While many jazz compositions do have a tonal center, improvisational traditions take the pieces to a number of different keys and the return to the tonic is not always emphasized. If a jazz musician is playing in F and uses C7 chord with a flat 5th and flat 9th and then modulates to Db, that Ab7 chord with a flat 5th and flat 9th will have a dramatically different character. My experience is that most jazz musicians don't want that. David Love ----- Original Message ----- From: "david severance" <severanc@mail.wsu.edu> To: <pianotech@ptg.org> Sent: October 19, 2001 9:31 AM Subject: Re: more on this temperament thing > Once you get into music without a tonal center, > >i.e. some impressionist music, jazz, etc., then ET is better as you don't > >want key differences to be enhanced. > > > >David Love > > David > > I think you are confusing your musical terminology. Most, if not all, > Impressionistic and Jazz are tonal in nature. That is to say they have a > key center. This doesn't mean that there are not transitory modulations to > other keys within the piece. If anything Jazz is the form that is all about > tonality. A jazzer never meant a ii V7 I progression he didn't like, in > fact we add them in where ever we can. In western music you find the atonal > music in the works of the serious composer's of the 20th Century such as > Scheonberg, Aban Berg, Bartok and later Stravinsky and others. Interesting > music. > > David Severance >
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