Jazz techniques

Scat singing is a technique used by singers in vocal jazz music. Scat is a form of vocal improvisation that consists of nonsense syllables or no words at all. It requires the singer to improvise melodies and syllables from the top of their head, this is a very difficult technique to master as it uses the voice as an instrument rather than using it to speak. Though scat singing is improvised, the melodies are usually based around common musical themes, such as scales, arpeggios, or the chorus of a different song. Scat doesn’t have to be used independently; it can be incorporated into a normal lyrical song, sort of like a solo section. Sometimes a scat section follows a certain predetermined pattern, following patterns in tempo, melody, or rhythm. It could be compared to an episode of Tom and Jerry because you always know generally what will happen: Tom will try and catch Jerry, but Jerry turns it around and hurts Tom. It’s always slightly different, but it follows the same general pattern.…

see trees of green, red roses, too, I see them bloom, for me and you, and I think to myself, what a wonderful world.” These are lyrics from “What a Wonderful World” created by a mastermind of jazz named Louis Armstrong. There are many famous jazz composers, including Jelly Roll Morton, Buddy Bolden, and Miles Davis. Most people consider jazz being created in New Orleans, but its roots began from African rhythms. Freed African-American slaves helped create jazz at the end of the 19th century.…

Jazz is a music genre which originated from African American society in the United States in the late 18th and early 19th century. Jazz music emphasizes improvisation along with the use of different musical instruments. Rock is also a music genre which originated in the United States in mid twentieth century. Rock music refers to rocking and rolling, reference to dancing and sex. Also it uses different types of recording techniques and unique instruments. Rock ushered in psychedelic rock era.…

The bass is one of the pioneer string instrument jazz musicians started to use around the 1890’s to provide a low-pitched bass line that would outline the chord sequences of any song. Before jazz, the bass was mostly known for its use in grand orchestras. The double bass arose in Germany during the late 1650’s. It was mostly used in Orchestras for classical music, creating a low pitched base for the violins and violas while harmonizing with the cellos. As time evolved, around 1890, the African…

recognized. African jazz with European influences then made its way back to America. African Slaves→America→Europe Jazz→ Europe→America • Ragtime • Syncopated rhythms (marches, waltzes, other classic rhythms…) o Tommy Turpin (piano) Harlem Rag → the first Ragtime musical composition • 1900’s – Classic Jazz o Small musical ensemble, brass • Instruments from confederate war • Clarinet, trombone, tuba, saxophone, cornet, banjo, bass, guitar, drums • Melodies were improved through…

with the commercialization of jazz and what direction jazz music should continue in. Scott DeVeaux, a white jazz scholar, and Wynton Marsalis, an African-American jazz musician, have differing viewpoints on how jazz traditions should be continued. For Marsalis, keeping jazz traditions is critical in preserving “true” jazz music. In an interview with Musician magazine, Marsalis makes comments of how “black music [jazz] is no longer black music” and that “our [African-American] vibe is being lost”…

movement. Giordano successfully established a technique that, like Holm’s approach, took advantage of other dance techniques, such as ballet and modern, and morphed components of each into a new art form (Sabo, Made in America 44). Not only did Gus use others’ techniques, but he also anticipated the manipulation of his own technique to fit into his students’ personal style. Giordano’s jazz technique, though codified, is part of a changing tradition. Gus desired jazz to be of its time by…

Jazz dance is often styled in parallel to the musical and cultural taste of the time providing it with its ever changing variations and influences throughout the decades especially the fifties and sixties. Jazz dance went from shallow imitations with Hindu/oriental inspiration to social dances that started in the African American community such as the jerk,locomotion, the Monkey and more. Gus Giordano, founder/director of the critically acclaimed Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, author,…

Jazz as a genre evolved throughout years due to the progressive artists that create it, but when deciding on who is the "greatest" of jazz musicians, the most important criteria when deciding should be influence and innovation, as the lasting effects of an artist on their artform is what they should be judged by. With this set criteria, the only artist that can be considered the "greatest" is Miles Davis, as he pioneered many of different techniques and genres of jazz. The first reason why Miles…

Since I barely have the music sense, listening and writing about jazz music was my biggest headache from the beginning of class. It is hard to use words to describe wordless music that is being heard. Yet I still learned the origin and the evolution of jazz music, its African American background and the different style it changes into. The videos playing in the class were useful to better understand the jazz music: by going over Billy Taylor’s What Is Jazz, I realized the composition of a jazz…