Make it Jazzy
In the previous two lessons we discussed, Reharmonization. Another good way to make a song sound more interesting and ‘jazzy’ is by changing the meter or time signature.
Changing the Meter
Most Jazz songs are in 4/4 time. This is probably a legacy from the Swing Era where ‘Jazz’ was dance music – and it’s much easier to dance to 4/4 time (especially with a backbeat) than say 13/8 time. Occasionally, the time signature of Jazz Standards were changed for this reason (and to make it swing). This happened with the song Fly Me to the Moon which:
- Was originally written as a waltz (3/4 time)
- But was later changed to 4/4 time
- Incidentally, it was also originally called In Other Words
And you can take this further and play around with the time signature of a Jazz Standard to make the song more interesting. Why not play the song in 5/4 time or 7/8 time?
Have a Listen to
For inspiration, listen to some of Dave Brubeck’s songs:
- Take Five – 5/4 time
- Unsquare Dance – 7/4 time
- World’s Fair – 13/4 time
- Pick Up Sticks – 6/4 time
- Eleven Four – 11/4 time
- Blue Rondo a la Turk – 9/8 time
