More Amusing Student Work

Yesterday at Highland High School, Mr. Stickler gave the Blues Band a 5-minute assignment: using the provided paper, answer the following question: What is Jazz?  Here are some excerpted responses.

• It's that feeling when you first get in the shower and no matter how hot the water is it still feels cold at first. Jazz is when you find yourself sittin in a dark corner by yourself.
• Jazz isn't just another genre of music.  Jazz is a feeling. ... Traditionally, jazz is a genre in which rhythms have lots of accents and tenuto markings. ... In a typical concert band, music is usually soothing to the ear and has a message but jazz is one big party.  Jazz can be loud and rhythmical or it can be soft and smooth.
• Jazz is a form of music using swing and slurs to make different kinds of sounds. ... Jazz has a nice beat and its [sic] consistent.
• I think it's a popular form of music that people enjoy lissoning [sic] to.  It's a style of music that has a nice feel to it.
• Jazz is a music form that first originated from Blues [sic].  It brought something new with is [sic] swing, accents, and its different styles.  Since the only thing before it was classical.  Its music that can more easily describe the players personel [sic] mood rather than classical.
• The Risky type of music that involves putting together a variety of notes that will sound different and unfamiliar but at the same time still sound pleasant to the ear.
• From scattin' to actively playing an instrument, jazz grew rapidly.
• Jazz to me is the gathering of musicians for the common purpose of having fun and playing the same kind of music.
• Jazz is a form of music that was founded in the early 1900s.  Major elements in jazz include rhythm, improvisation, and instrumental choice.  Jazz takes on many styles of rhythms, but most share a "lazy" swing feeling with unexact [sic] beats.  Improvisation is used in jazz solos.  To solo, one must improvise with the chord being played.
• a laid back kind of music, with wind, drums, stringed instruments.  Its [sic] very fun to play.  but also challenging.
• Jazz is enjoyed by all ages today and has made many musicians into legends. ... Jazz is fun and it seems to make older people feel young again.  Jazz is fun to dance to and it's lively and exciting.
• Jazz is a style of music.  The playes make up notes as the [sic] go (sometimes).  It expresses how the [sic] feel.  There are many different styles of Jazz (to [sic] many to name).  Jazz is listened to every ages today.
• Jazz is a kind of music that is played more for entertainment that other kinds of music.
• Jazz is a way people express themselfes [sic] threw [sic] music.  When someone is happy they play bright and joyfull [sic].  When someone is sad they play slower and the music is relaxing.
• Jazz is music.  It is groovy + it is good dance music.  It has many different rhytms [sic] like Rock, Latin, + Swing.  There is Blues too.  I really don't know alot [sic] i'm still getting adjusted to it.
• Jazz is expressional [sic].  It has mood and many different styles such as: swing, rock, Latin and many more.  The greatest musicians played jazz.  Louis Armstrong and many others is great credited for the style of scat.  Many people don't understand the true meaning of jazz.
• Jazz a enumoosmet that is injoned by lots of people throught the years of muncie it is the most inportint thing in life for a methless a kasins.  It was brought too US from African people.