Hawaiian Music

 

Swing Music

 

In addition to the genres of music I have mentioned I enjoy, I also like listening to Swing music. I think the Swing music sounds so exciting, and  I almost feel like I am stepping back into time when I listen to songs from the Swing era.

 

The Swing Era started between late 1920s and 1945 but was popular mostly in the 1930s. (I read another article which states the music was popular during the Great Depression and the ending of WWII.) The genre developed from jazz and got its name based on the musical idea for musicians to swing the note or emphasize the off beat. The style of music was also supposed to “swing back and forth with the melody.” The style featured soloists who improvised the melody with the accompaniment. However, in big band groups, Swing music had an emphasis on written out arrangements, and less improvisation since big bands were more orchestral style. Big band music had strong, anchoring rhythm sections in support of more loosely tied woodwind and brass sections playing call-response to each other. Arrangements had an introductory chorus that stated the theme, choruses arranged for soloists, and climactic out-choruses. The Great American Songbook of Tin Pan Alley standards were included in Swing music.

Swing music involves instruments that fit into two categories, rhythm instruments and horn instruments.

Types of Swing Instruments
Horns
	Saxophone
	Clarinet
	Trombone
Rhythm
	Piano
	Double Bass
	Drums
Sometimes Used
	Electric Guitar
	Violin

 

In the 1920s, guitars and pianos sometimes substituted for the banjo and a string bass. Wikipedia stated that the “use of the string bass opened possibilities for 4/4 instead of 2/4 time at faster tempos, which increased rhythmic freedom.”

Swing music has two different rhythms called "Sweet" and "Hot". The Sweet rhythm was primarily performed for upper-class dinner parties at a slow tempo and with less improvisation as opposed to the “Hot rhythm” which musicians played at a fast tempo with lots of experimentation. Famous swing players such as Glenn Miller played “Sweet Swing” while Duke Ellington performed “Hot Swing.”

Swing music also consisted of certain beats played on specific instruments (solo or group). The music had a strong dance grove with a solid beat. I included a chart with the types of Swing Beats.

Types of Swing Beats
Tutti	All horns play melody
Soli	One section (rhythm or horns) play melody
Shout Chorus	Climatic Tutti at the end of the arrangement
Riffs	short rhythmic passes that repeat many times
Bluesy Riffs	Slow rhythmic melodies
Call and Response Riffs	melody between two instruments that interacted with each other
Solo	single instrument solo

 
Swing music began with musical genius, Benny Goodman. He was born on May 30, 1909, in Chicago, Illinois to a poor family. His parents were Russian immigrnts who had eleven children- Benny was the ninth child. Goodman was a talented young musician who learned clarinet from Franz Schoepp (member of the Chicago Symphony) at Kehelah Jacob Synagogue. Goodman then joined a band at a settlement house that provided social services to the community called Hull-House. He started performing in local bands and made is first debut in 192, and at the age of fourteen became a member of the American Federation of Musicians. In addition to being a clarinetist, he was also a bandleader with “multiple hit singles” as bandleader before World War Two. ( https://www.biography.com/musician/benny-goodman )According to https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-swing-music-definition-history-artists.html “During a concert while on tour with his orchestra on August 21, 1935, he wowed the audience with the first swing music ever heard. This date is known as the beginning of the swing era.” He became very popular in the 1930s and his band was the first jazz group ever to perform at Carnegie Hall. With promoter John Hammond, Goodman recorded with many famous musicians and singers including jazz singer, Billie Holiday. One of Benny Goodman’s famous songs is titled “In the Mood.”

Here is a video of “In the Mood.”

 

On a fun note, last Spring I took tap dance at Converse, and the teacher taught the class tap dance steps to “In the Mood.” Also, I went to a wedding where this song was played at a reception!

 Another famous Swing music clarinetist and band leader was Artie Shaw. He was born on May 23, 1910, in New York City to Sarah Strauss and Harry Arshawsky who were Jewish immigrants. Unfortunately, because of his Jewish heritage, he was always teased at his school called “the Dwight Street School.” He along with many Jewish children at the time were called “some curious kind of alien.” After much ridicule he knew he wanted to succeed in life. At age sixteen he left home and decided to play the clarinet. Artie Shaw did become a successful clarinetist and big bandleader.

However, he faced a struggling time and needed a “comeback” so to speak. His big hit came as a result of The piece “Begin the Beguine” by Cole Porter. His recording of the piece sold over 100 million copies, more than any instrumental recording in history. The piece truly defined the Era of Swing.  I believe Artie Shaw must have really appreciated “Begin the Beguine” because Cole Porter composed it in the Jewish style. Porter wrote many pieces with an “unmistakable eastern Mediterranean, minor key melody.” Cole wrote the tune while traveling on a cruise between Kalabahi, Indonesia, and Fiji.

 Here is a recording of Artie Shaw and his band performing “Begin the Beguine.”

 

 

Other notable artists performed the same piece such as Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, and dancers Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell danced the to the song on Broadway Melody of 1940.

 

The song remained popular out of the Swing era since “President Bartlett sang it in a West Wing episode, the Beatles mentioned it in Yellow Submarine and Johnny Mathis recorded a disco version in 1979.” (https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/jewish-new-haven-roots-begin-the-beguine/)

 

There were many swing musicians including Louis Armstrong (trumpeter and vocalist) , Earl Hines (pianist), and Duke Ellington (pianist). Even though we are not living in the Swing era, we musicians can still appreciate and enjoy the music which made an impact in the 1920s- 1940s.

I thought I would conclude my blog with one of my favorite songs performed by Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald. I enjoy playing some jazz harp music and have played "In a Sentimental Mood" for gigs. 

Here's a video of my twin and I playing a song by Erroll Louis Garner( American jazz pianist and composer known for his swing playing and ballads.) The song is called "Misty" and is perfect to listen to since we just learned about the Blues music. 

https://www.facebook.com/105017957623547/videos/215936869588505

(I tried embedding the link to the blog but the video would not upload like the rest of the videos. So sorry.)

Thank you for reading my blog!

Bibliography 

“Artie Shaw, the Curious Alien of New Haven - New England . ” Accessed January 18, 2023. https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/artie-shaw-curious-alien-new-haven/.

“Benny Goodman - Songs, Carnegie Hall & Career - Biography.” Accessed January 18, 2023. https://www.biography.com/musician/benny-goodman.

F, Claudia. “What Is Swing Music? With 9 Top Examples & History - Music . ” Accessed January 18, 2023. https://www.musicindustryhowto.com/what-is-swing-music/.

“History of Swing. Aprende a Bailar Swing, Danzas Urbanas Y Otros . ” Accessed January 18, 2023. https://www.swingmaniacs.com/en/history-of-swing.

“The Jewish, New Haven Roots of .” Accessed January 18, 2023. https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/jewish-new-haven-roots-begin-the-beguine/.

“Swing Music - Wikipedia.” Accessed January 18, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swing_music.