SHORT LISTENING FORMAT - Assignment Example

It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing) It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing) “It Dont Mean a Thing (If It Aint Got That Swing)" is a composition by Duke Ellington. The lyrics are a work of Irving Mills. Ivie Anderson sings the vocal whereas Joe Nanton, a trombonist, and Johnny Hodges, a saxophonist, play the instrumental solos. The Trumpeter Ray Nance also plays part in the song as a vocalist (Jazz Standards , 2008). The song fall in the category of Swing Jazz according to what I have learnt from the class.

Currently, though, the song would suit the category of Standard Jazz if played by a musician in the contemporary setting. The combination of instruments played in the song conforms to my experience of the standard jazz music. Instruments clearly heard from the song include trumpets, reeds, bass, piano, drums, and trombones (Ellington, 1932). The sounding of these instruments blends to produces the desired jazz music impression. The drums in this case serve to establish the acts as the metronome to the band.

The bass clearly sets the style of the song as well as the progression. It makes the foundation of the root note. Notably, these two, drums and the bass, play a significant role in setting the qualities of progression throughout the song. The melody is in the sax section where it goes back and forth between the Saxes and trumpets (Ellington, 1932). Bones get the melody occasionally although not more than the Saxes, trumpets and trombones that are the basic harmony instruments in this song. From listening to the song, it is clear that the piano provides the bridge linking the bass and higher pitched instruments (Ellington, 1932).

The piano helps to create space for the vocals in the song. Probably, this is because the piano has the entire scale of notes and natural concert signature and hence is the teacher of the notes (Keith, 2004).From a personal perspective, this selected solo is successful because the written arrangement of the various sections merges effectively into a Swing Jazz song. The call and response between sections makes the song progressive and hence interesting to listeners (Typical Jazz Instruments, 2009).

However, the solo is successful largely because it is easy to dance to the music. The musicians, actually, seem to enjoy the music. Their dancing makes them look more of entertainers than musicians (Keith, 2004). From a personal view, these qualities of Swing Jazz would not be achieved with an unsuccessful solo. In fact, this song aroused my emotions that I yearned to have lived during the era of Swing Jazz to have a real life experience with the initial musicians. I would even wish to participate in the band if not in dancing.

Watching this song was pleasing. I liked the overall performance and wished that I would have a chance to participate in the performance with the initial composers and performers of the dance. That way, I would have learnt more about the genre compared to what I could derive from watching a video on a small computer screen. The performance was pleasing because it introduced new features in Jazz music such as the extremely fast tempos. These did not exist in earlier songs in the genre until Duke Ellington’s band staged this song.

Today, the genre is characterized with various features that initially appeared in this song. In my view, Ellington embraced creativity and originality not only in the lyrics but also in the composition. This fact impressed me because I understand the importance of the two in music. References Ellington, D. (Director). (1932). It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing) [Motion Picture].Jazz Standards . (2008, April 27). Retrieved January 29, 2014, from It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing): http://www.

jazzstandards.com/compositions-0/itdontmeanathing.htmKeith, L. (2004, November 12). Metro Lyrics. Retrieved January 29, 2014, from Ella Fitzgerald Lyrics: http://www.metrolyrics.com/it-dont-mean-a-thing-lyrics-ella-fitzgerald.htmlTypical Jazz Instruments. (2009, May 3). Retrieved January 29, 2014, from Easy Street Band: http://www.easystreetband.org/typical-jazz-instruments.htm