Musical Freedom Across the World

An Investigation into the Scales and Improvisational Elements of Byzantine Chant and American Jazz and Swing

“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination,
and life to everything."

                                                -Plato

 

            Recently, I was at church, chanting the Great Doxology and my mind began to wander towards my first period Jazz Ensemble class I had the next day. I thought about the improvisational solos we were preparing for the upcoming concert, and an interesting thought occurred to me: I was doing the same thing that very moment. My thoughts flowed not only from the music but into the further comparisons I made in the following investigation. I am both a Jazz musician and an Orthodox Christian chanter so delving even deeper into the research of the musical elements of these two genres proved to be a very interesting and enlightening learning experience for me.

            We cannot fully explore these genres without historical background and context. Contemporary American jazz and swing music has a rich history consisting of a mingling of many different cultures. During the Atlantic Slave Trade, thousands of Sub-Saharan Africans were brought to what is now America. Through slavery, their aboriginal tribal music was incorporated with Southern American music to form songs such as the black spirituals, which became the basis for the development of jazz. As the years progressed, many factors such as European instrumentation, Hispanic islander rhythms, and Western music theory influenced the music and produced the existence of jazz as it is known today.

            On the opposite spectrum, Orthodox Christian liturgical music[1] (known as Byzantine chant due to the empire that the Church dominated at the time) is especially known for its completely unchanging nature since its creation in the early 4^th Century AD. Even before the advent of Christianity, non-secular “holy” music was ascribed to angelic choirs’ praises to God. This was the notion that the early Church Fathers attempted to emulate when first arranging the various chants. Obviously, since the credit for their composition went to a heavenly power, all early pieces were written anonymously (contemporary arrangers and transcribers are recorded, however). Today, Byzantine chant is sung in every Orthodox Christian church all throughout the world.

            Musical improvisation plays a large role in many genres, especially Byzantine and jazz. It is a skill and instrumental technique; however, though they are complementary, technical ability and instrumental ability may not necessarily be related. The main reason for this is the nature of the music performed. For example, Romantic Era and Contemporary Era European music almost never consists of improvisation because of the themes they contain. However, ornamentation and specialized scales lends to the improvisational nature of Byzantine and jazz.

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[1] The written Byzantine music presented here is only approximate in its technicalities and intervals. It is the closest possible representation using Western notation. The actual sung piece is authentic and true to the style.

The two pieces of music I will investigate that exemplify these elements are:

 

The Great Doxology in Tone 1

Chanted by the Monks of St. Anthony’s Monastery in Florence, Arizona

Adapted from Manuel of Byzantium (1819)

http://stanthonysmonastery.org/music/Doxologies/0040_Doxology_1.mp3

And

 

Clarinet à la King

Performed by Benny Goodman

Music by Eddie Sauter

 

 

 

 

Byzantine Chant and the Great Doxology

Byzantine Chant uses the Octoechos (Greek for eight sounds), which is a strictly a cappella modal system composed of eight different tones/modes. These tones use the Pythagorean Diatonic (Tones 1, 4, 5, 8), Enharmonic (Tones 3, 7), and Chromatic (Tones 2, 6). These are not the same as their Western counterparts due to their intervals, which are split into 72 microtones instead of 12 half steps. The Western major scale would thus have an interval pattern 12-12-6-12-12-12-6, whereas the diatonic scale, which this version of the Great Doxology is sung in, has intervals (beginning at C) of 12-10-8-12-12-10-8.

Within these scales and tones is the ability to manipulate them to fit the prayer that is sung. The form of each of the verses of the Great Doxology adheres to the scale of Tone 1 and its properties. What distinguishes the diatonic scale as that of Tone 1 rather than the others is the use of the equivalent of D as the tonic so that the interval pattern becomes 10-8-12-12-10-8-12. Each verse ends on the tonic D with the exception of the 21^st, 22^nd, 24^th, and 25^th verses which end on the subdominant G. Ending on the tonic note gives a conclusion to the phrase, whereas ending on the subdominant flows one verse into the next. The harmony (also known as the ison, a single, low, held note that supports the melody but does not render the piece polyphonic as it is not a chord), denoted by the red letters above the staff, also starts and ends on the tonic or subdominant. The ison of the 13^th verse begins on the dominant low A as a variation to the previous two verses. These basic structural guidelines do not apply to the middle sections of the verses as the chanter displays his improvisation throughout the prayer. His improvisation follows the scale and the correct intervals while not deviating from the tone or overall theme of the Doxology. The melody flows smoothly up and down and very few large steps are made; most move one note above or below the note before.

 

 

In order to augment the simple rhythmic structure of the music, chanters utilize ornamentations to enhance the prayer’s beauty. In the original Byzantine notation, a set of specific symbols is used to denote short vocal flourishes (some can be likened to Western trills, turns, and grace notes). When music is transcribed into Western notation, they are written as standard eighth or sixteenth notes. The addition of ornamentation is purely dependent on the words sung in the phrase. For example, in the 15^th verse, two embellishments occur on the words “have” and “fled”. Both contain the same interval and act as a technical bridge between their respective preceding and following notes. These and other ornamentations in the Doxology also add a stressed, powerful mood into the chant by the added emphasis required of the voice.

 

 

American Jazz and Clarinet à la King

Blues scales play a large role in the composition and improvisation of a jazz piece. A blues scale consists of a minor pentatonic scale with added blue notes. A single version of a blues scale is used over all the chord changes in the commonly used twelve bar blues progression. Clarinet à la King’s progression is based on the Bb blues scale and uses it to its advantage by providing a basis for the underlying harmonies while allowing freedom for the melody to improvise.

           

 

 

 

The harmony played by the big band is very structured and written as to give a specific beat to the song for the clarinet to play off. Most of the chords played by the combination of instruments are derivative of the blues scale. For example, the Eb major chord in the second bar obviously consists of notes from the blues scale and thus formulates a “jazz” tonality when coupled with the melody. While most of the clarinet part is composed, its structure allows for a free flowing melody that sounds improvised when it is not. The melody progresses through small intervals that reflect the scale. Large intervals are used in standalone phrases that signal a shift from one musical idea to the next. One such phrase is that in the sixth and seventh bars that transfers the piece from the introduction section into rehearsal marker A. The structure moves the piece smoothly with occasional accented rhythms and articulations that give Clarinet à la King a swing feel.

            No jazz song like this one would be complete without a section set aside for a musician to improvise and display his skill. Benny Goodman’s solo (beginning at 1:30 on the recording) is a conventional improvisation that complements the entirety of the piece. It is easily distinguishable as improvised by its heightened emotional quality, the slight disregard for the time signature, and the fact that the harmony suddenly became simpler in rhythm to increase focus towards Goodman’s clarinet. However, the solo adheres to the tone of the song, its technical aspects, and more importantly to the blues scale. It shifts seamlessly from composition to improvisation and slides seamlessly back into the written melody at 2:10. This solo represents both the whole of Clarinet à la King and Benny Goodman’s skill and emotion that he puts into his music.

            While not as present as in some other jazz pieces, ornamentation in Clarinet à la King is significant to the feel it produces. Numerous grace notes, such as those in the second, ninth, tenth, thirteenth, and fourteenth bars embellish phrases in the piece to enhance their complexity. Falls such as the one near the end add a conclusion to a presented motif. There are many other jazz ornaments ubiquitously placed in this piece that all accomplish the same task of beautifying it with their flourishes.

 

 



Similarities

            Despite their numerous differences in structure, articulation, rhythm, and overall mood, Clarinet à la King and The Great Doxology hold significant similarities. They both use scales that are specialized to their genre. Interestingly, the Bb blues scale and the Pythagorean diatonic scale on which Tone 1 is based are both minor in their tone and their intervals. The use of these scales accomplishes many tasks within each of the works. They both portray moods that distinguish themselves from conventional music styles. Clarinet à la King expresses swing and jazz which, while popular in America, certainly does not seem like a “normal, everyday” genre. The Great Doxology is a Byzantine chant which is only sung liturgically and is in a different musical spectrum than secular music. However, the main purpose for the scales in both pieces is to set up a basis for harmonic voices to adhere to so that the melodic voice may be liberated to perform on its own terms. The anonymous monk and Benny Goodman are free to take the music where their desires wish it to go as long as they do not stray too far from their fellow musicians. The big band and the ison are simpler than their respective melodies and must retain strict guidelines so the musicality of the songs does not fly away with the melody. The conservative harmonies keep the liberal melodies in check, and the melodies add emotion to the harmonies. As an Orthodox monk from Mt. Athos once said: “The ison is the floor upon which the melody dances.” This holds true for jazz as well. Their own ornamentations are another aspect that outlines the expression the musician implants into the music.

In the end, what is the point of all the improvisation in these pieces (and more importantly, their genres)? It is more than personal expression, although that is one driving force behind it. It represents a freedom from the musical text that holds immense power. When a chanter sings a verse, he is telling a Biblical story and praising God. To him, God cannot be composed, He must be sung to from the very depths of the chanter’s soul and with his purest emotion to properly offer Him exaltation. A jazz player tells his own story that cannot be expressed in words, neither can he sit and write it down lest it run away from him before he has a chance to play it. His emotion is internalized and transmitted through his instrument through his own improvisation.

Putting this investigation together has been a valuable learning experience on the power of emotion in music. Technical similarities in the works represent deeper, fundamental aspects of musical expression. No matter how different the music, it will always start with human emotion.

 

 

Bibliography (All accessed April 2^nd, 2013):

 

 

Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology. "Diatonic Scale Diagram." Byzantine Chant. Ed. Photios Ketsetzis. Print.

 

Jazz, Karl. "Jazz Education Database." The Jazz Education Database. Joomla, 2007. Web. <http://www.jazzeducationdatabase.com/>.

 

Salamy, Christopher. Personal interview. 2 Apr. 2013.

 

 

 

 

Discography (All accessed April 2^nd, 2013):

 

 

Anonymous. “The Great Doxology (Tone 1).” Divine Liturgies Music Project. St.Anthony’s Monastery, 2010.

 

Benny Goodman. “Clarinet à la King.” Plays Eddie Sauter. Columbia, 1997.