jazz - Why do jamming musicians "trade fours" (rather than any other number)? - Music: Practice & Theory Stack Exchange

jazz - Why do jamming musicians "trade fours" (rather than any other number)? - Music: Practice & Theory Stack Exchange: "I've run across the idea of "trading fours" when playing in (and listening to) jazz groups; i.e. where two or more musicians take it in turns to play four bar licks or solos. I understand that it can encourage creative interaction between musicians.

However, I was wondering why it seems to be specifically four bars? Would trading twos or eights (for example) be less effective?

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asked Dec 18 '13 at 10:37

Peter R. Bloomfield
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It's just a name: it used to be based on four bars, which probably would comprise one set of chord changes (eg doowop, I vi IV V), but could just as easily be two or eight bars. It's like calling a song's bridge a 'middle eight', even though the number of bars may be different. The Beatles always called their bridges 'middle eights'."



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