Thursday 5 November 2009

A Quick History of Blues and Jazz

Jazz first appeared in the early 1900s, taking root in the south where black musicians were combining African beats with gospel singing. From the very beginning, improvisation was one of the major themes of jazz.

As it evolved, it moved past the three chord structures and started spreading to other major cities. Also during this time, instruments started changing and the string bass became very popular instead of the tuba. Due to this change, there was more versatility in the music and jazz became even greater.

The growth could not be contained and reflecting that growth, the size of the jazz orchestra typically became larger. The first large band was formed by Duke Ellington and he not only required the players to know how to read music, but they also had to be good at improvising. Bands grew even larger in the coming years!

Throughout the following years, jazz continue to evolve. In the 40's, there was swing and then after the war, it changed to more of a be-bop type of music. The music became not only faster, but the beats were odd and it took great skill to play this new jazz. It eventually evolved to a have a more rock feel and today, there has been a return to the more traditional feel.

Jazz has a great history and has definitely changed over the years to fit the era. It is a rather difficult style of music to play, with some of the greatest musicians emerging from this style of music. Although its sound has evolved, it will always be a mainstay on the music scene.

Play your own music! A guitar is a great place to start - visit my site to get lots of guitar information as well as learn whether or not a used guitar is a good choice.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Daryll_Stottleloff

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