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Fall Survey of Jazz Syllabus

This course provides a survey of jazz music over the last 100 years. Students will explore the historical, sociological, and artistic development of jazz. Key topics include the roots of blues-based jazz in the early 20th century, important performers and styles like Dixieland, Swing, Bebop, and more recent fusion genres. The goals are for students to appreciate jazz, understand its development and differentiation from other genres, and distinguish various styles and influential artists. Students will develop analytical listening skills and learn about the social context of different eras of jazz history through readings, discussions, assignments and exams.

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141 views

Fall Survey of Jazz Syllabus

This course provides a survey of jazz music over the last 100 years. Students will explore the historical, sociological, and artistic development of jazz. Key topics include the roots of blues-based jazz in the early 20th century, important performers and styles like Dixieland, Swing, Bebop, and more recent fusion genres. The goals are for students to appreciate jazz, understand its development and differentiation from other genres, and distinguish various styles and influential artists. Students will develop analytical listening skills and learn about the social context of different eras of jazz history through readings, discussions, assignments and exams.

Uploaded by

Kate Bernstein
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY

eCampus
MUS102 – Music Appreciation II: Survey of Jazz
Sila Cevikce Shaman, Instructor
(541) 231-6903
shamans@onid.orst.edu
www.sila-music.com

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This class will explore the historical, sociological and artistic development of America’s musical art
form jazz. A concise review of the first 100 years of the music from its blues-based roots at the turn on
the 20th century to its current eclectic state will constitute the main framework of the course. While
there will be focus on surveying the important performers and composers of jazz, key historical and
social events which contributed to the evolution of the idiom will also be discussed.

COURSE MATERIALS:
Required Materials:
Brian Harker, Jazz: An American Journey. 1st Edition Package with 3 -CD Set and Prentice Hall Jazz
Collection CD, Prentice-Hall, 2005, ISBN: 0131679635

Recommended Materials:
John Szwed, Jazz 101: A Complete Guide to Learning and Loving Jazz, Hyperion, 2000, ISBN:
0786884967

Other Suggested Resources:


Barry Kernfeld, What to Listen For in Jazz, Book and CD edition, Yale University Press, 1997
Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz- 5 CD Set (Any edition)
Jazz: A Film by Ken Burns, DVD box set, 2001

GOALS AND METHODS OF INSTRUCTION:


Main goal of this course is to increase students’ appreciation, knowledge and understanding of jazz
music. Students will be familiarized with the historical development of the genre as well as basic musical
concepts such as forms and instruments through reading assignments and additional lecture contents.
Important performers, composers and arrangers of the genre will be presented via biographies,
discussions and audio/visual examples. As in any music appreciation class, the aim will be to introduce
the students to new aural experiences and give them tools to evaluate these experiences to define
their own preferences. Online discussions amongst students will be geared towards sharing each
student’s personal listening and learning experience of the music that they are introduced to. Other
discussions on specific topics of the course outline will include historical and social perspectives, how
to evaluate performances and stylistic characteristics of different periods of jazz. These discussions will
be initiated and guided by the instructor via assignment questions. In addition to the lectures, online
course materials will include audio and video excerpts, detailed list of resources for further study, list
of web-based resources and suggestions for additional listening as they relate to each topic.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
1- Students will develop an understanding of the social and historical elements that have helped the
invention and development of jazz in America.
2- Students will have an understanding of what jazz is and what differentiates it from other musical art
forms.
3- Students will be able to distinguish the stylistic differences of several sub-genres of jazz such as
Dixieland, Swing, Be-Bop, Cool, Hard Bop, Fusion, Avant-Garde etc. by listening and learning the
characteristics of each sub-genre.
4- Students will learn about the style, work output and influence of the key performers, composers and
arrangers of each of the above sub-genres.
5- Students will gain an understanding of key concepts of jazz music such as improvisation, group
interaction, rhythmic feel, harmonic and melodic materials of the standard jazz repertoire. They will
also be able to discern common forms in jazz such as the Blues form or the AABA standard song form.
6- Students will be able to differentiate different instruments that are used in jazz music by sight and
sound as well as the function of these instruments.
7- Students will gain the facilities required to evaluate a jazz performance (recorded or live) via the
experience of writing a report on the different elements of such as performance. This will enhance the
students’ ability to critique any work of humanities when provided the necessary guidelines.
8- Students will learn to go beyond “just listening music” and put the historical, biographical,
sociological and musical knowledge they gain from reading materials and lectures to understand what
they are listening.

CONTENT OUTLINE by WEEKS:

WEEK 1 (September 25th - October 1st)


Introduction - Chapter 1: What is Jazz?
Introduction to key musical concepts such as rhythm, melody, harmony and form. Discussion of
what jazz is as a concept and what differentiates jazz from other musical forms. Various
definitions and viewpoints. Imrovisation and its place in jazz.

Chapters 1-2: Origins and Sources of Jazz (1900 –1914)


Historical, sociological and musical analysis of the origins of jazz.

WEEK 2 (October 2nd - 8th )


Chapter 3: Origins of Jazz continued.
Why did jazz emerge where it did when it did? A look at New Orleans at the turn of century to
answer these questions.

Chapters 4-5: Early Jazz (1914 –1929)


The Jazz Age. Introduction to New Orleans Jazz.

WEEK 3 (October 9th -15th)


Chapters 6-9: Early Jazz Continued.
Key Figure: Louis Armstrong. Early jazz scenes in Chicago and New York.

WEEK 4 (October 16th -22nd)


Chapters 10-12: Swing Era, Jazz becomes America’s popular music (1929 –1945)
Examination of styles, musicians and key events. Post-depression America and its social climate.
Key Figures: Count Basie, Duke Ellington.

WEEK 5 (October 23rd-29th)


Chapters 13-15: Swing Era continued. Emergence of Soloists.
Key Figures: Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Art Tatum, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday.

MIDTERM EXAM
WEEK 6 (October 30th -Nov 5th)
Chapters 16-18: Postwar America, Emergence of Bebop (1945 –1960)
World War II and its effects on artists, backlash against populism in jazz.
Key Figure: Charlie Parker.

WEEK 7 (November 6th - 12th)


Chapters 19-21: Bop evolves: Cool Jazz, Hard Bop.
Key Figure: Miles Davis.

WEEK 8 (November 13th - 19th)


Chapters 22-24: Free Jazz (1960s)
Examination of styles, musicians and key events. How jazz musicians took their place in the civil
rights movement and exploration of freedom. Key Figures: John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman.

WEEK 9 (November 20th - 26th)


Chapters 25-27: Fusion, Development of new small group styles (late 1960s -70s)
Examination of styles, musicians and key events. Rock and world music influences.

WEEK 10 (November 27th - December 3rd)


Chapters 28-30: Postmodern jazz Neo-classicism, eclectic directions and more (1980s - Today)
Neo-Bop movement, fusion and free jazz in the 80’s. Where is jazz today?

FINAL EXAM
------------------------

Additional Content:
-- Musical instruments and forms of jazz
-- How to review music, evaluate performances and write about them

GRADING POLICY:

Tests, assignments and discussions contribute to the final grades as follows:


Weekly quizzes/ Essay questions 30%
Discussion participation 20%
Concert/Recording Review 10%
Research Paper 10%
Midterm Exam 10%
Final Exam 20%

Grading Scale:
A 93 – 100 B 83 – 86 C 73 –76 D 63 – 66
A- 90 – 93 B- 80 – 82 C- 70 – 72 D- 60 – 62
B+ 87 – 89 C+ 77 – 79 D+ 67 – 69 F 0 – 59

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