This section will introduce you to the musical elements that are common to much of the music we call jazz. We will look at jazz from a theoretical perspective and examine three essential features of the music to see how they contribute to this remarkable art form. In addition, we will look at how the unique swing feeling of jazz is achieved.

We will also get a first glimpse at the blues. To appreciate jazz and blues more fully, it’s good to know how the unique sounds of blues originated, and how those sounds were absorbed into jazz. This section also covers some of the defining characteristics of blues music, and some of the differences between blues and jazz.