Definitions -- History of Jazz

|AABA form | atonal music | backbeat | ballad | bar |

| block-chord texture | blue notes |blues form | boogie-woogie |

| brass instruments | break | bridge | cadence | cadenza

| chart | changes | chord substitutions |

| chorus | chromatic harmony | chromatic scale | clave | comping

| consonance | countermelody | counterpoint | cup mute | cycle |

| cyclic form |degree | diatonic scale | dissonance | Dorian scale | double | double-
time |

| downbeat | dropping bombs | duple meter | dynamics | embouchure |

| extended chords | fake books | free improvisation | free rhythm | full cadence |
funk | glissando | groove |

| growling |half cadence | half step | half-valving |

| Harmon mute | harmonic improvisation | harmonic progression | harmonic

substitution |

| head | head arrangement | homophonic texture | horn |

| interval | inversion | irregular meter | jam session |

| keeping time | | lead sheet | lick | major scale (or mode) |

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Definitions -- History of Jazz

| measure | melodic paraphrase

| meter |microtones | minor scale (or mode) | modal improvisation | mode |

modulation |

|monophonic texture |motive | mouthpiece | multiphonics | mute |

more definitions on Definitions Page Two

AABA form

the standard 32-bar form for many popular songs. AABA refers to the melody and
harmonic progression (not the text, which can have a completely different pattern. Each
portion of the form is eight bars long, with the bridge serving as the point of contrast. We
can think of AABA this way: A = statement; A = repetition; B = contrast; A = return.

A good example of the standard 32-bar AABA form is "The Potboiler", an original
composition written for this class by John D'earth. "The Potboiler" is based on rhythm
changes (the harmonic progression to George Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm").

atonal music

music that does not have a tonic, or tonal center. Such music will sound
dissonant to the average listener, but in fact the concept of dissonance or consonance
simply doesn’t apply, since there is no “home key” to resolve to. Pure atonality is rare in
jazz, but musicians nevertheless often use free improvisation, which approximates
atonality in its emphasis on elements other than harmony (timbre, melodic intervals,
rhythm).

Among jazz musicians, improvising atonal music is known as playing outside.

Many avant-garde musicians prefer to use an atonal approach to their improvising. For an
example, listen to the following example by alto saxophonist Eric Dolphy from his 1964
album Out to Lunch

For another example, one that features polyphonic texture, listen to this example from
the World Saxophone Quartet (featuring David Murray).

backbeat

a consistent accent on beats 2 and 4 of a measure. The backbeat produces a

rhythmic layer that contrasts with the usual accenting of beat 1 (the downbeat) and beat 3

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in the underlying meter.

In the following example, the singer, Big Joe Turner, accents the boogie-woogie playing
of Pete Johnson with a handclap on the backbeat.

ballad

a slow, romantic popular song. One example is the Miles Davis Nonet version of "Moon
Dreams." (This example also illustrates block-chord texture).

bar

a rhythmic unit, lasting from one downbeat to the next. Also known as a measure. In
written music, a bar is marked off by vertical lines known as bar lines.

block-chord texture

a subset of homophonic texture in which the pitches of the accompanying

harmony move in exactly the same rhythm as the main melody. Block-chord texture is
typically found in big-band jazz, as, for example, when a saxophone section plays and
simultaneously harmonizes a melody. See also soli.

A good example of block-chord texture is the saxophone chorus of Duke Ellington's 1940
"Cottontail."

An older example is the clarinet trio, performing in block-chord style on Jelly Roll Morton's
1927 "Dead Man Blues."

blue notes

notes using variable intonation, "bending" the pitch expressively through microtones.

blues form

A twelve-bar cycle used as a framework for improvisation by jazz musicians. Blues forms
share the same basic underlying structure: they begin with a tonic , or I chord, move to
the IV chord on the fifth bar (the beginning of the second phrase), returning to I two bars
later. In the last phrase (measure 9), they move to the dominant, or V, before finally
returning to I in m. 11. This basic form is altered by harmonic substitutions, which fill in the
musical space with additional harmonic movement.

There are many examples of performances in twelve-bar blues form on this web site. One
example created for the course by John D'earth is "Midriff".

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boogie-woogie

a blues piano style in which the left hand plays a rhythmic ostinato (i.e., repeated
pattern) of eight beats to the bar. For an example, listen to the boogie-woogie playing of
Kansas City pianist Pete Johnson.

brass instruments

wind instruments played with a cup-shaped mouthpiece. This category includes

the trumpet, cornet, trombone, and tuba.

break

a brief passage (usually 2 to 4 bars) in which the prevailing texture (whether

homophonic or polyphonic) is interrupted by monophonic texture.

One example of a famous break comes from Charlie Parker's performance of"A Night in
Tunisia".

The Free Bridge Quintet offers a different example with four breaks--for tenor sax,
trumpet, piano, and tenor sax again.

bridge

the middle part of an AABA form — i.e., the "B" part. (Musicians sometimes also
call it the "channel.") It usually serves as a contrast, and typically ends with a half
cadence. Its function is to connect, or “bridge,” between the "A" sections.

cadence

stopping places that divide a harmonic progression into comprehensible phrases.

Cadences that end with the tonic chord are known as full cadences, while those that end
with the dominant chord are known as half cadences.

cadenza

(term from classical music): a virtuoso passage for a single instrument, usually
monophonic.

chart

a shorthand musical score that serves as the point of reference for a jazz
performance. Often, only the harmonic progression is specified. Also known as a lead

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sheet.

changes

jazz slang for harmonic progression.

chord substitutions

substituting one chord, or a series of chords, for harmonies in a harmonic progression.

chorus

a single statement of the harmonic/rhythmic cycle defined by musical form (e.g.,

12-bar blues, or 32-bar popular song form).

chromatic harmony

harmony that draws upon the 12-note chromatic scale, as opposed to the more
"normal" 7-note diatonic scales (major or minor, e.g.)

chromatic scale

the scale containing twelve equally spaced notes within the octave, corresponding
to all the keys (black and white) on the piano.

Listen to John D'earth and pianist Bob Hallahan improvise using all the notes available in
the chromatic scale. Their music relies on chromatic harmony.

clave

a time-line pattern used in Latin music. Its rhythm can be represented verbally as : dah-
dit-dah | dah-dah|, or in reverse form, | dah-dah| dah-dit-dah|.

comping

playing chords in a rhythmically unpredictable fashion as accompaniment for an improvising

soloist. Comping is an important way for the harmony instruments in the rhythm section
(e.g., piano, guitar) to add a contrasting rhythmic layer.

consonance (adj.: consonant)

harmonies that are stable (i.e., that do not need to resolve to another harmony).

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countermelody

(also known as an obbligato). In a piece whose texture consists clearly of a

melody with accompaniment (i.e., a homophonic texture): a countermelody is an
accompanying part with distinct, though subordinate, melodic interest. If the melodic
interest were not subordinate, the texture would be polyphonic: two or more melodies of
more or less equal melodic importance.

In classical music, the countermelody is known as an obbligato.

In the following example from "A Sailboat in the Moonlight," the melody is sung by Billie
Holiday, while the countermelody is performed by tenor saxophonist Lester Young.

In the following example, John D'earth plays the main melody on trumpet, while Jeff
Decker plays the countermelody on tenor saxophone.

counterpoint (adj: contrapuntal)

two or more melodic lines of equal importance (i.e., polyphonic texture),

especially when composed.

cup mute

an orchestral mute with an extension that more or less covers the bell of the trumpet; see
mutes. Listen to this audio example of John D'earth playing with a cup mute.

cycle

a fixed unit of time, repeated in a potentially endless progression, used as a

musical framework In jazz, a cycle (also known as a chorus) usually involves a fixed unit
of time and a harmonic progression.

cyclic form

the tendency to base the overall structure of a musical performance on repeated

cycles.

degree

individual notes in a scale. If a major scale is defined by "do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti," do is the

first degree, re the second degree, and so on.

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diatonic scale

the seven-note scales commonly used in Western music. The most common is the
major mode, which is expressed by the syllables “do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do.” (Note that the
scale begins to repeat itself at the eight note, or octave.)

Listen to John D'earth and pianist Bob Hallahan improvise using a simple diatonic scale
like the major scale.

dissonance (adj.: dissonant.)

harmonies that are unstable within an overall harmonic context. Dissonant

harmonies build tension that is resolved through movement toward consonant
harmonies.

dominant

the chord built on the fifth degree of the scale, represented by the roman numeral
V.

Dorian scale

A scale that falls halfway between the major scale and the minor scale. One example
runs on the white keys of the piano from D to D.

Listen to John D'earth and pianist Bob Hallahan improvise using the Dorian scale.

double

to play more than one instrument. E.g., tenor saxophonists often double on the soprano
saxophone.

double-time

a technique in which members of a jazz ensemble, especially the rhythm section,

play twice as fast while maintaining the length of the overall cycle (or chorus).

Listen to the following example from Billie Holiday's "Fine and Mellow." You will hear a
trombone soloist playing in a slow tempo. Halfway through the excerpt, a baritone
saxophone enters playing double-time, accompanied by a double-time drum part.

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downbeat

the first beat of a measure or bar. If you are counting along with the music, the
downbeat is the point at which you count “one.”

dropping bombs

a technique in which a drummer plays unpredictable rhythmic accents. In the

bebop era, a strike on the snare drum was typically followed immediately by an explosion
on the bass drum. (Some say the name "be-bop" comes from this combination.) Dropping
bombs remains an important way for the drummer to add a contrasting rhythmic layer.

As an example, listen to this excerpt from a solo by Charlie Parker (over "A Night in
Tunisia"), where the drummer's interjections are especially frequent: as in the John
Coltrane performance of "My Favorite Things": Audio

duple meter

a kind of meter in which the bar is divided into groups of two. In duple meter, the listener
would count along either as "1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2...." or as "1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4....." Duple meter
is the ordinary meter for jazz performance.

dynamics

refers to volume, or loudness. Some jazz passages feature sharp contrasts in

dynamics.

embouchure

the position of the lips, facial muscles, and jaw necessary to play a wind instrument.

extended chords (extensions)

chords to which additional pitches, or extensions (sixths, ninths, sevenths,

thirteenths) have been added beyond the basic triad. Such chords are frequently used by
jazz musicians to add tension and sophistication to harmony.

fake books

a collection of lead sheets used by jazz musicians (called "fake" books because musicians
"fake," or improvise a performance without detailed notation).

full cadence

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a cadence that ends on the tonic chord. A full cadence will sound closed and final.

free improvisation

improvising without reference to harmony, often in an atonal context. In free

improvisation, the focus usually shifts to areas that can be masked in harmonic
improvisation: timbre, melodic intervals, rhythm, and constant interaction among
musicians.

For an example, listen to the following example from the World Saxophone Quartet's
"Steppin'"

free rhythm

music that flows through time without regularly occurring pulses. One appropriate
metaphor for free rhythm is "breath rhythm."

An example of free rhythm is the opening from John Coltrane's A Love Supreme.

funk

a type of groove with a highly sycopagted bass line and various rhythmic layers, favored
by jazz musicians after about 1970.
An example of this groove is performed by the Free Bridge Quintet.

glissando

to slide seamlessly from one note to the next. Easily achieved with the voice or on the
trombone (with its slide), but also possible with good breath control on other instruments
(saxophone, string bass, guitar, trumpet).

groove

A general name for the overall framework that makes rhythmic contrast possible. This
includes the jazz-specific concept of swing.

growling

Creating an unusual timbre on a wind instrument by growling in the throat while playing.
Listen to these examples of John D'earth growling on the trumpet and Jeff Decker
growling on the tenor saxophone.

half cadence

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a cadence that ends on the dominant chord. Half cadences sound incomplete; they serve
like a comma or a semi-colon in punctuation, providing a stop but not signalling full closure.

half step

One of the intervals in the major or minor scale. In the major scale, the half step falls
between the third and fourth degrees of the scale.

half valving

Creating sounds with an unusual timbre by squeezing the valves of the trumpet only
halfway. Listen to John D'earth using half-valving on his trumpet.

Harmon mute

a hollow mute made by the Harmon company (hence the capitalization). Originally it had a
short extension comine out of a hole in the middle, with which musicians could make
various amusing effects. But with Miles Davis, musicians began using the mute without the
extension and playing close to the microphone to attain an attenuated timbre. See mutes.

Listen to an example of John D'earth playing Harmon mute.

harmonic improvisation

creating a new melodic line by drawing on notes from each chord as it goes by in
the harmonic progression. Also known in jazz slang as "running the changes".

An example: the opening of a song uses the harmony C in bar 1, then G7 in bar 2. (All you
need to know is that the chord "C" contains certain notes, while the chord "G7" contains
other notes.) During bar 1, any notes from the "C" chord will be consonant, and others
are likely to be dissonant (i.e., they will produce tension that needs to be resolved). In
bar 2, the situation shifts: the consonant notes are those in the "G7" chord. A soloist using
harmonic improvisation must keep track of the chords (or "changes," as jazz musicians
often call them) and continually adjust the melodic line to fit the harmonic background.

Coleman Hawkins's performance on "Body and Soul" provides one excellent example of
harmonic improvisation.

Another famous example is John Coltrane's harmonic improvisation on the chord changes to
his tune,"Giant Steps". Coltrane's melodic line effortlessly adjusts to find notes that are
consonant with the chords in the rapidly moving harmonic progression.

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Bob Hallahan of the Free Bridge Quintet offers a harmonic improvisation on the chords to
the tune "I Got Rhythm".

harmonic progression

a series of chords used as the basis for improvisation; also known as chord
changes. In a harmonic progression, both the order of chords and their place within a
rhythmic cycle are specified.

An example: the harmonic progression for an eight-bar phrase may be represented

by the following chart:

| C | C#o7 | Dm | Fm7 | Em | A7 | Dm | G7 |

Each of these symbols represents a particular harmony, according to a shorthand

that jazz musicians must learn. (The “m,” for example, is short for “minor”; “7” means to
add another note to a triad.) The vertical lines (bar lines) show the downbeats of each
bar or measure. According to this chart, a C-major triad is heard throughout the first
measure. On the downbeat of the second measure, it changes to a C#-diminished seventh
chord.

Jazz musicians usually treat harmonic progressions as cycles-— that is to say, they
are repeated as potentially endless loops.

harmonic substitution

a technique by which a jazz musician may bypass certain chords in a harmonic

progression in favor of other, “substitute” harmonies. This may be done spontaneously or
as part of a pre-conceived arrangement.

head

a composed section, typically performed in unison, that frames a small-combo jazz

performance by appearing at the beginning and again at the end.

head arrangement

an arrangement for big band that is collectively created by the band and not written
down (musicians therefore carry it in their “heads”). A head arrangement typically consists
of block-chord riffs and a set order of solos. Head arrangements can be created on the
spot as musicians extend a piece indefinitely by adding (and instantaneously harmonizing)

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riffs.

A classic example of a head arrangement is Count Basie's "One O'Clock Jump." In the
following excerpt, you will hear different solos: in each case, the wind instrument is backed
by riffs from a different section (saxophone by trumpets, trombone by saxophones, etc.).

homophonic texture (homophony)

a musical texture characterized by one main melody with a clearly subordinate

pitch accompaniment. Homophony is the usual texture in a jazz performance (e.g., an
improvised solo accompanied by a rhythm section).

horn

jazz slang for any wind instrument

interval

the distance between two different pitches in a scale. The size may range from a unison
(two identical pitches) through numerically indicated intervals (third, fourth, fifth, or
octave).

inversion

a triad whose lowest note is not the root, but another note in the chord (i.e., the third or
the fifth).

irregular meter

a meter featuring beats of unequal size. A meter of five, for example, can be
understood as a grouping of three notes followed by two notes, as if one were counting “1-
2-3, 1-2.” This kind of meter is known as a meter of five: it can be heard in the famous
composition "Take Five" performed by the Dave Brubeck Quartet. You may also listed to a
different example performed by the Free Bridge Quintet.

A different kind of irregular meter is seven, often broken up into patterns of twos and
threes: e.g., 3 + 2 + 2, or 2 + 2 + 3. This latter type (2 + 2 + 3) can be heard in the
following example by the Free Bridge Quintet.

jam session

an informal gathering at which musicians perform jazz for their own enjoyment. It can be

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competitive, with one musician trying to outdo another; or it can be friendly and supportive.

keeping time

jazz slang for the process of maintaining a steady, unchanging rhythmic foundation.
"Keeping time" is a necessary element for producing rhythmic contrast. In mainstream
bebop, the instruments that keep time are the drummer's ride cymbal and the string bass.

lead sheet

a shorthand musical score that serves as the point of reference for a jazz performance,
usually containing only the composed melody (or head) and the harmonic progression.

lick

a short melodic phrase learned by jazz musicians and used in their improvisations. A lick
may be repeated precisely between two different solos.

major scale (or mode)

the most common of the seven-note scales commonly in use in Western musical
culture. It is the scale that we sing to the syllables, “do re mi fa so la ti do.”

measure

see bar.

melodic paraphrase (type of improvisation)

melodic paraphrase uses a pre-existing melody as the basis for improvisation. The
variations may come in rhythm or melodic contour (removing notes as well as adding
them), but whatever the change, the original melody should still be recognizeable.
Musicians often use melodic paraphrase when they first state a melody, to make the
statement personal.

Some improvisers prefer to work primarily with melodic paraphrase. One such musician is
the singer Billie Holiday, who took familiar melodies and molded them to her own
satisfaction. Listen to what she does with the melody on this example from George
Gershwin's famous lullaby (from Porgy and Bess), "Summertime.".

Listen as well to this example of melodic paraphrase on the tune "Oh, Susannah!" by the
Free Bridge Quintet. It begins in free rhythm before moving into a normal meter.

meter

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the organization of regular pulsations into a pattern. Most jazz uses duple meter,
or meter organized by 2’s. More rarely, jazz musicians use triple meter or irregular
meter.

microtones

melodic intervals smaller than a half step, used expressively in jazz as part of blue
notes.

minor scale (or mode)

one of the most common of the seven-note scales in Western musical culture. Its
arrangement of whole steps and half steps is slightly different from the major scale, and is
often associated with different emotional responses (e.g., sadness)

modal improvisation

using a single scale as the basis for improvisation, rather than harmonic
improvisation, which uses the constantly shifting chord progression.

The most famous example of modal improvisaion is Miles Davis’s "So What," which asks
the improviser to draw on one scale for the A sections; during the bridge, the same scale is
transposed a half step higher (at about 0:30 in the excerpt).

Another short example is performed by Jeff Decker with the Free Bridge Quintet. .

mode

see scale. "Mode" may refer to major or minor scales. They are also used to
identify older scales, like Dorian or Phrygian.

modulation

a change of key—i.e., changing the note that serves as the tonic.

Listen for the modulation in the following two excerpts from Duke Ellington's "Concerto for
Cootie." Ellington modulates into a new key in this example, about ten second into the
performance. About twelve seconds into the next excerpt, the band then modulates back
to the original key.

NOTE: this concept is far less important for jazz than for classical music, since changes of
key are used in European concert music as a crucial means of generating tension and
drama.

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monophonic texture (monophony)

a musical texture characterized by a single melody with no pitched

accompaniment: for an example, listen to the opening of Louis Armstrong's "West End
Blues." When a monophonic texture interrupts the usual texture of jazz performance, it is
known as a break.

motive

a short melodic or rhythmic idea used self-consciously by a musician in the course of a solo.
Motives are usually varied in the course of a performance.

mouthpiece

the portion of a wind instrument into which a musician blows. For brass instruments, the
mouthpiece is cup-shaped. The musicians places the lips into this cavity, where they vibrate
to produce sound.

multiphonics

by heavy overblowing, musicians playing the saxophone can create several pitches at once.
These are often used in avant-garde jazz.

Listen to Jeff Decker create multiphonics on his saxophone.

mute

a device that can be used to alter the sound, or timbre, of an instrument. (Only the
brass instruments use them — e.g., trumpets and trombones). Trumpet players in
particular use a variety of mutes, such as the Harmon mute, a hollow mute with a hole in
the middle that is stuck into the bell of the trumpet; the plunger mute, the rubber cup
from the bottom part of a toilet plunger, which is waved in front of the bell; the cup mute
or the straight mute, both of which are used in symphony orchestras.

On the following example, listen to Ray Nance play a solo with a cup mute on Duke
Ellington's "Take the 'A Train'."

Now listen to Cootie Williams play a much wilder-sounding solo on the next example, using
the plunger mute, on Ellington's "In a Mellotone."

To Definitions Page Two

Back to Assignments

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Copyright W.W. Norton

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| obbligato | octave | ostinato | pedal point |

| pentatonic scale | polyphonic texture (polyphony) | polyrhythm |

| playing inside | playing outside | plunger mute |

| quartal chords |reed instruments | register |

| resolve | rhythm section | ride pattern |

| rhythm changes | rhythmic contrast | riff | root | rubato | running the changes

| scale | scat-singing | send-off riff| slash chords | soli | standard | stop-time |

| straight mute | stride |swing | swing eighth notes | syncopation |

| tempo | texture | timbre |

| timbre variation | time-line pattern | tonal music |

| tonic | trading fours | transpose |

| triple meter | triad | trio | turnaround | vamp | unison | variable intonation |

| valve trombone| vibrato | voicing | walking bass |

| whole-tone scale | wind instruments |

more definitions on Definitions Page 1

obbligato

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classical music term for a countermelody.

octave

an interval in which one pitch has a frequency exactly twice the other (in the ratio 2:1).
Such pitches are clearly distinct--one is higher than the other--but they sound so similar
that men and women singing "the same note" actually sing pitches an octave apart. Music
theory gives notes an octave apart the same letter name (e.g., A = 440 cycles per second,
but also A = 220). Indeed, the word "octave" (from the Latin "oct" = 8) derives from the
standard seven-note diatonic scale: once the seven pitches are finished (do, re, mi, fa, so,
la, ti), the eighth note (do) is the octave.

ostinato

any repeated melodic or rhythmic pattern.

pedal point

a technique in which the bass line stays predominantly on one pitch for a limited passage.
In a normal harmonic progression, the bass line is continually striking new pitches, since
each harmony has a different root. To stay on one pitch is an unusual effect, and is usually
not maintained for long.

In the tune "Midriff", the bass stays on one note (the dominant, or the fifth degree of
the scale) for an entire chorus of a twelve-bar blues.

pentatonic scale

a five-note scale, usually corresponding to the black keys on the piano. Frequently used by
improvising jazz musicians.

Listen to the following example, with John D'earth and pianist Bob Hallahan improvising in a
pentatonic scale.

playing inside

improvising within the structure of the harmonic progression.

playing outside

improvising outside the structure of the harmonic progression. This may mean
improvising atonally (without reference to a tonal center).

Listen to the following example of the Free Bridge Quintet playing outside.

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plunger mute

the bottom part of a sink plunger, waved in front of the bell of a brass instrument to create
unusual timbres. See mutes.

In the following example, listen to John D'earth improvise using a plunger mute.

polyphonic texture (polyphony)

a musical texture characterized by two or more melodies of equal importance or

interest playing simultaneously, such that no one melody sounds like the main melody. In
classical composition, also known as counterpoint.

One jazz style that features polyphony is New Orleans jazz. Listen to the following example
of New Orleans polyphony by the Free Bridge Quintet.

Another example shows the Free Bridge Quintet (with Prof. DeVeaux on piano) using
polyphony on a modern version of Autumn Leaves."

polyrhythm

see rhythmic contrast

quartal chords

Chords built using the interval of the fourth, rather than the third (as with normal triads).

Listen to pianist Bob Hallahan improvise using quartal chords.

reed instruments

wind instruments in which the sound is generated by a thin, flexible reed mounted
in the mouthpiece. Reed instruments include the clarinet and the saxophone family
(soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones). (Double-reed instruments such as the
oboe and bassoon are rarely used in jazz.)

register

range, for an instrument. Playing high on a trumpet is known as playing in its upper
register.

resolve (noun: resolution)

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The process by which an unstable dissonant tone moves to one that is stable and
consonant.

rhythm changes

a tune in AABA form based on the harmonic progression of George Gershwin's "I Got
Rhythm." An example is John D'earth's tune "The Potboiler."

rhythm section

the instruments in a jazz ensemble that provide a rhythmic and harmonic

foundation. Normally, the rhythm section will comprise a bass instrument (string bass,
electric bass, tuba); percussion (usually the drum set); and one or more harmony
instruments (piano, acoustic or electric guitar, banjo, the Hammond B-3 organ, vibraharp).

To hear a rhythm section in action, listen to the following example by the Free Bridge
Quintet. Set in twelve-bar blues form, it begins with a full chorus of Pete Spaar's walking
bass line, accompanied by a light backbeat on the drum's high-hat cymbal. The next
chorus adds the (which comping of pianist Bob Hallahan. In the third chorus, we hear the
intense rhythmic contrast of Robert Jospe's drumming. Finally, we add Jeff Decker as a
soloist on top of this rhythm section accompaniment.

rhythmic contrast

the basic rhythmic principle underlying African-derived musics, including jazz; also
known as polyrhythm.

Music using rhythmic contrast features at least two contrasting rhythmic layers.
One layer is typically a relatively unchanging part that serves as a rhythmic foundation.
Musicians refer to maintaining the rhythmic foundation as "keeping time." (A good
example in jazz would be the walking bass line or the ride patterns played on the
drummer’s ride cymbal.) Other layers are more variable (e.g., comping, improvised solos,
dropping bombs).

ride pattern

the steady pulsation played on the ride cymbal of a drum kit. It forms the rhythmic
foundation for jazz after about 1945.

riff

a short, catchy, repeated melodic phrase. Riffs are often used to articulate the structure of
a twelve-bar blues, making it clearer to the listener to hear the form.

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Listen to the following example to hear the Free Bridge Quintet creating riffs within a
twelve-bar blues.

root

the lowest, or foundation note of any chord. Harmonies are built from the bottom up, and
you can build a chord, or triad, on any note. That note will then be the root of the chord.

rubato

the expressive stretching of time — roughly halfway between playing in strict

tempo and "free" rhythm.

running the changes

jazz slang for harmonic improvisation.

scale

a collection of pitches within the octave from which melodies may be drawn.
NOTE: for the purposes of this class, “scale” is synonymous with “mode.”

scat-singing

improvising by a vocalist, using nonsense syllables instead of words (e.g., "doo-bee-

doo-ba-doot-'m-do-ba").

send-off riffs

ensemble riffs played in the first few bars of a chorus. The riff, played by the entire band,
interrupts or precedes a solo by a single improviser, "sending" them off on their way. The
soloist then completes the rest of the chorus.

A good example of a send-off riff comes in the middle of John D'earth's solo on "Midriff".

slash chords

complex extended chords formed by placing a triad over a different root: e.g., an A major
chord over an F root. The name comes from the usual abbreviation for these chords as "A/
F"--"A-slash-F." Since slash chords are usually fairly dissonant, pulling the music away
from the tonal center, improvisers tend to to play outside over them.

To hear the sound of slash chords, listen to the following example performed by Bob
Hallahan of the Free Bridge Quintet.

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soli

a passage for a section of a jazz band (trumpets, saxophones, trombones, etc.) in

block chord texture. The term is deliberately ironic, because of course a "solo" by
definition means one instrument. Block chord texture gives the surface impression that an
entire section of instruments is playing a "solo," because they are all playing in the same
rhythm.

A soli is, necessarily, composed ahead of time. (All those instruments couldn't
manage to play the same rhythm spontaneously!) So there is an additional irony: "solo" in
jazz generally means an improvisation--and again, a good soli will be written in the style of
a good improvised solo, but it is not, and cannot, be improvised.

Listen to the following example of three horns playing a soli.

standard

a popular song that has become part of the permanent repertory of jazz musicians.

stop-time

a technique in which a band plays a pattern of short chords separated by silences.

The intervening musical space is then filled in with monophonic improvisation. Stop-time
is usually used in early jazz. Typical patterns for stop-time include playing on the
downbeat of every other measure; or playing on beats 1, 2, and 3 of a measure.

For more modern jazz, listen to the following example of stop-time playing by tenor
saxophonist Jeff Decker over the harmonic progression of the tune "Cherokee."

straight mute

the standard mute for brass instruments in the symphony orchestra, it dampens the tone
without too much distortion. See mutes.

Listen to John D'earth playing trumpet with a straight mute.

stride

a technique for a pianist's left hand. It involves a steady alternation of bass notes

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(low notes) with chords in a "boom-chick, boom-chick" rhythm.

Stride is also the generic term for the style of jazz piano playing using this
technique.

swing

1. jazz from the period 1935-1945, usually known as the Swing Era.
2. a jazz-specific feeling created by rhythmic contrast within a particular rhythmic
framework (usually involving a walking bass and a steady rhythm on the
drummer's ride cymbal).

swing eighth notes

An uneven division of the beat used by jazz musicians. Eighth notes are normally divided
evenly, while swing eighth notes range widely, usually falling into the ration of 2:1.

Listen to the Free Bridge Quintet performing an example with straight eighth notes. Now
listen to the same group perform the same passage with swing eighth notes.

syncopation

an accent that (temporarily) contradicts the usual accentuation of a meter. If you have a
meter of 4 beats to the bar, beats 1 and 3 normally receive the greatest emphasis. A
syncopation might involve an unexpected accent on beat 4, or on a note in between the 3rd
and 4th beat. NOTE: syncopation is not a term we use much, since its meaning is
supplanted by rhythmic contrast.

tempo

the speed of the music.

texture

the relationship between melody and harmony in a piece of music. Different types
include homophonic, monophonic, and polyphonic texture.

timbre

the “quality” of a sound, as distinct from its pitch; also referred to as “tone color.”
Timbre is what distinguishes the same note being played on two different instruments — i.
e., instruments such as the trumpet and piano have a noticeably different timbre.

In addition, skillful musicians can vary the timbre on their instruments, often using
external devices such as mutes. The tendency to vary the timbre for expressive purposes

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is called timbre variation.

In other words, a saxophone has an inherent distinctive timbre (enabling you to tell
it from a trumpet, say), but individual saxophonists have often developed techniques that
allow them to play a variety of timbres (e.g., more growling or raspy or breathy sounds).

timbre variation

the tendency to vary timbre for expressive purposes. In jazz, this may involve
special technique, including the use of mutes and growls.

The Duke Ellington band of the 1920s relied heavily on timbre variation. Listen to this
example of Bubber Miley playing a full chorus of the 12-bar blues relying on growls in the
throat and the plunger mute for tonal color.

time-line pattern

a repeated, asynmmetric pattern that serves as a basic foundation layer in African music
(and, to a lesser extent, African-American music). One version of a time-line pattern,
known as clave, is basic to many kinds of Latin music.

tonal music

music characterized by an overall tonal center (the tonic) that serves as the center
of gravity for the music. All harmonies are organized in relationship to this tonal center,
and are more or less dissonant to it. The tension and released created by the resolution
from dissonance to consonance imparts a sense of forward movement to tonal music.

tonic

the first note or “degree “of a scale: “do” in the scale “do re mi fa so la ti.” Represented by
the roman numeral I. In tonal music, the tonic is the note that melodies and harmonies
will return to for a sense of closure.

trading fours

A technique in which musicians consistently alternate brief solos of pre-set length (for
trading fours, four bars; musicians may also trade twos, eights, and so forth). Trading
fours usually occurs after each musician has had a chance to play a solo, and often involves
alternating four-bar segments with the drummer.

In the tune "The Potboiler," John D'earth and Jeff Decker trade sections of varying lengths:
trading eights (eight-bar sections), trading fours , and trading twos (two-bar sections).
Later in the performance, the four members of the band (trumpet, tenor saxophone, piano,
bass) trade fours with the drummer.

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transpose

To shift an entire musical phrase to a higher or lower pitch. This usually involves raising or
lowering each note by the same precise interval.

triad

the standard three-note chord that serves as the basis for tonal music.

trio

● a musical group with three members

● the third, or “C” section of a multi-section march or ragtime form.

triple meter

a meter in which the measure or bar is divided into three beats. Triple meter is common in
many kinds of dance music (e.g., the waltz), but it is relatively rare in jazz, where most
meters are duple. When it is used, the meter is often covered over with polyrhythm.

One example of triple meter is the John Coltrane performance of "My Favorite Things." To
hear the triple meter in this performance, it may help not to listen to the piano, or even to
the soprano saxophone, but rather to the drummer, who keeps time, or to the bass, mostly
playing on the downbeat of each measure.

turnaround

A faster, more complex series of chords that comes in the last two bars of a blues or the A
section of an AABA form. Also known as a turnback.

unison

a musical interval formed by two differing instruments sounding the same pitch. It is closely
related to the octave. The sound of the unison (or octave) is used in the openings of bebop
recordings, as in the following example of alto saxophone and trumpet playing a passage
from Charlie Parker's "Koko".

A similar passage is performed in the "Midriff" by John D'earth on trumpet and Jeff Decker
on tenor saxophone.

valve trombone

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a trombone that uses valves, instead of a moveable slide, to change pitches.

One example of a valve trombonist was Juan Tizol of the Duke Ellington band, whom you
can hear at the opening of "Conga Brava."

vamp

a short, repeated chord progression, usually used as the introduction to a

performance.

A good example of a vamp comes at the outset of Clifford Brown's performance of "I'll
Remember April."

variable intonation

the bending of pitches for expressive purposes; pitches bent in this way are called
"blue notes". As an example, listen to saxophonist Jeff Decker playing bend his pitches.

One master of variable intonation was the Duke Ellington saxophonist Johnny Hodges.
Listen to this example of a note that he bends out of shape using only his breath and his
embouchure.

vibrato

a slight wobble in pitch produced naturally by the singing voice. It is often imitated in
instrumental playing by wind instruments.

voicing

the particular way a musician chooses to play the notes in a particular chord. A triad only
has three pitches, but these can be spread out or doubled in infinite variations.

walking bass

a bass line featuring four even beats per bar, usually serving as the rhythmic
foundation for the jazz ensemble.

whole-tone scale

a scale constructed entirely out of whole-steps. Used occasionally in 1920s jazz, and
noticeably by Thelonious Monk from the 1940s on. Because it avoids the intervals of a
fourth or fifth (the intervals normally used to tune instruments), it has an eerie, floating
sound.

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Listen to John D'earth and pianist Bob Hallahan improvise using the whole tone scale.

wind instruments

any instrument that is blown into to create a pitch: includes brass and reed
instruments, as well as flutes. In jazz slang, a wind instrument is a horn.

Back to Definitions Page 1

Back to Assignments

Copyright W.W. Norton

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