Faculty Bio
Dr. SeungYoung Hong is assistant professor of jazz studies at Crane School of Music. He focuses on exploring jazz ensemble interaction and improvisation through multiple analytical approaches, not only linear but also rhythmic, contrapuntal, and structural approaches, aiming to deepen the understanding of collective performance and creative process.
Project Abstract
This project investigates how the embellishment of skeletal tones––structural framework that outlines the harmonic progressions, improvisation, or compositions––can serve as a foundational pathway toward developing improvisational fluency in jazz and related idioms. While traditional jazz pedagogy often emphasizes scales, licks, and patterns, focusing on skeletal tones and their embellishment provides a more direct, voice-leading oriented linear approach that aligns with the practices of jazz improvisers in different periods. The research will examine strategies for targeting structural tones, utilizing various embellishments both in the surface and background levels.
Viewing jazz improvisation through a structural lens encourages improvisers to perceive and learn the larger architecture of a performance and provides a structured yet flexible approach that is accessible to beginners and expandable for advanced learners.
Jazz Studies, Crane School of Music
Student Mentees
Josh Buessem
Luke DeAngelo