Jazz and folk influences

Popular traditions had a big impact on 20th century art music.

Jazz influences

Several ingredients in general 20th century music can be traced back to the influence of American Jazz:

• fresh vitality in rhythm, relying on syncopation [Syncopation: An alteration of a rhythm when a weak beat is accented. ]
• syncopated melodies above a steady beat
• blues notes - flattening certain notes of the scale such as the 3rd or 7th
• muted brass effects
• a keener interest in percussive sounds
• instruments playing in shrill registers
• improvisatory elements – even resulting in aleatoric music where improvisation and performance choice is at the core of the composition

Ravel, Milhaud, Gershwin, Kurt Weill, Stravinsky, Walton and Copland are amongst composers who have used jazz elements in their works

Examples: 'Ragtime for eleven instruments' by Stravinksky; 'Piano Concerto' by Gershwin.

Folk influences

• During the first half of the 20th century, nationalism had a large influence on the music.
• Many composers studied folk songs and used folk melodies in their compositions. Examples are Britten, Copland, and Williams.