Take Five, Paul Desmond

1.6 AS91095

Supports the internal assessment for

Achievement Standard
Demonstrate knowledge of two music works from contrasting contexts

Task 1: Musical Elements and Features

1.

Choose three elements that you think are the most important and/
or interesting from Dave Brubeck Quartets Take Five, and rank
them in order of importance. Name each element and explain why
you have chosen the element for this work.

Give as much detail as you can and make links between the music
elements and features and the effect they have on Take Five.
These elements are ranked from top to bottom.

Melody To me, the melody, or the head of Take Five is vitally

important to the piece, essentially making it as memorable as it is.

The head has a ternary structure, where the first section of the
piece is arranged, and is therefore played exactly the same each
performance. The first section is comprised of two main riffs, with
the first one, riff A, being built around an Eb minor blues scale. Riff
A uses all the notes from the blues scale, giving the piece its jazzy
feeling. The blues sound is created by the blue note, or the
flattened fifth. Riff A moves in a stepwise motion, forming a
smooth contour within the scale. The anacrusis on beat 4, shown in
the highlighted section below, is a weak beat, and begins the song

syncopated. The phrasing of riff A is regular, and follows generic

question and answer phrasing. Most of riff A is repeated to create
the answer phrasing. Riff B however, does not follow this scale, and
uses the technique of sequence to develop this piece. The contour
that is created by riff B jumps around, but overall it is quite smooth,
with no disjunctive movements. Desmond also uses syncopation
throughout the entirety of the piece. The melody in the second
section is entirely improvised, and the melody in the third section
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is essentially a repeat of the first section, which leads up to a final

ending of the piece which differs slightly from the first section.
The syncopation is key to the cool jazz style, as it gives it the sense
of relaxation and ease. The technique of sequence is used in one of
the most iconic motifs from the saxophone solo, which is
highlighted below. This motif is repeated and modulated to a lower

pitch over the next two bars, and then this whole sequence is
repeated a second time. The purpose of this sequence in this cool
jazz piece is to create a simple and memorable theme that is
instilled into the listener.
Rhythm In my opinion, rhythm is also essential to the piece,
adding to and developing the melody, or head. Take Five uses a
swung rhythm which provides a propulsive rhythmic "feel" or
groove". This feel is achieved through the use of syncopation,
which places the notes on offbeats. This means that the notes are
displaced, so that the strong beats become the weak beats, and
the weak beats become the strong beats. Syncopation was used
quite extensively throughout the score, but a few examples are
highlighted below. Syncopation has a large impact on this piece,

giving the song its cool jazz feel. This song is also characterized by
its unusual five-four meter, meaning it has five beats in every
measure, which gives the song its off-balance feel, and adversely
causes the even passages to sound uneven and syncopated.
Dynamics In Joe Morellos drum solo, he exercises a huge amount
of control over his dynamics, which allows the piece to be further
developed and provide contrast from its other sections. Morello
varies the dynamics by using different drum techniques. He uses
the toms to produce loud percussion sounds, and the hi-hat/crash
using the end of his stick to hit the rim for quiet percussion
sounds. Desmond, on the saxophone, also varies the dynamics, as
shown in the sections below. This highlighted section is an
example of a part played in forte,

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and this highlighted section shows an example of a part played in

piano.

In both cases of drum and saxophone dynamics, the soft dynamics

evoke a sense of smooth and easy silkiness, while the loader
dynamics create a strong tappable beat, and a lively bouncy feel.
2. Choose at least one performance practice that you think is the most
effective in Take Five. Name the performance practice(s) and
explain why you have chosen them for Take Five.

Improvisation Jazz music has its foundation in improvised music

and relies heavily on the ability of musicians to invent and perform

musical ideas on the spot. In Take Five, improvisation is mainly
seen in the the alto saxophone and the drum solos, and sometimes
the piano (depending on the version), where these instruments
assume the lead improvisational role and other instruments drop
out or keep time. The instruments that do not drop out, continue to
play using an ostinato, which is a one bar rhythmic pattern that
repeats continually. However, the piano part when it is not playing
a solo is entirely made up of a repeated chord pattern, or vamp.
The saxophone solo is based around the main chords of the riff A,
which is in the first part of the piece, and Desmond mainly plays
this piece with legato phrasing, but it is contrasted with staccato.
Articulation is incredibly important in improvisation, as it creates
interest and variety. Desmond also repeats a range of rhythmic and
melodic ideas, through the technique of repetition. The drummer
improvises after the sax, and follows a three part ternary form. The
first part of the drum solo is an elaboration of the opening rhythm,
where he keeps to the lighter sounding parts of the drum kit. In the
second part, he focuses on the dynamics, quickly moving between
fortissimo and pianissimo. In the final section, he repeats the
opening rhythmic pattern, which leads to the final appearance of
the riff and a dramatic increase in tempo. He also uses several
drum techniques to vary the dynamics. He uses the toms to
produce loud percussion sounds, and the hi-hat/crash using the
end of his stick to hit the rim for quiet percussion sounds. Some of
the notable elements of Brubecks piano solo include sporadic
syncopated melodic phrases, the use of the harmonic minor
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scales, and references to themes from the main motifs. This

performance practice of improvisation was most effectively used
in "Take Five" through the drums, saxophone, and sometimes the
piano as the musicians played off of each other.

Task 2: Context
You are writing a feature article for The Dummies Guide to Jazz about
"Take Five" written by Paul Desmond, and performed by Dave Brubeck
Quartet.
In this article, you need to cover:
The importance of Dave Brubeck and his musical influence over the
conception and creation of Take Five.
Other compositions by Dave Brubeck
The style and genre of Take Five
The reason it was written
Why you think this piece is often performed.
You opinion of Take Five

Try to use at least one quote from the performers and composer (Paul
Desmond , Joe Morello, Dave Brubeck, Eugene Wright), and one quote
from someone else about the work / or the Quartet.
Present this task as a written article with at least one relevant
illustration and score extract (approximately 500 words).

Before Take Five was written, Joe Morello, the drummer of the Dave
Brubeck Quartet, was often featured by Dave for drum solos. Joe
Morello commented that "we'd close a concert with that [a drum
solo] because we'd get 'em standing and screaming and all of that.
So I would go into five-four [time], and that's how that all
started. (National Public Radio, 2000). Morello was interested in
creating a piece entirely in five-four, and continued to ask Brubeck
to write a piece in five-four time, so finally Desmond said, I'll write
something, which is how Take Five came into existence. Brubeck
was also interested in creating a piece in an usual time signature.
While on a trip to Turkey, he came across a group of Turkish street
musicians, who were a playing a traditional folk song in nine-eight
time. After this event, Brubeck was inspired to create a work that
deviated from the typical four-four time signature of jazz music.

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While Paul Desmond, the saxophonist, is credited with composing

Take Five, it is Brubeck who gets the most recognition. Brubeck
had a big hand in piecing the tune together, but the melody was
Desmonds, and Brubeck graciously gave him full credit as its sole
composer. Although Desmond conceived the two main motifs, it is
Brubeck who put them together as a tune and created a complete
piece out of it. As Brubeck noted, He [Desmond] came in with two
themes. He didn't know which was the first or the second. He didn't
know they'd fit together. I'm the one that put them together and
said, 'We can make a tune out of this. We repeat the first theme,
and then you'd go to what we call a bridge, and then go back to the
first theme, and then improvise on the one E flat minor chord
change.' And then have a drum solo (National Public Radio, 2000).
After its release, Take Five became a jazz staple. Its smooth and
easy rhythm never gets old.
Its a classic jazz standard,
and its memorable catchy
tune combined with the need
for only four musicians, as
well as many improvisational
opportunities for musicians
makes this piece an
essential among jazz
musicians and quartets, and
this is one of the many
reasons that this piece is
performed so regularly.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet recording Take Five

Ta ke F i ve w a s n eve r
anticipated to be a hit, and even Brubeck and Morello say they
can't pinpoint what it is about "Take Five" that made it the biggestselling jazz single ever. Brubeck guesses it was the catchy
repeated vamp, and Morello says the whole thing just clicked with
listeners. "It just worked," Brubeck said. (National Public Radio,
2000). Music writer Chris May attributes the success of Take Five
to Drummer Joe Morello: Take Five includes one of the most
thrilling drum solos ever recorded. He makes particular mention
of the solos percussive accentuation, colorization and
structure (All About Jazz, 2011).

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In my opinion, this songs repeated motifs make it extremely

memorable, and the unusual time signature separates it from other
jazz compositions. In the score section below, note the unusual

time signature, and the opening melody that is so recognizable.

Take Five is a classic jazz piece, and it is in the style of West Coast
cool jazz. The cool style was a reaction to the frenetic drive of
bebop. The music of cool jazz was mainly for small groups, and
much of the music was arranged rather then in a head, or
improvisation. Another reason for the origin of cool jazz was the
move of East Coast musicians emigrating to the east coast, to work
in Hollywood movies. These musicians formed small groups in their
spare time and worked in restaurants and clubs. One such cool
jazz quartet was started by Dave Brubeck and as the leader of this
group, the group was named The Dave Brubeck Quartet. As this
group created and performed numerous cool jazz pieces, they
became synonymous with cool jazz.
Dave Brubeck composed many other works over his lifetime, but he
primarily wrote for his quartet, the Dave Brubeck Quartet. Some of
those pieces such as In Your Own Sweet Way" and The Duke" also
became standards for many jazz musicians. Throughout his career
he experimented with integrating jazz into classical forms. He
composed orchestral music, as well as dance and musical theatre
pieces.

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References
Canter, A ndrea. Take Time Out for Dave Brubeck.
Jazzpolice.com, 2008, www.jazzpolice.com/content/view/
7210/115/.
Davebrubeck.com, 2016, http://www.davebrubeck.com/about.php.
Kaplan, Fred M. 1959. 1st ed., Hoboken, NJ, J. Wiley & Sons, 2009.
May, Chris. "Dave Brubeck Quartet: Time Out". All About Jazz, 2011,
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/dave-brubeck-quartet-time-outdave-brubeck-by-chris-may.php.
Sarabia, Tony. "The Story Of Dave Brubeck's 'Take Five'". NPR.org,
2000, http://www.npr.org/2000/11/19/1114201/take-five.
Schudel, Matt. "Dave Brubeck, Take Five, And His Longtime
Collaboratore Who Wrote The Jazz LegendS Biggest Hit".
Washington Post, 2012, https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/
ar ts-post/post/dave-brubeck-take-five-and-his-longtimecollaborator-credited-with-the-jazz-legends-biggest-hit/
2012/12/05/6ae17f16-3f19-11e2-bca3-aadc9b7e29c5_blog.html?
utm_term=.6e6680329f4d.

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