Programme 3: Jazz

After Viewing

Rewind the programme to specific points and ask students to:

• listen to the melodic phrases in ‘The Jazz Step’ (02.35). How does each phrase vary? Is the rhythm changed, the pitch or both? Think of other types of music that use a kind of question and answer structure.
• listen to the 12 bar chord sequence in the ‘The Jazz Step’ (02.35). Courtney Pine indicates when a new chord makes its first appearance, but not when a chord is repeated. Draw out the 12 bar graphic as shown on screen and work out when each chord is reused in the sequence. Chords can be indicated using the basic chord symbols F (1), Bb (4) and C (5). It may be helpful to get the class to hum the root of each chord as the music is played.
• listen to the bass line of Armchair March (09.25). All though the bass line has a kind of march feel it differs greatly from a traditional march. What things does it have in common with a march? (tonic dominant alternation) What things are not in keeping with a march? (Answer: the addition of a 3/4 bar to trip up the beat). What other aspects recall the feel of an army on the march? (Answer: the use of snare drum rolls, whistling and the fade out of the coda.
• think of words to describe the musical effect of the Imitation used in the middle section of Armchair March (12.40). Plot the arrangement of the melodies as a graphic score. Show which instruments are playing the melody at each point and how many melodies are being played at any one time.

Ask students to consider the way the Armchair March was composed: the middle section was composed first, then the introductory section followed by the coda. What are the benefits of first composing the central section of the piece?

Through discuss talk about the role of improvisation in each piece:

• What aspects of the music help to retain the identity of the composer in the music? For example: riffs and licks (melodic fragments), rhythm and chord progressions, texture and structure to form frameworks for improvisation.
• When is the musician in a jazz band considered a composer? For example, verbally describing the feel and rhythm of a beat to a drummer may not mean he or she becomes a composer. Where in your opinion do the boundaries become blurred?