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Jazz Terms - Chapter 7

Terms in this set (14)

Backbeat
a simple polyrhythm emphasizing beats 2 and 4 of a 4/4 measure (rather than 1 and 3).
Block chords
a homophonic texture in which the chordal accompaniment moves in the same rhythm as the main melody.
Blue note
notes in which the pitch is bent expressively, using variable intonation; also known as blue notes.
Break
a short two- or four-bar episode in which the band abruptly stops playing to let a single musician solo with a monophonic passage.
Cadence
stopping places that divide a harmonic progression into comprehensible phrases. See half cadence, full cadence.
Dissonance
the quality of an unstable harmony that resolves to another chord.
Harmonic improvisation
a new melodic line created with notes drawn from the underlying harmonic (chord) progression; also known as running the changes.
Modulation
to move from one key (B-flat, G, D minor, etc.) to another.
Polyrhythm
the simultaneous use of contrasting rhythms; also known as rhythmic contrast.
Riff
a short, catchy, and repeated melodic phrase.
Staccato
a short, detached way of playing notes or chords.
Swing
(1) jazz from the period 1935 - 1945, usually known as the Swing Era; (2) a jazz-specific feeling created by rhythmic contrast within a particular rhythmic framework (usually involving a walking bass and a steady rhythm on the drummer's ride cymbal).
Syncopation
an occasional rhythmic disruption, contradicting the basic meter.
Walking bass
a bass line featuring four equal beats per bar, usually used as a rhythmic foundation in jazz.
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