Transcript Swing Music - gozips.uakron.edu

Swing
Mr. Fritz Streiff
Grade 6
12.04.03
What was going on when Swing was king?
• The Roaring Twenties
• The Stock Market Crash
• The Great Depression
• World War II
1920-1945
Roots of Swing:
• Swing evolved out of earlier styles of jazz.
• Over time, smaller ensembles evolved into
groups averaging 15 musicians, otherwise
known as “Big Bands.”
• The increased size allowed for these groups
to play a wide range of articulation and
dynamics.
Improvisation:
• Originally orchestrated music made room for
much improvisation.
• Swing music allowed musicians to brake away
from many structural standards set by earlier
forms of jazz.
• Improvisation is to make music that is
original, free, creative and unplanned.
Syncopation:
• Swing music used much syncopation to accent
the music and give it a light and edgy feel.
• Syncopation means for beats that are often
unaccented in a measure to be accented.
• This created a sound that people of all
backgrounds and generations could enjoy
listening and dancing to.
The Melodic Section:
• 4-6 reeds (saxophones and clarinets)
• 4-6 brass (trumpets and trombones)
The Rhythm Section:
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•
•
•
Piano
String Bass
Drum Set
Guitar
Styles of Music:
• Hot Bands – provided hard-driving sounds
(Benny Goodman, Count Bassie, Duke
Ellington), these sounds were fast like “Opus
One”
• Sweet Bands – provided less emphasis on
rhythm and more on feelings and emotions
displayed in the music (Glen Miller, Freddy
Martin, and Wayne King), these songs were
more slow ballads.
Musical Differences:
• Swing music is written straight but the
instruments steal from the evenness
and emphasized notes making it into a
swing feel.
• Bands also experimented with Bebop,
Cool Jazz and Latin music
Soloist:
• Solo or lead instrumentalists were showcased
often backed up by ensemble playing
• Ensemble parts or “Riffs” are short melodic
ideas that were used repetitiously in call and
response patterns between instrumental
sections of a band.
Famous Swing Musicians:
• Early Big Bands were heavily orchestrated
and conducted.
• As Swing music increased in popularity the
conductors became known as Bandleaders.
• This allowed for talented band leaders to
serve as both conductor, arranger, and lead
soloist.
• Some played reeds or brass and others lead
the bands from the piano.
Are you ready to Swing?
Duke Ellington
(1899-1974)
“Satin Doll”
“Black and Tan Fantasy”
“Creole Love Call”
“The Mooche”
“Mood Indigo”
Count Basie
(1904-1984)
“One O’clock Jump”
“The Atomic Mr. Basie”
Benny Goodman
(1909-1986)
“Sing, Sing, Sing”
“King of Swing”
“King Porter Stomp”
“Why Don’t You Do Right?”
Glen Miller
(1903-1984)
“Chattanooga Choo Choo”
Tommy Dorsey
(1905-1956)
“There are such things”
“I’ll never smile again”
“Opus No. 1”
Swing Dancing:
• Swing music was often played at public
gatherings and clubs.
• The music really seemed to cut through past
racial, age and economic barriers.
The End of Swing:
• Swing found difficult times as racism limited
access of musicians and audiences.
• With the end of World War II people wanted
to move on emotionally and the music and
dance of the times reminded them too much
of war.
• With the War also came the Draft, so
musicians were required to go to war and
leave the bands.
• Fuel rationing limited bands ability to tour.
Difficult times:
• There was also a jazz musician strike
from 1942-1944, so no recordings were
made during that time. This opened
the door for vocalists to become more
prominent in the vocal music scene.
• In 1941 a newly enacted cabaret tax
forced clubs to pay 30% of proceeds in
taxes. Requiring clubs to hire smaller
performing groups.
Neo-Swing Era:
• Swing reached its peak in the early 1940’s. Swing
music and dancing found a revival in the 1990’s and
is continuing today.
• It provides for its listeners and participants a great
social activity.
• Jazz and specifically Swing is truly an American art
form with fans from around the world.
Swing Today:
Swing cuts to the core of human
emotion with driving rhythms and
emotional ballads. It will continue
to be a relevant piece of our
musical past, present and future…