Project Proposal
As I’m at the very beginning of this project, the idea for my research question might still be able to change slightly. Nonetheless, due to the course guidance, I was able to gather several ideas, most of which lead to the question below.
What are the differences and similarities of music theory regarding piano music of the Classical era and Jazz piano music?
Using this question as a point of orientation, I would like the project to mainly focus on the comparison between music theory of Classical music (1730-1820) and Jazz music. As this can be a broad subject, and it also lies in a personal interest, I would like to narrow this topic further down and focus on piano music. I’m especially interested in researching about the differences in chord structures, chord progressions and which features create a more “Classical” or ”Jazzy” sounding character. It would also be interesting to demonstrate and compare differences in voice leading and the general structure of a piece or song, and demonstrate how Classical music theory may have influenced Jazz music.
A further point of interest would be the differences in notation, especially the range between Classical music and Jazz music that allows personal variations, soloing and interpretations and how they might have an effect on the performance or even the performers.
Overall I’m planning on using a range of different resources, using books on music theory, performances (to compare) as well as several websites. In addition, I will also look out for books with the corresponding topic in the library of my local area. Over the project there will be several more to come, but some of my main ones will be the following:
- Chord-specific scalar material in classical music: An adaption of jazz chord-scale theory by Andrew John Pokorny
- Classical Form: A Theory of Formal Functions for the Instrumental Music of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven by William E. Caplin
- Jazz Piano Method: A Player’s Guide to Authentic Styling, by Julie Wright
- “Performance Practices in Classical Piano Music” By Sandra P. Roseblum, by Brown, A. Peter
- The AB Guide to Music Theory, Part I, by Eric Taylor
- The AB Guide to Music Theory, Part II, by Eric Taylor
- The Jazz Harmony Book, by David Berkman
- The Jazz Theory Book, by Mark Levine
I think a good way to start this project is to focus on chord structures and chord progressions. As I move further into the project, I could also demonstrate these differences using examples of a Classical piece and a Jazz piece. This would also give me the option to focus on the differences in range of performance variations.
I think the main challenge for the project will be to stay focussed on the research question, and doing thorough research, without moving too far away from the topic. Furthermore, I am aware that most aspects of music theory can be implemented in a wider sense, and don’t only revolve around the piano. Nonetheless, I will try to refer back to the piano and maybe demonstrate how the differences can be implemented on the instrument.
Over the past few years I developed more on more interest for Jazz music, and even though I always liked listening to it, I barely played anything Jazz related myself. Nonetheless, as a Classical trained pianist I felt like I’ve reached a point about three to four years ago, where I found it difficult to make any further progress with my instrument. Thus, I slowly started to play Jazz music. The most interesting part for me during that process was to be able to move away from the boundaries of musical notation.
On one hand, this caused most things more challenging in the beginning, on the other hand, I had the impression that I was able to communicate better with the instrument and play it in a more intuitive way. Nonetheless, I would still say, that most of the playing techniques and accuracy as well as the foundation of my understanding for music theory originated from the Classical background. Therefore, I would be highly interested in being able to combine those two ideas within the project.
The practical work of the Major Project will consist of several pieces from Classical music which I am planning to rewrite for a Jazz band arrangement involving a Bass, drums, piano, guitar and possibly a singer. In comparison to the research project, I will not only use the music from the Classical era (1730-1820) but also from some pieces from other epochs. Furthermore, as already mentioned, the pieces will not only be written for the piano. This decision was also made, as I started playing some of the instruments mentioned above and would therefore also be interested in writing for them. Nonetheless, the broad idea of the practical project correlates well with my research work for Contextual Studies, as the same subjects (Classical music and Jazz music) are combined within the same project.
I’ve been studying with the OCA for a while now and got used to working productively and independently. Although, I know that I’ve got days where I’m able to work more efficiently than others, which also correlates a lot with my personal life and job. Therefore, the suggested dates below may still have to be altered, but overall I’m planning on taking between 1 to 2 months for one course part. Taking some more time for Assignments 3 and 4 it would come to the following schedule:
- 1st Assignment: 30th August 2023
- 2nd Assignment: 30th September 2023
- 3rd Assignment: 30th November 2023
- 4th Assignment: 30th January 2024
- 5th Assignment: 30th February 2024
The format of the project will probably be a blog, as I would be able to include musical examples within this format, which I think is essential for the chosen topic. Similarly, to an essay, it would also be able to include some pictures of notation for demonstrating the differences between chord structures.
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