Melody/Voicing in Jazz and Romantic Era Music

In traditional Black American music, melodies hold special importance throughout all fields of jazz study. Rooted in the foundations of slavery, the only means to make music for an extended period of time was exclusively with voice. A traditional means to create songs would be to have simple lyrics sung in a call-and-response system, in which a crowd would sing a response after an individual or group's line. This means that besides the response, there was only the melody, without any source of support or legitimate musical structure. Other instruments, which were added as time went on, became a simple accompaniment for the crux of the piece: the melody. As jazz music progressed, vocals altogether were often excluded from pieces, as in Duke Ellington and John Coltrane's performance of "In a Sentimental Mood," recorded in 1962. This piece, although without vocals, could be considered in some ways a song, because John Coltrane's saxophone is lyrical and emotional in his performance. Throughout the work, there is an introspective tone in which Coltrane broods on bleak but not depressing circumstances. The viscous piece builds in places, accented by the saxophone's flairs. This example of emphasis on jazz melody demonstrates how the voice of the melody, vocal or not, is the crux of all Black American musical production.

The Romantic musical era, similar to jazz, puts heavy emphasis on the melody and voice. As opposed to previous classical periods, the Romantic era began a set of new typical characteristics for melodies. Romantic melodies are more emotionally expressive, and as such, the voice usually is affected more by dynamics. Also, with greater dynamics, climaxes may be built much more than in traditional classical music. Even in slower songs, such as nocturnes, the climaxes are more significant in the Romantic era due to the wider range of dynamics and emotions commonly expressed. In Chopin's Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2, arguably his most famous piece, there is an obvious emphasis on the melody, while the left hand plays a simple set of arpeggios to accent the right handed melody. The use of trills throughout the piece represents the building of climaxes. The piece, without regard for traditional emotional transitions, easily changes tempo according to the dynamic being played. As the piece climaxes, the tempo also increases.  The dynamics also change suddenly, embodying the Romantic idea of a wider and more extreme emotional range, even in a traditionally brooding piece. Throughout Chopin's Nocturne and other Romantic works, the dynamics and emotional range of the melody are changed regularly and without regard for tempo.