Tuesday, April 12, 2011

It don't mean a thing...

...if it ain't got that swing!  Doo wah, do wah, do wah, do wah, doo wah, do waht, do wah, do waaaaah!

According to Duke Ellington's trumpet player, Bubber Miley.  He would say this a lot, so Ellington made it into a tune.

No swing?  That got me thinking though.  What makes something swing?  What is swing?  How is it different from rock or funk?  Can you learn it? Can you teach it?  (The answer is yes.  Sort of.)

Swing is a feel.  Go over to YouTube and look for a swing tune.  How about...Take the A Train, or Sing, Sing, Sing.  Make sure to find a version done by real jazz people (the Ellington Band or Benny Goodman's Band).  Go ahead.  I'll wait.
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Now that you've heard some swing, what were they doing?  Well, first, the beat under the music has strong accents, but only on certain beats.  Count 1-2-3-4 underneath.  The strong beats are on 2 and 4. Ah-1, 2, 3, 4.  Putting an accent on a weak beat is called syncopation.  It is usually not what the ear expects, so it creates some tension.

The notes themselves are uneven.  Straight notes are usually equal in strength and length.  Sing Twinkle, Twinkle to yourself.  "Twinkle, twinkle, little star...." etc.  All even, very straight.  Now try to swing it.  "twin-kle, twin-kle, li-ttle star..."  Doo bah, doo bah, doo bah, doo!  Uneven notes, with accents placed on different parts of the beat.  Well, that's really understated, but it's a start. 

The rest is to feel it.  Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) the best, and really the only way, to learn how to swing is to listen to those who are really good at it.  Because it is Jazz Month, you are allowed to listen to all the jazz you want.  Swing is just type of jazz, of course, but it's an important one.

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