Jazz Comparison Between Oscar Peterson and Chick Corea in Their Piano Improvisation(Seni-final)
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Transcript of Jazz Comparison Between Oscar Peterson and Chick Corea in Their Piano Improvisation(Seni-final)
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Transform Oscar Peterson and Chick
Corea piano improvisation through
Autumn Leaves into Jazz Pedagogy
ABSTRACT
Jazz education needs to be improved in Hong Kong in terms of both
quantity and quality. This study gives jazz instructors a
demonstration of teaching jazz in an effective way. By using a
numbering system, transcriptions and tables of analysis, students,
especially beginners, will gain a clear and organized material for
practice. Oscar Peterson and Chick Corea are chosen to be examples
in this study. Since jazz theory cannot be heard, music analysis is
necessary to jazz study in order to avoid missing musical
information while listening to CDs. The result gives abundant
materials for students to practice and they will be able to learn
different styles of jazz musicians. This method can motivate them to
do music analysis and transcription by themselves, which can
strengthen students musicianship and allow them to gain fulfillment
from their jazz practice.
BACKGROUND
This paper helps jazz instructors to have a brief idea on how they
could prepare for a series of jazz lessons by analyzing the works of
jazz musicians. By referring to this analysis, it is hoped that
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instructors will have more confidence in their jazz education
method. Moreover, students will be able to extract useful
information which can help in their practice, performance, further
education and even composing their own music.
Jazz is not popular in Hong Kong. Aitken (2007) stated that he had
put a big effort on introducing jazz music to mainland China, and
Hong Kong was one of his stations during this trip. In September
2006, he conducted a jazz concert in Hong Kong that featured Hong
Kong international schools jazz ensembles. Jazz education in Hong
Kong is lackluster (Chung, 2012). More jazz educators are needed
in Hong Kong. Furthermore, the methodology of teaching jazz
instruments is also significant since jazz education is quite new in
Hong Kong. Music analysis is very important in the jazz learning
process. Brewer (2011) pointed out that music analysis has been
known as a critical learning process. A brief image of the
characterizations of a particular jazz musician is also significant.
Instructors have responsibilities to give an introduction of music
analysis to their students. After discussions on several jazz
musicians, students will have a clear idea on their preference of
characteristic and musical language. At the same time, instructors
will be more able to lead their students on a sturdy jazz learning
journey.
THE NEED FOR THIS STUDY
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Jazz musicians listen to plenty of music recordings and video
recordings to seek for improvement in their musical languages and
improvisations. In addition to improving the sense of hearing, the
ability to look at transcriptions and music analysis is also important.
This visual process should be completed after students listen to CDs
and before they start practicing their instrument.
Music analysis is needed to avoid the missing information while
listening to CDs. In this process, musical sound is transformed into a
written language. In this way, instructors and students will be more
able to read the music in a theoretical approach. Instructors can also
present music information more accurately.
For those beginners and intermediate students who lack abilities to
make transcriptions and music analyses by themselves, these
musical analyses will be critical resources.
LIMITATION OF THIS STUDY
Oscar Peterson and Chick Corea are chosen as demonstration in this
study because of their different styles of improvisation. In fact, any
musician can be used as the target for analysis. It is necessary for
instructors to choose appropriate musicians to analyze with
students by considering students characteristics and learning
approach.
Piano is not the only instrument that can be used, but it is the most
common form of music instrument that students will come across. It
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is possible for all instrumental instructors to teach with these
methods.
There will be only one solo analysis for each musician for
demonstration purpose. Instructors may decide to do a complete
version of a CD recording or a live recording for more detailed
materials.
Autumn Leaves is chosen because it is the song recorded by the two
target pianists.
THE TWO PIANISTS
Oscar Emmanuel Peterson
In the year of 1925, Oscar Emmanuel Peterson was born in Canada.
As a well-known jazz pianist, a critical influence on little Peterson
started from his father Daniel Peterson and his sister Daisy Peterson.
Being Petersons first music teacher, his father taught him trumpet
while he was in five but unfortunately he stopped two years later
due to the bout of tuberculosis. After the disease, Peterson turned
all his focus on piano playing. He studied piano with his sister. Later
on, he had an opportunity to study with a Hungarian pianist called
Paul de Marky,who was himself the disciple of a disciple of Franz
Liszt. Peterson had a steady classical piano technique and on top of
these piano lessons, he started learning ragtime music, especially
the Boogie-Woogie piano style.
He absorbed a lot of different musical styles into his jazz music. The
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most representable influence was the music from Art Tatum after he
had heard his father playing Tatums work Tiger Rag. Peterson was
not only influenced by the modern time musicians (Universal Music
Group, 2012). Instead, he insisted on playing baroque music,
especially the Prelude and Fugue composed by Johann Sebastian
Bach. As a teacher, Peterson did not stop asking his students to play
the Well-Tempered-Clavierwhen he was teaching in the Advanced
School of Contemporary Music in Toronto and the York University.
His career started from joining a jazz project which was held by
Norman Granz. The project gave Peterson an opportunity to perform
as a jazz pianist through radios, concerts, jazz clubs etc. Peterson
commenced the wonderful journey and met a lot of jazz musicians
and composers in his further career including his idol Art Tatum and
as a brilliant musician and teacher himself, he influenced many jazz
musicians and committed his whole life to jazz music and jazz
education. He died in December 2007.
Armondo Anthony Chick Corea
Chick Corea was born in Massachusetts in the U.S.A. in 1941. Like
Oscar Peterson, Coreas father was also a trumpet player and
apparently was one of the first inspiring musicians to the little
Corea.
Corea learnt piano on his own when he was just four by exploring
and composing music in his own sound. He listened to jazz
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musicians such as Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Horace Silver and
Dizzy Gillespie. He learnt plenty of musical elements and put them
into his music and this made him start doing concerts when he was
just in high school.
Corea developed a brilliant jazz piano technique during his
childhood and he decided to ask for further musical education. After
a critical influence by taking private lessons with a concert pianist
Salvatore Sullowhen Corea was eight, he determined to study music
at the Columbia University and also the Juilliard School. Eventually,
he quit both schools due to some unsatisfactory causes.
Corea started his career in the early 60s. He had an opportunity to
attend a professional performance with great jazz musicians such as
Cab Calloway, Herbie Mann, Mongo Santamaria, Blue Mitchell and
Williw Bobo. Corea released his first album Tones for Joans Bones
when he was 25 years old. He started to present to the public his
musical language emphasizing the Latin and swing music style he
had invented (Wikipedia, 2012).
Corea participated in an innovative organization called Avant Garde.
During the three-year period, he tried to create new music elements
and at the same time, he explored jazz fusion and input Latin jazz
elements into his music. One of the most representable pieces
called Spain was one of the very famous tunes composed by Core in
1972. This tune was played and recorded by many different jazz
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musicians and even Corea himself recorded his tune in various
versions as well.
Coreas music influenced the style of jazz rock fusion and he also
input lots of pentatonic elements into his music. He was one of the
jazz musicians advocated making sound effect on instruments, as
some classical musicians such as John Cage did. He made special
sound by putting his left hand fingers on the piano strings while the
right hand playing on the same note. Corea regularly used these
techniques to create rhythmic patterns or other new elements to
create his own music and due to his creativity in music making, he
became one of the best jazz pianists and musicians in the present
day.
METHOD
Autumn Leaves is chosen to be used to compare the different
improvisation approaches between Oscar Peterson and Chick Coera,
presenting the two piano transcriptions on how and what the two
musicians are doing in the same piece according to the jazz
standard.
By exploring the improvisation of these two pianists, their licks, note
patterns, scales, motives and jazz theories were transcribed. This
analysis helps students have a brief idea on how these two jazz
pianists sound like and how they approach their music. At the same
time, students can taste their music in the analysis. After reading
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the scores and table in a systematic way, students will have an idea
on how different pianists improvised.
The tables below show what musical elements are happening in
each bar of the works of the two jazz pianists. The aim of this
analysis is to focus on the findings of how the great musicians
recorded their own CD recording.
Numbering system
The scale of chords will be presented by numbering system.
Take an example on the chord C minor 7th , the scale and notes of
C minor 7th are
C, D, Eb, F, G, A, Bb, C. These notes will be represented by 1, 2, b3,
4, 5, 6, b7, 1 respectively.
Scales degree of chord qualities
Minor 7th (Dorian) 1, 2, b3, 4, 5, 6, b7, 1
Major 7th (Ionian) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 1
Minor 7th b5 (Locrian) 1, b2, b3, 4, b5, b6, b7, 1
Dominant 7th (Mixolydian) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 b7, 1
Scales
Blues scale 1, b3, 4, #4, 5, b7, 1
Octatonic scale 1, 2 ,b3, 4, b5, b6, 6,b7, 1
Applications
Licks, four note patterns, and other materials can be applied
elsewhere with the same chord quality. For example, materials in a
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C minor 7th chord can be applied into all minor chords.
FINDINGS
Oscar Peterson recording from London House Chicago 1962
Bar
no.
Chord
and
quality
Oscar Peterson
(first solo)
1(A) C Minor 7th licks (b3,5,b7,7,2,1)
Four note pattern (2,b3,5,b7)
2 F Dominant
7th
Three note pattern (4, #5, 6)
3 Bb Major 7th Dominant 7th arpeggios (Descending) build
up on the (1) of the chord.
4 Eb Major 7th Minor 7th Arpeggio (Ascending) build up on
the (2) of the chord.
5 A Minor 7th
b5
Locrian scale (Descending) starting on
(b5)
Licks (4,2,b3,3,4)
Four note pattern (4,b5,b7,b2)
6 D Dominant
7th
Licks (6,b7,2,4,6,b6,3,1,7,b7)
7 G Minor 7th Four note pattern (2,1,5,b3)
Four note pattern (1,6,1,5,1)
8 G Minor 7th Blue scales (Ascending) starting on (1)
9(A) C Minor 7th Four note pattern (5,4,2,b3)
10 F Dominant
7th
Blues scale starting on (4)
11 Bb Major 7th Blues scale beginning starting on (1)
12 Eb Major 7th Major Arpeggios (Ascending) starting on (3)
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(3,5,1,3,5)
13 A Minor 7th
b5
Pentatonic scale (Ascending) build up on the
(b5) of the chord.
Licks (2,4,b3,2,b3)
14 D Dominant
7th
Licks (b7,2,3,4,6,b6)
15 G Minor 7th Blues scale starting on (1)
16 G Minor 7th Blue scale (Ascending) build up on the (6) of
the chord and starting on (b7)
17(B) A Minor 7th
b5
Four note Pattern (b2,b3,b2,b7)
Four note Pattern (b6,b7,b6,4)
18 D Dominant
7th
(4) Blues scale (Descending) build up on the
(4) of the chord and starting on (b3)
19 G Minor 7th (6) Blue scale build up on the (6) of the
chord starting on (1)
20 G Minor 7th Parallel major arpeggios (Ascending) starting
on (1)
21 C Minor 7th Licks (5,7,2,1)
Minor arpeggios and scale (Descending)
starting on (1)
22 F Dominant
7th
blues scale/licks build up on the (2) of
the chord (b7,1,1,b3,5,#4,4)
Chromatic scale (Descending)23 Bb Major 7th blues scale/licks build up on the (6) of
the chord (#4,5,b7,b2,1,b7,b3)
24 Eb Major 7th Minor arpeggios (Ascending) build up on the
(6) of the chord
25(B) A Minor 7th
b5
Chromatic Materials
Pentatonic scale (Descending) build up on
the (b5) of the chord
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26 D Dominant
7th
Mixolydian scale (Descending) starting on (1)
27 G Minor 7th Minor arpeggios (Descending) build up on (7)
of the chord
28 G Minor 7th four note pattern (2,b3,5,b7)
29 A Minor 7th
b5
Pentatonic scale (Descending) build up on
the (b5) of the chord and starting on (b5)
30 D Dominant
7th
Licks (6,1,717,b7)
31 G Minor 7th Blues scale build up on the (6) of the chord
32 G Minor 7th Blues scale/licks build up on the (6) of
the chord
(b3,#4,5, b7,6)
Chick Corea Recording form the Album Rendezvous in New York
Bar
no.
Chord
quality
Chick Corea
(first solo)
97(A) C Minor 7th Arpeggios on (9,13,11)
Replace the b5, and b6, into the normal
5 and 6 when playing the dorian scale.
The scale becomes
(1,2,b3,4,b5,b6,b7,1).
98 F Dominant
7th
4,5,b7 are chosen to play on
Chromatic motive starting on (3)
99 Bb Major 7th Chromatic pattern (Descending) with two
notes per group
100 Eb Major 7th Chromatic pattern (Descending) with two
notes per group
101A Minor 7th
Starting on b5 and keep creating the
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b5 chromatic motive (Descending)
102 D Dominant
7th
Keep creating a chromatic pattern
(Descending) with two notes per group.
103 G Minor 7th Chromatic Scale (Descending) starting on
(b3)
104 G Minor 7th N/A
105(A) C Minor 7th Minor 7th arpeggios (Ascending) starting
on (5)
Four note pattern (1,2,b3,4)
106 F Dominant
7th
Licks (b2,3,6,b3)
107 Bb Major 7th Chromatic pattern (Descending) with two
notes per group starting on (b7)
108 Eb Major 7th Chromatic pattern (Descending) with two
notes per group
109 A Minor 7th
b5
Chromatic pattern (Descending) with two
notes per group
110 D Dominant
7th
Chromatic scale (Descending) starting on
(2).
111 G Minor 7th Four note pattern (b3,5,2,5)
Minor arpeggios starting on (1)
112 G Minor 7th Licks (4,b3,1,5,4,#4)
113B) A Minor 7th
b5
N/A
114 D Dominant
7th
Three note pattern (b7,1,b2) starting on
(1)
115 G Minor 7th Three note pattern (4,5,b6)
Three note pattern (4,6,7)
116 G Minor 7th Three note pattern (4,6,7)
117 C Minor 7th Three note pattern (7,4,5)
118 F Dominant Three note pattern (7,2,b3)
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7th
119 Bb Major 7th Three note pattern (5,7,1)
120 Eb Major 7th Three note pattern (2,#4,5)
Three note pattern (3,5,6)
121(B) A Minor 7th
b5
Three note pattern (b7,2,b3)
122 D Dominant
7th
Three note pattern (b5,b7,7)
123 G Minor 7th Melodic pattern (4,b3,2,4,1,2,b3)
124 G Minor 7th Four note pattern (#4,5,b6,5)
Four note pattern (#5,6,2,6)
125 A Minor 7th
b5
Four note pattern (6,4,b5,b2)
Chromatic scale (Descending) starting on
(b7)
126 D Dominant
7th
b2,1,b7,b6 are chosen to play with
127 G Minor 7th N/A
128 G Minor 7th Octatonic scale patterns
(1,2,b3,4,b5,b6,6,7)
DISCUSSION/IMPLICATION
Instrumental jazz pedagogy
The findings above explore the differences of two jazz musicians.
Apparently, Chick Corea comfortably used plenty of note patterns
rather than playing licks during his improvisations. Additionally, we
also discovered jazz music theory and knowledge inside musicians
mind. Jazz instructors will be able to inspire students by initiating
them through the information in the music analysis. Musical phrases
are equally explored in the music analysis. Students will confidently
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learn musical phrases and phrase structures by searching the
analysis table and also the transcriptions. They can also improve the
creation of building climax through the whole piece.
Teaching with analysis table has another significant advantage.
Students will understand the benefits of transcription and analysis.
Students will be motivated to transcribe and analyze by themselves
in further learning and at the same time, they strengthen their
musicianship and patience.
Due to the abundance of materials presented in the tables, students
can improve their creativity by combining and choosing different
elements into their own musical language.
Improvisations
Licks, note patterns, scales and theories are clearly written in the
analysis table. Students never lack resources in their practice
process. As a result, they are given more different combination to
create their music rather than simply listening to CD recordings.
Students will have a clear target on choosing a particular musician
or instrumentalist to learn from. They will be able to learn jazz
improvisation, which is relatively difficult for beginners, in a more
effective process and it will be easier for them to gain fulfillment.
Further jazz education
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Students educated in this method will be well-organized jazz
musicians. They will be able to identify the sound and recognize the
musician through their ears in a more sensitive way. This ability will
be very useful when they become teachers someday. They will also
be capable of playing like any musician they like in the lesson
through their instrumental demonstrations. This ability will help
them to teach the new generations.
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References
Aitken, D. (2007). IAJE NEWS: Jazz Debuting Across China. Jazz Education Journal.
40. 2-3.
Brewer, P. (2011).A Brief Analysis of Ira Sullivans Creative Method on Portrait Of
Sal La Rosa (1976). Current research in Jazz. Volume 3.
Chung, H. (2012). Reaffirmed Jazz aficionado. Tuesday, April 10, 2012. Retrieved
from http://henrychung.blogspot.com/
Hal Lenoard Corporation. (2004). The real Book(6th ed.). Milwaukee: Hal Leonard
Corporation.
Universal Music Group. (2012). Oscar Peterson Biography. Retrieved from
www.oscarpeterson.com/bio/
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. (2012). Chick Corea. Retrieved from
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/chick_Corea
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http://henrychung.blogspot.com/http://www.oscarpeterson.com/bio/http://henrychung.blogspot.com/http://www.oscarpeterson.com/bio/