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Re: 'Musical' Notation...

Author: Chris P
Date: 2016-06-22 02:47

Being from a Big Band background since I was a teenager, I can tell when other players are new to it as swing quavers are either played straight or very dotted by them instead of swung. And some instructors that have no concept of swing will have the quavers played straight even though the drummer is playing a swing rhythm which just doesn't work at all.

The only safe way around that is to write the music out in 12/8 for players who have no concept of swing, but it looks a mess and far more complicated to anyone that prefers to see 4/4 but with the quavers all played swung. A tenor horn player once complained to one instructor (who happens to be an excellent Jazz tenor sax player) that his upbeat quaver was late. It was a swing feel piece he had the band play - as it's on the last 3rd of the beat, it is late if you don't understand how swing quavers work. I also had a Classical sax player complain that I was accenting the offbeats instead of the main beats and this was in a swing band setting where the offbeats are accented to give it that drive. I've even seen music where someone's written the accents on the first quaver of a group of four quavers, even though the second quaver was the one that should have the accent on it and it was also the highest note of the groups.

I did pick up a bass trombone player recently who is from a military and brass band background that played straight quavers as that's how he saw it printed, even though it was indicated after the tempo marking that the quavers are played swung. The first time I let him get away with it and his section and the drummer picked him up on it, but the second time he did that I had to say something.

Musical style and stylistic playing is something learnt by example and experience rather than something read straight off a stave. 'Rubato' and 'Freely' are excellent devices to give the performer the motivation to play how they feel, but some players simply don't know how to let go even though they've been playing for several decades.

Music theory will show how to write out ornaments from the Baroque and Classical era in full, but they will use all equally divided notes for trills. So a lot of people having being taught the theory will try to play it that way. Baroque trills and Classical trills are very different to each other. Also Jazz and Baroque both are 'blank canvas' styles in they both allow the performers a lot of freedom.

Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.

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