Swing Music Essay example

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.

There were many ways in which swing music and popular culture were interrelated during the time known as the swing era. Jazz became the cornerstone of popular culture during the period known as the swing era. The swing era influenced clothing styles, retail marketing, fashion, dance, and even language. Swing fans had their own clothing style and built a social phenomenon around it. With many dances coming and going the swing fans kept on dancing.

Yet another famous dance that evolved was the “Big Apple”, which originated in a small southern town. A group circle dance, it gave couples the opportunity to show off, or “shine”. It incorporated swing early swing steps and originally required a “caller”. Frankie Manning is accredited to bringing the Big Apple to New York and popularizing the dance with white culture.

Charleston, the cakewalk, the black bottom, and the flea hop. Many jazz bands played in dance

One of the most memorable cultural changes to occur during the Jazz Age was its eponymous musical genre. First played in New Orleans, the lively, swinging style and danceable rhythms

Dancing skyrocketed during the 1920s. Many styles of dance that were created before the era did not become popular until the

The swing era was vast and equally varietal. From Benny Goodman to Chick Webb or Artie Shaw each had their individual 'sound'. Moreover, this separated them and gave them their own appeal to the masses. However, The swing era occurred at a time when racism and prejudice still had a strong foothold in public eye. While playing swing did allow a member of a minority to have some freedom from this prejudice, they still could not expect the same treatment as the white players. In The Swing Era: Pure Pleasure swing was described as an escape for people who are “down on their luck.” Moreover, Swing gave people hope and a place to break free and forget about your trouble. This is most likely why swing climbed so aggressively into popular culture.

The Brazilian Samba began in Paris and spread to America in the early twenties. The older, more conservative crowd stuck with ballroom dance as the young, eccentric generation began to emerge in what many called “animal dance.” Dance styles like the famed “Charleston” and the “Lindy Hop” (a.k.a the Jitterbug), formed from a blend of ballroom and African American influence. The “Lindy Hop” later emerged into many different styles of swing dance and carried on for generations to follow. To many, dance became a competitive sport. Nightclubs and community centers held dance marathons for those who believed they could hold their own on the dance floor. Dance brought people together in an unspoken, electrifying way unlike anything else before. As music influenced the dance phenomena, dance began to influence popular music as well. Numerous songs and genres were developed off of names of dances and choreography. It was completely changing the world around

During the Harlem Renaissance, dance by African Americans was becoming increasingly popular. White Americans would go into Black ballrooms and watch African Americans dance, like in the Savoy Ballroom, despite the belief of segregation. This ballroom was a place for African Americans to express themselves and their dance, and as some mentioned in the video, 'it felt like the African Americans were white walking into their ballroom and whites were blacks'; African Americans were the ones who owned the establishment. One of the dances performed by African Americans was the Lindy Hop. This dance was fast paced and very acrobatic.

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

According to The Edinburgh University Swing Dance Society of the Edinburgh University Students' Association, Swing dancing is a style of dance that was originated from Harlem, New York with Afro-American Roots. Although originating with Afro-American Roots, I do know that many other cultures and races take part in this form of social dance, and it is not segregated to one race specifically. When in the act of this dance, one should feel as if they are “swinging.” Swing Dancing developed as a swing style from jazz music from around

One big difference is that swing is a very broad area with many different sub-styles; bebop, on the other hand, is very specific to tempo and style. Bebop is a much faster tempo than swing generally was and the eight notes can, at times, lose the swing feel. Bebop features more complex harmonies and more intricate melodies than swing did. In bebop, the element of surprise was highly valued as well as the idea of incorporating melodies from familiar songs into improvisation. Swing was generally used for dancing where Bebop would not really be able to be danced

that first appeared in the 1890s, was composed for the piano, and each rag is a

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.

The varieties of jazz dance reflect the diversity of American culture. Jazz dance mirrors the social history of the American people, reflecting ethnic influences, historic events, and cultural changes. Jazz dance has been greatly influenced by social dance and popular music. But, like so much that is “from America”, the history of jazz dance begins somewhere else.