Swing music has been a topic of discussion for a long time among music lovers, and the history of this is very challenging to go back to. Everyone has a different story to tell, but it all dates back to the late 1930s, where the origin of the swing is to be considered. As one of the first few musicians known in the swing genres, Duke Ellington, Bennie Moten, Hoagy Carmichael were known to be pathbreakers. This blog would highlight what swing and big band music USA is all about and the current state of the genre.
Swing Music – The One True Definition
Swing is known to be a form of music that rose to fame after the Great Depression and stock market crash, which resulted in economic hardship in Americans. Slowly the musicians who worked hard day and night on swing tunes to uplift their spirits became competitive and creative with them. This gave way to each band having a different sound arrangement, which was definitive of their image.
Swing bands would always feature a soloist who improvised on the melody over the arrangement. Most of these tracks are danceable tracks that are played live in ballrooms. A few of the top musicians of the swing music era are considered to be Louis Armstrong in the trumpets, Les Brown for trombones, Gene Krupa was an excellent drummer, pianist Fats Waller, and in the vocals, we find Benny Goodman and Tony Bennett, among others.
Big Band Swing Music – The Variety
An enormous part of the success of swing music and its reputation is given to the big bands that rose to the occasion. As a music ensemble that consisted of more than ten musicians, big bands had four principal sections, namely- saxophones, trombones, rhythm, and trumpets. Starting as just an accompaniment for dancing, big bands are based on the arrangements and compositions. The wholesomeness of the big band music comes from the various roles donned by the arrangers, bandleaders, and musicians.
Swing Music Theory
Swing music derives its name from notation where the crotchet is divided into two parts. Here, the former is more accented and longer than the latter. Since it has two consecutive quavers, the first part is twice in the second's duration. This means, instead of 50/50, swing music shows a 67/33 relationship between durations. This is based on the tempo the song is moving on. Those who want to learn swing music or know what the tune is based on, you may follow the short crotchet and 2:1 quavers.
The core characteristics of swing music include it being easy to dance to, a shout chorus, bluesy call, and response riffs, and enhancing solos. The melody is typically lyrical and memorable with a solid beat and groove for dancing.
Talking about music theories, the swing can also be divided (according to the way they were presented) in hot swing and sweet swing categories.
The former, initiated by stalwarts like Duke Ellington, was known to be experimental, bold, and even faster than the rest. They had a powerful rhythmic drive and more extended improvisations with a feeling of blues. The latter, however, popularized by musicians like Glenn Miller, was slower, had much less improvisation, and was restrained with a slight swing feel, excellent for dinner parties.
Conclusion: Till today, in the twenty-first century, people listen to swing music to relive what the glory days of yesteryear were like and dance to their tunes. Swing Street Radio acts like the one-stop-shop for those who want to listen to swing music at all times. It features a list of more than 15000 recordings of evergreen and lesser-known musicians who would rule your heart with their foot-tapping swing music. Should you want to know more about big band swing music and listen to them, do tune into www.swingstreetradio.org.
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