MT1 KS5 Edexcel A2 Instrumental 2011
MT1 KS5 Edexcel A2 Instrumental 2011
MT1 KS5 Edexcel A2 Instrumental 2011
KS
Alan Charlton is an
examiner for Edexcel
and a freelance
composer.
Exam requirements
The Edexcel A2 Instrumental set works for 2011 are tested in Section C (Continuity and Change in Instrumental
Music) of the Unit 6 exam paper, Further Musical Understanding. Section C is worth 36 marks out of the 90
marks for Unit 6, or 40% of the marks for the paper. Edexcel recommends that students spend 50 minutes
answering this question in the exam.
Students are given a choice of two questions. In each of these, students are asked to compare one or more
of resources, form, texture, tonality, harmony, melody, and rhythm and metre, of specified instrumental
set works. Questions so far appear to show that each question refers to three set works. Quality of written
communication is taken into account when marking this paper.
Dmitry Shostakovich
Several composers,
including Chopin
and Rachmaninov,
have composed
sets of preludes
in all 24 keys and
there are many other sets of preludes
by composers such
as Debussy and
Messiaen.
Technical scope
Shostakovichs Prelude and Fugue is written for solo piano. As it is modelled on Bach, the writing isnt especially adventurous compared with that of other 20th-century composers. Features of the piano-writing include:
Prelude
A limited range (F# below bass clefF above treble clef)
When the melody is in the right hand, the left hand has a pedal note
When the melody is in the left hand, the right hand has triads in dotted crotchets
The whole piece is based around the alternation of these two textures
However, the respective phrase lengths of each of these textures varies, leading to an unpredictable phrase
structure, maintaining the listeners interest.
Bars
1.1
3.1
3.2
3.4
4.1
5.1
5.2
8.1
8.2
11.1
11.2
12.4
13.1
16.1
16.2
18.3
18.4
20.4
21.1
22.3
23.1
18.1
R.H.
melody
chords
melody
chords
melody
chords
melody
chords
melody
chords
chords
L.H.
pedal
melody
pedal
melody
pedal
melody
pedal
melody
pedal
chords
melody
Length (beats)
12
13
10
18
Fugue
Fugal technique is complex and students will not need to know every detail of its workings. However, they will
need to know about its main features, so start by giving them a general introduction to the features found in
fugues.
There are two main aspects to fugues: the contrapuntal technique and the overall structure. Strictly speaking
fugue refers to the contrapuntal techniques used.
A typical fugue will open with a melody in a single line. This is called the subject.
A second part then joins in with its version of the subject in a different key (usually the dominant). This is called
the answer. The first part has a different melody against the answer, called a countersubject. After the answer
has been stated, there may be a short transition that takes the music back to the tonic key.
The third part then enters with the subject, usually in the tonic. The second part now has the countersubject,
while the first part plays a part in free counterpoint.
This whole section is called a fugal exposition.
Activity
Ask students to try to identify these features in the Shostakovich (answers in brackets):
There then follow passages called episodes which alternate with sections known as middle entries. Episodes
are usually based on material from the exposition and often modulate to a new key. Middle entries resemble
the fugal exposition, but are often in a different key and often swap around the voices playing the subject,
countersubject and so on. They are usually in at least two parts: the parts are not added one by one as in the
fugal exposition.
The first episode is at bars 1520 and the first middle entry at bars 2128. Students should note that the first
episode develops material from bars 910, has a faster harmonic rhythm than the fugal exposition and modulates to the relative minor; and that the first middle entry is in F# minor (the relative minor).
Activity
In bars 2124, ask students to identify which part has:
Point out that the material is now played by different voices to those in the corresponding passage of the exposition.
Fugues continue with an alternation of episodes and middle entries. Other important features of a fugue include:
Stretto entries where entries of the subject appear closer together, creating a feeling of excitement
Pedal notes often dominant or tonic pedals are used towards the end of a fugue.
Activity
Ask pupils if they can spot examples of stretto (bars 7078) and pedal notes (dominant pedal bars 6269,
tonic pedal bars 9699).
Section
Key
Degree of
scale
Contrapuntal features
Other features
114
Fugal
exposition
Tonic
S: v.1 (14)
S: v.2 (58)
CS: v.1 (58)
S: v.3 (1114)
CS: v.2 (1114)
FC: v.1 (1114)
1520
First episode
2128
Middle entry 1
2932
Episode 2
3340
Middle entry 2
4146
Episode 3
4754
Middle entry 3
5561
Episode 4
6265
Middle entry 4
6669
Episode 5
7075
Stretto entries
of subject
combined with
other material
7691
Episode 6
9299
Coda
Submediant
S: v.2 (2124)
CS: v.1 (2124)
FC: v.3 (2124)
S: v.1 (2529)
CS: v.3 (2529)
FC: v.2 (2529)
In two-part counterpoint, based on
transition material
A major
Tonic
S: v.3 (3336)
CS: v.1 (3336)
S: v.1 (3740)
CS: v.3 (3740)
In two-part counterpoint, based on
transition material
F major
A major
Flat
submediant
Tonic
S: v.1 (4750)
CS: v.2 (4750)
A: v.3 (5154)
CS: v.2 (5154)
FC: v.1 (5154)
First bar of S:
v.3 (58) in C minor
v.2 (59) in Bb major;
v.3 (60) in Eb major;
v.3 (61) in F# minor
S: v.1 (6265)
CS: v.2 (6275)
Dominant pedal
Dominant pedal
A major
A major
Tonic
Tonic
S: v.2 (7073)
S: v.3 (7071)
S: v.1 (7275)
S: v.1 (7982)
S in v.1 (9598)
Tonic pedal
Key: v.1 = highest voice; v.2 = middle voice; v.3 = lowest voice; S = subject; CS = countersubject; FC
= free counterpoint
Students need not memorise the information in this table, but it is useful for them to be able to give a summary
of the overall form (column 2) and to give examples of: fugal exposition; subject; answer; countersubject; free
counterpoint; an episode; a middle entry; pedal notes; stretto; an example of a middle entry in a different key
and with the order of voices changed.
Texture: activity
Ask students to identify the following textures used in NAM 25:
Prelude
Pedal note plus melody line (e.g. bars 12)
Homophonic texture (e.g. bar 7)
Homophonic/chordal (bars 2122)
Fugue
Two-part contrapuntal texture (e.g. 2950)
Three-part contrapuntal texture (e.g. 5161)
Monophonic texture (bars 14)
Use of pedal notes (e.g. bars 6269).
Tonality
The work uses diatonic harmony and is in the key of A major.
Prelude
This passes through a number of keys, including some remote ones. Keys are not defined by perfect cadences
but rather through the music passing suddenly from the notes of one key to another. For instance, at bar 19,
the notes of the Ab major scale are suddenly introduced. Here are the keys that the music passes through in
the Prelude, some of them only briefly:
Bar nos.
Key
Degree of scale
13
A major
Tonic
45
F# minor
Relative minor
69
E major
Dominant
1112
A major
Tonic
1315
C# major/minor
Mediant major/minor
17.4 18.3
F major
19
Ab major
21
Db major
2328
A major
Tonic
Fugue
The tonal scheme of the fugue has already been included in the table under form. Note that it is less adventurous than that of the Prelude, being based mostly on the tonic and related keys.
Harmony
The Prelude and Fugue in A major uses diatonic tonal harmony, but there are occasional added-note chords
(for example in the Prelude, bar 6.3, bar 7.1, 11.1, 17.3).
Most dissonances are resolved by stepwise movement (for example, bar 17.4 resolves onto 18.1). Triads dissonant with a pedal note are used in the Prelude at bar 10.3 and 11.1.
Most of the harmonic interest comes through slightly unexpected chord progressions, sometimes using enharmonics, for example:
Prelude
The move to C major in bar 10
The move to the Ab major second inversion chord in bar 19
The move from Db major to A major bar 23
Melody
Prelude
The main melody is based on a turn-like figure (a), quaver movement that outlines triads, scale fragments or
other stepwise ideas (b), and semiquaver scales towards the end of phrases (c). The rhythm is more important than the pitches in defining the material. Phrases are of variable length, being extended or shortened by
varying the length of the section in quavers. There is melodic fragmentation in the last four bars.
Melodies are mostly diatonic, but there is some chromatic movement (bar 13 beats 24) and octatonic material
(bar 14.2 to bar 16.1).
Activity
To demonstrate the point about the octatonic scale, ask students to write out the note names of bars 14.2
16.1 (including bass notes). Arrange these in ascending order, starting on a C#. What scale does this form?
Explain that its the octatonic scale and that it alternates intervals of tones and semitones.
Fugue
The subject, countersubject 1 and the free counterpoint are arpeggio-based melodies; this gives them a fanfare-like quality. Much of the melodic material in the episodes uses triadic ideas derived from the material in the
fugal exposition. The material is made memorable through its strong rhythmic character, with dotted rhythms in
the subject and syncopated dotted rhythms in the countersubject. Leaps of a 3rd, 4th and 6th, both upwards
and downwards, feature strongly in all the material used.
The fugue uses invertible counterpoint. This is counterpoint which works equally well if the vertical order of
the parts is changed (for instance the lowest part swapped with the highest). This is because the intervals
largely comprise 3rds and 6ths, which are 6ths and 3rds respectively when inverted and so still sound consonant.
Metre
Prelude
This is in compound quadruple metre, with bars 22 and 2528 in compound triple metre. However, the main
beat of the bar is sometimes displaced within this metre: the first theme starts on the first beat of the bar in bar
1, but on the second beat in bar 8. The movement is in a steady tempo, but with a rit. at the end.
Fugue
2
This is in 2 (simple duple metre) throughout.
Rhythm
Prelude
The opening melodic idea (a) starts with an anacrusis. Syncopation is also used (bar 16.4 to bar 18 in the
bass).
Fugue
Dotted rhythms are used in the subject, giving it a military, fanfare-like quality
Syncopation occurs in the countersubject
The subject and countersubject are designed to create effective rhythmic counterpoint one moves when
the other is still, and vice versa
Shostakovich combines the contrapuntal parts to create constant quaver movement throughout (apart from
in the first four bars, bars 71.372.1 and bar 99); this lends the piece a strong sense of rhythmic momentum,
as might be found in a toccata.
Activity
If there are two or three players of suitable melody instruments in the class (for example a cello, clarinet
and flute), get them to arrange the fugal exposition for those forces and then perform it. If it works well,
they could consider arranging and performing the whole piece.
Duke Ellington
Early successes
include Black and
Tan Fantasy (1927)
and East St. Louis
Toodle-O.
Resources
There is footage of Duke Ellingtons band and of Arthur Whetsol (rather than Bubber Miley) rehearsing the
trumpet solo on YouTube.
The score in NAM is a transcription of the recording found on The Golden Years of Jazz Vol. 6 (Prestige Elite
Jazz, 2007), available on iTunes or here on Spotify.
Activity
Play the recording and ask students to identify which instruments they can hear. (Some of these are not
notated in the score.)
This is for the 26
Oct 1927 recording.
Some recordings
also contain a tuba.
Line-up
Trumpet (Bubber Miley)
Trombone (Joe Tricky Sam Nanton)
Alto sax (Otto Hardwick)
Piano (Duke Ellington)
Double bass
Drums
Banjo
Tenor and baritone sax (both doubling on clarinet)
Various different instrumental combinations are used in different sections in the piece (see the section on
texture).
A plunger mute is a rubber mute which can be inserted into the bell of a trumpet or trombone, closing off
the bell and muting the sound. Using this mute, a skilled player can produce the characteristic wah wah
sound that was common in swing bands of the 1930s, and can also produce growls and imitations of animal
noises. The use of this mute and the animal-like nature of the effects Ellingtons brass players produced
spawned the term the jungle sound.
Form
Activities
Having played a recording of the movement to the class, ask them how they think it is structured: is it
through-composed or sectional? (Its sectional.) In the score, which musical symbol shows the border
between each section? (Double barlines.)
Next, ask the students to complete the following table by filling in the missing information from the score.
The answers are provided in the second table.
Section
Bars
Length
in bars
Solo instrument
Key signature
Section name
112
12
Trumpet/trombone
Bb minor
Theme
1320
Alto sax
Bb major
16-bar section
3
4
Solo 1
Solo 2
Solo 3
Solo 4
Solo 5
Coda
Answer:
Section
Bars
Length
in bars
Solo instrument
Key signature
Section name
112
12
Trumpet/trombone
Bb minor
Theme
1320
Alto sax
Bb major
16-bar section
2128
Alto sax
Bb major
2940
12
Trumpet
Bb major
Solo 1
4152
12
Trumpet
Bb major
Solo 2
5364
12
Piano
Bb major
Solo 3
6576
12
Trombone
Bb major
Solo 4
7786
10
Trumpet
Bb major
Solo 5
8790
Trumpet/trombone
Bb minor
Coda
Point out that several sections are 12 bars in length. Ask them what musical forms they know that are based
in 12-bar sections? (12-bar blues.) How can the sections that are not 12 bars long be explained in this structure?
Sections 2 and 3 do not use the 12-bar chord sequence around which the rest of the piece is based, so they
can be described as an interpolation, a passage inserted to break up the structure and give it more interest. It
also allows the music to modulate from Bb minor to Bb major.
Section 9 is based on a quote from a piece of classical music ask if anyone recognises it. (It is from Chopins
Funeral March, from Piano Sonata No. 2 in Bb minor.) This passage uses the chords that would be in bars 1012
of the 12-bar blues sequence anyway, so is a way of extending this final statement to provide a convincing
10
Tonal structure
Students should also take note of the tonal structure of the piece. It starts in Bb minor, before modulating to Bb
Looking at where
the key signatures
change is a good
way of reminding
students of the tonal
structure.
major in the first eight-bar section. It stays in Bb major for the solo sections before returning to Bb minor in the
final four bars.
Point out that the tonality is often ambiguous, being neither in the major or minor. What scale produces this effect? (The blues scale). For instance the trumpet solo at bars 4143 contains Dbs even though the underlying
chord is Bb major, which contains Ds.
12-bar blues
The 12-bar blues is a chord sequence lasting 12 bars that is usually repeated for the length of a blues
composition. In its simplest form, the chords used are as follows, each chord lasting for one bar:
IIIIIVIVIIVIVII
However, this structure is often modified by using 7th chords and substitution chords. A substitution chord is
a chord that replaces one in the original 12-bar chord sequence that forms the basis of the composition.
Substitution chords are used frequently in Black and Tan Fantasy. The clearest way to see how and where they
are used is to write out the chords used in each of the 12-bar sections:
Statement no.
10
11
12
1 (112)
Bbm
Bbm
Bbm
Bbm
Ebm
Ebm
Bbm
Bbm
F7
F7
BbmEbm
Bbm
iv
iv
V7
V7
iiv
3 (4152)
4 (5364)
5 (6576)
6 (77end)
Chords in lower
case roman numerals represent minor
chords, those in
upper case major
chords. Note that
in this table, bars
8789 are treated as
forming the 11th bar
of the sixth statement of the 12-bar
structure.
11
Bb
Bb
Bb
Bb7
Eb7
Eb7
Bb
Bb
Cm7
F7
Bb-Eb
Bb
I7
IV7
IV7
ii7
V7
IIV
Bb
Bb
Bb
Bb7
Eb7
Eb7
Bb
Bb
Cm7
F7
Bb - Eb
Bb
I7
IV7
IV7
ii7
V7
IIV
Bb
C7F7
Bb7
Eb
Eb7
Edim7
Bb7D7
G7
C7
F7
BbBbdim
BbGb9F7
II7-V7
I7
IV
IV7
IV7 dim
I7III7
VI7
II7
V7
II dim
I bvi9V7
Bb
Bb
Bb
Bb
Eb7
Eb7
Bb
Bb
F7
Eb7
Bb
Bb
IV7
IV7
V7
IV7
Bb
Bb
Bb
Bb
Eb7
Ebm7
Bb
G7
C7
F7
BbmEbm
alternating
Bbm
IV7
iv7
VI7
II7
V7
iiviiv
From this table, it can be seen that some chords in the sequence are more frequently replaced than others.
Disregarding the fourth section:
Bars 13 in the sequence are always i or I
Bar 7 is always i or I; bar 10 is always V7
Bar 12 is always i or I.
Melody
Melody comes in two different forms in Black and Tan Fantasy. First, there are the composed melodies in the
opening section and in the 16-bar section that follows it. These feature the repetition and development of short
phrases. The opening 12-bar melody on the trumpet is mostly based around harmony notes: the notes of the
accompanying chords. It is harmonised by a second part, moving in near-parallel movement, which also uses
harmony notes. Interest is added through the use of pitch bends in bars 3 and 7. The march-like dotted rhythm
in bars 5, 10 and 11 anticipates the Chopin quote in the final four bars of the piece.
The alto sax solo in bars 1319, repeated in bars 2127, is more lyrical and rhythmically freer, and is mostly
based on stepwise movement, with triadic patterns in bars 1718. There is a melodic sequence in bars 1920
built around the underlying circle of 5ths chord sequence.
The improvised melodies in the solo sections are much freer rhythmically and more loosely structured. The
notated rhythms are only an approximation of what is played. The function of these sections is primarily to show
off the players technique and improvisation skills.
12
Activity
Listening to a recording, ask students to find examples of the following features in the score:
Microtonal inflections notes played deliberately out of tune for expressive effect
(especiallyDbs)
Unusual effects (for example the horse whinny effect in bar 73).
There are also two quotations in the melody line. As has already been mentioned, Chopins Funeral March appears in the final four bars. The melody of the opening 12 bars is a paraphrase of an 1892 spiritual by Stephen
Adams called The Holy City (see below). The Holy City is in the major rather than the minor and its rhythms
have been changed in Ellingtons piece.
Rhythm
Rhythmically, Black and Tan Fantasy has two layers in the solo sections:
1. The accompaniment, played by rhythm-section instruments. Apart from in the piano solo, where it is absent, this maintains a steady crotchet movement throughout.
2. The melody line. In the solo sections, this is rhythmically often very free and falls in and out of sync with
the accompaniment, often having a very loose sense of pulse. Features that give it this sense of rhythmic
freedom are:
Quaver triplets (for example in bar 37, trumpet)
Crotchet triplets (for example in bar 33, trumpet)
Syncopations (for example bar 34 beats 12, trumpet).
Other rhythmic features found in Black and Tan Fantasy that are common in jazz include:
3
4
Cross-rhythm (bar 1718.2 in alto sax, where the melodic pattern is in 8 and the accompaniment is in 4 this
type of rhythm probably derives from ragtime)
13
Miles Davis (192691) was one of the leading jazz trumpeters of his day and played a major part in some
of the most significant developments in jazz. In 1945 he was in the Charlie Parker quintet that pioneered
bebop, a fast, frenetic style that contrasted strongly with the lush big band arrangements of the time. In
the late 40s he formed a nonet whose album Birth of the Cool created cool jazz, a more laid-back, melodic
style with a much slower harmonic rhythm. After a break, his groups of the mid to late 1950s the first Miles
Davis Quintet and the Miles Davis Sextet recorded some of his most well-known albums, representing
a style that incorporated melodies and harmonies based on modes, a technique that became known as
modal jazz. His second quintet (which is the one performing NAM 50) was notable for its tight rhythm
section and experimental approach, particularly harmonically, where they departed from a set harmonic
scheme in favour of a freely improvised one. Later in his career, Davis also experimented with jazz fusion,
a style combining jazz and pop elements.
Miles Davis
Four
The performance of Four from which the anthology excerpt is transcribed is from a live concert given by the Miles Davis Quintet at the
New Philharmonic Hall on 12 February 1964. The faster numbers from
the concert, of which Four is one, were released on an album called
Four and More and the slower ones on another entitled My Funny Valentine. Perhaps owing to nerves and also anger over the payment ar-
Line-up
Trumpet (Miles Davis)
Tenor sax (George Coleman)
Piano (Herbie Hancock)
Bass (Ron Carter)
Drums (Tony Williams)
rangements for the concert, the faster numbers come across as rather
rushed and there is a loss of precision in the ensemble as a result.
There are some symbols used in the trumpet part in the score that may be new to students:
Location
Description
Meaning
Break, beat 3
1.15
Wavy line
1.18
Wavy line
Fall-off
1.191.20
Arrows
2.1
Note in brackets
2.3
3.32
14
Instrumental techniques
Make sure that the students can identify from the recording and the score the following techniques:
Piano
Staccato chords (for example H12)
Held chords (for example H3)
Comping (throughout solo section)
Short melodic fragments (for example H11)
Double bass
Pizzicato (walking bass) throughout
Drums
Open and closed hi-hat
Snare, snare rolls and grace notes
Snare rim-shots
Also uses toms, kick drum and other cymbals
Trumpet
Played open
Pitch bends (for example bars 1.181.20)
Flutter-tonguing (for example in the break)
Grace notes (for example 1.17 beat 4)
Notes not speaking (for example 2.232.24)
Extreme high notes (for example bar 3.2)
Extreme low notes (for example 2.232.24)
Microtones (for example 2.31 notice the upwards arrow on the sign to this note, which indicates a note
played slightly sharp)
Trill between two different fingerings of the same note (for example bars 3.324.4).
Because it is a live performance, there are also some inaccuracies, such as split notes and notes not speaking.
Davis was not as technically proficient as a trumpeter such as Dizzy Gillespie, and is better known for expressive playing in the middle register.
Form
Four is a head arrangement. The head is a tune or idea that has been composed in advance and which the
players have memorised. The head is stated at the beginning of the piece. A series of sections called choruses
follow: these are based on a sequence of harmonies that is usually similar to that of the head. In the case of
Four, each chorus is 32 bars long. Soloists take it in turn to improvise over this harmonic structure; their improvisations may last for several choruses (as does the trumpet solo in Four).
The overall form in the 1964 recording of Four is as follows:
15
Bars
Length in bars
Instrumentation
Introduction
18
Drum solo
Head
H1H32
32
All
Chorus 1
1.11.32
32
Chorus 2
2.12.32
32
Chorus 3
3.13.32
32
Chorus 4
4.14.32
32
Texture
There are several textures used in Four:
The head has a homophonic texture a melody is played over a harmonic accompaniment.
The second bar of the break has a monophonic texture there is just one line.
Choruses 13 could be described as having a contrapuntal texture, with the trumpet solo being in counterpoint with the double basss running bass line. Although the piano adds harmonic material, the three parts
are so rhythmically independent that the whole effect is contrapuntal rather than homophonic.
Key words
Make sure students are aware of these terms:
Comping (the pianos use of sporadic chords, often on weak beats and frequently syncopated,
and melodic snippets based on the underlying harmonies)
Walking bass (a bass line consisting of a stream of fast, even notes, usually based on stepwise
movement).
Tonality
The head uses diatonic harmony, but this is coloured by the use of chromaticism. The key of the work is Eb
major, but the extensive use of chromaticism and dissonance obscures this key, especially in the choruses.
The choruses feature the free use of dissonance (a result of the trumpet and bass playing away from the
chord), weakening the sense of key.
As with Black and Tan Fantasy, the tonal scheme of Four can most clearly be seen when the successive statements of the chord sequence are written out one under another.
In the diagram below, the numbers at the top represent the bar numbers of each 32-bar section: so 16 refers
to the 16th bar of the head, the 16th bar of chorus 1 etc.
Eb
Eb
Ebm7
Ch. 1
Eb
Eb
Ch. 2
Eb
Ch. 3
Eb
Head
Ab7
Fm7
Fm7
Abm7
Ebm7
Ab7
Fm7
Fm7
Eb
Ebm7
Ebm7
Fm7
Eb
Ebm7
Ab7
Fm7
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Db7
Gm7
F#m7
B7
Fm7
Bb7
Gm7
F#m7
B7
Fm7
Bb7
Abm7
Db7
Gm7
Gm7
Fm7
Bb7
Gm7
Gm7
Fm7
Bb7
Fm7
Abm7
Abm7
Gm7
Gm7
Fm7
Bb7
Gm7
Gm7
Fm7
Bb7
Fm7
Fm7
Fm7
Eb
Eb
Fm7
Bb7
Eb
Eb
Fm7
Bb7
16
Head
17
18
19
20
Eb
Eb
Ebm7
Ab7
21
22
23
Fm7
Fm7
Abm7
24
Db7
25
Gm7
Fm7
26
27
28
29
30
Fm7
Bb7
Gm7
Fm7B7
Fm7
Bb7
Eb
Eb
B7
31
32
Ch. 1
Eb
Eb
Ebm7
Ab7
Fm7
Fm7
Abm7
Db7
Eb
C7
Fm7
Bb7
Eb
Bb7
Eb
Bb7
Ch. 2
Eb
Eb
Ebm7
Ebm7
Fm7
Fm7
Abm7
Abm7
Eb
C7
Fm7
Bb7
Eb
Bb7
Eb
Bb7
Ch. 3
Eb
Eb
Ebm7
Ebm7
Fm7
Fm7
Abm7
Db7
Eb
Eb
Fm7
Bb7
Eb
Eb
Fm7
Bb7
From this, it can be seen that the harmonies of the head may be divided into two broadly similar 16-bar sequences, forming one 32-bar overall sequence. The harmonies notated above the choruses also follow 32-bar
chord sequences, which are also made up of two similar 16-bar harmonic progressions.
Common substitution chords are Eb for Gm7 (bars 9 and 25 of each sequence) and Ebm7 for Ab7 (bars 4 and
20).
Notice also that the harmonic rhythm is slower in the choruses that in the head, in which there are often two
and sometimes three chords per bar.
Harmony
The pianos harmonies in the choruses are not written out in the score and only follow the notated chord symbols loosely. However, the notated piano part in the head gives a good indication of the range of harmonies
used.
Activity
Ask students to find examples of the following in the head (answers in brackets):
A chromatic bass line (second time bar and following bar of head)
These are all typical of rich jazz harmony, with added-note chords, parallel harmonies, chromaticism and free
Daviss quintet was
at this time becoming more experimental harmonically:
this was to lead to a
style called time no
changes, in which
the players used
no set harmonic
scheme, making up
the harmonies as
they went along.
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use of melodic dissonance (in jazz, this is called playing away from the chord). As has been seen above, there
is also frequent use of substitution chords.
In the chorus sections, both the double bass and trumpet are often dissonant with the underlying chord sequence notated in the score. They tend to become more consonant with these harmonies at important structural points, such as at the ends of phrases.
In the trumpet solo, there is also a use of microtonal notes, such as at bar 2.31, adding extra colour to the
harmony.
Melody
The head melody uses balanced phrasing: bars H13 are answered by a similar phrase in bars H4H7, while
H8H11 are answered by H12H15.
In the head, the first three notes are developed motivically, being repeated (H1), inverted (H2), transposed (H5)
and having their pitch content changed (H2 beats 34).
There is a different approach to melody in the choruses. In the trumpet solo, there are two types of melody:
Fast, virtuoso runs of quavers, often based on scale patterns. This type of material is consistent with the bop
style of jazz (for example 1.101.15).
Short motifs in longer note values (for example 1.171.23, 2.303.8 and 3.193.24). These are quickly developed, with pitches and rhythms being changed, before moving onto another bop-style passage.
Note that the melodies of the choruses bear little relation to those of the head, although the underlying chord
sequence is similar. This device is called thematic substitution.
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