Exploring the Jazz Funeral

Materials: Audio examples and listening guides (click to open), Handout (click to open)

1. Begin by playing “Just a Closer Walk With Thee” (on the audio examples page). Ask students their thoughts on the two contrasting sections. What changed? How did the first section make them feel? How about the second section? Explain that this is an example of a traditional New Orleans jazz funeral and have them read the opening paragraph from the accompanying handout.
2. Using the information on the previous page, introduce the funeral band (usually a small marching band of half-a-dozen or more musicians) as the predecessor to the very first jazz bands (save the final two paragraphs for after the discussion of the funeral bands as it deals specifically with jazz bands). Be sure to incorporate the vocabulary words into your discussion. When introducing the terms front line and second line, refer to the picture at the bottom of the handout.
3. After the vocabulary words have been introduced, play example “A Closer Walk With Thee” a second time. This time, have students follow along using the corresponding listening chart. See if they can tell the difference between the sound of the front line (melodic instruments) and second line (rhythmic instruments). Be sure to also point out the areas of collective improvisation and note that musicians aren’t playing music that is written down (as you introduce the jazz band later in the lesson, you will notice that collective improvisationremains as a feature, but more solo improvisations begin to take an important role).
4. To segue into how these marching bands influenced the early jazz bands, use the last two paragraphs from the previous page. Have them read the biography of Joe “King” Oliver. If you have an example of his music, play an example (see the “Online Connections” section of this lesson for ideas on where to find free examples from the web).
5. Next, play “Second Line.” Have the students follow along with the recording using the corresponding listening chart. As they listen, have them fill in the blanks on the handout to reflect what is happening in the recording. The answers are listed on the listening example page.
6. Have them read Jelly Roll Morton’s biography. Feel free to discuss his music and career as it relates to your prep and the lesson. For more information on Jelly Roll Morton, click here.