Question

What are the characteristics of jazz music?

Answer 1

Whatever the hell you want
Lots of staccatos and legatos usually improve

Answer 2

based off of the blues scales

Answer 3

What is jazz? "Whatever the hell you want". I love it.

Answer 4

It is whatever the hell you want since there is plenty of improv. But the base of jazz deals with swing rhythms and tempos, plenty of drum fills, sharp brass sound, and blues scales. Also, jazz NEEDS a good walking bass line. Very often the bass guitar is what keeps the rhythm moving in most jazz songs. I know this first-hand since I play bass guitar in my schools' jazz band. Oh, and something else. IF you want to spice up the jazz song a little more, or finish with a strong punch, use a bluesy sounding chord beneath a fermata as the last note of the song or right before you have a tempo or mood change. So say the song started as a medium swing rhythm. If I wanted to speed it up I would put a ritando, then put a half note chords for all the instruments under one fermata, followed by a half note chord that is one step lower than the original. Next I would stop the whole band with a sign that looks like this : "//". Then, I would pick up the tempo, add in a measure of or two of rests with a crescendo drum fill, and voila! You get back into the same rhythm with an upbeat tempo, and the entire band playing again. i know it looks like a lot, but when you put it into sheet music it will look so simple.

Answer 5

Syncopation!

Answer 6

extended chords (very very simple ones including major and minor 7ths, 6ths, augmented, diminished chords etc)