The Characteristics of the Two Styles Compared
- Typical for the Baroque was the continuity of certain elements such as the rhythm, melody or o mood.
- For the rhythm, harmonic phrases (called the figured bass or basso continuo) were repeated throughout the whole piece and served to accompany the different melodies and rhythms of other instruments.
- The main melody was presented at the beginning of the piece and then played over again. It was varied through ornamentation, cadences, modulation, chromaticism, and other techniques, however always brought back in its original form.
- In jazz, continuous features are also applied: the melody is introduced at the beginning (called the “head”) and repeated throughout the piece.
There also appear regular motifs and ostinatos in the harmony so that the musicians have a base on which to improvise. The instruments that keep the rhythm are usually guitar, drums and piano.
*The difference is that in Baroque, emphasis was placed on rich tonal harmony due to the development of the counterpoint, while in jazz the harmony serves only to accompany the main voice.*
- An example of the repetitive elements of jazz is the riff, a type of basso ostinato which provides the foundation of the piece.
- The riff appears for example in the song Chameleon by Herbie Hancock (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcjkA5ZAWQo)
- In Baroque, a similar form was the ritornello, a recurring passage for the orchestra or chorus; often the opening theme or first movement of a solo concerto, played tutti, which is later on repeated in the composition in between sections, with key modulations and either in whole or only part.
- It focused on the contrast between two musical ideas- one belonging to the orchestra (the repetition played tutti) and one to the soloist (sections in between)
- Jazz styles that have adopted this form are for example the blues, the New Orleans style, the Bebop, free jazz or jazz rock:
· the typical blues consists of 3-line stanzas, each with a harmonic framework usually 12 bars long (the "12-bar blues") which involved three basic chords
· the New Orleans style usually consisted of a front line of melodic instruments (cornet/trumpet/clarinet/trombone) supported by a rhythm section (drums, piano, banjo, guitar) and a single-line low instrument (tuba/plucked bass)
· the Bebop also incorporated a solo instrument supported by a rhythm section; a Bebop performance began and ended with a statement of the main theme by a soloist
- This is similar to the ritornello, however played solo and not tutti
- Another style is free jazz which was to full extent improvised, however it was not based on regular forms or chord progression.
- Lastly, jazz rock (fusion) combined the musician's improvisatory skills with regular rock rhythms and tone colors, also including the repetition of specific rhythmic figures
