The current paper is a study on the properties of violin performance shown on the Gypsy Jazz Music. The Gypsy Jazz Music integrates with the local ethnic music and shows Gypsy Music’s unique sorrowful melody and scales. The composers of classical mu...
The current paper is a study on the properties of violin performance shown on the Gypsy Jazz Music. The Gypsy Jazz Music integrates with the local ethnic music and shows Gypsy Music’s unique sorrowful melody and scales. The composers of classical music with such properties composed by introducing the properties in their own work, and the violin music works consisted the majority of the cases.
For Jazz Music, guitarist Django Reinhardt with Gypsy background created Gypsy Jazz Music integrating Gypsy Music and Swing. Django Reinhardt worked as Quintette du Hot Club de France which is the origin of Gypsy Jazz Music with Gypsy violinist Stephane Grappelli. The Gypsy Jazz Music consists of three guitars, a violin and a base, and the music progresses with the solo of the violin. The study conducted research focusing on the performance of the violin. Studies on the violin on the classical Gypsy Music is still on the way, but studies on the Gypsy Jazz Music currently incomplete.
The research establishes basic foundation prior to the research by heightening the degree of understanding on the historical background by considering the Gypsy Music and Gypsy Jazz Music, and looking through the musical elements of Gypsy Music acting as the foundation of Gypsy Jazz Music. Moreover, the research establishes theoretical background of violin performance technique required for the analysis research, and analyzes the properties of violin performance shown in “Minor Swing", “Daphne”, “Nuages” among the musics of ‘Quintette du Hot Club de Franc’ which is the origin of Gypsy Jazz Music. The results are as follows.
First, The composition of the melody is centered on the chord tone, and the arpeggio is frequently used and played. Especially, chromatic approach note is used to make the connection natural with the code tone. Also, the melody with the form of descending progress after a skip was frequent
Second, characteristic sound of gypsy minor and major showed as the approach note in the music, and the 4 sound which is the characteristic sound of gypsy minor was identical with the blue note of blues scale.
Third, the music plays eighth note based on the swing rhythm, and adds rhythms by using syncopation.
Fourth, the music repeatedly used the same figure by arranging the rhythm, prelude, and beat differently.
Fifth, the music uses various violin styles, and the common styles regardless of the speed of the music were the scoop with ascending progress among vibrato, ornament and scoop.
Sixth, the music added rhythms by using ghost note on the musics with fast tempo, and finished the music by using the fall off with descending progress on the end part of the phrase. And on the musics with slow tempo, the music frequently used grace notes to decorate the melody.
The Gypsy Jazz Music is composed based on the melodic and rhythmic properties of Gypsy Music and the rhythms of Swing Jazz, and the same properties were shown on the violin performance. Currently, the range of the study is wide and the subject of the analysis has a limit that the musics are only three musics of Quintette du Hot Club de France under the condition that the studies on the Gypsy Jazz Music and Jazz Violin are incomplete. I hope the study would be a help to the understanding on the Gypsy Jazz Music and on the analysis of the properties of violin.