The Challenge 07/09/09

Renesongs

majestikc wrote: How about some Swing for this weeks challenge, like Django Reinhardt or Benny Goodman etc?

All entries in by 6pm Mon 14th

Squonk

This is Hectic, I will have to buy some Django to understand swing music.
Will the bossanova do? ?

Riaan

? ???

[deleted]

These people take their Swing VERY seriously....

AlanRatcliffe

Django is a specific type of swing - "Gypsy Jazz". Don't forget the big band stuff, Benny Goodman, Count Basie and even Frank Sinatra (or even a lot of the more recent Brian Setzer Orchestra stuff, which is kind of "Rockabilly Swing") - that's what most people associate with Swing. Charlie Christian was the original Swing electric guitarist...

majestikc

Any swing will do, I mean also the rhythm of swing, if you check it out online you'll know:

Swing = dotted eighth note + sixteenth note

So either traditional swing-music (as mentioned above), or using the swing-rhythm and doing something a bit more heavy or interesting.

[deleted]

Yes, listening the swing music in the clip, it just basicaly sounds like a syncopated four beat, but it could be compound time. 123 123 123 123.....A slow swing would definately be more in my skill level.

Bob-Dubery

Viccy wrote: Yes, listening the swing music in the clip, it just basicaly sounds like a syncopated four beat, but it could be compound time. 123 123 123 123.....A slow swing would definately be more in my skill level.

Isn't it more the case that the time values for a note are deliberately inconsistent? Short one bar, long the next?

Rudolf

So would the key then be to get really drunk, hide the metronome beforehand, do the recording and make sure you upload/enter before you sober up?

[deleted]

Thanks Bob, you made me go and listen to it again. It's definitely in simple time. Obviously they use variations in the note values, otherwise it would be skull numbingly boring. There's two kind of syncopations they use. One for the longer notes ie. emphasis on the 2 and 4 beat or the "and's", and then use of the dotted notes in the melody.

I'm still going to arrange something in compound time for the competition. There's a more jazzy feel to it I think.

The difference between simple and compound time, if any one was wondering, is that in compound time the 'value' of a beat is a dotted note, so it doesn't round off into four.

Rudolf

Neeeeeeeeeaaauuwwwww!

Could we try that again? Maybe with pictures? Hehehehe

AlanRatcliffe

By all accounts, there is a bit more "feel" to a swing beat than the notated values can indicate. In an interview with Dennis Chambers (drummer of some small degree of note - think Billy Cobham, but "now with added groove" ?) he said that although he was already regarded as one of the hottest drummers around, he had been playing his first swing gig for two years before it really "clicked" and the band leader was happy with his swing.

[deleted]

Yes it goes something like this ... ? ? ? ? ? ? :'( ? ? ?

Bob-Dubery

Rudolf wrote: So would the key then be to get really drunk, hide the metronome beforehand, do the recording and make sure you upload/enter before you sober up?

You'll be relieved to know there's more to it than that ?

The variation is subtle and consistent and repeated. I think one guy doing this must be easy enough, but a whole big jazz band, that's something else.

Some people arrived at TJs a couple of weeks ago and did a version of "Orange Coloured Sky" that swung beautifully.

Rudolf

Alan Ratcliffe wrote: By all accounts, there is a bit more "feel" to a swing beat than the notated values can indicate. In an interview with Dennis Chambers (drummer of some small degree of note - think Billy Cobham, but "now with added groove" ?) he said that although he was already regarded as one of the hottest drummers around, he had been playing his first swing gig for two years before it really "clicked" and the band leader was happy with his swing.

Ok so from what you are saying, we should definitely not feel bad for stuffing it up proper first try?

Viccy: Ok so as a male, swing would definitely not be my natural talent? There's just no way I can go through all those emotions in the matter of a bar or two? Hahahaha

Rudolf

The variation is subtle and consistent and repeated.

Bob that now definitely has me thinking about good old fashioned house music which was my thing in my DJ days, the proper old school stuff. And the more I think about it, even though being electronic and dance alot of that stuff could very well probably be classified as swing? It's decendant from the swing era also I suppose.

[deleted]

It gets realy confusing because at such a fast pace you have less time to notice the variations and then throw in accents and it gets more complicated. Squeeze in a fraction of a second and you're left with a tail end of a triplet instead of a quaver. And that bumps you in to compound time. But like you said if it's consistent then generally it's meant to be like that instead of people going a little off kilter. I'll stick with the slow deliberate swing.

Rudolph: Aw come on, give it a try.

Bob-Dubery

Rudolf wrote:
The variation is subtle and consistent and repeated.

Bob that now definitely has me thinking about good old fashioned house music which was my thing in my DJ days, the proper old school stuff. And the more I think about it, even though being electronic and dance alot of that stuff could very well probably be classified as swing? It's decendant from the swing era also I suppose.

Don't think so. I think a lot of that stuff relies on syncopation, but not on swing.

Rudolf

Drat...ok back to looking at all the smileys.

Renesongs

It don't mean a thing if it aint got that swing
do - whap do - whap te- do- whap te- do - wha ?