What makes bebop unique

The combo is the perfect setting for featuring soloists, i. Jam sessions can be held anywhere, e. Bebop was and still is the music most played at jazz jam sessions because all the musicians need to know are the head the song's main melody and changes the song's chord progression 2. Whereas Big Band Swing was considered entertainment i.

Bebop musicians considered themselves artists, not merely entertainers. The most important scat singer was Ella Fitzgerald. Racism and segregation were rampant in America during the swing and bebop eras. Bebop reflected the culture of the times; like the African American experience at the time, the music:. In the history of entertainment, many artists have been faced with alcohol and drug addiction.

In the case of young jazz musicians, some, in their struggle to deal with racism, oppression, and related issues, became addicted to alcohol and drugs; some, in fact, met their demise due to alcohol abuse and drug abuse. Jazz greats who overcame their addictions have stated, contrary to popular belief, that alcohol and drugs never enhanced their musical performance. Cool Jazz. Hard Bop. Student Handout.

Test Bank. Answer Key. Not as common as its made out in bop practice, and certainly not unique to bop. Harmony gained equal footing with melody and rhythm western influence. Agreed 4. A sound instrumental technique was mandatory. I think Bird was meant to be one of the first players equally comfortable in all keys? A good ear and a quick mind were indispensable.

Well, yeah, but that's just what you need to be a good improvisor in any style. No great player lacks these qualities. I think the idea that this was an innovation of bop players is a bit - dismissive?

Eighth notes and sixteenth notes became the basic units of time. Agreed if you mean improv became more running 8th notes - but there were earlier players who were changes runners. Not as common. Horns aimed for clean, piano-like execution. Again, like 6. Everyone wanted to play like Bird. Players followed the trend toward the vibrato-less sound reducing the latitude and flexibility of sound production is another western concept.

As a practical consideration, virtuosity demands an unencumbered sound. An important precursor here was Lester Young, himself influenced by Frankie Trumbauer. The emphasis was more on content than on sound. This is a very interesting point.

Transcription remains a bedrock of study of jazz language, yet can only teach you 'content' - as Barry Harris points out all the great players had a characteristic sound - be they Prez or Yusef Lateef. This remains as true of contemporary jazz. Complex chords provided soloists with a broader harmonic base; making possible a greater variety of note choices and a higher incidence of chromaticism.

That Bud Powell example on the other thread aside - bop did not use 'complex chords' at least in accompaniment - mostly it used the same chords as swing - shell voicings etc, even simple majors and minors. The harmonic complexity was in the soloing see point 1.

The accompaniment remained harmonically simpler than the melodic soloing until the later 50s. Chords served as the improvisational referential rather than the melody. But again, some swing players were more chordal and some more melodic - it was a diverse time.

Bop was very much based on what one player did. Hot improvisation fast, intense, impassioned was the rule. Perhaps, esp in the case of Bird. But small band listening i. Collective improvisation was exclusively between the soloist and the rhythm section.

Polyphonic horns were still common in s small band music, but the historically confusing thing is the Dixieland revival anti-modern jazz backlash was in full Kenny Clark even plays on some of that stuff lol. It was common to hear polyphonic New Orleans style frontlines against swing rhythm sections. Bebop was primarily a small band music, but found some expression in a few select big bands. I think economics come into play here The electric guitar was kind of a big blow to the big band.

On one hand you had the new small band jazz, and the other dance bands with electric guitar that could pack out the dance halls with 5 or 6 players. Charlie Christian influenced both!

A broadened concept of chord substitution came into being; this helped to provide a broader harmonic base. It's hard for me to comment without comparing say, Tatum and Bird. Which I haven't done. I think chord subs often when analysing and playing swing. There some characteristic ones - Dm6 on G7, for instance. Django used some very fruity subs, for instance. The music moved ever closer to western european music because of its emphasis on harmony and instrumental facility and its increasing use of other western musical devices.

I have also heard the argument that Bop was much more African, because of the rhythmic complexity. The entire language of jazz was questioned, subtracted from, added to, purged, and reaffirmed. Purged is a good word. Again, unity of style based on one man's playing. Poly-rhythm became an important factor again.

Tell Billie that. The rhythm section became MUCH more polyrhythmic. The soloists? Well there was a rhythmic development certainly, but polyrhythm is one of the things that makes jazz sound like jazz, so it seems silly to argue that polyrhythm wasn't important to earlier jazz, like swing. Just think of Ellington and his 'doo wa doo wa doo wa. Bebop tended to codify all that had gone before; it is considered the common practice period in jazz. Maybe less so as that generation passes.

I think boppers now have quite an antiquarian outlook. And modern players don't always seem to do the bop thing - that said I think the good ones generally do, and jazz education somewhat enshrines bop and 'bop language' etc. Unison melody statements were the rule of thumb because the increasing harmonic complexities made counterpoint and secondary lines less feasible.

Some truth to it maybe - but I don't quite buy this narrative. Again bebop isn't necessarily more 'harmonically complex' than swing. I mean some tunes are heavily based on triads - for instance Anthropology. The sheer number of notes and the non repetitious nature of the compositions would make it harder to think of a harmony in thirds.

I also hear the unison line thing as an evolution of the way shout choruses, riffs and so on were used in swing bands. Basically the problem is you have two horns and you can't do harmony.

Four Brothers is a great example of a bop line harmonised in old school four way close. OTOH, swing small bands used unison lines. The break as a structural device regained popularity. If you say so. Can't say I've noticed this.

This is not a bop innovation. However the extent to which Parker's music is an organic patchwork of quoted material is easy to forget when we focus on the harmony. Bebop reduced melody to its essentials. Not sure if I understand this. But the lack of melodies may have been affected by copyright law. Melodic lines were scalar rather than chordal. Barry would agree I think. Improve this question. Anton dB Anton dB 4, 1 1 gold badge 21 21 silver badges 55 55 bronze badges. Add a comment.

Active Oldest Votes. Bebop can in general be characterized by the following stylistic elements: fast tempos complex, highly syncopated rhythms advanced harmony using chords with added higher intervals 9ths, 11ths, 13ths , diminished and augmented chords, etc. Improve this answer. Jan Johannsen Jan Johannsen 3 3 silver badges 16 16 bronze badges.

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