Jazz MusicEasier - Jazz is a type of lively music with strong, complex rhythms. It was first played at the beginning of the 20th century by black musicians in New Orleans, Louisiana. Jazz musicians often accent or add notes or beats in unusual or unexpected places. They make up tunes as they play. Jazz music has changed, and today there are many different forms of Jazz. Harder - Shortly after the turn of the 20th century, the earliest documented jazz music style emerged in New Orleans. Jazz began with a basic trio of musicians: a cornet, trumpet, or violin to carry the melody while a clarinet played ornate countermelodies, and the trombone provided rhythmic slides and the root notes of chords or simple harmonies. Below this group, there was a guitar or banjo sounding out the chords, sometimes a piano and/or a string bass, and drums supplying a rhythmic accompaniment. In theory these musicians and their instrument roles are the same as in other kinds of music, but jazz depends more on interpretation by individuals than on reproducing a fully annotated score. Jazz blends in improvisation and other elements of black music such as blues and ragtime to make a unique American music form. In jazz, musicians often play solos that they make up on the spot, or they reinterpret a given melody or chord sequence. When more than one musician is playing, the rhythms often become very complex. There is tremendous variety in jazz; the music is rhythmic, has a forward momentum called "swing," and employs "bent" or "blue" notes. One can often hear "call and response" patterns where one instrument, voice, or band section answers another. With a few exceptions found in some styles, most jazz is based on the principle that an endless number of melodies can fit the chord progressions of a song. Musicians improvise new melodies that fit the progressions. Other featured soloists follow with their improvisations for as many choruses as desired.
