Musical Links Investigation
Music HL Session: May 2018 Candidate Number: 049897-0001
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Django Reinhardt - Minor Swing (Gypsy jazz manouche guitar) Taksim Trio - Hicaz Mandıra
Link 1 - Pitch: Melodic and ornamental phrasing Link 2 - Duration: rhythmic accompaniment textures
Musical Links Investigation Minor Swing was composed in 1937 by the guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stéphane Grappelli. Despite the distance of time and space, Django Reinhardt’s Minor Swing is recognised as “one of the most famous gypsy jazz pieces of all time” by Stuart Nicholson,1 a famous jazz composer. Stuart Nicholson also stated that what made Reinhardt and Grapelli’s group so unique was that “they sounded quintessentially European at a time when everyone else in jazz sounded quintessentially American. The implication was clear – you didn’t have to “sound” American, or indeed be American, to play authentic jazz.” 2
Sinan Erdemsel’s Hicaz Mandira, a modern composition that emulates traditional Turkish folk music, has many stylistic and structural commonalities with Minor Swing. The melodic features of each piece including motives, ornaments, and melodic accents that are linked by scales which are then utilised to improvise passages in a heterophonic texture. A hicaz makam scale is a predetermined scale in Turkish and Arabic folk music, in which the performer refers back for melodic improvisation.3 This makam is structured by using the A minor scale, however, the rule of any hicaz scale is to add flat 2, sharp 3 and sharp 6.
Oberg, Andreas. 2018. "10 Great Gypsy Jazz Songs | Artistworks". Artistworks.Com. http://artistworks.com/blog/10-great-gypsy-jazz-songs. 2 Micucci, Matt. 2018. "A Short History Of ... "Minor Swing" (Django Reinhardt And Stéphane Grappelli, 1937) - JAZZIZ Magazine". JAZZIZ Magazine. https://www.jazziz.com/short-history-minor-swing-django-reinhardt-stephane-grappelli-1937/. 3 Κατσούλας, Βαγγέλης. 2018. Ebook. (http://www.channelingstudio.ru/texts/Music%20Theory%20of%20Makams.pdf) 1
Figure 1 4: Hicaz Makam Scale
Figure 2 5: Django Reinhardt mm - Melody Similarity
As it is possible to see in figures 1 and 2, the scale Django Reinhardt uses in his Minor Swing is almost exactly the same as the Hicaz makam scale, except that Minor Swing has got an extra E flat which is the flat 5 of the A minor Hicaz scale. The opening measures in both these pieces may not sound so similar, however, the first 10 notes of the Hicaz Mandira includes the exact same motives as Django
Κατσούλας, Βαγγέλης. 2018. Ebook, 37. MacReady, Steve. 2018. "Gypsy Jazz Guitar | Django Reinhardt Arpeggios, Tricks & Licks". Jazzguitar.Be. http://www.jazzguitar.be/gypsy-jazz-guitar.html. 4 5
Reinhardt’s Minor Swing. These motives are used as introduction melodies for the parts that will come in later. They represent the character of the pieces. Figure 3: mm 1-2
Figure 4: mm 1-2
There are similarities not only in their notes and note values, but also in their melodic, ornamental and rhythmic phrasings. The opening melody in Minor Swing moves the piece with a slow crescendo, leading the melody towards an improvisation at 0.19 on the youtube video,6 played in unison: however, it is in thirds by the first and the second guitar while the double bass and the third guitar is keeping the bass line. When the first guitar solo begins at 0.197, it is evident that Django Reinhardt transfers the
Illés, Ferenc. 2008. Minor Swing (Django Reinhardt) - Gypsy Jazz Manouche Guitar. Video. Samois: YouTube. 7 Illés, Ferenc. 2008. Minor Swing (Django Reinhardt) - Gypsy Jazz Manouche Guitar. Video. Samois: YouTube. 6
initial melody into 3 chords, using the pieces arpeggio patterns, in the order of A minor 7, D minor 7 and E 7#9. This can also be described as 1-4-5 in the E Phrygian Dominant mode. The use of 6ths and the 9ths on the triads makes them sound major, as well as minor at the same time. Playing in a key that can be considered as both major and minor is a characteristic of Gypsy Jazz music.8 Django Reinhardt’s emphasis on the 6th and the 9th chord tones made Minor Swing moderately dissonant, however, these chords are outside of their basic triads so they add some harmonic difference and movement to this style, despite using the chords i, IV, V.
Figure 5: arpeggio outlines the chord tones of 7, 1, 3, 6, 9, 3, 6, 3 for C.
Hicaz Mandira begins with an introductory melody from the Bağlama (Lute)9, which is a chordophone that is fretted and plucked (See figure 3). It then continues in a 7/8 time signature with 8th and 16th notes, which is then joined by the Kanun(Zither)10 and the Clarinet within the interval of a 5th.
Horowitz, Michael. 2016. "Django's Gypsy-Jazz Secrets". Premierguitar.Com. https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/24727-djangos-gypsy-jazz-secrets. 9 "Baglama Family (With Three Double Strings And Two Necks)". 2018. Exotic Music Shop. Accessed February 19. http://www.exoticmusicshop.com/nm-baglama-cp-38. 10 "Baglama Family (With Three Double Strings And Two Necks)". 2018. Exotic Music Shop. Accessed February 19. http://www.exoticmusicshop.com/nm-baglama-cp-41. 8
After the Bağlama has played the initial melody, Kanun joins the Bağlama with an A in different octaves, meanwhile the clarinet enters with a D, which is then continued with the clarinet changing to an E. Why this note analysis is relevant is because (see Figure 7), Django Reinhardt’s chords are A, D and E. These 3 chords cycle throughout Minor Swing and the performers refer back to these chords to improvise when when their time comes. Even though, the two pieces are culturally and melodically different, they both use A, D and E chords to help them improvise and keep the piece moving forward, while also leading the pieces towards an end by changing the order of these chords (like a cadence despite the open 5th drone riff, played underneath most of the melody).
Figure 6: mm. 1-4
Figure 7:11 mm. 1-8
These passages are the introductions of both pieces and they show the characteristics of these pieces from the beginning on. This all happens quite fast, and by the time the piece gets to its 0.10th second, the trio in Hicaz mandira starts to play the main melody all together in unison. In addition to this, the Kanun plays a low-A every second measure, which can be considered as the bass line (type of pedal point). This unison continues until 1.4212 with very small Bağlama solos in between, and at 1.42, the clarinet starts to improvise while the Bağlama and the Kanun begins to repeat the same pattern that came after the initial Bağlama solo with the continuous 8th and 16th notes until the end of clarinet improvisation.
Figure 8: mm. 5-8 (Baglama + Kanun Unison)
Horowitz, Michael. 2016. Django’S Gypsy-Jazz Secrets. Ebook. premierguitar.com. https://www.premierguitar.com/ext/resources/files/Lesson-PDFs/September-2016/GypsyJazz-Sep16.pdf. 12 Trio, Taksim. 2018. Taksim Trio - Hicaz Mandıra. Video. Istanbul: DokuzSekiz Müzik. 11
After this, they bring back the trio unison of the main melody, just like Django Reinhardt does with all the guitars in his Minor Swing.
Figure 9: mm. 1-2
In both Minor Swing and Hicaz Mandira, it’s possible to improvise as long as the soloist wants or starts improvising at a unison point. Which is why the ornamentations in both pieces depend on their flexible improvisation patterns. The most obvious ornaments used in these two pieces is portamento,13 which is the sliding or the glissando from either one note to another, or from one string to another without playing the notes in between the interval of the portamento. In Django’s music, how he wants his piece’s character to be performed, is explained to the performer in the beginning of Minor Swing, on the front page (see figure 10).
13
a slide from one note to another
Figure 10:14
This explanation is important because the performer needs to be able to play the piece as the composer indicated, in order to keep the piece recognizable for the audience who might know this piece, while also having their own way of interpreting the piece.
Likewise, in Turkish folk music, every traditional song should be sung or played with extra trills or grace note figures after a long note (two beats or more). This is a connection between the two performances as they share glissandos, slides and trills that express their melodic lines clearly. These ornaments are brought out clearly, with Ayeroff, Stan. 1978. Jazz Masters - Django Reinhardt. Ebook. New York: Consolidated Music Publishers. http://Jazz Masters - Django Reinhardt.pdf. 14
the use of diminished descending arpeggios, harmonic and natural minor scales. For example, to move from A7b9 to D minor, Django Reinhardt uses the D harmonic minor (D E F G A Bb C#).
Figure 11 : mm. 23-24
Figure 12 : A7b9 to Dm6
There are many nuances that can be found in Minor Swing. It is possible to say that Django Reinhardt was very skilled when it came to applying nuances and rhythmic variation which was kind of his personal touch to his songs. He often built up his
phrasing by adding punctuations to bring out the different shades of a guitar’s phrasing, which also was able to bring out the sensitivity of an acoustic guitar. That is why the players who perform his compositions are always in control of the rhythmic phrasing whether improvising a solo or accompanying others.15 In Minor Swing, Django adds punctuations to the accompanist’s part, in order to inspire the soloist. Whereas in Hicaz Mandira, the Kanun is used for keeping the bass line and accenting the melodic pattern of the solo or unison-line within the 7/8 grouping (1,2 + 1,2 + 1,2,3). Django Reinhardt’s Minor Swing has three rhythmic textures: chordal passages with either two or more notes, melodic lines that are based on one single string, and octaves. These textures are very close to Wes Montgomery’s development that followed 20 years after Minor Swing.16 Wes Montgomery often started with single notes that followed with octaves and ended on chords, and he kept this texture throughout his compositions. The way Django Reinhardt uses these rhythmic textures is by applying all three of these sounds in one single passage, which leads to a great tension or a climax point all in one small phrase.
Figure 13: mm. 13-16
Ayeroff, Stan. 1978. Jazz Masters - Django Reinhardt. Ebook. New York: Consolidated Music Publishers. http://Jazz Masters - Django Reinhardt.pdf. 16 Ibid. (page 45) 15
Figure 14: mm. 42-47
The structures of the rhythmic accompaniment patterns are the next most comparable features of Minor swing and Hicaz Mandira. Both pieces include a series of antecedent and consequence sections with rhythmic accompaniment.
Figure 15: mm. 4-7
Figure 16: mm. 39-46
In Hicaz Mandira, the clarinet starts its solo at 1.42,17 after the clarinet plays a big phrase, the Kanun plays a small response phrase, which is then continued by the clarinet again. In the clarinet’s second solo antecedent, this time he calls out, and the consequence comes from the Bağlama, imitating some features of the Clarinet solo. Django Reinhardt uses antecedent and consequence a little differently. In Minor swing, both the antecedent and the consequence is played on the same instrument, however, the way this is communicated and made clear to the audience is by changing the register, emphasizing the beginning and the end of every phrase and taking time in between these phrases to switch to the higher or the lower register on the guitar.
17
Trio, Taksim. 2018. Taksim Trio - Hicaz Mandıra. Video. Istanbul: DokuzSekiz Müzik.
Through this analysis, the melodic and the ornamental phrasings in both pieces relate to each other, and are used similarly when looking closely at the scores. The melodic phrases are similar because of the scales and the arpeggios that are used, this includes similar use of ornaments to decorate the melody line, either monophonic or heterophonic. The rhythmic accompaniment patterns, follow patterns that on paper look as if they would be performed the same way. Even though the types of ornamentation used in both pieces create different effects and characteristics, adding ornamentations are defining factors in both cultures in order to express the music fully. All in all, although when analysing the scores, Hicaz Mandira and Minor Swing are similar in terms of structure, chord patterns and rhythmic accompaniment, through listening to the works, their cultural performance techniques make these pieces distinct. The harmonic framework is structured in both pieces in a way that help the performer follow up and improvise over it, with elements in respect to their culture. Such can be supported by the quote from Wynton Marsalis “ Jazz, like any language, has its own grammar and vocabulary.18” This supports the conclusion that melody in jazz such as Minor Swing is established by the performance techniques of the musician.Furthermore Wynton Marsalis suggests that “There’s no right or wrong…19” which implies the argument that the two musical links show the same concept, which can also be applied to the piece Hicaz Mandira in respect to the performer and its cultural heritage.
18 19
"Jazz Improvisation". 2018. A Passion 4 Jazz. https://www.apassion4jazz.net/improvisation.html. Ibid.
Bibliography -
Baglama Family (With Three Double Strings And Two Necks)". 2018. Exotic Music Shop. Accessed February 19. http://www.exoticmusicshop.com/nm-baglama-cp-38.
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Baglama Family (With Three Double Strings And Two Necks)". 2018. Exotic Music Shop. Accessed February 19. http://www.exoticmusicshop.com/nm-baglama-cp-41.
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Ayeroff, Stan. 1978. Jazz Masters - Django Reinhardt. Ebook. New York: Consolidated Music Publishers. Accessed February 19. http://Jazz Masters - Django Reinhardt.pdf.
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Horowitz, Michael. 2016. "Django's Gypsy-Jazz Secrets". Premierguitar.Com. Accessed February 19. https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/24727-djangos-gypsy-jazz-secrets.
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Horowitz, Michael. 2016. Django’S Gypsy-Jazz Secrets. Ebook. premierguitar.com. Accessed February 19. https://www.premierguitar.com/ext/resources/files/Lesson-PDFs/September-2016/Gypsy Jazz-Sep16.pdf.
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Illés, Ferenc. 2008. Minor Swing (Django Reinhardt) - Gypsy Jazz Manouche Guitar. Video. Samois: YouTube. Accessed February 19. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6uXGSTfz_4
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MacReady, Steve. 2018. "Gypsy Jazz Guitar | Django Reinhardt Arpeggios, Tricks & Licks". Jazzguitar.Be. Accessed February 19. http://www.jazzguitar.be/gypsy-jazz-guitar.html.
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Micucci, Matt. 2018. "A Short History Of ... "Minor Swing" (Django Reinhardt And Stéphane Grappelli, 1937) - JAZZIZ Magazine". JAZZIZ Magazine. Accessed February 19. https://www.jazziz.com/short-history-minor-swing-django-reinhardt-stephane-grappelli-19 37/.
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Oberg, Andreas. 2018. "10 Great Gypsy Jazz Songs | Artistworks". Artistworks.Com. Accessed February 19. http://artistworks.com/blog/10-great-gypsy-jazz-songs.
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Trio, Taksim. 2018. Taksim Trio - Hicaz Mandıra. Video. Istanbul: DokuzSekiz Müzik. Accessed February 19. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6szsmhlkAm0.
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Κατσούλας, Βαγγέλης. 2018. Ebook. Accessed February 19. http://www.channelingstudio.ru/texts/Music%20Theory%20of%20Makams.pdf.
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"Jazz Improvisation". 2018. A Passion 4 Jazz. Accessed February 19. https://www.apassion4jazz.net/improvisation.html.