Music During The Swing Era

The swing era took place from 1935-1945. It took place during a time that the Great Depression was going on. People argue that the time during the Great Depression made a shift from the “hot syncopated dance music to a type of sweeter ballroom dance music. (Star, 2013) In this paper I am going to discuss how the Tin Pan Alley and Swing are similar, how Tin Pan Alley and Swing are different, and lastly why the Swing era lasted so much shorter than the Tin Pan Alley.

A.Attention Getter: The 1930’s is a decade that will always be remembered as one of the worst times in American history, but the genre of music that began to flourish during these difficult times will forever be influential. Many turned to music as a coping mechanism during the Great Depression. Jazz became an outlet of expression for the many artists experiencing hardships and it also let countless people forget about their troubles for at least one night by dancing and having a good time.

The Jazz Age was a cultural tectonic shift that took place in America during the 1920’s, or "the Roaring Twenties”, from which both jazz music and dance emerged. This movement was coupled with both the equally phenomenal introduction of mainstream radio and the conclusion of World War I. Although the era ended as the Great Depression victimised America in the 1930's, jazz has lived on in American pop culture.

Most of the change was positive because of the evolution of jazz music, but the Great Depression was occurring in the United States. Jazz music was influenced by African American musicians, changed the music industry all over the world, and affected the society. Jazz music affected people during the Jazz Age and it is affecting people today. Jazz music was not a fad, because it is still alters people today. It created fads like crazy outfits, new dances and dance marathons. Jazz music did not sound like any other music. Music before jazz was mainly about the war and the depression. Jazz music helped blend races

The exciting sound of swing music is portrayed from its strong rhythm section of double bass and drums. This is used as the anchor for a lead section of brass instruments, woodwinds, and sometimes stringed instruments. Swing often uses medium to fast tempos and a swing time rhythm (“Music

Swing is the jazz from 1935 to 1945 usually known as the swing era. Swing is the feeling created by rhythmic contrast within a rhythmic framework usually involving a walking bass and steady rhythm on the drummer’s ride cymbal. Swing music is the kind of jazz played by Big Bands and characterized by lively rhythms for dancing. This is music associated with Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller band played

The definition of swing dance can be described as a synchronized dance with jazz music that have a related variety of partnered dances which includes Lindy Hop, West Coast Swing, and Smooth Lindy. Swing dance is a type of social dance that was created sometime during 1920 to 1950. It is a dance that is associated with Jazz which is a type of music that can be seen having influence from Africa but was created and spread in the United States during the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance took place during the 1920s and 1930s, which is seen as the movement of colored people which led to the creation of new literatures, art, music, and dance.

The Development of Swing Jazz through Benny Goodman Although the conception of jazz occurred well before the 1920s, swing style jazz did not exist until the 1930s. This style was brought about by elaboration on the style of the 1920s era and the use of “big bands” and swung eighth notes. The emergence of this sub-genre is often attributed to individuals such as Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, and Glen Miller. The music of Benny Goodman helped develop what we think of as swing jazz today, through the elaboration of diverse styles from collaborations with different artists and personal contributions.

¨For me it's that sense of Swing that drove the big band era. Its dance music...that makes people smile and have a good time.¨ (Aaron Weinstein). Swing did leave a large and impactful markon the world of music and as Weinstein said it made people have a good time and smile when they felt like they couldn't smile anymore. Also, if Swing managed to impact an entire genre of influential Jazz music then it must have had been an influential period in music with its musicians, enriching history, and its eventual demise.

Benny Goodman the “King of Swing”. A man who owned the American Jazz and an amazing swing musician, clarinetist, and bandleader. This naming him as the infamous “King of Swing”. Goodman led the most popular musical groups known in America. Goodman was recognized as putting the most important jazz concert in history out to the public in 1938. Singlehandedly being the most recognized clarinet player for this era and doing it flawlessly. Many called him "The Professor", "Patriarch of the Clarinet", "Swing 's Senior Statesman". Who would have ever believed a man coming from a poverty ridden Jewish family could be so successful? Success was an understatement for a man with such musical talent.

Bebop was one of the first styles of music to be classified as "modern" jazz and not as popular as swing music. Bebop melodies were very difficult, full of notes and off-beat. It was hard to dance to. It is a different kind of jazz that not everyone can play. Swing Era has also been called the Big Band Era. Majority bands usually had a featured vocalist and each band had a recognizable feature. Dancing was very important in the Swing

We can understand America’s culture through the lens of music. We can identify how it became a major part of American culture and how it still affects us today. Many people ask them self’s today how music became a huge part of American culture and how did it all begin. Where did it originate and who came up with the type of genres that were popular and are still a big hit in today’s music. I know for a fact that a popular and loved genre of music that is still a tremendous impart in our lives today is the famous Jazz music.

Pbs.com Ken Burns states that just like all music jazz went through it trial era of music. The swing era was very popular through the early 1930’s into the late 1940’s. The swing style type of music consist of large number of band member featuring at least three to four saxophones, two or three trumpets, two to three trombones, a piano guitar and a bass violin. Not including the lead vocalist of the groups. Swinging was a life style that lifted anyone

Swing was the dominant idiom of the 1930s and much of the 1940s. Basically, it was a form of dance music played by a large band, and was the medium through which most white Americans first heard Jazz (Schuller,1989). Although the decade 1935-45 was called the Swing Era, swing arrangements had been played by large bands beginning in the 1920s. Bandleader-arrangers Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, and, later, Count Basie, worked out arrangements for their 10 to 12 piece bands, which, unlike traditional jazz bands, were divided into instrumental sections.

What is electro swing anyway? A lot of people ask themselves this question, and nobody seems to have a closed answer. The website ‘electro-swing.com’ tries, but ultimately concludes that it’s rather difficult to give a precise definition. According to Tom Hyland, of The Electric Swing Circus, electro swing is not even necessarily an independent genre in its own right, but more of a “flavor”, a way of adding swing to existing electro genres. This would situate the genre in EDM history, not in jazz, but opinions are diverse in this matter.