Embellishment
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An ornamentation of a melody; adding notes for decoration according to established and commonly accepted performance practices
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Fusion
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A synthesis of elements of jazz and rock. A style of modern jazz.
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Breaks
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A stop of the music in a jazz piece during which a soloist improvises, usually for two bars. |
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Head Arrangements |
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Arrangements that are not notated but are worked out in rehersal and, eventually, played by memory in traditional jazz syle. |
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Improvisation |
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The process of simultaneously composing, performing, and listening to music. |
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Big Band Jazz |
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Music for a large jazz ensemble, usually from 12 to 20 musicians. |
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Walking Bass |
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A jazz bass line played on each beat, frequently with some embellishments and emphasizing the main tones of the underlying chord structure. |
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Scat Singing |
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Improvised jazz singing using a variety of vocal sounds rather than lyrics. Its purpose is to improvise a vocal solo line in the manner of a lead instrumentalist. |
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Syncopation |
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The occurrence of accents in unexpected places, usually on weak beats or on weak parts of beats. |
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Combo Jazz |
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A small jazz group, usually from three to six musicians. |
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Cool Jazz |
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An outgrowth of and reaction to bebop. |
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Free Jazz |
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A style that is almost pure improvisation without adherence to predetermined chord structures, meter, or melodic motives. |
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Ostinato |
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A rhythmic or melodic pattern repeated many times. |
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Hard Bop |
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The bebop style of the 1950s and 1960s |
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Sections |
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The different instrumental or vocal groupings of an ensemble. |
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Ragtime |
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A style of music first popular in the first two decades of the 20th century. |
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Comping |
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The syncopated chords and melodi figures played by a jazz pianist while accompanying a solo improvisation, adding rhythmic punctuation and vitality. |
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Sidemen |
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In a jazz combo, a leader typically put the group together (hired the musicians) |
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Stride |
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Originally a solo piano style growing out of ragtime. |
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Riffs |
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Short, sycopated patterns usually written for specific groups of instruments in a big band jazz arrangement. |
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Fills |
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Melodic movement and embellishment in jazz while the main melody sustains a tone, such as at the end of a pattern. |
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Mutes |
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A device placed on an instrument to alter its tone usually to soften it. |
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Lead |
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The soloist in a jazz arrangement or performance. |
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