Author: Skylar Moore

Jazz music is known for its syncopation, swing style and rhythm & blues element. Yet there is much more to it than just that. There are other elements of this genre of music that make it unique in its makeup. They include, among others, what is known as bent notes. The jazz musician will undoubtedly use a strange amalgam of notes. They can bend and modulate a message till it is a vastly different version of its original form. It makes the letter rather enjoyable to listen to. What this does is change the pitch of the sound so that it goes into the offbeat mode. The music enters a strange territory where the standard Western scale of notes becomes outdated. These bent notes give jazz music its superior quality, its unique selling point, and most of all, its vim and vigour. Sally from Polished Concrete Sydney loves jazz music; she always buys tickets to jazz concerts that happen in Sydney all year round.

Also, we now come to the second characteristic, which is the case of new modes. Modes are a variety of scales and a bouquet of notes gathered under a single rubric. These scales are chromatic and take inspiration from other foreign cultures such as India, Africa and Arabia.

Then the third trait comes to mind, and it is exceptional voice modulation. Like we all have our very own voice, jazz musicians also have a unique quality of singing. The tone, cadence and melodic rhythm all
enter this equation. It is organic and cannot precisely be dissected. As far as rhythm is concerned in jazz, it is all about jazz musicians being sultans of swing. The swing style is a tricky thing to master. Yet jazz maestros routinely accomplish it with little ado.

Swing, when combined with syncopation, lends jazz its edge. It is what makes it cool and the “in” thing. While classical music and jazz are poles apart, both can be tonal or atonal. The alteration of chords and substitution of scales all work their wonders in jazz. Colourful harmonics further achieve a whole new brand of jazz music that stimulates and celebrates the freedom possible in between the sounds and silence.

What began as slave songs in the Deep South of the United States of America went through several changes over time to emerge as jazz music. Brass orchestras, rhythm and blues and ragtime all combined in one massive round of applause to create the thing called jazz. Also, complex chords and call and response vocals play a huge role in jazz. African and Western elements combined in a crucible where Cuban music also mingled in it later on. Then there were other influences such as what took place in New Orleans, the Dixieland Renaissance and modern inputs. All in all, these went on to crystallize and solidify what began as a very experimental style of music. Today jazz has come a long way and comparing present-day jazz to the earliest efforts is like judging the difference between a Jumbo Jet aeroplane and a Wright Brothers aeroplane.

A jazz jamming session may employ several musical instruments which combine to create the magic. No single musical instrument does justice to Jazz. A large plethora of music-creating gadgets will make the beauty and grandeur of Jazz possible. What evolved in the South and unique compound of East and West had changed radically. Over the times with a little friction from the environment.

The following is a list of the primary instruments used in jazz music:

• Upright Bass: The strings are plucked to create notes which are relevant to Jazz. By sitting behind this huge instrument, the player handles the four hair strings on this musical gizmo. The whole art of accomplishing this is known as Pizzicato. 
• Percussion Instruments: This source of drumbeat makes for the rhythm and flow in a jazz session. The drum reminds one of Africa, the home of bongo drums. There are tomtom drums as well, and these are divided into wide and low variety. A bass drum which contains a foot pedal comes in handy here. Another example is snare drums which are struck with twin sticks. 
• Piano: The sturdy yet sleek notes from this beautiful and elegant instrument cannot be matched by any other. It is a flexible instrument worthy of the multiple messages it can create on a long term basis. High and low notes may be mixed out of the pianoforte with its various keys. It is a favourite of both youngsters and mature people. They are capable of creating upbeat and funky notes as well.  
• Trumpet: One is reminded of Louis Armstrong with his swollen cheeks when one thinks of the trumpet. It had several transformations made during the Renaissance Period in history, yet the prototype is far more ancient than this. It can be said to be the most famous of jazz instruments. Jazz has become synonymous with the trumpet. Like the previous instrument, the piano, the trumpet is ideal for newbies who want to dabble into Jazz. Its original usage was in the army. Ancient people used to employ animal horns as trumpets. 
• Trombone: It resembles a trumpet, and its operational features are similar as well. The only main difference is that a slide exists on the trombone. You can alternate between this instrument and a trumpet during a jazz session. A trombone is usually played in the bass or treble clef, making for a genuinely groovy musical experience. John from Bathroom Renovations Newcastle is a very good trombone player in the Hunter Region area.
• Saxophone:  Looks like a clarinet and happens to be way up on top of the instruments that are a signature strength of jazz music. Takes only a single note each time you blow into it. Comes in a variety of dimensions and forms. These include the soprano, alto and tenor. Also, the supreme type of saxophone used in Jazz is the baritone saxophone.  
• Cymbals: These two plate-shaped metallic instruments are clashed to produce a sound of crashing bells.
• Clarinet: A product of the Romantic Movement times was a specialty of individual composers like Brahms. Today it is used in jazz music sessions as well.  
• Guitar: The fretwork on a guitar allows for a jazz musician to play limitless notes on it. A guitar is the standard instrument for musicians. The sort of guitar utilized in Jazz is the kind with a hollow structure. 

A few other instruments used in the developing period of Jazz were the tuba and the banjo. In the modern and postmodern age, a favourite of jazz musicians happens to be the electric guitar. 

Many a novice has the wish to play jazz, but they gave up the pursuit due to lack of information. It is sad since jazz isn’t exactly rocket science. Almost anyone with a little bit of IQ and effort could manage to learn how to play it. While in the advanced forms, it is a bit complex, it is not very difficult for the beginner to master. All you need is some enthusiasm and elbow grease.

To start, you need to listen to a ton of jazz music videos. This way you will get acquainted with the basics of jazz music. You will learn its context and content. Among some of the great maestros, you ought to listen to include:

● Louis Armstrong
● Miles Davis
● John Coltrane
● Charlie Parker
● Duke Ellington
● Wes Montgomery
● Dizzy Gillespie
● Lee Morgan
● Bill Evans
● Ray Brown
● Herbie Hancock

Immerse yourself in the music and you will get to identify some of the extraneous influences on the particular type of jazz music you are listening to. Next up, go deep down into the history of jazz. You will discover that there is more than what meets the eye. For one thing, many styles and subgenres exist. There are the nascent pioneers and then.

Other eras such as the swing style, the bebop wave, the hard and cool bop, fusion element and finally modern jazz. Please get to know where jazz
musicians get their inspiration from. The various repertoires will inspire you to get your act together as well. The basic chords and other jazz
style standards will allow you to learn the ropes when it comes to playing this offbeat genre of music.

Most of all, get to know the ABCs of jazz music. In the beginning, it will be a rickety and broken process, but with time, you will get
to understand the ins and outs. It is like learning how to ride a bicycle. Many beginners find out that they can easily play by ear alone. It is an
advantage, indeed. Explore the academic standards before you jump into the practical process. The scale, the pitch, seventh chords, and extensions and chord progressions all come into this mixture.

Once you have all of this under your belt, you can move on to trying out jazz experiments with real instruments solo and with other like-minded
players. It is indeed a fun thing to do since now you can finally get a grip. These jamming sessions will build your skills till they are sharp as a razor
blade.

As you progress in the field, you will get to know many things about jazz music. You will be surprised to learn that jazz wouldn’t exist in its present-day state without Africans and Africa’s contribution. Such terms as syncopation, polyrhythmic beats, percussion instruments and Black American spirituals all left their impact on jazz music. Since society’s fringe elements championed jazz, many elitist people label it as destructive or anti-music. This is not necessarily true. Just because it is experimental music doesn’t make it anything but chaos. Love it or hate it, you can’t ignore jazz music. Its presence is virtually everywhere today.

Start with the guitar riffs or the piano sessions. Remember the process takes time, so don’t lose your patience if you don’t get it right the first time around. While a tutor may be helpful, try some solo work as well. Also, get a feel for the music. You will discover that there are many layers to it. Soon you will have solid jazz music training under your belt, and then it is a case of today India, tomorrow the world!

There is such a variety of styles of jazz music. Also, the components of these styles are innumerable. There is something about jazz that differentiates it
from other kinds of musicology. While jazz has had several influences upon it, it has remained a holistic form of music in itself. One element of jazz
is syncopation. One of the earliest pioneers of jazz music was Louis Armstrong. He is famous for saying that if you have to ask what jazz is, you will never really get to know it. Among the various sub-
components of jazz that developed under his direction and that of later musicians are rhythm and blues, swing style, and free creativity.

The introduction of self-styled changes in the music while playing it is not necessarily a feature of jazz alone. It used to exist in age-old music from the
Indian Subcontinent, Africa and Asia. Even such composers with name and fame as Beethoven, Mozart and Bach all used to improvise time after
time in their works. Syncopation meanwhile prevents the music from going stale and humdrum in its monotony. The idea is for the music to act as an axe to destroy the listener’s frozen sea of emotions.

Coming to swing. The eighth note lends more harmony and beats to the style of swing. These eighth notes arrive in a form known as triplets. Jazz
musicians and drummers often refer to these three beats as spang-a-lang. Swing has a “chill out” aura about it. It goes way ahead of rhythm. Jazz has had a mixed history with many elitist people looking down their noses upon it. However, others have taken to it like a duck to water and have
championed it as natural and free music. Jazz is a singularly American style of music which has borrowed a lot from the Deep South. Some of the
critical points of jazz are: walking bass, Scatman-style singing, comping, stabs, glissando and intervals from the music.

It is not just what you play in jazz; it is also all about how you play it. That is what differentiates it from other music. The history of jazz goes back a hundred years or so. It is a fusion of many styles and hence a colourful form of music. So once again to recount the five main elements of jazz; they could be said to comprise:

● Syncopation
● Harmony
● Improvisation
● Swing
● Blues

Both African styles and European music combined to produce jazz music over the years of its evolution. The thing is, there are no hard and
fast rules about jazz. Like deconstruction, the literary form of criticism engendered by Jacques Derrida, it is not anything firm or fixed in time. The
moment you try to pin it down on the dissection table, it escapes your grasp. Jazz is ever-changing in its form and will always elude the rule-makers. That is because jazz is a movement in music brought about
by rule-breakers. What began in New Orleans didn’t stay in New Orleans but spread throughout the Global Village.

We can say about jazz, though with any degree of certainty, it is very creative. To be creative means to think outside the box. That is
why it is so hard to define with precision. It is free-flowing music without the chains. Therein lie its beauty and its power as well.