Home » Jazz Articles » Mr. P.C.'s Guide to Jazz Etiquette and Bandstand Decorum » August 2015

10

August 2015

August 2015
By

Sign in to view read count
Dear Mr. P.C.:

What's wrong with the people who made up the names for how to play? When you get to a section that's double-time, you would think it would take twice as long, but it's actually faster. Then you get to a part that's half-time, so it should take half as long to play, but it's slower. Am I missing something?

—Concerned Citizen


Dear Concerned:

Yes, you are. Your math assumes time is a constant, but Einstein disproved that more than 100 years ago, and rhythm sections continue to disprove it every night.

In reality, double-time isn't a precise tempo, but rather a special effect designed to amplify the music's irregularities. It takes all the problems that come up when musicians are playing regular "time"—rushing drummers, uneven basslines, spastic soloists... and makes them twice as bad! It's really more of a parlor trick than a useful musical device, and it takes a terrible physical and emotional toll on the musicians.

Half-time is when the musicians get to take a long break, just like in football; it's usually called when they need to regroup and recover from playing double-time.

Dear Mr. P.C.:

I just played a big band gig doing original compositions by the leader. We spent a couple of hours rehearsing, and performed a three-hour concert a few days later. It was a door gig, and it probably took in a hundred bucks or so. That only comes to about six bucks a guy, so I wasn't shocked when he didn't split the money up. But then he invited us to join him for a drink, and didn't pay!

I'm thinking that next time we should just ask people in the audience to buy us all drinks instead of paying a cover, so we can bypass the middleman. Would that be wrong?

—Six Buck Chuck


Dear Chuck:

Think this through carefully. Until people pay a cover charge, they aren't an audience at all; the house is empty. So how could they possibly give you drink money? In this sense, the cover charge creates the audience. That's no small act of magic, and if your leader feels it entitles him to certain perks, I can hardly blame him.

Dear Mr. P.C.:

Is the singer really always right, or can I just plow ahead with the changes regardless of where she is in the form?

—Higgybear


Dear Higgybear:

Yet another condescending letter from an instrumentalist forced to work with a singer he considers beneath his dignity. And I grow weary...

Look, Higgybear—when you solo, you get to improvise melodically, harmonically and rhythmically all at once. When is the last time you heard a singer do that? Never! They have these little constraints called words and music, and a bunch of seniors and jazz purists in the audience ready to tear their heads off if they deviate from the written lines.

But it is jazz, right? So they have to be able to improvise somehow—and that's where the form comes in. A skipped beat here, an extra measure there, a fourth "A" on an AABA tune; that's their creative outlet, Higgybear! If you won't grant them that one chance to express themselves, you're no better than whoever came up with the twisted idea of putting singers and instrumentalists together in the first place.
Have a question for Mr. P.C.? Ask him.

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Jazz article: Old Folks
Mr. P.C.'s Guide to Jazz Etiquette and Bandstand Decorum
Old Folks
Jazz article: Last Notes, List Notes, Lost Dollars
Mr. P.C.'s Guide to Jazz Etiquette and Bandstand Decorum
Last Notes, List Notes, Lost Dollars
Jazz article: Fluid Start Times, Desert Island Recordings, and Personal Growth
Mr. P.C.'s Guide to Jazz Etiquette and Bandstand Decorum
Fluid Start Times, Desert Island Recordings, and Personal...
Jazz article: French Scat, Nothing Personal, Casual Claustrophobia
Mr. P.C.'s Guide to Jazz Etiquette and Bandstand Decorum
French Scat, Nothing Personal, Casual Claustrophobia

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.