FASCINATING RHYTHM: Dave Brubeck performing at the Detroit International Jazz Festival in 2009
Image: wwwebber on flickr
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Jazz legend Dave Brubeck died December 5, just one day before his 92nd birthday. The pianist and composer was an innovator, especially when it came to combining rhythms and meters in new ways. "He sort of tired of the traditional patterns of jazz," says Patrick Langham, a saxophonist and faculty member of the Brubeck Institute at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif.
Time Out, the hit 1959 album by the Dave Brubeck Quartet, was one of the first popular jazz works to explore meters beyond the traditional 4/4 and 3/4. (The first number, which is the top number of the time signature in sheet music, represents the number of beats in the measure, and the second number represents the note value that receives one beat. 4/4 means that there are four beats and a quarter note lasts for one beat, yielding four quarter notes in each measure.) "Take Five" and "Blue Rondo a la Turk," two of Brubeck's most popular works, are both on Time Out.
"Take Five," which was conceived by Brubeck's saxophonist Paul Desmond, is in 5/4 with the accent pattern one two three four five, so each measure can be thought of as being split into two uneven chunks. Langham says that from a dance point of view, the meter of "Take Five" combines a waltz and a two-step, both of which were popular in the 1950s and 1960s with the parents of teenagers. "This allowed college students to be different, in the sense of adding a funky twist to it."
"Blue Rondo a la Turk" has a time signature of 9/8. In 9/8 time, the nine eighth notes are usually divided into three groups of three, with the stress pattern one two three one two three one two three, but "Blue Rondo" has the pattern one two one two one two one two three. It even gets a bit more complicated: for most of the piece, there are three measures of the unusual 9/8 rhythm followed by one measure of the usual groups of three.
Of course, novelty is in the ear of the beholder. Langham says that Brubeck "was a very worldly person. Within his travels he would go and hear other musicians and hear what they were doing, and he would incorporate that into his music." In the case of "Blue Rondo a la Turk," Brubeck picked up the rhythm from street musicians in Turkey. "It seemed very natural to them to be playing in this rhythm," Langham says.
Justin London is a professor of music at Carleton College in Minnesota who specializes in music perception and cognition, particularly with respect to musical meter. He says that Brubeck actually inspired much of his research into rhythm and meter. "I knew that it had a visceral, toe-tapping sense of beat and rhythm," he says, "but according to most theories of rhythm and meter developed in recent decades, it couldn't, given its uneven beat structure."
"These uneven meters play by slightly different rules than the symmetrical meters," London says. For one, people's brains can't process the unusual meters as quickly as the standard ones, so they can't be performed as quickly. "Uneven beats are perfectly fine, but we can't do it quite as fast as with even beats." They also can't "swing" the way a lot of jazz does. When a piece swings, two eighth notes in succession aren't played evenly; instead, the first is longer than the second. This can make the figure sound like a triplet (with the first two notes slurred together) instead of two eighth notes. "When you're swinging, you're very close to blurring the lines between duplets and triplets," London says. But "Blue Rondo a la Turk," which relies on the listener hearing sets of both two and three, would get too muddy if it started to swing. "Brubeck was criticized for not swinging, but you can't swing the music in those meters the same way you can if you're just in a straight four."
London says that Brubeck's rhythms can play with the listener's innate toe-tapping ability—the technical term is entrainment. "Whenever you start doing anything in rhythm the whole motor center of the brain starts lighting up." He notes that musicians and nonmusicians do equally well on tests of this ability. It appears to be an innate skill, part of the way we interact socially. Asymmetrical meters may be appealing because they test people's native entrainment ability and keep the brain more active while listening and performing. "The asymmetrical meters do make you work a little harder to make you stay along with them, and that's part of their appeal, attraction and charm," London says.
"Although it's written in 5/4," London says about "Take Five," "the pianist is often playing groups of 3+3+2+2 [eighth notes], so it's actually two long beats and two short beats." This gives the music an off-kilter feel. He adds that in "Blue Rondo a la Turk," the last measure of each phrase, with its three sets of three eighth notes, can sound off-balance after the first three measures. "The uneven makes the even sound syncopated."
David Huron, a music professor at The Ohio State University, researches a variety of topics in music cognition, including the emotional effects of music and what makes tunes memorable. He says that musicologists tend to focus on novelty when discussing musical appeal, but in reality, "people prefer things that are familiar." He says that in order to make songs such as "Take Five" and "Blue Rondo a la Turk" compelling, Brubeck had to balance the novelty of the rhythm with familiarity, particularly through repetition. "If you want to make things accessible to listeners, repetition is key. If he had just done a more Stravinsky-esque thing, playing around with these rhythms and not repeating them, then what we know from the research is that would be much less appealing to the listeners."
For the performer, unusual rhythms can be a challenge. "They feel very natural to me," Langham says, "but I grew up listening to Dave's music!" Joking aside, he says that the odd time signatures "don't allow you to play the normal riffs and ideas that you're so used to and comfortable doing when you're playing in a standard time signature." He says that this disruption of the status quo can help musicians grow. London says that in order for the ensemble to synchronize in difficult meters, they have to use different strategies from what they usually do. They need to be more aware of the larger measure-to-measure structure of the piece, rather than just the shorter sections of the work.
Brubeck wasn't too caught up in the psychology or numerology of his music. "Of course, rhythms can be looked at in a mathematical kind of way," Langham says, "but I think as a musician he was more focused on making sure that the music reflected a type of emotional content, that it was able to reach people and move people, even if it wasn't in a standard time signature like 4/4."
On a personal level Langham says that he feels blessed to have known Brubeck. He met the composer shortly after being hired by the Brubeck Institute in 2003. Langham had been invited to the home of the Institute's dean for dinner, and Brubeck and his wife were there, too. "Here I am sitting having dinner with Dave and Iola Brubeck, and I've only been on campus a week," he says. Brubeck and Langham saw each other at least twice a year at different events and, he adds, "every year no matter what, I got a Christmas card with a handwritten note from Dave." Although Brubeck was quite elderly, he was in relatively good health up until the end, and his death was unexpected. "It's been a tough time dealing with the passing of Dave," Langham says. "I'm honored that he's left us such a legacy."
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13 Comments
Add CommentLet's not get too carried away here. Go down the street and ask 100 people under the age of 25 who this fellow is or if they listen to his music and probably all 100 will give you a blank stare. They are all listening to standard 4/4 music or 3/4 and anything they listen to sycopated (like Reggae) is within those timings.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBrubeck's type of jazz is more or less like Latin...not actually dead but well past its prime.
It's only fair that young folks don't listen to old music. As an old guy I don't listen to much young people's music.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisUnorthodox was a poor choice for describing Brubeck's music. Perhaps non-traditional would have been more appropriate.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHow can music die? Popularity is no measure of quality and often a reflection of ignorance.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe only difference between now and how things were in Brubeck's heyday is that popular music is more rigid. Let's not forget that in the 50s and 60s, there was less room for underground music, so everything had to be accessible to a fairly wide base. Since then, I think we see a greater degree of codification of mainstream, "alternative mainstream" and even the more leftfield music genres. These days, listeners who are more interested in experimentation have to take considerable pains to seek out musicians that go against the grain. One of my personal favorites is the electronic "braindance" band Autechre. They are noted for extensive use of complicated meters, deliberately toying with the listener's perception of repetition and permutation and what may sound "off-kilter". In this context, I find this quote telling: "If you want to make things accessible to listeners, repetition is key. If he had just done a more Stravinsky-esque thing, playing around with these rhythms and not repeating them, then what we know from the research is that would be much less appealing to the listeners."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThere are also some examples in the "Art Rock" genre, though I am less familiar with them.
So, the bottom line is, some vanguard musicians since the late 70s have attempted, and continue to attempt, to bridge the kinds of experimentation that are seen in modern academic circles with some of the forms of 'popular' music that are in fact off the beaten path. That's where you have to look, rather than among the Justin Bieber crowd. (Sorry if that sounds elitist; I would describe it more as 'market segmentation'.)
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thismetamorphmuses
I completely disagree. there is way more alternate 'popular' music available today than ever. One can listen to a thousand tracks from China, India, Malaysia, etc....all without leaving your town. This is listened to by millions in North america and europe. all types of alternate rhythms, timings, chord voicings, etc.
There is no longer 'a' popular music...a minority listen to your examplre of Justin Bieber....a much smaller percent than listened to Elvis or the Beatles. Music has exploded into niche markets. I've played guitar for over 40 years and never has 'popular' music been more specific to a subset of the population.
the headline says Brubecks music is 'appealing'. I repeat, perhaps to a few. The definition of a rock band is they play 4 chords to an audience of a thousand...a jazz musician plays a thousand chords to an audience of 4. Jazz is not all that appealing to tha vast majority of music listeners.
I disagree, my students really enjoy playing Bruckbeck's music. Most of them recognize Take 5 and all of my students are younger than 25.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMy goodness ! No one mentioned "Unsquare Dance" IMHO, you have no business discussing Brubeck without knowledge of that wonderful piece!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisInteresting. I think the question becomes, how do we even define 'popular' music...? I don't think you're right about Justin Bieber, though. As difficult as it is for me, personally, to comprehend, that boy's listening base is substantial.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI find amusing your definition of a rock band as "they play 4 chords to an audience of a thousand...a jazz musician plays a thousand chords to an audience of 4." I'm not convinced it's true, but I like the formulation of it. The fact is, there are "math rock" bands that play complicated music, and there is exceedingly conventional jazz that serves as "elevator music". Who and to how many people each of these types of music appeals to is a different matter entirely.
I do believe that there is a significant minority of the under-25 demographic that seeks out Jazz, and/or Classical, Avant-garde ("modern classical"), experimental... the kinds of music that are less commercially viable from a contemporary standpoint (quite aside from the question of whether they are 'popular'). I say 'significant' because they help keep these forms alive now and into the future. But they, along with those of us who were in that same position when we were that age and may continue to hold the proverbial torch, form but a drop in the bucket compared to the masses that consume the current mainstream music product lines.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"Uneven beats are perfectly fine, but we can't do it quite as fast as with even beats." They also can't "swing" the way a lot of jazz does. When a piece swings, two eighth notes in succession aren't played evenly; instead, the first is longer than the second. This can make the figure sound like a triplet (with the first two notes slurred together) instead of two eighth notes.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis is only part of the story. On note is also played at a much lower volume level than the other in the "swung eighths", something that provides much of the swing feel.
Paul Desmond alway swung, especially in Take 5 - so you can swing in odd time signatures. See the Edmonton Jazz Ensemble in "Blues in 7". Swings like crazy. But what do I know? I don't study jazz, I play it. (Sax, and I have played Take 5. A lot. And I have swung it.). And to Sciencefirstand foremost - listen to "Spoonman" by Soundgarden, which doesn't swing but which modulated between 7/4 and 4/4 and something else I'm not quite sure about. Modern music is not all 4/4. First and foremost, science demands an open mind. I know this as a Ph.D. research scientist in infectious diseases. Please take another look at the evidence. As far as Brubeck's music being past it's due date, I would disagree and ask whether you have listened to a lot of his music or only the original "Take 5"? Listen to more - I think you will find much of enduring value. And listen to the new music with joy! A true musician comes to the music trying to understand why it inspires and moves the people who do like it.
I played both jazz (Brubeck, specifically) and classical in my physical education classes. My students were mostly from very poor socio-economic circumstances, minority students. They were most enthused about both classifications of music and some asked to take cd's home to make copies, which I allowed.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBrubeck combines novelty (which the brain loves most of all) and repetition which the brain requires for memory/learning formation.
Music is deeply rooted in dance, which is nothing other than the playful outcome of our bi-pedalism!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnd whenever we are move fast on our tiptoes, we rely on the comforting 'two-stroke engine' of our lower extremities, and- with any ralentando or syncope being thrown in playfully, we are all the more anxiously awaiting the back-to-normal rhythm of the two-beat of two feet that we must have known since we were wooshing around in our mothers' wombs..