Jazz and Aristotle

Back in my NYU days, we were given Aristotle’s Poetics as the definitive work for directors. Aristotle broke down the elements of theater in the order in which he thought they should be addressed. The elements are plot, character, thought, diction, music, and spectacle, for those who are curious. Because this article is on songwriting, not theater, I won’t explain them in detail. 

The core philosophy is that every theatrical work primarily starts with a story, a plot. There is nothing without a good storyline. But to express the story, we have various elements by which to do so. Critically, each of the elements used must be able to tell the story independently. Meaning, the set design and set changes should tell the story without any other elements. The score tells the story if you listened to the soundtrack on its own. The costumes, the lighting, the musicality of the voices all tell the story before, BEFORE, we concern ourselves with the actual text of the play. Case in point, you will be able to enjoy a well-produced opera even if you don’t know Italian. 

To exercise this, we’d be given a scene and would have to tell the story one element at a time. We weren’t able to put the elements together unless each passed the test. 

The same attention should be given to music elements. The lyrics, on their own, must convey the story and mood even before the music is written. The syllables and consonants, the silence between them, must be rich enough to be chewed upon and digested. The vocal tone, the little scratches and slides, and glottal stops, and the tone of each instrument tell the story even before the lyrics are revealed. The percussion, the little noodling of the horn in the background, all these pieces need to be able to stand on their own. Even the sound of the breath between notes and synthetic effects should be considered part of the story. 

Then, when the music is performed live, we create an arch for the whole show and then apply the elements of theatricality to fully express it. Does the arrangement of the songs tell a story? Do the costumes tell the story? Is the drummer telling the story or just keeping the beat? The lighting, the decor, the gear, the staff, the cocktail menu,  the concert poster, merch, ticket design, the entrances and exits are all part of the story and have to stand on their own. 

While it may be impossible to have all these elements working in this manner every time, it is certainly something to strive for and give our audience the experience they desire.