Jazz is a style of music that began in the late 1800s and early 1900s, it is still very popular

today. It began primarily in African Americancommunities but has spread all around

the world today. Because jazz spread so quickly around the world, today there are many styles of music that can be considered jazz. Let’s take a look at some of these

styles:

RagtimeBebop

Big BandLatin Jazz

Swing

Afro-CubanSmooth Jazz

Blues

• Improvisation: immediate “in the moment” composition

Characteristics:

• Syncopation: unexpected rhythms that can cause a piece to sound off-beat

• Swung Notes: notes that are written as equal durations that are actually played unequally, usually alternating long and short

The qualities and characteristics

that make a voice unique.

shimmering mellow calm dark

brightrich

resonant wavy

piercing

whiny breathy

dull muted fragile

thinshrill raspy brassy

harsh light clear warm

velvety lush pure

vibrantcoarse

gravely

George and Ira Gershwin were brothers born at the

end of the 1800s. The younger brother, George

wrote the melodies and the music. The older brother,

Ira, wrote the lyrics. Together they wrote many

famous jazz songs, Broadway shows, operas, and even music for films.

This piece is performed by Ella Fitzgerald, a famous jazz singer born in 1917. She was

known as the “Queen of Jazz,” and was great at improvising or scat singing. Scat singing

is making up a song on the spot with nonsense words like be, do, bop, and shoo-be-do.

1. Would you describe the singer’s voice as whiny and thin OR velvety and clear?

2. How would you describe the mood of this piece?

3. Where do you think you might hear a song like this? Why?

This song is performed by Louis Armstrong, who was

born in 1901. He was a famous jazz singer and trumpeter and is remembered for his skills in improvising and his

unique voice.

‘What a Wonderful World’ was written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss in 1967.

1. Which word does NOT describe the singer’s voice? rough, thin, coarse, or gravely

2. List one thing the singer sees in his wonderful world.

3. What are two things you see in your own

wonderful world?

Elvis Presley was a famous singer and actor

born in 1935. He is known as “the King of

Rock and Roll,” because most of his music was

rock. He was also known for using electric guitar and a choir in many of

his songs.

1. Name one instrument that you hear.

2. Write one word to describe the timbre of the singer’s voice.

3. Have you heard of Elvis Presley? If so, what other things do you know about him?

Babes in Arms is a musical written in 1937 by Richard Rogers and

Lorenz Hart. It is about a young man and woman who are trying to save a local theater from being torn down. In the end, they pay their debt and

the theater is saved.

This song is performed by Etta James, a famous jazz

singer and song writer born in 1938. She sang in

many styles including: jazz, gospel, blues, R&B,

rock & roll. Her voice was very soulful and deep, and

she could sing very low notes. That voice is called

contralto.

1. How would you describe the tempo of this piece?

2. Name one word to describe the timbre of the singer’s voice.

3. What words describe your

own singing voice? How is

your voice different from

this singer’s voice?

Franz Schubert was born in 1797. During his short life, he

wrote over 600 songs. Just think how many more songs he could have written if he had lived longer than 32 years!

This song, Ave Maria, is a prayer to express his love to the Virgin Mary; not because he was in love, but because he

respected her.

1. Is this piece performed by an orchestra or a choir?

2. Write one word that describes the timbre of the singer’s voice.

3. Is the style of this piece jazz? Why or why not? If not, do you know the name of this style?

John Legend is a famous singer-songwriter and actor. He was born in 1978 in Ohio,

and began taking piano lessons at age 7. He was also a member

or many choirs and singing groups as a young man.

Legend has performed many hits with popular artists like

Kanye West, Jay-Z, and Alicia Keys. He has won nine Grammy

awards.

1. Name one instrument that you hear.

2. Write one word that describes the timbre of the singer’s voice.

3. What is the mood of this piece? How do the instruments and voices help set the mood?