouped. Generally, most music you’ve ever listened to is in groups of 4 (good for dancing). But, if you listen to early country (like waltzes) or Art Rock (like Pink Floyd) you may have heard other groupings.
What is the downbeat?
The downbeat is a first of a group of beats.
What is polyrhythm?
This is when multiple rhythms are layered and played at the same time. It is frequently seen in African music and in many Latin American musics.
What is the chorus (not a bunch of singers…)?
The chorus in the form of a piece of music is that part that comes back over and over. Generally, in popular music, this is the part you can sing along with after only one hearing.
What is the head in a Jazz piece?
The head is the primary melody. Lead sheets are often called “head charts” because they only really have the melody leaving the creation of a full performance up to the improvisers.
What is call and response?
Call and response is a technique used to have a quicker conversation, more frequently taking turns. This can happen between a soloist and a group, between a vocalist and instrumentalists, or between a soloist and a drummer.
What is a backbeat?
Once you’ve found the beat/pulse and have determined the downbeat, in a group of 4 beats, the backbeat is on beats 2 and 4 of the grouping. Generally, you can hear the backbeat played on the snare drum of the drum set.
What century and country are studied when discussing Jazz?
The 20th Century / Twentieth Century (and pre-cursors) in America are the primary time frame and location for much of the history of Jazz (not counting today’s 21st Century contributions which will be discussed at the end of the semester).
