French Jazz Analysis

My time in Paris was spent doing an array of things, such as listening to music, trying foods that I never had before, seeing art I grew up seeing in books and magazines, etc. Music is integral in many societies and being immersed in Paris, I got to see why it is as impactful as it is. No matter where I was in Paris, I heard music. A majority of the time, I heard live music whether it came from people singing on the metro or street performers. An interesting event that occurred while I was on the metro was this woman who spoke fluent french began to sing, and it was both in Spanish and French. Music breaks down barriers and it was interesting to see how it occurs in France. In this essay, I am going to describe and compare French Jazz and French …show more content…
I went there to experience what a jazz club in France was like and it did not disappoint. I do not know the name of the music they played but I know that the pieces incorporated various musical elements. The song that played incorporated metric rhythm and at times non metric rhythm. The song seemed to follow the homophony approach. The song was melodic and it was easier to distinguish the rhythm. At first it sounded like it was polyphonic because I could hear more than one melody. There were no words in the songs that were played so I did not hear usage of consonant. The bass player accentuated the treble and bass sounds in parts of the song. The tempo began slow but sped up towards the middle then slowed down towards the end. There were usage of meter in the song because I could keep hear a reoccurrence of accents. Lastly, the band’s usage of chord made for a better performance. Jazz will forever be integral to France’s society because it contributes to the beauty in their …show more content…
Most of the times that I heard it, it came from street performers whether it was on the metro, sitting down in an outside section of a restaurant, or just walking down a street. French folk made a resurgence in the 1950s and 1960s. During that time, many European countries dreaded that their countries were losing a sense of themselves more specifically their culture. I could not tell what the name of the song was that the man I encountered was playing. I rarely listened to Parisian folk music before going to Paris but after my visit, I noticed that the music genre incorporates various musical aspects. The song the gentleman played followed a melody. It was non-metric but it was polyphonic because I heard more than one rhythm. There was usage of chord and scale in the song. There was vibrato because there was a change of pitch. I really enjoyed the rhythm of the song, even though I did not understand it. I did not hear any elements of treble in the song. Tempo throughout the song was not consistent as well as the meter. There was no bass because he used only on instrument and he was solo. Lastly, I did not hear any usage of pitching in his piece. Parisian folk music partially defines Paris and without it, the Parisian society would not be what it is