# AI Wiki - Music - Jazz Music ## Overview Jazz developed in African-American communities of New Orleans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, from blues, ragtime, brass-band music and spirituals. The Original Dixieland Jass Band made the first jazz recordings in early 1917 ("Livery Stable Blues"). The main eras: - **New Orleans / early jazz** (1910s–1920s): collective improvisation; Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton. - **Swing** (1930s–mid-1940s): arranged big bands for dancing; Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Benny Goodman. - **Bebop** (1940s): small groups, fast tempos, chord-based improvisation as "musician's music"; Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell. - **Cool, hard bop, modal** (1950s): Miles Davis, Art Blakey; modal jazz builds tunes and solos on modes rather than fast chord changes (Miles Davis, *Kind of Blue*, 1959). - **Free jazz, fusion and beyond** (1960s onward): Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Weather Report, Herbie Hancock. Two things define jazz for a player: **improvisation** (each performance reinterprets the tune) and **swing** (a triplet-based rhythmic feel). Harmonically, jazz treats **seventh chords** as the basic unit and organises tunes around **ii–V–I** progressions. ## Arrangement and Forms A typical small-group performance: the **head** (the written melody), then **solos** over repeated passes of the chord changes (each pass is a "chorus"), then the head again. - **32-bar AABA** (song form from Tin Pan Alley and Broadway): most standards. "I Got Rhythm" gave its chords to a whole family of tunes ("rhythm changes": A sections on I–vi–ii–V, bridge on III7–VI7–II7–V7, two bars each, usually in B♭; "Anthropology", "Oleo"). - **12-bar blues**, with jazz substitutions (see below and [[AI Wiki - Music - Blues Music]]). - **ABAC** and other 32-bar forms, and modal forms such as "So What" (16 bars D Dorian, 8 bars E♭ Dorian, 8 bars D Dorian). ## Harmony: Seventh Chords and ii–V–I Where [[AI Wiki - Music - Pop Music|pop]] and [[AI Wiki - Music - Rock Music|rock]] use [[AI Wiki - Music - Triads|triads]], jazz uses four-note chords (see [[AI Wiki - Music - Seventh Chords]]): maj7, m7, dominant 7, m7♭5 (half-diminished) and dim7, extended with 9ths, 11ths and 13ths, and altered (♭9, ♯9, ♯11, ♭13) on dominant chords. The **ii–V–I** is the core cadence: chord roots fall by fifths from the supertonic to the dominant to the tonic (see [[AI Wiki - Music - Cadences]] and [[AI Wiki - Music - Circle of Fifths]]). - **Major**: ii m7 – V7 – I maj7. In C: Dm7 – G7 – Cmaj7. In G: Am7 – D7 – Gmaj7. - **Minor**: ii m7♭5 – V7 – i. In A minor: Bm7♭5 – E7 – Am (or Am6, Am(maj7)). **Guide tones**: the 3rd and 7th of each chord define it. In a ii–V–I, the 7th of one chord moves down a half step to the 3rd of the next, and the 3rd holds to become the 7th of the next. In Dm7 – G7 – Cmaj7: C (7th of Dm7) → B (3rd of G7) → B (7th of Cmaj7); F (3rd of Dm7) → F (7th of G7) → E (3rd of Cmaj7). On piano, play the root in the left hand with the 3rd and 7th, and the voice leading is visible: ```chord instrument: piano columns: 3 --- symbol: Dm7 pitches: D3 F3 C4 title: Dm7 (R 3 7) --- symbol: G7 pitches: G2 F3 B3 title: G7 (R 7 3) --- symbol: Cmaj7 pitches: C3 E3 B3 title: Cmaj7 (R 3 7) ``` On guitar, the same idea gives three-note **shell voicings** (root, 3rd, 7th) near the 3rd–5th frets, the comping style of Freddie Green in the Count Basie band: ```chord symbol: Dm7 frets: x535xx title: Dm7 shell (R b3 b7) --- symbol: G7 frets: 3x34xx title: G7 shell (R b7 3) --- symbol: Cmaj7 frets: x324xx title: Cmaj7 shell (R 3 7) ``` **Tritone substitution**: the V7 can be replaced by the dominant seventh a tritone away (D♭7 for G7), because both share the same 3rd and 7th (F and B/C♭). The bass then moves chromatically: D – D♭ – C. ## The Jazz Blues Jazz players keep the 12-bar blues but add ii–V movements and passing chords. A common jazz blues, transposed to G for guitar (it is usually played in F or B♭): ```chords {title: Jazz blues in G} {key: G} {time: 4/4} | [G7] | [C7] | [G7] | [Dm7] [G7] | | [C7] | [C#dim7] | [G7] | [E7] | | [Am7] | [D7] | [G7] [E7] | [Am7] [D7] | {comment: Bar 4: ii–V into C7. Bars 8–10: E7 (V of Am7), then ii–V back to G. Bars 11–12: I–VI–ii–V turnaround.} ``` ## Rhythm: Swing, Walking Bass and Comping - **Swing feel**: pairs of eighth notes are played long-short, on a triplet basis. The ratio varies between straight (1:1) and 3:1: wider at slow tempos, narrower at fast ones. Beats 2 and 4 are accented (the hi-hat closes on them). See [[AI Wiki - Music - Rhythm and Time Signatures]]. - **Walking bass**: one note per beat, mostly chord tones on beat 1 with scale and chromatic passing notes leading to the next chord's root. - **Comping** (accompanying): short chords placed around the soloist, often on the "Charleston" rhythm (beat 1 and the "and" of 2) or four even strokes per bar (Freddie Green style on guitar). - **Odd meters** appear too: "Take Five" is in 5/4. ## Scales and Improvisation - **Chord-scale approach**: Dorian over m7 (D Dorian over Dm7), Mixolydian over dominant 7 (G Mixolydian over G7), Ionian or Lydian over maj7. For a ii–V–I in C, all three are modes of C major (see [[AI Wiki - Music - Modes]] and [[AI Wiki - Music - Major Scale]]). - **Arpeggios / chord tones**: target the 3rd and 7th of each chord on strong beats (see [[AI Wiki - Music - Arpeggios]]). - **Bebop scales**: a seven-note mode plus one chromatic passing note, so that chord tones fall on the beats when running eighth notes (G bebop dominant: G A B C D E F F♯). - **Blues scale and pentatonics**, carried over from the blues (see [[AI Wiki - Music - Blues Scale]]). - **Altered scale** (seventh mode of [[AI Wiki - Music - Minor Scales|melodic minor]]) over altered dominants; an intermediate topic. The G7 arpeggio in one position: the chord tones to aim for over the V in C. ```fretboard title: G7 chord tones, frets 2-5 chord: G7 frets: 2-5 labels: intervals ``` D Dorian on piano (white keys D to D), the sound of "So What" and of the ii chord in C: ```keyboard D dorian range: C4-B5 labels: intervals ``` ## Signature Techniques - **Guitar**: shell voicings and drop-2 chords for comping; single-note bebop lines with alternate picking; octaves (Wes Montgomery); chord-melody playing (Joe Pass); gypsy jazz "la pompe" rhythm (Django Reinhardt). - **Piano**: left-hand shells or rootless voicings (3rd, 7th plus 9th or 13th, without the root, which the bassist plays), stride piano (alternating bass note and chord), block chords, bebop right-hand lines. See [[AI Wiki - Music - Left-Hand Accompaniment Patterns]] and [[AI Wiki - Music - Hand Independence]]. ## Songs and Artists to Study - **Louis Armstrong – "West End Blues"** (1928): early jazz, a blues with a famous trumpet opening. - **Duke Ellington Orchestra – "Take the 'A' Train"** (written by Billy Strayhorn, recorded 1941): swing-era AABA. - **Django Reinhardt – "Minor Swing"** (1937): gypsy jazz, minor ii–V's, la pompe rhythm. - **Charlie Parker – "Billie's Bounce"** (1945): bebop blues in F. - **Thelonious Monk – "Blue Monk"** (1954): a blues head, easy to learn. - **"Autumn Leaves"** (Joseph Kosma): the standard learning tune, alternating major and minor ii–V–I's. - **Miles Davis – "So What"** (1959, *Kind of Blue*): modal jazz, D Dorian. - **Dave Brubeck Quartet – "Take Five"** (1959): 5/4. - **Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass** (guitar); **Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson** (piano). ## How to Practise 1. Learn the three shell voicings for Dm7 – G7 – Cmaj7 (guitar) or the root–3–7 voicings (piano); loop them with a swing metronome on 2 and 4. 2. [[AI Wiki - Music - Capo and Transposition|Transpose]] the ii–V–I to G (Am7 – D7 – Gmaj7) and F. 3. Play the jazz blues in G with shells, four strokes per bar, then the Charleston rhythm. 4. Arpeggiate each chord of the ii–V–I in one position, landing on the 3rd of the next chord. 5. Learn the head of "Blue Monk" or "Autumn Leaves" and improvise one chorus using chord tones. ## Key Points - Origin: New Orleans, late 19th–early 20th century; first recordings 1917; swing, bebop, modal, free, fusion. - Defining features: improvisation and swing feel (triplet-based long-short eighths, accents on 2 and 4). - Harmony: seventh chords and extensions; ii–V–I in major (m7–7–maj7) and minor (m7♭5–7–m); guide tones; tritone substitution. - Forms: head–solos–head over 32-bar AABA, 12-bar jazz blues, rhythm changes, modal forms. - Improvisation: chord tones, Dorian/Mixolydian chord scales, bebop scales, blues scale. ## Open Questions - What is the best order to learn rootless voicings on piano (A and B voicings) after root–3–7 shells? - **Answered** ([[AI Wiki - Music - Guitar Seventh Chord Voicings|Guitar Seventh Chord Voicings]]): Drop-2 voicings on guitar: which string sets and [[AI Wiki - Music - Piano Chord Inversions|inversions]] first? Root position first (drop-2 with the root on the 5th string, paired with drop-3 on the 6th), one quality at a time, then all four inversions on the top four strings; strings 3-6 last. - How strict is the chord-scale approach compared with chord-tone and voice-leading approaches in jazz pedagogy? ## References - Wikipedia, "Jazz": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz - Wikipedia, "ii–V–I progression": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ii%E2%80%93V%E2%80%93I_progression - Wikipedia, "Swing (jazz performance style)": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swing_(jazz_performance_style) - Wikipedia, "Rhythm changes": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhythm_changes - Wikipedia, "Thirty-two-bar form": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty-two-bar_form - Wikipedia, "Twelve-bar blues": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve-bar_blues ## Related - [[AI Wiki - Music - Seventh Chords]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Cadences]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Circle of Fifths]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Modes]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Major Scale]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Arpeggios]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Blues Scale]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Blues Music]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Rhythm and Time Signatures]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Left-Hand Accompaniment Patterns]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Hand Independence]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Funk Music]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Chord Progression Recognition]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Common Chord Progressions]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Diatonic Chords and Roman Numerals]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Keys and Key Signatures]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Piano Fingering]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Reading Standard Notation]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Reggae Music]]