Swing music, also known as swinging jazz, is a style of jazz that was originally popular in the 1920′s to 1940′s and has continued to catch the ear of dancers and music lovers for decades. There’s something about the feel of music that swings which catches people and makes them want to move their feet. It’s happy music, not harsh or angry. It has a flow to it that few other styles can match. The notes hang, are extended, sometimes absent, giving the music a stretched feel. It’s relaxed and easy going with the notes hanging back rather than staccato and on top of the beat. There’s nothing rushed about swingin’ music, even if it’s up tempo. To get a good feel of swing music, you have to listen to it. Check out Rockin’ in Rhythm, below, from the Live at the Legion cd (recorded at our very own Stomp it Off! Dance) featuring the Solomon Douglas Swingtet.
Rockin’ in Rhythm – Solomon Douglas Swingtet
The Solomon Douglas Swingtet "Live at the Legion"
From what some musicians have said to me, to understand swing music you’ve got to feel it and live it. For the musicians it’s all about playing with time, which is the exact reason it’s so danceable. The musician gives the dancer time and space to play, to create, to respond. There’s also the space for each instrument to play within the framework of the melody and rhythm and create spots in the music where there long or short notes, where the musician can take advantage of the structure to bridge phrases.
There’s a great article on swing music over at the Newcastle University Swing Dance Society’s web page. Here’s a quote from their page that gives a great description of what swing music is about.
“Almost all music in the modern charts has no swing to it at all. The tempo of the music is kept by the drummer, and every beat is as important as every other beat. The main notes of the tune and the main words of the lyrics tend to be played or sung on the beat, and the beat is relentless. This is sterile for a good swing dancer. There is nothing there for a swing dancer to work with. Good music for swinging to has “hits” and “breaks”. A hit is an excuse for a wild kick or the like, it is a note or group of notes that stands out from the rest by being louder, or higher, or sharper than the others. A break is a moment in the music when there is a sudden lull, perhaps even absolute silence. This is an excuse to do the opposite of dancing to a hit – to slow things down, makes smaller moves, and perhaps even come to a complete halt. Other styles of music may also have these hits and breaks, but importantly, in swing, these features are predictable – a dancer can hear them coming, even in an unfamiliar piece – because they are signalled by the musicians. This means that the dancer can make himself ready for them and honour them when they come, rather than be surprised by them.
In jazz music, the tempo is not kept by the drummer, but by the bass player. The drummer is therefore free to do what he wants, perhaps coming in late or early, perhaps using a stop-start style…
…Another trait of swing music is “kick brass”, where a small group of brass instruments plays sharp blasts of a few notes to boost the number, without actually being tuneful on its own. The main melody might be played by a solo instrument, like clarinet, or trombone, or trumpet, and these instruments might also do improvised solos.
The bass player typically plays on the beat, keeping the band together, but he does not hammer away at one string, like rock and rock and roll musicians do. Instead he walks up and down the scale.
The biggie about what makes swing music swing, is that the musicians play each note with its own degree of emphasis, and its own careful timing. Many notes are played longer, shorter, quieter, louder, earlier, or later than the dots on the page would suggest. Every note therefore has its individual degree of importance, and there is something for the dancer to work with – to interpret.”
Another tidbit about swing music is that the emphasis is on every second beat. So rather than ONE-two-THREE-four like rock and roll, swing hits the one-TWO-three-FOUR. Go to a swing dance and watch/listen when people are clapping out the beat during a jam circle. All the experienced dancers will be clapping on the evens and the newer dancers on the odds. To go along with the emphasis on the even beats, swing music uses syncopated rhythms, meaning there’s also an acknowledgement of the “and” in the beat; one-and-TWO-and-three-and-FOUR. Swing dancers, more specifically, Lindy hoppers, take advantage of the “and” while dancing, creating a pulse to work with the rhythm of the music.
Give a listen to another great song by the Solomon Douglas Swingtet from the album “Live at the Legion” and listen for things like the hanging notes and the “kick brass” mentioned above. Also listen for that bass line as the rhythm rather than the drums. It’s very distinct.
Solomon Douglas Swingtet – Splanky
This ends a quick and dirty notion of swing music. If you have something to add, let me know. I will take a look at more ideas on swing music and integrate them where appropriate.
If you’d like to hear more of the CD “Live at the Legion”, you can get your copy through Jungle Swing productions by sending an email to me at darren@jungleswing.ca or you can pick up a copy in person at the Stomp it Off! Dance, held every Saturday at the Grandview Legion Auditorium, 2205 Commercial Drive, Vancouver B.C. The CD is $16.00 plus tax and is a great example of swing music for dancers and listeners.
