Articles Index

Stride

Stride is a style of piano jazz that originated in Harlem, New York during World War I.

Form

The form is the internal structure of a piece of jazz music.

Harmon Mute

Definition of "Harmon mute"

Modal Jazz

Definition of the jazz term "modal jazz"

Harmolodics

Harmolodics is an approach coined by Ornette Coleman, and associated with avant-garde jazz.

Scat Singing

Scat singing is a style of vocal jazz.

Vocal Jazz

Vocal jazz stems from the oral tradition of the blues.

Piano Roll

The piano roll was an early form of music storage.

Rent Party

Harlem rent parties helped elevate the importance of jazz in New York in the decades preceding World War II.

Killin'

"killin" is a word jazz musicians use to describe a particularly technically proficient artist.

The Head

The head is the composed portion of the jazz performance.

Bad

The use of "bad" in jazz is an example of using a word to mean its opposite.

Cat

"Cat" is a hip nickname for any jazz musician.

Swing

"Swing" refers to a style of jazz, a certain rhythmic quality, and an inexplicable quality of good music.

Free Jazz

Free Jazz is a style developed in the 1950s and 60s that marked a distinct departure from tradition.

Bridge

The bridge is a middle section in a jazz tune's form.

Comp

Comping is jazz lingo for "accompanying."

Rhythm Section

The part of the jazz ensemble that provides the pulse, beat, groove, and/or harmonic material of a tune.

Chord Changes

"Changes" refers to the way chords move from one to another in a piece of jazz music.

Blues

Blues is both a style of music and a formal structure in jazz.

Bebop

Bebop is a jazz style that was developed in the 1940s.

Ostinato

"Ostinato" is a term often used in music, but in Italian it means "stubborn."

Hot Jazz

Hot jazz was an early style popularized by Louis Armstrong.

Chorus

A chorus is a full cycle through the form of a jazz tune.

Hard Bop

Hard Bop was a style based on bebop that drew from other types of African American music.