Appendix B: Complete Terminology & Concepts Reference
A
Altered Dominants
Dominant seventh chords with altered 5ths and/or 9ths (b5, #5, b9, #9). Common in bebop and later styles. Example: G7#5#9 in a ii-V-I progression. Creates tension resolving to the I chord.
Approach Notes
Notes that lead into a target note (usually a chord tone) by stepwise motion from above, below, or both. Creates melodic interest and emphasizes important notes. Common in bebop lines.
Arpeggios
Playing the notes of a chord sequentially rather than simultaneously. In jazz, often extended to include 7ths, 9ths, 11ths, and 13ths. Fundamental building block of jazz improvisation.
Augmented Chords
Chords with a raised (augmented) 5th. Symbol: C+ or Caug. Notes: C-E-G#. Creates tension; common in bebop and later styles. Symmetrical - any note can function as the root.
B
Bebop Language
The characteristic melodic vocabulary developed in the 1940s featuring eighth-note lines, chromatic approach notes, enclosures, and chord-tone oriented improvisation. Foundation for all modern jazz.
Bebop Scales
Scales with added chromatic passing tones that place chord tones on downbeats when playing continuous eighth notes:
- Bebop dominant: Mixolydian + major 7th
- Bebop major: Major scale + #5
- Bebop minor: Dorian + major 3rd
Blue Notes
Notes played or sung slightly flat (or with expressive pitch variation) in blues and jazz. Primarily the ♭3, ♭5, and ♭7. Not exactly the tempered minor intervals—somewhere between major and minor. Core of blues expression.
Blues Scale
Six-note scale: 1 - ♭3 - 4 - ♭5 - 5 - ♭7. Combines minor pentatonic with added ♭5 (“blue note”). Foundation of blues and jazz melody. Example in C: C - Eb - F - Gb - G - Bb.
C
Call-and-Response
A musical pattern where one musician or section plays a phrase (the “call”) and another musician or section answers (the “response”). Fundamental to African music traditions and central to jazz from its earliest forms. In big band swing, brass and reed sections often trade calls and responses. In blues and gospel, vocals and instruments engage in call-and-response dialogue.
Chord Extensions
Notes added above the basic triad or seventh chord: 9ths, 11ths, 13ths. Common in jazz harmony. Example: Cmaj9 = C-E-G-B-D. Creates richer, more colorful harmony.
Chord Progressions
Sequence of chords. Jazz uses progressions from:
- Blues (12-bar blues)
- Popular songs (ii-V-I, rhythm changes, standards)
- Original compositions
- Modal vamps (static or slow-moving)
Chromaticism
Use of notes outside the diatonic scale. Creates tension, color, and movement. Extensive chromaticism distinguishes bebop from swing. Includes chromatic approach notes, altered chords, and chromatic voice leading.
Collective Improvisation
Simultaneous improvisation by multiple musicians, each with a distinct role. Defining characteristic of New Orleans jazz (trumpet lead, clarinet countermelody, trombone bass line). Revisited in free jazz but with different approach.
Comping
Short for “accompanying.” Rhythmic chord playing behind a soloist, typically by piano or guitar. Responds to and interacts with the soloist. Essential skill for rhythm section players.
Contrafacts
New melodies composed over existing chord progressions. Common in bebop as way to avoid paying royalties while using familiar changes. Examples:
- “Ko-Ko” over “Cherokee”
- “Ornithology” over “How High the Moon”
- “Anthropology” over “I Got Rhythm”
Counterpoint
The art of combining multiple independent melodic lines that are harmonically interdependent but rhythmically and melodically distinct. Each line maintains its own character while contributing to the overall harmonic structure. In jazz, counterpoint appears in New Orleans collective improvisation (trumpet, clarinet, and trombone weaving independent lines), cool jazz arrangements influenced by Bach, and Third Stream compositions. Contrasts with homophonic texture where one melody dominates with accompaniment.
D
Diatonic
Music that uses only the notes of a single major or minor scale without chromatic alterations. Diatonic harmony stays “within the key.” Early jazz and ragtime were primarily diatonic; bebop introduced much more chromaticism.
Diminished Chords
Chords built from stacked minor 3rds. Diminished 7th: C-Eb-Gb-Bbb (enharmonic with A). Symmetrical—every note can function as root. Common as passing chords in bebop. Tense, unstable quality resolves to stable chords.
E
Eighth-Note Lines
Continuous streams of eighth notes, the primary texture of bebop improvisation. Creates flowing, horn-like quality. Requires stamina and harmonic knowledge to sustain over fast-changing harmonies.
Enclosures
Melodic technique surrounding a target note from above and below. Can be chromatic, diatonic, or mixed. Creates the angular, non-linear quality of bebop melody.
F
Four-Beat Feel
All four beats of the bar felt equally, as opposed to two-beat feel (emphasis on 1 and 3). Characteristic of swing era and all jazz after. Created by walking bass and drummer’s ride cymbal.
H
Homophonic
A musical texture where one primary melody is supported by harmonic accompaniment (chords). Most popular music and much of jazz uses homophonic texture: a soloist plays melody while the rhythm section provides harmonic support. Contrasts with polyphonic texture (multiple independent melodies) and monophonic texture (single unaccompanied melody). Swing era big bands shifted from New Orleans’s polyphonic collective improvisation to homophonic arrangements with featured soloists.
I
ii-V-I Progression
The most common chord progression in jazz. In the key of C: Dm7 - G7 - Cmaj7. Derived from classical harmony but central to jazz. Bebop and later styles reharmonize with extensions and alterations. Foundation for learning jazz harmony and improvisation.
M
Modulation
Changing from one key to another within a piece. In ragtime, modulation typically occurs between strains, often moving to the subdominant (IV) key. Jazz uses various techniques for modulation including ii-V-I progressions and pivot chords.
Modal Jazz
Jazz based on modes (scales) rather than complex chord progressions. Emerged in late 1950s (Miles Davis’s “Kind of Blue”). Instead of rapidly changing chords, modal jazz uses one or two modes per section, creating static or slowly-moving harmony. Allows improvisers to explore melodic and rhythmic possibilities without constant harmonic change. Key works: “So What,” “Impressions,” John Coltrane’s sheets of sound over modal vamps.
Modes
Seven-note scales derived from the major scale, each starting on a different degree:
- Ionian: Major scale (C-D-E-F-G-A-B)
- Dorian: Minor with raised 6th (D-E-F-G-A-B-C)
- Phrygian: Minor with lowered 2nd (E-F-G-A-B-C-D)
- Lydian: Major with raised 4th (F-G-A-B-C-D-E)
- Mixolydian: Major with lowered 7th (G-A-B-C-D-E-F)
- Aeolian: Natural minor (A-B-C-D-E-F-G)
- Locrian: Diminished (B-C-D-E-F-G-A)
Became the basis for modal jazz in the late 1950s-60s.
Multi-Strain Form
A compositional structure with multiple distinct melodic sections (strains), each typically 16 bars long. Borrowed from march form, it was the standard structure for ragtime pieces. Pattern example: AA BB A CC DD, where each letter represents a different melodic theme.
P
Polyphonic
A musical texture featuring multiple independent melodic lines played simultaneously, each with its own rhythmic and melodic identity. The defining characteristic of New Orleans jazz collective improvisation, where trumpet, clarinet, and trombone each played distinct melodic roles while creating a coherent whole. Also called “polyphony.” Contrasts with homophonic texture (melody with accompaniment). Bach’s fugues are classic examples from classical music.
R
Riff
A short, repeated melodic phrase, typically 2-4 bars long. Central to big band swing, particularly Kansas City style bands like Count Basie’s. Riffs can be simple blues-based phrases passed between sections (call-and-response), layered to create texture, or used as the main theme of a composition. Riff-based tunes include “One O’Clock Jump” and “Jumpin’ at the Woodside.” Also used in bebop heads and throughout jazz history.
Reharmonization
Substituting different chords for the original harmony while maintaining (or enhancing) the melodic structure. Bebop musicians frequently reharmonized standards, adding ii-V progressions and altered chords. Continues to be important improvisational and compositional technique.
Rhythm Changes
Chord progression from “I Got Rhythm” (Gershwin). Hundreds of bebop tunes use these changes (such as “Anthropology” and “Oleo”). Essential learning for jazz musicians. The basic progression in Bb: | Bb | Bb | Bb | Bb7 | Eb | Eb | Bb | Bb | Cm7 | F7 | Bb | Bb | (with bridge typically going to dominant of relative minor).
Ride Cymbal Pattern
Drummer’s time-keeping pattern on the ride cymbal, typically: “ding-ding-a-ding, ding-ding-a-ding” (swing rhythm on ride). Replaced bass drum as primary time-keeper in bebop. Creates lighter, more flexible swing feel.
S
Scat Singing
Vocal improvisation using nonsense syllables instead of lyrics. Allows voice to function like an instrument. Popularized by Louis Armstrong, mastered by Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and others.
Secondary Dominants
Dominant seventh chords that temporarily tonicize a chord other than the tonic. For example, in C major, A7 is a secondary dominant (V7/ii) that resolves to Dm. Used in ragtime for modulation between strains and throughout jazz for harmonic color and movement.
Stride Piano
Left-hand piano technique where bass notes/octaves alternate with mid-register chords: bass (beats 1&3), chord (beats 2&4). Creates “striding” motion. Evolved from ragtime, prominent in swing era. Example: James P. Johnson, Fats Waller.
Subdominant
The fourth degree of a scale, or the chord built on that degree (IV). In C major, the subdominant is F. In ragtime, pieces often modulate to the subdominant key for contrasting strains. The subdominant creates a sense of moving “away” from the tonic without the strong pull of the dominant.
Swing Rhythm
The fundamental rhythmic feel of jazz: eighth notes played unevenly (long-short, roughly 2:1 ratio like a triplet). Creates propulsive, lilting quality. Not strictly quantifiable—internalized feel. Notated eighth notes are “swung” in performance.
Syncopation
Placing rhythmic emphasis on weak beats or offbeats rather than strong beats (1 and 3). Creates rhythmic tension and interest. Fundamental to all jazz, from ragtime through contemporary styles. Distinguishes jazz from much classical and popular music.
T
Trading Fours/Eights
Soloists alternating 4-bar (or 8-bar) phrases with each other or with the drummer. Standard practice in bebop and later styles. Creates musical dialogue and builds excitement. Often happens during final choruses.
Tritone Substitution
Replacing a dominant chord with another dominant chord a tritone (3 whole steps/6 half steps) away. Example: Db7 substitutes for G7 (both resolving to C). Works because tritone (interval of 3 whole steps) is the same in both chords. Common in bebop and all modern jazz.
Twelve-Bar Blues
Standard blues form: 12 measures following harmonic pattern. Basic form in C:
| C7 | C7 | C7 | C7 |
| F7 | F7 | C7 | C7 |
| G7 | F7 | C7 | C7 |
(or G7 on bar 12 for turnaround)
Foundation of jazz. Infinite variations exist (bebop blues, jazz blues, minor blues).
Two-Beat Feel
Emphasis on beats 1 and 3 (rather than all four beats). Characteristic of New Orleans jazz and early swing. Bass typically plays on 1 and 3, creating bouncing quality. Contrast with four-beat feel of mature swing and later styles.
U
Upper Structure Triads
Triads built on upper extensions of chords. Example: Over Cmaj9, play an Em triad (E-G-B) = the 3rd, 5th, and 7th of Cmaj7. Creates rich voicings. Common in bebop and later piano and horn voicings.
V
Vibrato
A slight, regular fluctuation in pitch that adds warmth, expression, and character to a sustained note. Every jazz musician develops their own vibrato style. Sidney Bechet’s wide, fast vibrato was distinctive; Miles Davis used minimal vibrato for a cooler sound; Coleman Hawkins had a pronounced, emotional vibrato. Classical and jazz vibrato differ in speed, width, and when it’s applied. Vibrato technique is crucial for expressing emotion and developing personal sound.
Vocalese
Adding lyrics to existing instrumental jazz solos. Requires singing complex bebop or later lines with words. Pioneered by Eddie Jefferson, popularized by Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. Example: Jon Hendricks’s lyrics to famous solos.
W
Walking Bass
Bass line that:
- Plays all four quarter notes per measure
- Outlines chord changes
- Creates smooth voice leading
- Propels the rhythm forward
Standard in swing and all jazz after. Creates the four-beat feel essential to jazz rhythm.