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Home , Accompaniment, All Blues, Miles Davis, Rhythm section, Riff, Time signature

The instruments and performers How are the elements used? • - ALL Structure • – Alto Sax • Head with intro & outro • – Tenor Sax Miles Davis • Intro-Head-Solos-Head - Outro • – Tonality and • – Double • Modal • – Drums • The standard 12 bar blues is altered by extended chords (addings 7ths and 9ths), link is inserted The piece features two types of – alto sax is smaller and Structure and Tonality between repeats, ‘turnaround’ chords vary in the head and higher than a tenor sax • Head Arrangement (based on a main theme or ‘head’, with an improvised solos. The bass player is using a (sometimes called string bass or solo section in the middle: HEAD…SOLOS…HEAD) • Chords like D7#9 are known as altered, extended or upright bass) and, as is common in , he plucks the strings (plays • Includes intro and outro substitution chords. ‘pizzicato’) throughout • The term ‘changes’ is the chord sequence in a jazz piece Miles Davis uses a mute whilst playing the Head section – it makes his Section Details Timbre and texture trumpet sound quieter and ‘further away’ – he takes it off and plays Intro – 8 bars • and normally in his solo Intro Two bar sections (called Intro 1 and Intro 2). • Drums/Piano/Bass = Section (accompaniment)

In jazz, the drums, piano, bass (and , if there is one) are referred to • Trumpet plays the main theme ‘Head’ 8 bars Intro 1 – piano as the . The other instruments (usually brass, woodwind, Intro 2 – saxes join in with the main (interval is a third) • play the riff in the Head sections saxes) are called the frontline. plays a tremelo in the intro and Muted trumpet plays 12-bar theme or ‘head’ whilst saxes play main riff • Alto sax, Tenor sax, Trumpet and Piano all take solos then comps (plays the chords in different ways) in the solo sections Head in the background • At the end of each solo, there is a link (like the intro) where Link (based on Intro 2) the frontline instruments drop our 32 bars 12- bar head again on muted trumpet Dynamics Link (based on Intro 2) • The intro is quite soft Style – Blues Uses a 12-bar blues chord sequence (although not the usual, basic one) 1. Trumpet (48 bars) • The trumpet uses a mute in the Head section, which makes Typical Jazz/Blues line up – rhythm section plus frontline saxes/trumpet Solos Link (based on Intro 2) it sound quieter and ‘far away’ Uses ‘jazz harmony’ – all the chords have added notes e.g. 7ths and 9ths. Improvised 2. Alto sax (48 bars) • First trumpet solo has lots dynamic variety as he plays with It was recorded in one take which meant the performers would need to Link (based on Intro 2) expression. 12-bar 3. Tenor sax (48 bars) know • Generally the trumpet solo is quite loud pattern Link (based on Intro 2)  Basic structure Melody repeated 4. Piano (24 bars)  Chord sequence 14 times Saxes play main riff after • The Head is the main melody of the piece  Number of solos • Trumpet plays the head  How long to improvise for • Two saxophones play the riff in the Head in an interval of a  Which modes to play Head Same as first Head section third apart.

• Chromatic notes are used in the melody (notes that are not 32 bars in the key of the piece)

• The melody is modal • Fades out Rhythmic devices Outro • Saxes play main riff again • Swung Three musical points about this piece that I like: • Trumpet plays a new riff 12 bars • Justify your points and use musical vocabulary. • is 6/4 Tonality: In the key of G throughout, but uses modal tonality. • of 156 BPM Chord Pattern: • Feel laid back as the bar is split into two slow beats