Jazz and

Improvisation
Reference booklet.
http://www.composemusic.co.uk/resources

Understand the history of Blues

Improvise with a blues scale and other scales
Perform and learn how to play chords
Listen and analyse music

JazzandImprovisation

HistoryOfJazzAndItsRoots
Enslaved Africans sang songs filled with words telling of their extreme suffering and praying for a
better life. In the Mississippi field slaves were forced to work in unbearably difficult and cruel
conditions. Slaves used calls and responses known as the field holler to keep their spirits, to take their
mind off work and to keep a steady rhythm. The field holler evolved to become the spiritual, which
developed into the blues.
The popularly accepted
theory that Jazz stemmed
from a simple combination
of African rhythms and
European harmony is in
need of a little revision.
Both African and
European rhythms were
employed. African music
supplied the strong
underlying beat (absent in
most European music), the
use of polyrhythms, and
the idea of playing the
melody separate from or
above the beat. European
music provided formal
dance rhythms. Combined,
these rhythms give Jazz its'
characteristic swing.
Likewise, the harmonies and
musical ideas of both continents are present, the blue notes derived from the pentatonic scale, "call and
response" and unconventional instrumental timbres of African music together with "conventional"
harmonies and, most important, the formal structure of European music.

Look on the internet for true accounts of the life of slaves.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE ART FORM

Jazz was a mixture of many different kinds of music. This brief history attempts to draw your attention
to important styles and artists.
MINSTREL SHOWS
Before the Civil War white performers blacked their faces mimicking the music, dance and culture of
the slave population. Composers like Stephen Foster however, only ever visited the south once and
were in fact born in the Northwest. The popularity of these shows led later generations of black
musicians to themselves imitate these white musicians and this element exerted an influence on jazz.
WORK SONGS, FIELD HOLLERS, PRISON WORK SONGS & DANCE
When African slaves arrived in the Americas the African culture started to mix with the American
culture, next are some contrasts in the music.
An important element of African musical tradition is the role of music in the lives of the people;

Music is integrated into their working lives and in their rituals; songs to wash the cloths, songs to
soften the hide, songs to build spirits for a hunt. By contrast in Western culture music is seen as an
art. When music performs a function, in African traditions this function is to the forefront and the
people take an active part in its performance. In western traditions music is less of a function and more
of an art form.

Is music performed on a daily basis in your school? (i.e. at assemblies) Songs in assemblies
were there to serve a purpose, raise the spirit and build a sense of togetherness. Today, very
often schools just play incidental music on the way in to calm everyone down this misses
the point of the original idea. Could you start a campaign to bring back singing into to
school.

The link between African music and dance is very strong. In 1817 the New Orleans City Council
established an official site for slave dances (Congo Square). These circle dances were known as RING
SHOUTS. Where ever you go in Africa you will see music being performed complete with dance, by
contrast usually music in the western culture
Another feature of African music is the use of instruments to emulate the human voice; This trait
plays a key role in jazz. An open tone and natural quality mark all African speech, singing and playing.
In many African languages each syllable and word has a specific pitch association, and accordingly
word meanings change with pitch variation. By contrast Western art music has a studied, cultural tone.
The emphasis on improvisation and spontaneity in African music is also apparent in jazz. In African
culture virtually any object can be a source of rhythm, and as a result their rhythm patterns are
complex and subtle when compared to Western ideas of rhythm. Shuller explains this by showing that
in Western thinking rhythm is thought of by dividing the beat, were as in African culture rhythm is
thought of as adding beats. These polyrhythms and syncopations are very evident in jazz.

TheBlues
The blues developed from its slave trade roots to become a popular form of song, and therefore a
commercially viable form of entertainment.
Blues musicians began to use electric guitars and to shift the emphasis of the songs from sadness
and despair at their oppressive treatment to songs of broken hearts and unrequited love.
Most historians agree that the Blues was one of the few forms to remain relatively constant from the
1890s to 1920s, and although its origins are unknown it seems likely to have been a new type of song
that began with the Negroes new life in the American South.
To us the Blues means a 12 bar form that uses the Tonic, Subdominant and Dominant chords in a fixed
pattern.
Another characteristic of the Blues is the use of Blue notes. In early recordings musicians would
bend a note sliding between two tonal centres. Later these Blue notes were thought of as flattened
3rds and 7ths and the flattened 5th.
When the Blues is sung it uses a specific form for its lyrics. The first line is stated, then repeated and
followed by a simple rhyming line. Robert Johnson Drunken Hearted Man
My father died and left me, my poor mother done the best that she could.
My father died and left me, my poor mother done the best she could.
Everyman likes that game you call love, but it dont mean no man no good.

The12BarBlues
Following are the CHORD SEQUENCE FOR THE 12 BAR BLUES. This sequence is at the heart of
all Jazz music. Try to play through the sequence using either single finger chords (using single finger
accompaniment
on
the
keyboards) or full chords.
Remember to keep a steady
beat and make sure you have 4
beats in each bar.

Improvising.
Improvising means making it
up as you go along. That
sounds very simple but there
are some guidelines that you
can follow to help your
improvisation sound good,
rather than a set of jumbled
random notes. Ask for a blues
scale template to help you
learn the notes against the
keys.

1. Use the correct notes, either;

a. Notes from the blues scale.
b. Notes that fit with the chord sequence.
2. Use a chord sequence, either;
a. The 12 bar blues sequence.
b. Another given chord sequence.
3. Keep a steady pace that matches the tempo of the music.

TheCorrectnotestouse.

The basic blues scale is built upon five

simple notes.
C Eb F G & Bb
You can start to improvise with these
notes first by starting on step one and as
you gain more confidence and the
improvisation sounds good then add
another step.

WorkingoutChords
When two or more notes are played together this is called a chord. The commonest type of chord is
called a triad which is three notes played together.
Basic formula for triads: Play a
For a triad chord of C, play C, miss
note, miss a note, play a note, miss
D, Play E, miss F, play G
a note and play a note.

When the notes are played together they are written like this;

Next are a couple of other chords in the Blues Sequence;

chord of F

chord of G

Written as;

written as;

The chord C7 is slighly more difficult as it adds a Bb.

Written as;

7th chords are normal triads with an

added note from the 7th of the scale.

Next are some extra chords to try;

F7

D minor

A minor

D major

Em7

ImprovisingonSomePopularChordSequences
Now that you have learnt how to improvise on the blues chord sequence, you can now
have some fun working with some more sequences used in pop music. If you are
finding playing the full chord difficult you could try using the single finger chord
backing on most electronic keyboards. Heres how it works.
KEYBOARDSETUP.

Select the STYLE first. Eg Pop Ballad.

Select a VOICE.
Press either ONE TOUCH SETTING (OTS), or AUTO ACC ON.
Press SYNCHRO-START.

Now play one of the chord sequences below (either single fingered or full chords). Keep
repeating it while your partner (or yourself !) improvises a melody over the top using
notes from the scale for each chord sequence.
A) Pop Ballad
Scale : A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A

How to play Am chord (play A&Ab together on

single finger chords)

Am

ACE

GBD

FAC

GBD

B) Pop Rock
Scale : D, E, F#, G, A, B, C, D

How to play Em7 chord ( E+Eb+D together)

Em7

D F# A

EGBD

CEG

GBD

C) 8 Beat
Scale : G, A, B, C, D, E, F, G

GBD

FAC

CEG

G
GBD

Extension Task

Try to shape your melody into an AABA structure.

The person playing the chords should also add FILLS where appropriate.

Somepiecestoperform
TheEntertainerbyScottJoplin
Scott Joplin (born between June 1867 and January 1868[1] died April 1, 1917) was a black musician
and composer of ragtime music. He remains the best-known ragtime figure and is regarded as one of
the three most important composers and founders of classic ragtime[2], along with James Scott and
Joseph Lamb. His mastery of the ragtime genre led to his reputation as the 'King of Ragtime'.
Ragtime is an American musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1899 and 1918. It
has had several periods of revival since then and is still being composed today. Ragtime was the first
truly American musical genre, predating jazz. It began as dance music in popular music settings years
before being published as popular sheet music for piano. Being a modification of the then popular
march, it was usually written in 2/4 or 4/4 time (meter), frequently with a predominant left hand
pattern of bass notes on odd-numbered beats and chords on even-numbered beats accompanying a
syncopated melody in the right hand. A composition in this style is called a "rag". A rag written in 3/4
time is a "ragtime waltz".

PeterGunnthemefromtheBluesBrothersbyHenryMancini
Henry Mancini (April 16, 1924 June 14, 1994), was an Academy Award winning American
composer, conductor and arranger. He is remembered particularly for being a composer of film and
television scores. Mancini also won a record number of Grammy awards, including a "Lifetime
Achievement" award in 1995.
This piece was originally used for the hit tv series Peter Gunn and won awards at the time. It was reused in the film the Blues Brothers.

HonkyTonkBlues
Honky-tonk music was played in rough bars in the Deep South. This is a typical 12 bar blues with a
catchy tune placed upon the top. There is scope to improvise in different sections to add variety but
this piece is not that hard to play and should be conquered in a couple of practises. Improvise with the
rhythm of the chord sequence to see if you can add variety. The person playing the chords can also
change to playing to bass part instead to add more variety.

BillBaileyTraditional(songisanonymous)
When a song is traditional it means it has no known composer and the song usually has folk origins. In
this case Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey is a popular song, often commonly referred to as simply
Bill Bailey. It was written by Hughie Cannon, published in 1902, and is still a standard with Dixieland
and Traditional Jazz bands.

HonkyTonkBlues
Chords(playonce)

HonkyTonkmelody(play3times)

BassLine(playonce)

Name____________________________Class_______________________
ListeningActivity:Bluesappraisal
z Listen to the blues songs listed below and answer the questions in the table.
z Your responses will be assessed using criteria below.
z Make sure you understand this.
Song title

What
instruments can
you hear?

What type of
voices can you
hear?

What are the

lyrics are
about?

Is there a 12 bar
blues chord
scheme?

NationalCurriculumLevelDescriptions:Listening
3: a basic recognition of sounds and the elements.
4: a correct identification and description of sounds using appropriate musical vocabulary.
5: an accurate identification and analysis of musical devices, evaluating the motives for composition.
6: a detailed identification and evaluation of the processes and contexts of musical genres.
7: a precise judgement of conventions and characteristics within musical genres, styles and traditions.
8: a precise discrimination of the characteristics and expressive potential of musical resources, genres, styles and traditions.
EP: a detailed analysis showing a contextual awareness of musical genres, styles, traditions and composers.

Blues Lyrics
Blues lyrics contain some of the most penetrating
and revealing statements in the Western musical
tradition. Blues lyrics are often intensely personal,
frequently contain sexual references and often deal
with the pain of betrayal, desertion, and unrequited
love or with unhappy situations such as being
jobless, hungry, broke, away from home, lonely, or
downhearted because of an unfaithful lover.
The early blues were very irregular rhythmically and
usually followed speech patterns, as can be heard in
the recordings made in the twenties.
The first line is generally repeated and third line is
different from the first two. Thus we end up with a
form AAB.
The phrase the blues is a reference to having a fit of the blue devils, meaning 'down'
spirits, depression and sadness. A feature of the blues is the use of call and response and
the blues notes.
Now write some lyrics to a verse or two of a blues song (remember it can be complaining
about love, work, treatment or anything else that makes you sad.
Song Title

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Chord Sequence of the 12 Bar blues & the Form of the 12 bar blues

There are always three 4 bar phrases

But you can alter these chords to get the feeling you want.

Revise the section on working with chords and popular chord sequences and then try to make your
own chord sequence, try to fit it into a form of 3 X 4 bar sections. Write the chords below (each box is
a bar of 4 beats).

Try to fit the chord sequence to your lyrics by playing your sequence over and over again whilst trying to
sing or say the lyrics to a rhythm, until they seem to fit well.
You can use Single finger chords such as;
CFFC7

or you can write the full chord out.

C E G..F A CF A C.C E G Bb

Here are some chords in short and in full.

C = C E G

F = F A C

G = G B D

C7 = C E G Bb

F7 = F A C Eb

G7 = G B D F

Em=E G B

Am7 = A C E G

TheBluesAssessementSheet
WhatIworkedontoday?
Blues Bass (walking bass)

Blues Chords (12 bar blues)

Honky-tonk chords

Performance piece

Improvising

Blues Lyrics

Two things I need to do for next lesson are?

Myefforttodaywas(circle)
A

Assessment Levels
Assess your own performance and three other performances.
3: Rhythmically and melodically simple. 4: more complex and audience-focused. 5: initial ideas were developed to produce a stylish and
effective improvisation. 6: a well-planned and musical improvisation, building on knowledge gained. 7: a well-proportioned, musically
secure and refined improvisation with stylistic focus. 8: very polished and musically expressive, with sensitive handling of material.
EP: a musically convincing exploitation of musical ideas and a sense of individual style and flair.

Name

Style
/voice

Clear 12
bar blues

Good
improvisation

Did the piece

develop?

Level