Jazz, Traditional Music, Voice, and Melody: A Musical Exploration
Jazz Origins and Characteristics
Jazz, born in the early twentieth century in the United States, is based on improvisation and unwritten musical forms. Musicians create in the moment, joining notes. A dotted note adds half its value. Syncopation emphasizes rhythmically weak parts of a measure. Pop and rock are derived from jazz and use syncopated rhythms. The sound is typically provided by drums, electric bass, rhythm guitar, and a soloist.
Anacrusis and Traditional Music
An anacrusis occurs when music starts before the first beat of a measure. Traditional or folk music is the result of an oral tradition, anonymous and linked to a rural lifestyle. It has inspired classical music and is related to various functions of daily life. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, musical nationalism emerged in many European countries, including Spain. Composers were inspired by traditional music to create culturally rooted works.
Voice and Musical Cultures
Voice works through the respiratory system (air), the speech apparatus (vocal cords), and resonators (oral cavity, nasal cavity, facial skull). In classical music, the sound is projected into the resonators to create a pure, round, and voluminous sound. Non-Western musical cultures often rely on oral traditions. Brazilian popular music is rich and includes samba and chôro. Batucada samba uses only sixteenth notes and percussion.
Melody and Musical Intervals
The melodic range is defined by the interval between the lowest and highest notes. A melodic diagram represents the curve of the melody. Characteristic intervals are those that are abundant or representative of a section of the music. Film music can be original or an adaptation. The sarabande was a Spanish dance that spread through Europe in the 17th century. Melody quickly evokes emotions. Setback notes are preceded by a pause and occur on rhythmically weak beats.