Developments in instrumental jazz, 1910 to the present day.
From Jell Roll Morton to Courtney Pine. The work covers the styles of jazz, musical elements and their relationship to the genre and conditions and context. Features will include improvisation, harmonic changes, tone and timbre, blues intonation, walking bass, rhythm section, front line and swing. Styles will include Ragtime, New Orleans style, Swing, Bebop, Cool Jazz, Hard bop, Avante-Garde, free jazz. and Jazz-rock fusion.
a scale that is reproduced by playing the white notes from A to A an octave above. It has a minor key sound, but does not function like a normal minor scale.
If a phrase begins before the first downbeat of a bar, the notes or notes preceding the downbeat are known as an anacrusis.
Lengthening the time values of a musical theme (often doubling the length)
This term is often used to describe the experimental jazz styles of the 1960s and 1970s. Literally French for 'advance guard', it is used for cultural styles that push the boundaries. Musicians associated with this are Charles Mingus and Sun Ra.
A popular dance from the 1920s
A Brazilian style, which fuses samba and jazz music and which was popularised in the 1950s and 1960s. Bossa nova tends to be played 'straight' rather than 'swung'
A popular dance from the 1920s, which uses a specific dotted crotchet rhythm followed by a crotchet beat.
A dominant 7th chord, plus the note a minor 9th above the root. On C, this would be: C E G. Bb. Db
A scale that can be reproduced by playing the white notes from D to the D an octave above. Minor key sound but does not function like a normal minor scale.
A long glissando down, played on a brass instrument. A good example of this is the final chord of The PInk Panther theme.
(Brass) Generally refers to a 'wah-wah' sounding mute
In jazz and pop music, the term 'horn' is loosely used to mean any blown instrument.
A genre of music, most popular in the late 1960s and 1970s, which combines elements of jazz and rock music, often with an emphasis on improvisation and unusual timbres.
A music-playing device, found in bars and diners throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Associated with rock'n'roll.
A scale that can be reproduced by playing the white notes from G to the G an octave above.
A single melodic line with accompaniment.
Similar to a cup mute, and capable of creating voice-like sounds.
Sliding up ('scooping') toa note from a lower pitch.
A style of piano playing, similar to ragtime, involving wide left-hand leaps between the brass notes and the corresponding chords.
A performance style whereby the first quaver in a pair is lengthened, and the second quaver is shortened.
A trombone glissando
A type of popular entertainment combining comedy, song and dance. Popular in the USA in the early 20th century.
AOS3 - One of the topics that will be asked in section C of the exam. There is also a link to AOS 2, which is the compulsory unit.
Students working together and performing aspects of the pieces. If there are enough pupils, it would be useful to form a small jazz ensemble.
Study Western Art music since 1900 looking at styles, musical elements and conditions and context. Styles include Late Romantic, Impressionism, Modernism, Expressionism, Neoclassical styles, Serialism, Nationalism, Minimalism and Experimental approaches after 1945. You will also study more contemporary music by composers such as Judith Weir and Thomas Ades.
tape-recorded musical and natural sounds, often electronically distorted, arranged in planned combinations, sequences, and rhythmic patterns to create an artistic work.
If a phrase begins before the first downbeat of a bar, the notes or notes preceding the downbeat are known as an anacrusis.
Lengthening the time values of a musical theme (often doubling the length)
Music that is not obviously 'about' anything, effectively the opposite of programme music. Also known as 'absolute' music.
A method of performance in which two or more groups of singers/instrumentalists are heard alternately.
As well being the title of Thomas Ades orchestral piece, 'asyla' is the plural of asylum', with the double meaning of 'place of refuge' and 'madhouse'.
Experimental styles of the 1960s and 1970s. Literally French for 'advance guard', it is used for cultural styles that push the boundaries.
The term 'avant-garde' is used to describe the modernist composers of the 1950s and 1960s, including Boulez and Stockhausen.
The simultaneous use of two different tonalities.
A formal request for a specific piece of work.
Notes that 'clash'. The opposite of consonance.
A string section which is divided into two or more separate groups.
Changing the name of a note without changing the sound (e.g. C# to Db are the same pitch).
Singing of notes above the normal range of the human voice, usually by male singers.
The term to describe falsetto, when used by female singers.
The term to describe falsetto, when used by female singers.
A 'non-musical' sound, often used in electronic composition.
Well suited to the expressive and technical capabilities of the instrument or voice.
'Tone-colour melody' - a melody consisting of a succession of changing instrumental timbres.
A form of music that was developed in the late 20th-century. It uses minimal music material, often employing unusual textures, harmony that is rooted in tonality or modality, and a heavy use of repetition.
A single melodic line with accompaniment.
In a complex, atonal piece, the term that describes the second most important instrument/ vocal part.
A 20th-century style and 'movement' that sought to reinstate a tonal language deriving from pre-Romantic (often Baroque) music.
An obbligato part is 'obligatory' - an instrumental part which is essential in creating the particular effect or mood of the music.
An eight-note scale where the intervals ascend in alternating intervals of a semitone and a tone.
In music, a type of composing that seeks to fully imitate the language and technical characteristics of a genre, style, tradition, or of a specific composer's work.
A texture made up of individual 'points' of sounds and melodic fragments.
Music based on a predetermined succession of musical elements such as durations and dynamics, and most commonly, pitches of notes.
A type of vocal performance halfway between speech and singing.
An interval that is equivalent to three tones (an augmented 4th or a diminished 5th).
Students will gain an insight into contemporary western art culture, develop a deeper understanding of the elements of music and answer the AOS6 question in section C of their written exam.
A greater understanding of different approaches to learning and music-making through performance, listening and composing.
Students will revise Classical Symphonies by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven as well as well known Jazz and Blues songs.
A type of broken - chord accompaniment used extensively in the Classical Period.
Two linked phrases in a question and answer style, where the first ends in a weak cadence (e.g. I-V) and the second ends in a strong cadence (e.g. V -I).
A way of changing a rhythm by making some notes a bit early, often so they cross over the main beat of the music on the “weaker beats”.
a scale that is reproduced by playing the white notes from A to A an octave above. It has a minor key sound, but does not function like a normal minor scale.
A long glissando down, played on a brass instrument. A good example of this is the final chord of The PInk Panther theme.
A music-playing device, found in bars and diners throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Associated with rock'n'roll.
Experimental styles of the 1960s and 1970s. Literally French for 'advance guard', it is used for cultural styles that push the boundaries.
The term 'avant-garde' is used to describe the modernist composers of the 1950s and 1960s, including Boulez and Stockhausen.
Two linked phrases in a question-and-answer style, where the first ends in a weak cadence (e.g. I-V) and the seconds ends in a strong cadence (e.g. V-I).
A series of notes or chords that are all a perfect 5th apart.
A passage of music (usually in a concerto) for the soloist alone in which they could display their technical brilliance.
A part (or parts) which supports the melody.
music in major or minor keys
A texture in which one part has the melody while the other parts accompany.
instrumental music written for a small group of players
A structure used in the first movement of most classical pieces. Includes Exposition, Development and Recapitulation.
A style of music written for a solo instrument.
Building confidence as a performer and a deeper understanding of the musical elements in the classical period. This links to section A and B of the written exam.
Building confidence for final performance and expressing artistic qualities.