2. Defini3ons
of
“Swing”
Swing
can
refer
to
-‐
• The
beat
or
feel,
and
the
subdivision
of
the
the
beats.
• A
style
of
jazz
that
developed
in
the
early
1930’s
• A
style
of
dancing
that
developed
with
Swing
music.
3. Swing
–
Beat
• Marches
were
popular
in
the
United
States
during
late
1800’s.
• Usually
in
2/4
3me
–
example
John
Phillip
Sousa’s
Semper
Fidelis
• ?
G7/
/
G7/
/
C/
/
C
/
/
G7
/
/
G7
/
/
C
/
/
C
/
/
G7
/
/
G7
/
/
C
/
/
C/G7.B
/
G
/
/
G
/
/
D7
/
/
G7
/
???
• Out
of
this
tradi3on
Rag*me
developed
in
the
late
1890’s.
–
Maple
Leaf
Rag
• Rag3me
uses
Syncopa*on
4.
5. Swing
–
Beat
• This
syncopa3on
led
to
the
Ragging
of
melodies.
• Ragging
freed
up
the
beat
and
gradually
an
even
four
beat
feel
developed.
6. Swing
–
Beat
•
The
subdivision
of
the
beat
became
more
relaxed,
so
that
the
fundamental
subdivision
of
Semi
quavers
became
closer
to
a
triplets.
7. Swing
–
Beat
• All
popular
music
was
effected
by
this
development.
• For
example
the
doaed
crotchet!
8. Swing
–
Beat
• Swing
is
one
of
the
defining
characteris3cs
of
Jazz.
• We
therefore
effec3vely
have
two
rhythmic
feels
–
– Straight
–
beats
are
evenly
divided
• Rag3me,
La3n,
La3n
Jazz,
Rock
and
Fusion
–
– Swing
–
beats
are
un-‐evenly
divided
• Swing,
Be-‐Bop,
Hard
Bop,
Tradi3onal
or
Main
Stream
9. Swing
-‐
Style
• Swing
also
refers
to
the
style
of
jazz
that
developed
in
the
early
1930’s
– Decline
of
the
New
Orleans
style
of
jazz
– Emphasis
on
improvisa3on
is
s3ll
important
– Repertoire
is
based
on
the
Tin
Pan
Alley
and
Broadway
Show
tunes
10. Swing
–
Style
• Larger
ensembles
-‐
the
rise
of
Big
Bands.
– Tuba
is
superseded
by
the
Double
Bass
and
there
is
an
even
four
being
played
(as
opposed
to
the
2/4
feel
or
cut
3me
feel
that
New
Orleans
was
oeen
based
on.)
– Banjo
is
replaced
by
Rhythm
guitar
– Basic
pulse
is
played
on
the
hi-‐hat
rather
than
the
snare
drum.
Again
moving
away
from
the
March
type
concep3on
of
New
Orleans
music.
11. Swing
-‐
Style
– Harmonic
rhythm
increases,
rather
than
chords
las3ng
for
several
bars,
the
chords
would
change
every
bar,
oeen
with
two
chords
per
bar.
– Although
oeen
the
big
bands
were
the
popular
ensembles
of
Swing,
many
musicians
played
in
smaller
ensembles,
and
preferred
this.
– The
combina3on
of
Big
band
ideas
in
a
small
group
sehng
gave
rise
to
“Jump”,
“Rhythm
&
Blues”
and
early
Rock
‘n’
Roll.
12. Swing
–
Style
• During
WWII
there
was
a
recording
ban
so
Big
band
records
were
stock
piled
and
released
during
the
ban.
• Big
Bands
and
singers
were
sent
overseas
to
entertain
American
and
Allied
troops.
– For
example
Glen
Miller,
Benny
Goodman,
Harry
James,
Dorsey
Brothers,
etc.
• Hence
the
enduring
popularity
of
Swing
Jazz.
– Other
important
examples
–
Duke
Ellington,
Count
Basie,
13. Swing
Dancing
• Music
inextricably
linked
to
singing,
dancing
and
community
in
many
cultures,
including
African.
• Therefore
Dancing
has
always
been
an
important
part
of
popular
music.
• The
dances
associated
with
Swing
Jazz,
like
the
music
have
endured,
with
names
like
The
Cakewalk,
The
Charleston
and
Lindy
Hop
