Tracks for Projects Noodlin'

In music, ‘noodling’ means to improvise in a laid-back way, and the piece Noodlin’ aims to capture something of that spirit of spontaneous music-making, in which performers decide what to do in the moment. Noodlin’ is written in the style of a jazz waltz, which has a distinctive rhythm where the second beat of each bar is shifted forward in time and the bass is syncopated. Harmonically, the opening of Noodlin’ has a static feel, with major 7ths on degrees I and IV of the scale, which rock back and forth. The 7ths remain unresolved and are picked out in the melody, resulting in the interval of a descending perfect 5th, giving a sense of wistful acceptance. This quality is maintained as the music gains a gentle momentum, moving through chords iii, vi and ii towards a half cadence. The resulting eight-bar phrase is repeated with some initial melodic elaboration and a reversal of the final harmonies to end on the tonic.

There follows a central section in E flat major, which picks up on the major 7th chords of the opening. The melody acquires greater intensity as it soars upwards in two, balanced eight-bar phrases, which end in a half cadence in C. This leads naturally to a reprise of the first 16 bars, with some development of the melody. Hence the theme of Noodlin’ is in ternary form.

There are 22 tracks available to support learning and performances of Noodlin’: