Comparative Analysis Of Jazz And Baroque Music Styles

Throughout the course of music history, a variety of styles have evolved and influenced one another. From the beginning of time there has been a number of different styles that are new and fresh and others that are spin offs, or an evolution of previous genres. The newly evolved styles tend to have a tone that fits into the era they became popular. Two varying styles of music that fit the tone of their genre and have some similarities and differences in terms of composition, performance and audience target are Jazz, and baroque which had a great influence in the creation of opera music. In both styles, both Jazz and baroque composers played a role in overall performance, however their roles varied in importance. In Jazz music, improvisation is a large skill that is important for performers to add to a piece. Composers create shorter pre-composed pieces that are of little importance, because the real art comes from the improvisation of the performer. The audience will often expect that the piece is improvised and if there is a pre-composed piece it is often rare.

Therefore, composers play a small role in Jazz music. However, they are used to create a baseline for a piece. A melody and a few chords alongside are known as a “tune. ” This would be considered a baseline for a performance. They would play the tune for a few minutes and then the improvisations would start in order to lengthen the performance as well as give it the true Jazz feel. It is important to notice in a Jazz composition that there is often a little to nothing on the score. The notation is limited, the only things really there are the Key, and some time signatures, the rest is often left up to improvisation. Baroque, while not incredibly heavy on improvisation in the same way Jazz was, had a little bit of improve important to their style as well. This is referred to as ornamentation. This is a form of improve, but rather than improving a majority of the piece, performers will “embellish” the piece. The composers creating the piece would include a basic small composition expecting the performers to add extra notes and their own style to the piece. Similar to Jazz the ornamentations would be created on; the spot and would therefore be different each time. Baroque includes dramatic and expressive pieces, because of its dramatic aspect composers were relying mostly on Opera theatres for their finances. Composers in opera theatres were not seen during the performance, they were creating the music, but it was up to the performers to bring the piece to life.

As previously stated, the composers create the tune and melody of the piece, however the performers are really responsible for a lot of the piece. The piece would begin with the small composed portion of the piece followed by each musician performing a solo. During their solo they were accompanied by the rest of the musicians on the stage, they would base their improve section on the tune they played in the beginning. At the culmination of the performance the performers will repeat the original tune they first played. This method of playing is known as the head-solos-head format. Often in their Jazz pieces performers will often pay attention to the chords but will often pay attention to the first melody. Musicians will have their own interpretation to the original melody, and then add their own spin. When choosing a piece, Jazz musicians will often choose to improvise on a piece that is already popular, because they know everyone already enjoys the piece. Alongside Jazz, Baroque performers played a large role in the style. Since opera was a large part of Baroque performers were able to show off their technique and skill in their performances. Their skill set was especially prominent in short songs also known as arias. Some performers were so extremely talented they would actually have composers write songs specifically to show off their skill set. Some male performers of Baroque were successful performers because they had incredibly high pitched and young sounding voices. They were known as Castrati and would usually take on a powerful role in a performance, or even cross dress and play a female role. Often baroque performers would play the violin, flute and oboe as well as playing early versions of the key board during their performances. Jazz and baroque audiences, both have a very flexible and free audience appeal. Jazz is in an interesting place genre-wise, it is said to be a cross over between art music and popular music. That being said since it is popular music it can have a wide audience appeal, but also appeal to those who prefer more original music because of the heavy improvisation included. Also based on the history of Jazz it strongly resonated in the black community.

Due to the number of influences on Africa-American culture it includes, it is a prominent component in African-American culture. Baroque was envisioned as a large concert venue performance style. These are similar to opera houses today, however the behavior is different. Concert goers then would often socialize during the performances, whereas today they are expected to uphold manners and be respectful of the performances. All in all, Jazz and Baroque are both unique styles, and even these genres have some commonalities.