Elements 4: Texture and Form

The balance between harmony and melody produces _______, of which there are three basic types: _________, in which a melody is supported by harmonic accompaniment; _________, where a melody exists on its own, without harmonic accompaniment; and _________, in which two or more melodies of equal interest are played at the same time.

But in one important sub-category of homophonic music, the melody and harmony exist in a single layer: two or more instruments play the same phrase in the same rhythm, but with different pitches filling out the harmony, as in barbershop quartets. In jazz, this is called _____-_____ _______. Big bands depend on block chords. The first vocal trio in Paul Whiteman's "Changes" sings in block-chord harmony:

Elements 4: Texture and Form

Another sub-category is _____________, or _________, where the subordinate instruments have melodic interest of their own, but not enough to compete with the main melody. In "A Sailboat in the Moonlight," Billie Holiday sings the main melody and tenor saxophonist Lester Young accompanies her and also fills in the melody when she pauses.

Elements 4: Texture and Form

And monophonic texture is often used to begin or end a piece. Armstrong begins "West End Blues" with what many regard as the single most significant monophonic outburst in jazz history—a radiant trumpet fanfare, or _______, that keeps us on the edge of our seat until the rest of the band finally enters.

Elements 4: Texture and Form

In jazz, unlike in classical music, musical form is relatively straightforward. You don't have to be a musician to understand it. You only have to be able to hear patterns of eight or twelve, and distinguish between basic melodies that are designated _ and _ (and sometimes _). Although it isn't necessary to know the difference between one song form and another to enjoy the flow of improvised ideas, once you understand the basics of form, something magical happens. You find yourself listening with greater insight, riding alongside the musicians and understanding better the choices they make.

Elements 4: Texture and Form

Jazz concepts of form are derived from African music, where improvisation happens within a repeated rhythmic cycle. In jazz, the _____ is known as the ______. Each chorus tune is a fixed metric length (twelve or thirty-two measures, for example), and has its own harmonic (chord) progression.

Elements 4: Texture and Form

Here is the principle of ________ ________ in action: there are two distinct layers, one fixed (the left side's chords) and one variable.

Elements 4: Texture and Form

In a jazz ensemble, the rhythm section plays the fixed chord progression in an unchanging and potentially endless cycle of repeated choruses. The first and last choruses may consist of the straight tune with no improvisation, known as the ____. In other choruses, the variable part is represented by a soloist (instrumental or vocal) embellishing and improvising over the progression. Although a jazz chorus can, in theory, take any form, in practice musicians tend to focus on two structures for their improvisations: the __-___ _____ and the __-___ _______ ____.

Elements 4: Texture and Form

Besides its twelve measures, blues form is marked by the particular harmonic scheme shown below, derived from folk practice. In its most basic form, the harmony uses only three chords: the I, or _____, chord, the piece's home base (in C, this is C-E-G, or C7: C-E-G-B♭); IV, the ___________ chord (F-A-C, or F7: F-A-C-E♭); and V, the ________ chord (G-B-D, or G7: G-B-D-F). Basically, the harmony changes at the beginning of each four-measure group:

Elements 4: Texture and Form

At the end of each chorus (in measures 11-12), musicians often play a __________, chords that lead back to the beginning of the next chorus.

Elements 4: Texture and Form

The other key form for jazz improvisation is the __-___ _ _ _ _ popular song. During the golden age of American songwriting, roughly from 1925 to 1960, tunes were written mostly by professional songwriters such as George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, Harold Arlen, and many others, including such jazz compatriots as Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, James P. Johnson, and Edgar Sampson. Many of these songs originated in musical theatre.

Elements 4: Texture and Form

These songs were conceived in two sections: an introductory _____, which helped provide a transition between spoken dialogue and song in a musical; and the 32-bar section known as the _______, or ______—the melody that made the song successful if, as the songwriters hoped, members of the audience left the theater humming it. Jazz musicians have concentrated on the refrain section of a song, performing a repeating cycle of choruses.

Elements 4: Texture and Form

The idea behind the form is simple. Compose an eight-bar phrase. Repeat it. Contrast it with a new eight-bar phrase (known as the ______, or _______). Finally, repeat the original phrase one last time. All thirty-two bars make a single chorus.

Elements 4: Texture and Form

Which of these textures is most common in jazz and popular music?

Elements 4: Texture and Form

Barbershop quartet singing is an example of what?

Elements 4: Texture and Form

Chorus is the term used to refer to what?

Elements 4: Texture and Form

A twelve-bar blues is made up of what?

Elements 4: Texture and Form

The typical 32-bar popular song follows what pattern?