KS55

KS

Edexcel A2: instrumental 2011

(Shostakovich, Ellington, Davis)
by Alan Charlton

Alan Charlton is an
examiner for Edexcel
and a freelance
composer.

Exam requirements
The Edexcel A2 Instrumental set works for 2011 are tested in Section C (Continuity and Change in Instrumental
Music) of the Unit 6 exam paper, Further Musical Understanding. Section C is worth 36 marks out of the 90
marks for Unit 6, or 40% of the marks for the paper. Edexcel recommends that students spend 50 minutes
answering this question in the exam.
Students are given a choice of two questions. In each of these, students are asked to compare one or more
of resources, form, texture, tonality, harmony, melody, and rhythm and metre, of specified instrumental
set works. Questions so far appear to show that each question refers to three set works. Quality of written
communication is taken into account when marking this paper.

Approaching the set works

The aims behind the list of chamber music works and Section C questions are to familiarise students further with
musical analysis and enable them to spot harmonic, melodic, rhythmic, textural and formal features through
the study of a musical score. The sort of points students will need to make in the exam paper are detailed (for
example, mentioning specific beats and bar numbers, keys and so on) and will therefore be difficult to learn
by heart. Therefore, students should look at devising ways of recognising different features by just looking at
the score. For instance in the Shostakovich, they should be able to spot that there are pedal notes in the left
hand from how these appear on the page, even if their bass clef is a little shaky. Similarly, syncopations have a
certain look about them and features such as chord symbols in the jazz pieces and the labelling of the different
sections in the Miles Davis give away a lot of information without the student having to read staff notation.
Therefore, encourage the students to learn facts using the score as a prompt, rather than trying to learn the
same facts by rote. They should aim to be able to refer to three or four detailed points on each musical element
(form, tonality, etc.) for each set work.
The background information on composers and their works will not be tested in Section C of the paper, but is
provided here to help place the musical features of the works in context, making them easier to absorb.

Music Teacher January 2011

 hostakovich: Prelude and Fugue in A,

S
Op. 87 No. 7
Dmitry Shostakovich (190675) was born in Russia and experienced the most momentous period in the
countrys history, including the Bolshevik Revolution, the rise of communism, repression under the regime
of Stalin, the Second World War and the Cold War. After studies with the Russian composer Glazunov,
Shostakovich made his name in the late 1920s and early 1930s with symphonies, operas and ballets that
were distinctively Russian in style but which were also influenced by modernist developments in the west.
Although he was always a committed socialist, his music came under criticism from the Stalinist regime
in 1936 as being bourgeois (reflecting western capitalist values) and formalist (too experimental), both
of which jarred with Stalins regimes communist ideals. As a result he had to withdraw many works (such
as the opera Lady MacBeth of the Mtsensk District) and remodel his style into something more audiencefriendly to please the authorities. During this period, he produced symphonies 5 and 7 (the Leningrad),
which was vital in sustaining Russian morale in the face of the German advance in the Second World War.
In his subsequent career Shostakovichs music faced regular attacks by the Soviet authorities and it was
only after Stalins death in 1953 that he could return to the more experimental ideas of his earlier years.
He is best known for his cycle of 15 symphonies and also wrote 15 string quartets, ballets, operas, chamber
music, piano music and film music and pieces in a lighter style.

Dmitry Shostakovich

24 Preludes and Fugues for piano (195051)

There had been a further denouncement of Shostakovichs music in 1948, along with several other composers,
and in order to regain acceptance, he produced several works that were more conservative in style. The 24
Preludes and Fugues were created as part of this process and look back to the 48 Preludes and Fugues of
J. S. Bach in exploring all the major and minor keys, in their use of contrapuntal techniques and in their musical
language.
Shostakovichs 24 Preludes and Fugues are arranged by key signature, following the circle of 5ths, with each
major-keyed prelude and fugue followed by a prelude and fugue in the relative minor. So the sequence begins
C major, A minor (no sharps), G major, E minor (one sharp), D major, B minor (two sharps), etc. The Prelude
and Fugue in A major is the seventh in this cycle.

Several composers,
including Chopin
and Rachmaninov,
have composed
sets of preludes
in all 24 keys and
there are many other sets of preludes
by composers such
as Debussy and
Messiaen.

Prelude and fugue

A prelude and fugue is a composition consisting of two separate pieces. The prelude is a short piece that
introduces the fugue. It is often based around a short motif with a distinctive rhythm, or on a pattern of
notes such as a broken chord, or may explore a particular mood. A fugue is a contrapuntal composition in
two or more voices. It uses fugal techniques and often alternates fugal sections with freer passages called
episodes. Tonally, it is usually based around the tonic and its related keys.

Technical scope
Shostakovichs Prelude and Fugue is written for solo piano. As it is modelled on Bach, the writing isnt especially adventurous compared with that of other 20th-century composers. Features of the piano-writing include:
Prelude
A limited range (F# below bass clefF above treble clef)

Music Teacher January 2011

 Contrapuntal writing in a neoclassical, Baroque-influenced style

Some use of the sustaining pedal in some performances (but this is not marked in the score)
Fugue
A limited range (C# below bass clefF# above treble clef)
Use of dynamic contrast
Some performances may use sustaining pedal (for example, Tatiana Nikolayeva)
The third pedal is required at 6265 if the sustaining pedal is not used (this sustains only the notes that
are depressed when the pedal is pressed down).
Form
Prelude
The main melody is based on the turn-like semiquaver figure at bar 1 beat 1 (a) and the broken chords/
scale figures in groups of three quavers (b)

When the melody is in the right hand, the left hand has a pedal note
When the melody is in the left hand, the right hand has triads in dotted crotchets
The whole piece is based around the alternation of these two textures
However, the respective phrase lengths of each of these textures varies, leading to an unpredictable phrase
structure, maintaining the listeners interest.

Bars

1.1
3.1

3.2
3.4

4.1
5.1

5.2
8.1

8.2
11.1

11.2
12.4

13.1
16.1

16.2
18.3

18.4
20.4

21.1
22.3

23.1
18.1

R.H.

melody

chords

melody

chords

melody

chords

melody

chords

melody

chords

chords

L.H.

pedal

melody

pedal

melody

pedal

melody

pedal

melody

pedal

chords

melody

Length (beats)

12

13

10

18

Fugue
Fugal technique is complex and students will not need to know every detail of its workings. However, they will
need to know about its main features, so start by giving them a general introduction to the features found in
fugues.
There are two main aspects to fugues: the contrapuntal technique and the overall structure. Strictly speaking
fugue refers to the contrapuntal techniques used.
A typical fugue will open with a melody in a single line. This is called the subject.
A second part then joins in with its version of the subject in a different key (usually the dominant). This is called
the answer. The first part has a different melody against the answer, called a countersubject. After the answer
has been stated, there may be a short transition that takes the music back to the tonic key.
The third part then enters with the subject, usually in the tonic. The second part now has the countersubject,
while the first part plays a part in free counterpoint.
This whole section is called a fugal exposition.

Music Teacher January 2011

Activity
Ask students to try to identify these features in the Shostakovich (answers in brackets):

Subject (bars 14)

Answer (bars 58, in left hand)

Countersubject (bars 58, in right hand)

Transition (bars 910)

Subject (bars 1114, left hand)

Countersubject (bars 1114, right hand, lower part)

Free counterpoint (bars 1114, right hand, upper part).

There then follow passages called episodes which alternate with sections known as middle entries. Episodes
are usually based on material from the exposition and often modulate to a new key. Middle entries resemble
the fugal exposition, but are often in a different key and often swap around the voices playing the subject,
countersubject and so on. They are usually in at least two parts: the parts are not added one by one as in the
fugal exposition.
The first episode is at bars 1520 and the first middle entry at bars 2128. Students should note that the first
episode develops material from bars 910, has a faster harmonic rhythm than the fugal exposition and modulates to the relative minor; and that the first middle entry is in F# minor (the relative minor).

Activity
In bars 2124, ask students to identify which part has:

The subject (lower part of the right hand)

The countersubject (upper part of the right hand)

Free counterpoint (left hand).

Point out that the material is now played by different voices to those in the corresponding passage of the exposition.
Fugues continue with an alternation of episodes and middle entries. Other important features of a fugue include:
Stretto entries where entries of the subject appear closer together, creating a feeling of excitement
Pedal notes often dominant or tonic pedals are used towards the end of a fugue.

Activity
Ask pupils if they can spot examples of stretto (bars 7078) and pedal notes (dominant pedal bars 6269,
tonic pedal bars 9699).

Music Teacher January 2011

The overall plan of the fugue is summarised in the following table:

Bars

Section

Key

Degree of
scale

Contrapuntal features

Other features

114

Fugal
exposition

Tonic

S: v.1 (14)
S: v.2 (58)
CS: v.1 (58)
S: v.3 (1114)
CS: v.2 (1114)
FC: v.1 (1114)

14: tonic harmony

58: dominant harmony
910: transition
1115: tonic harmony

1520

First episode

2128

Middle entry 1

2932

Episode 2

3340

Middle entry 2

4146

Episode 3

4754

Middle entry 3

5561

Episode 4

6265

Middle entry 4

6669

Episode 5

7075

Stretto entries
of subject
combined with
other material

7691

Episode 6

9299

Coda

Use of sequence: 1516 is

repeated a minor 3rd lower at
1718
F# minor
(relative
minor)

Submediant

S: v.2 (2124)
CS: v.1 (2124)
FC: v.3 (2124)
S: v.1 (2529)
CS: v.3 (2529)
FC: v.2 (2529)
In two-part counterpoint, based on
transition material

A major

Tonic

S: v.3 (3336)
CS: v.1 (3336)
S: v.1 (3740)
CS: v.3 (3740)
In two-part counterpoint, based on
transition material

F major

A major

Flat
submediant

Tonic

S: v.1 (4750)
CS: v.2 (4750)
A: v.3 (5154)
CS: v.2 (5154)
FC: v.1 (5154)

Note that the parts cross for CS in

4750

First bar of S:
v.3 (58) in C minor
v.2 (59) in Bb major;
v.3 (60) in Eb major;
v.3 (61) in F# minor

First bar of S used in sequence

S: v.1 (6265)
CS: v.2 (6275)

Dominant pedal
Dominant pedal

A major

A major

Tonic

Tonic

S: v.2 (7073)
S: v.3 (7071)
S: v.1 (7275)

The stretto entries of the subject

are often altered in pitch to fit in
with the harmony

S: v.1 (7982)

Motifs from the subject and CS are

freely developed and combined
with new material

S in v.1 (9598)

Tonic pedal

Key: v.1 = highest voice; v.2 = middle voice; v.3 = lowest voice; S = subject; CS = countersubject; FC
= free counterpoint

Students need not memorise the information in this table, but it is useful for them to be able to give a summary
of the overall form (column 2) and to give examples of: fugal exposition; subject; answer; countersubject; free
counterpoint; an episode; a middle entry; pedal notes; stretto; an example of a middle entry in a different key
and with the order of voices changed.

Music Teacher January 2011

Texture: activity
Ask students to identify the following textures used in NAM 25:
Prelude
Pedal note plus melody line (e.g. bars 12)
Homophonic texture (e.g. bar 7)
Homophonic/chordal (bars 2122)
Fugue
Two-part contrapuntal texture (e.g. 2950)
Three-part contrapuntal texture (e.g. 5161)
Monophonic texture (bars 14)
Use of pedal notes (e.g. bars 6269).
Tonality
The work uses diatonic harmony and is in the key of A major.
Prelude
This passes through a number of keys, including some remote ones. Keys are not defined by perfect cadences
but rather through the music passing suddenly from the notes of one key to another. For instance, at bar 19,
the notes of the Ab major scale are suddenly introduced. Here are the keys that the music passes through in
the Prelude, some of them only briefly:

Bar nos.

Key

Degree of scale

13

A major

Tonic

45

F# minor

Relative minor

69

E major

Dominant

1112

A major

Tonic

1315

C# major/minor

Mediant major/minor

17.4 18.3

F major

Flat submediant major

19

Ab major

Flattened leading note major

21

Db major

Enharmonic mediant major

2328

A major

Tonic

Fugue
The tonal scheme of the fugue has already been included in the table under form. Note that it is less adventurous than that of the Prelude, being based mostly on the tonic and related keys.

Harmony
The Prelude and Fugue in A major uses diatonic tonal harmony, but there are occasional added-note chords
(for example in the Prelude, bar 6.3, bar 7.1, 11.1, 17.3).
Most dissonances are resolved by stepwise movement (for example, bar 17.4 resolves onto 18.1). Triads dissonant with a pedal note are used in the Prelude at bar 10.3 and 11.1.
Most of the harmonic interest comes through slightly unexpected chord progressions, sometimes using enharmonics, for example:
Prelude
The move to C major in bar 10
The move to the Ab major second inversion chord in bar 19
The move from Db major to A major bar 23

Music Teacher January 2011

The fugal exposition and the middle

entries use almost
entirely triadic harmonies: few notes
are dissonant with
the harmony.

Fugue similar moves happen at

Bar 43 (A majorF major)
Bars 6062 (Eb majorC# majorF# minorA major)
Bars 8485 (A majorC# major).
Cadences
The prelude generally avoids conventional cadences. Examples are at bar 11.1, cadencing into A major on
beat 2 (a perfect cadence but with an 11th chord as the preparatory chord); and the cadence from bar 20.4
to bar 21.1 into Db major (but a second inversion chord is used as the preparatory chord and there is no 5th in
the arrival chord).
In the fugue, there are many examples of tonic harmony alternating with dominant harmony, which creates
perfect cadences, as at bar 69 going into bar 70.
Harmonic rhythm
This is a very important aspect of the fugue. Because the subject, countersubject and free counterpoint are all
formed from the notes of a major triad, the harmony of the fugal exposition and middle entries only changes
once every four bars. To compensate for this, Shostakovich speeds up the harmonic rhythm in the episodes
to two chords per bar (see for example bars 910), or sometimes four per bar (for example bars 20 and 46).
On the final page, long passages based on tonic harmony (bars 7075, 7982, 8990, 92, 94 and 9699) are
balanced by a variety of harmony and faster chord changes in the intervening sections. This helps to bring a
feeling of closure to the movement while sustaining harmonic interest and momentum.

Melody
Prelude
The main melody is based on a turn-like figure (a), quaver movement that outlines triads, scale fragments or
other stepwise ideas (b), and semiquaver scales towards the end of phrases (c). The rhythm is more important than the pitches in defining the material. Phrases are of variable length, being extended or shortened by
varying the length of the section in quavers. There is melodic fragmentation in the last four bars.
Melodies are mostly diatonic, but there is some chromatic movement (bar 13 beats 24) and octatonic material
(bar 14.2 to bar 16.1).

Activity
To demonstrate the point about the octatonic scale, ask students to write out the note names of bars 14.2
16.1 (including bass notes). Arrange these in ascending order, starting on a C#. What scale does this form?
Explain that its the octatonic scale and that it alternates intervals of tones and semitones.

Fugue
The subject, countersubject 1 and the free counterpoint are arpeggio-based melodies; this gives them a fanfare-like quality. Much of the melodic material in the episodes uses triadic ideas derived from the material in the
fugal exposition. The material is made memorable through its strong rhythmic character, with dotted rhythms in
the subject and syncopated dotted rhythms in the countersubject. Leaps of a 3rd, 4th and 6th, both upwards
and downwards, feature strongly in all the material used.

Music Teacher January 2011

The fugue uses invertible counterpoint. This is counterpoint which works equally well if the vertical order of
the parts is changed (for instance the lowest part swapped with the highest). This is because the intervals
largely comprise 3rds and 6ths, which are 6ths and 3rds respectively when inverted and so still sound consonant.

Metre
Prelude
This is in compound quadruple metre, with bars 22 and 2528 in compound triple metre. However, the main
beat of the bar is sometimes displaced within this metre: the first theme starts on the first beat of the bar in bar
1, but on the second beat in bar 8. The movement is in a steady tempo, but with a rit. at the end.
Fugue

2
This is in 2 (simple duple metre) throughout.

Rhythm
Prelude
The opening melodic idea (a) starts with an anacrusis. Syncopation is also used (bar 16.4 to bar 18 in the
bass).
Fugue
Dotted rhythms are used in the subject, giving it a military, fanfare-like quality
Syncopation occurs in the countersubject
The subject and countersubject are designed to create effective rhythmic counterpoint one moves when
the other is still, and vice versa
Shostakovich combines the contrapuntal parts to create constant quaver movement throughout (apart from
in the first four bars, bars 71.372.1 and bar 99); this lends the piece a strong sense of rhythmic momentum,
as might be found in a toccata.

Activity
If there are two or three players of suitable melody instruments in the class (for example a cello, clarinet
and flute), get them to arrange the fugal exposition for those forces and then perform it. If it works well,
they could consider arranging and performing the whole piece.

uke Ellington/Bubber Miley: Black and

D
Tan Fantasy
The composer, pianist and bandleader Duke Ellington (18991974) was one of the key figures in jazz history
and was one of the prime developers of the big band that was to dominate the swing era of jazz (from the
late 1920s to the late 1940s). In his formative years, his piano style was heavily influenced by ragtime and
in 1923 he joined a band called the Washingtonians, who were based in the Cotton Club in New York. As
the band grew, its sound became more distinctive, with the trumpeter Bubber Miley and the trombonist
Tricky Sam Nanton creating what became known as the jungle sound, through the aid of plunger mutes
and other effects. Ellingtons willingness to experiment in his compositions and to create large-scale pieces
such as Black, Brown and Beige (1943) served to enhance his reputation, and his band continued to expand
through the 1930s and 1940s. The remainder of his career was marked by frequent international tours and
as a composer he branched out into genres such as film, incidental and sacred music.

Music Teacher January 2011

Duke Ellington

Early successes
include Black and
Tan Fantasy (1927)
and East St. Louis
Toodle-O.

Black and Tan Fantasy

Black and Tan Fantasy was recorded three times by Duke Ellington in 1927 for different record labels. These
vary considerably in terms of the solos and the rhythm section, and critics disagree over which is the best. It
was immensely successful and a short film of the same name was released in 1929, featuring a woman on her
deathbed asking for the Black and Tan Fantasy to be played.

Resources
There is footage of Duke Ellingtons band and of Arthur Whetsol (rather than Bubber Miley) rehearsing the
trumpet solo on YouTube.
The score in NAM is a transcription of the recording found on The Golden Years of Jazz Vol. 6 (Prestige Elite
Jazz, 2007), available on iTunes or here on Spotify.
Activity
Play the recording and ask students to identify which instruments they can hear. (Some of these are not
notated in the score.)
This is for the 26
Oct 1927 recording.
Some recordings
also contain a tuba.

Line-up
Trumpet (Bubber Miley)
Trombone (Joe Tricky Sam Nanton)
Alto sax (Otto Hardwick)
Piano (Duke Ellington)
Double bass
Drums
Banjo
Tenor and baritone sax (both doubling on clarinet)

Various instrumental techniques are used in the solo sections:

Muted trumpet and trombone (bars 112)
Pitch bends/glissandi on trumpet and trombone (bars 3 and 7)
Pitch bends during the saxophone solo (for example in bar 17)
Plunger mutes on trumpet (bars 2952) and trombone (6576)
Growls, produced by flutter-tonguing (rolling an r while playing bar 43)
Horse whinny in trombone bar 73, produced with the aid of a plunger mute
Rapid tonguing in the trumpet (bar 83)
Spread chords on banjo in bars 3940
Tremolo strumming on the banjo in bars 8789.
If you have any
trumpet or trombone
players with the
appropriate mutes,
ask them to bring
in their instruments
and try to recreate
these effects.

Various different instrumental combinations are used in different sections in the piece (see the section on
texture).

A plunger mute is a rubber mute which can be inserted into the bell of a trumpet or trombone, closing off
the bell and muting the sound. Using this mute, a skilled player can produce the characteristic wah wah
sound that was common in swing bands of the 1930s, and can also produce growls and imitations of animal
noises. The use of this mute and the animal-like nature of the effects Ellingtons brass players produced
spawned the term the jungle sound.

Music Teacher January 2011

Form

Activities
Having played a recording of the movement to the class, ask them how they think it is structured: is it
through-composed or sectional? (Its sectional.) In the score, which musical symbol shows the border
between each section? (Double barlines.)
Next, ask the students to complete the following table by filling in the missing information from the score.
The answers are provided in the second table.

Section

Bars

Length
in bars

Solo instrument

Key signature

Section name

112

12

Trumpet/trombone

Bb minor

Theme

1320

Alto sax

Bb major

16-bar section

3
4

Solo 1

Solo 2

Solo 3

Solo 4

Solo 5

Coda

Answer:

Section

Bars

Length
in bars

Solo instrument

Key signature

Section name

112

12

Trumpet/trombone

Bb minor

Theme

1320

Alto sax

Bb major

16-bar section

2128

Alto sax

Bb major

2940

12

Trumpet

Bb major

Solo 1

4152

12

Trumpet

Bb major

Solo 2

5364

12

Piano

Bb major

Solo 3

6576

12

Trombone

Bb major

Solo 4

7786

10

Trumpet

Bb major

Solo 5

8790

Trumpet/trombone

Bb minor

Coda

Point out that several sections are 12 bars in length. Ask them what musical forms they know that are based
in 12-bar sections? (12-bar blues.) How can the sections that are not 12 bars long be explained in this structure?
Sections 2 and 3 do not use the 12-bar chord sequence around which the rest of the piece is based, so they
can be described as an interpolation, a passage inserted to break up the structure and give it more interest. It
also allows the music to modulate from Bb minor to Bb major.
Section 9 is based on a quote from a piece of classical music ask if anyone recognises it. (It is from Chopins
Funeral March, from Piano Sonata No. 2 in Bb minor.) This passage uses the chords that would be in bars 1012
of the 12-bar blues sequence anyway, so is a way of extending this final statement to provide a convincing

This link is exploited

in the 1929 short
film.

ending, as well as giving the piece deathly, sombre associations.

Music Teacher January 2011

10

Tonal structure
Students should also take note of the tonal structure of the piece. It starts in Bb minor, before modulating to Bb

Looking at where
the key signatures
change is a good
way of reminding
students of the tonal
structure.

major in the first eight-bar section. It stays in Bb major for the solo sections before returning to Bb minor in the
final four bars.
Point out that the tonality is often ambiguous, being neither in the major or minor. What scale produces this effect? (The blues scale). For instance the trumpet solo at bars 4143 contains Dbs even though the underlying
chord is Bb major, which contains Ds.

Harmony and harmonic structure

The harmonic structure of the majority of the piece is based around the 12-bar blues chord sequence. Students
should have come across this from GCSE, but it is a good idea to give them a quick reminder:

12-bar blues
The 12-bar blues is a chord sequence lasting 12 bars that is usually repeated for the length of a blues
composition. In its simplest form, the chords used are as follows, each chord lasting for one bar:
IIIIIVIVIIVIVII
However, this structure is often modified by using 7th chords and substitution chords. A substitution chord is
a chord that replaces one in the original 12-bar chord sequence that forms the basis of the composition.

Substitution chords are used frequently in Black and Tan Fantasy. The clearest way to see how and where they
are used is to write out the chords used in each of the 12-bar sections:

Statement no.

10

11

12

1 (112)

Bbm

Bbm

Bbm

Bbm

Ebm

Ebm

Bbm

Bbm

F7

F7

BbmEbm

Bbm

iv

iv

V7

V7

iiv

(16 bar interlude)

2 (2940)

3 (4152)

4 (5364)

5 (6576)

6 (77end)

Chords in lower
case roman numerals represent minor
chords, those in
upper case major
chords. Note that
in this table, bars
8789 are treated as
forming the 11th bar
of the sixth statement of the 12-bar
structure.

11

Bb

Bb

Bb

Bb7

Eb7

Eb7

Bb

Bb

Cm7

F7

Bb-Eb

Bb

I7

IV7

IV7

ii7

V7

IIV

Bb

Bb

Bb

Bb7

Eb7

Eb7

Bb

Bb

Cm7

F7

Bb - Eb

Bb

I7

IV7

IV7

ii7

V7

IIV

Bb

C7F7

Bb7

Eb

Eb7

Edim7

Bb7D7

G7

C7

F7

BbBbdim

BbGb9F7

II7-V7

I7

IV

IV7

IV7 dim

I7III7

VI7

II7

V7

II dim

I bvi9V7

Bb

Bb

Bb

Bb

Eb7

Eb7

Bb

Bb

F7

Eb7

Bb

Bb

IV7

IV7

V7

IV7

Bb

Bb

Bb

Bb

Eb7

Ebm7

Bb

G7

C7

F7

BbmEbm
alternating

Bbm

IV7

iv7

VI7

II7

V7

iiviiv

From this table, it can be seen that some chords in the sequence are more frequently replaced than others.
Disregarding the fourth section:
Bars 13 in the sequence are always i or I
Bar 7 is always i or I; bar 10 is always V7
Bar 12 is always i or I.

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Common substitution chords are used in:

Bar 4 of the sequence, where I7 replaces I twice
Bars 56, where IV7 or iv7 is often used
Bar 9, where II7 or ii7 often replaces V7.
The one 12-bar section that deviates substantially from the opening harmonic structure is the fourth, which is
the pianos solo (bars 5364). Because the piano is a polyphonic instrument, piano solos in jazz pieces often
exploit harmonic improvisation to a greater extent than in solos for monophonic instruments. In Black and Tan
Fantasy, the wind instruments drop out, allowing the piano to change the chord sequence without creating harmonic clashes. In this section, more adventurous harmonies and chord sequences appear, such as diminished
7th chords (bar 58), the use of two or three chords per bar rather than one (such as bar 64 and the circle of
5ths chord progression in bar 58.263.1).
Other notable harmonic features include:
Circle of 5ths chord progression from 19.221.1
Parallel harmonic movement in bars 2728
Chromaticism in both of the above locations
The use of Gb7 in bars 1314 and 2122 if the accidentals of this chord were respelled, this would form an
augmented 6th chord (a German 6th), common in classical music.
Texture
Melody-dominated homophony makes up the majority of the piece, in which there is a melody line or solo of
some sort and a harmonic accompaniment. The harmonic accompaniment mostly consists of repeated crotchets played by the rhythm section, dropping out for the piano solo at bars 5364.
There is a short homorhythmic texture in bars 2728.

Melody
Melody comes in two different forms in Black and Tan Fantasy. First, there are the composed melodies in the
opening section and in the 16-bar section that follows it. These feature the repetition and development of short
phrases. The opening 12-bar melody on the trumpet is mostly based around harmony notes: the notes of the
accompanying chords. It is harmonised by a second part, moving in near-parallel movement, which also uses
harmony notes. Interest is added through the use of pitch bends in bars 3 and 7. The march-like dotted rhythm
in bars 5, 10 and 11 anticipates the Chopin quote in the final four bars of the piece.
The alto sax solo in bars 1319, repeated in bars 2127, is more lyrical and rhythmically freer, and is mostly
based on stepwise movement, with triadic patterns in bars 1718. There is a melodic sequence in bars 1920
built around the underlying circle of 5ths chord sequence.
The improvised melodies in the solo sections are much freer rhythmically and more loosely structured. The
notated rhythms are only an approximation of what is played. The function of these sections is primarily to show
off the players technique and improvisation skills.

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Activity
Listening to a recording, ask students to find examples of the following features in the score:

The blues scale and blue notes, particularly:

The augmented 4th/diminished 5th (Es/Fbs in bars 34, 38, 41)

Flattened 7th (for example, the Ab in bars 4850)

The use of both major and minor 3rds (bar 35)

Microtonal inflections notes played deliberately out of tune for expressive effect
(especiallyDbs)

Bending of notes (for example, bar 81)

Ornamentation (this is not all written out in the score):

Mordents (for example 83.3)

Acciaccaturas (for example the upbeat to bar 77)

Trills (for example bar 77)

Unusual effects (for example the horse whinny effect in bar 73).

There are also two quotations in the melody line. As has already been mentioned, Chopins Funeral March appears in the final four bars. The melody of the opening 12 bars is a paraphrase of an 1892 spiritual by Stephen
Adams called The Holy City (see below). The Holy City is in the major rather than the minor and its rhythms
have been changed in Ellingtons piece.

Rhythm
Rhythmically, Black and Tan Fantasy has two layers in the solo sections:
1. The accompaniment, played by rhythm-section instruments. Apart from in the piano solo, where it is absent, this maintains a steady crotchet movement throughout.
2. The melody line. In the solo sections, this is rhythmically often very free and falls in and out of sync with
the accompaniment, often having a very loose sense of pulse. Features that give it this sense of rhythmic
freedom are:
Quaver triplets (for example in bar 37, trumpet)
Crotchet triplets (for example in bar 33, trumpet)
Syncopations (for example bar 34 beats 12, trumpet).
Other rhythmic features found in Black and Tan Fantasy that are common in jazz include:
3
4
Cross-rhythm (bar 1718.2 in alto sax, where the melodic pattern is in 8 and the accompaniment is in 4 this
type of rhythm probably derives from ragtime)

A swung rhythm (note the indication steady swing at the start)

Syncopation, as in bars 54.456.1 in piano LH, where the beat is anticipated
Regular pulse in accompaniment and much freer rhythms in the melody line.

13

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Miles Davis (192691) was one of the leading jazz trumpeters of his day and played a major part in some
of the most significant developments in jazz. In 1945 he was in the Charlie Parker quintet that pioneered
bebop, a fast, frenetic style that contrasted strongly with the lush big band arrangements of the time. In
the late 40s he formed a nonet whose album Birth of the Cool created cool jazz, a more laid-back, melodic
style with a much slower harmonic rhythm. After a break, his groups of the mid to late 1950s the first Miles
Davis Quintet and the Miles Davis Sextet recorded some of his most well-known albums, representing
a style that incorporated melodies and harmonies based on modes, a technique that became known as
modal jazz. His second quintet (which is the one performing NAM 50) was notable for its tight rhythm
section and experimental approach, particularly harmonically, where they departed from a set harmonic
scheme in favour of a freely improvised one. Later in his career, Davis also experimented with jazz fusion,
a style combining jazz and pop elements.

Tom Palumbo, from Wiki Commons website

Miles Davis: Four

Miles Davis

Four
The performance of Four from which the anthology excerpt is transcribed is from a live concert given by the Miles Davis Quintet at the
New Philharmonic Hall on 12 February 1964. The faster numbers from
the concert, of which Four is one, were released on an album called
Four and More and the slower ones on another entitled My Funny Valentine. Perhaps owing to nerves and also anger over the payment ar-

Line-up
Trumpet (Miles Davis)
Tenor sax (George Coleman)
Piano (Herbie Hancock)
Bass (Ron Carter)
Drums (Tony Williams)

rangements for the concert, the faster numbers come across as rather
rushed and there is a loss of precision in the ensemble as a result.

Note on the score

The version of Four in NAM is a transcription of the live performance. However, it is impossible to notate
performances such as this accurately, so what is given is an impression of what is played. The actual rhythms
and pitches in the performance are much more complex than what is written down. Many parts are missed
out, including the piano and drums in choruses 13 and the bass in choruses 23. Therefore, the music
cannot be analysed in the same way as, for instance, the Shostakovich.

There are some symbols used in the trumpet part in the score that may be new to students:

Location

Description

Meaning

Break, beat 3

C with a cross through it

Approximate pitch (these are

notes that Miles Davis split)

1.15

Wavy line

Glissando between the two

notes

1.18

Wavy line

Fall-off

1.191.20

Arrows

Pitch bends the notes are

lowered slightly

2.1

Note in brackets

A ghost note it doesnt sound

properly

2.3

with an arrow pointing

upwards

Played a quarter-tone higher

3.32

Diamond noteheads with 1/2v.

written above them

The note is half-valved the

valves are pressed down halfway, producing a different sound
from a normally fingered note

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Instrumental techniques
Make sure that the students can identify from the recording and the score the following techniques:
Piano
Staccato chords (for example H12)
Held chords (for example H3)
Comping (throughout solo section)
Short melodic fragments (for example H11)
Double bass
Pizzicato (walking bass) throughout
Drums
Open and closed hi-hat
Snare, snare rolls and grace notes
Snare rim-shots
Also uses toms, kick drum and other cymbals
Trumpet
Played open
Pitch bends (for example bars 1.181.20)
Flutter-tonguing (for example in the break)
Grace notes (for example 1.17 beat 4)
Notes not speaking (for example 2.232.24)
Extreme high notes (for example bar 3.2)
Extreme low notes (for example 2.232.24)
Microtones (for example 2.31 notice the upwards arrow on the sign to this note, which indicates a note
played slightly sharp)
Trill between two different fingerings of the same note (for example bars 3.324.4).
Because it is a live performance, there are also some inaccuracies, such as split notes and notes not speaking.
Davis was not as technically proficient as a trumpeter such as Dizzy Gillespie, and is better known for expressive playing in the middle register.

Form
Four is a head arrangement. The head is a tune or idea that has been composed in advance and which the
players have memorised. The head is stated at the beginning of the piece. A series of sections called choruses
follow: these are based on a sequence of harmonies that is usually similar to that of the head. In the case of
Four, each chorus is 32 bars long. Soloists take it in turn to improvise over this harmonic structure; their improvisations may last for several choruses (as does the trumpet solo in Four).
The overall form in the 1964 recording of Four is as follows:

Introduction (bars 18)

Head (H1)
Trumpet solo (break; choruses 1.14.4)
Tenor sax solo
Piano solo
Drum break
Head

15

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The form of the extract in NAM is as follows:

Bars

Length in bars

Instrumentation

Introduction

18

Drum solo

Head

H1H32

32

All

Chorus 1

1.11.32

32

Chorus 2

2.12.32

32

Trumpet solo with bass,

piano and drums

Chorus 3

3.13.32

32

Chorus 4

4.14.32

32

Texture
There are several textures used in Four:
The head has a homophonic texture a melody is played over a harmonic accompaniment.
The second bar of the break has a monophonic texture there is just one line.
Choruses 13 could be described as having a contrapuntal texture, with the trumpet solo being in counterpoint with the double basss running bass line. Although the piano adds harmonic material, the three parts
are so rhythmically independent that the whole effect is contrapuntal rather than homophonic.

Key words
Make sure students are aware of these terms:

Comping (the pianos use of sporadic chords, often on weak beats and frequently syncopated,
and melodic snippets based on the underlying harmonies)

Walking bass (a bass line consisting of a stream of fast, even notes, usually based on stepwise
movement).

Tonality
The head uses diatonic harmony, but this is coloured by the use of chromaticism. The key of the work is Eb
major, but the extensive use of chromaticism and dissonance obscures this key, especially in the choruses.
The choruses feature the free use of dissonance (a result of the trumpet and bass playing away from the
chord), weakening the sense of key.
As with Black and Tan Fantasy, the tonal scheme of Four can most clearly be seen when the successive statements of the chord sequence are written out one under another.
In the diagram below, the numbers at the top represent the bar numbers of each 32-bar section: so 16 refers
to the 16th bar of the head, the 16th bar of chorus 1 etc.

Eb

Eb

Ebm7

Ch. 1

Eb

Eb

Ch. 2

Eb

Ch. 3

Eb

Head

Ab7

Fm7

Fm7

Abm7

Ebm7

Ab7

Fm7

Fm7

Eb

Ebm7

Ebm7

Fm7

Eb

Ebm7

Ab7

Fm7

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10

11

12

13

14

15

16

Db7

Gm7

F#m7
B7

Fm7

Bb7

Gm7

F#m7
B7

Fm7

Bb7

Abm7

Db7

Gm7

Gm7

Fm7

Bb7

Gm7

Gm7

Fm7

Bb7

Fm7

Abm7

Abm7

Gm7

Gm7

Fm7

Bb7

Gm7

Gm7

Fm7

Bb7

Fm7

Fm7

Fm7

Eb

Eb

Fm7

Bb7

Eb

Eb

Fm7

Bb7

16

Head

17

18

19

20

Eb

Eb

Ebm7

Ab7

21

22

23

Fm7

Fm7

Abm7

24
Db7

25
Gm7

Fm7

26

27

28

29

30

Fm7

Bb7

Gm7
Fm7B7

Fm7
Bb7

Eb

Eb

B7

31

32

Ch. 1

Eb

Eb

Ebm7

Ab7

Fm7

Fm7

Abm7

Db7

Eb

C7

Fm7

Bb7

Eb

Bb7

Eb

Bb7

Ch. 2

Eb

Eb

Ebm7

Ebm7

Fm7

Fm7

Abm7

Abm7

Eb

C7

Fm7

Bb7

Eb

Bb7

Eb

Bb7

Ch. 3

Eb

Eb

Ebm7

Ebm7

Fm7

Fm7

Abm7

Db7

Eb

Eb

Fm7

Bb7

Eb

Eb

Fm7

Bb7

Note that bars 13,

56, 1718, 2123,
1112, 1516, 27
28 are unchanged
in the head and the
first three choruses.

From this, it can be seen that the harmonies of the head may be divided into two broadly similar 16-bar sequences, forming one 32-bar overall sequence. The harmonies notated above the choruses also follow 32-bar
chord sequences, which are also made up of two similar 16-bar harmonic progressions.
Common substitution chords are Eb for Gm7 (bars 9 and 25 of each sequence) and Ebm7 for Ab7 (bars 4 and
20).
Notice also that the harmonic rhythm is slower in the choruses that in the head, in which there are often two
and sometimes three chords per bar.

Harmony
The pianos harmonies in the choruses are not written out in the score and only follow the notated chord symbols loosely. However, the notated piano part in the head gives a good indication of the range of harmonies
used.

Activity
Ask students to find examples of the following in the head (answers in brackets):

A major 9th chord (upbeat to H1)

A diminished 7th chord (last quaver of H1)

An 11th chord (H5 beat 1)

A 13th chord (H14)

Harmonies moving in parallel (H10 beat 4)

A chromatic bass line (second time bar and following bar of head)

Parallel 5ths in the pianos left hand (H56)

Blue notes in the trumpet melody (Db at H3, Gb at H7).

These are all typical of rich jazz harmony, with added-note chords, parallel harmonies, chromaticism and free
Daviss quintet was
at this time becoming more experimental harmonically:
this was to lead to a
style called time no
changes, in which
the players used
no set harmonic
scheme, making up
the harmonies as
they went along.

17

use of melodic dissonance (in jazz, this is called playing away from the chord). As has been seen above, there
is also frequent use of substitution chords.
In the chorus sections, both the double bass and trumpet are often dissonant with the underlying chord sequence notated in the score. They tend to become more consonant with these harmonies at important structural points, such as at the ends of phrases.
In the trumpet solo, there is also a use of microtonal notes, such as at bar 2.31, adding extra colour to the
harmony.

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Melody
The head melody uses balanced phrasing: bars H13 are answered by a similar phrase in bars H4H7, while
H8H11 are answered by H12H15.
In the head, the first three notes are developed motivically, being repeated (H1), inverted (H2), transposed (H5)
and having their pitch content changed (H2 beats 34).
There is a different approach to melody in the choruses. In the trumpet solo, there are two types of melody:
Fast, virtuoso runs of quavers, often based on scale patterns. This type of material is consistent with the bop
style of jazz (for example 1.101.15).
Short motifs in longer note values (for example 1.171.23, 2.303.8 and 3.193.24). These are quickly developed, with pitches and rhythms being changed, before moving onto another bop-style passage.
Note that the melodies of the choruses bear little relation to those of the head, although the underlying chord
sequence is similar. This device is called thematic substitution.

Rhythm and metre

Four displays many rhythmic features typical of jazz generally. These include:
Very fast bop-style quavers in trumpet part (for example bars 1.10-1.14)
Syncopation (for example piano bars H1H2, trumpet bars 1.181.22)
Dotted rhythms (for example trumpet bars 1.271.28)
Pushes (anticipations of the beat)
Syncopated accents and short fills in the drums (for example at the end of each phrase in the head)
Syncopated accents and staccato chords in the piano part (comping).
Four maintains a great sense of rhythmic vitality throughout. There are several reasons for this:
The very fast tempo
The regular pulse of the drum and double bass parts
The use of syncopation to undermine this regular pulse.
In the trumpets solo, there is a general alternation between solo passages that reinforce the pulse established
by the drums and bass (for example at 1.101.15) and those that are more syncopated, weakening the sense
of pulse (for example at 1.171.23).

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