Flashcards

All Blues Miles Davis: structure, melody and harmony

Helen Shaw Music GCSE English 8 cards

Cards in this deck (8)

1Miles Davis: All BluesReleased in 1959.
Comes from the album Kind of blue.
The band is a sextet.
2InstrumentationThe front line:
1. Miles Davis on trumpet
2. Julian 'cannonball' Adderley on alto saxophone.
3. John Coltrane on tenor saxophone.
The rhythm section:
4. Bill Evans on piano
5. Paul Chambers on bass.
6. Jimmy Cobb on drums.
3StructureIntroduction - opening 4 bars
Head 1 - head melody
Solos - for trumpet, alto sax, tenor sax and piano
Head 2 - head melody, followed by riff
Coda - a solo for muted trumpet
4MelodyHead melody is simple and characterised by rising 6ths, followed by 4 improvised solos:
1. Trumpet solo: last 4 choruses - short, syncopated motifs.
2. Alto sax solo: quicker notes and wider range.
3. Tenor Sax solo: uses fast scales and quick runs
4. Piano solo: calmer with simple melody that leads into a string of parallel chords.
5HarmonyBased on 12 - bar blues sequence, which is repeated throughout the piece.
G major but with flattened seventh.
6TonalityAn example of Modal Jazz
7Rhythm, Metre and TempoIn 6/4. The tempo is a jazz waltz.
Performed with swing quavers.
Frequent syncopation.
8Instrumental TechniquesSnare drum played with wire brushes
Bass plays pizzicato throughout
trumpet played with Harmon mute
piano plays tremolo

Description: GCSE Music Flashcards on Untitled, created by Helen Shaw on 07/06/2017.
Created by: Helen Shaw
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