Swing

History and character

Swing is the jazz of the big dance orchestras that developed in the United States in the late 1920s and early '30s and dominated American popular music in the so-called swing era (roughly 1935–1946). The models are the orchestras of Fletcher Henderson (from 1923, with arrangements by Don Redman and later Henderson himself, based on the dialogue between the brass and reed sections) and Duke Ellington (broadcast on the radio from the Cotton Club). The mass breakthrough comes with Benny Goodman at the Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles (August 21, 1935); then come Count Basie (who brings Kansas City swing to New York, with the Savoy booking in 1937), Chick Webb (resident at the Savoy Ballroom from 1931, with the young Ella Fitzgerald), Jimmie Lunceford, Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller (the “sweet” sound with the clarinet above the sax section), Harry James, Lionel Hampton and Cab Calloway.

Swing is dance music (Lindy hop, jitterbug, at Harlem's Savoy Ballroom), but it is also where the great soloists emerge: Coleman Hawkins (“Body and Soul,” 1939), Lester Young and Roy Eldridge, Benny Goodman on clarinet, Teddy Wilson and Art Tatum on piano, Charlie Christian on electric guitar. The rhythm section changes: the double bass replaces the tuba bass and makes 4/4 “in four” and faster tempos possible; Basie's All-American Rhythm Section (Count Basie, Freddie Green on guitar, Walter Page on double bass, Jo Jones on drums) becomes the reference for a light, continuous groove.

The arrangements alternate ensemble choruses, solos and “shout choruses”; the Kansas City bands (Basie, Bennie Moten) build their pieces with call-and-response riffs between sections, often “head arrangements” learned by memory. Swing declines after the war (the recording ban, the cost of orchestras, the arrival of bebop and R&B), but it remains alive in big bands, in the swing dance revival and in electro swing.

Scales and keys

Major and “sixth” (the sound of the swing tonic)

• Formula: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 — T T S T T T S. On Bb: Bb C D Eb F G A.
• Characteristic note: the 6 (G): the swing tonic is often a sixth chord (Bb6 = Bb D F G) more than a maj7.
• Diatonic chords: Bb6/Bbmaj7 (I), Cm7 (ii7), Dm7 (iii7), Eb6 (IV6), F7 (V7), Gm7 (vi7), Aø7 (viiø7).
• Use: themes, sax section soli in harmony, singers' melodies.
• Real example: Glenn Miller — In the Mood (Ab major, riff on the triad with 6).

Arpeggios and major pentatonic

• Major pentatonic on Bb: Bb C D F G.
• Use: the phrasing of Lester Young and Kansas City riffs; phrases that sit on the triad with the 6 and 9.

Blues scale and “blue notes”

• Blues on Bb: Bb Db Eb E F Ab. Characteristic note: b3 (Db) and b7 (Ab) over major chords; the b5 (E) as a passing tone.
• Use: Basie blues riffs (One O'Clock Jump, in F for the main chorus), “hot” solos, brass growl.

Mixolydian and bebop dominant (proto-bebop)

• Mixolydian on F: F G A Bb C D Eb. Bebop dominant on F: F G A Bb C D Eb E.
• Use: soloists' lines over dominants; the passing major 7 already appears in Lester Young and Charlie Christian.

Harmonic minor and melodic minor

• Harmonic minor on D: D E F G A Bb C#. Characteristic note: C# (major 7) with Bb (b6). Use: minor tunes (Caravan, Minnie the Moocher) and over the V7b9 of the minor.
• Melodic minor on D: D E F G A B C#. Use: minor tonic with sixth (Dm6), the “elegant” lines of Ellington and Billy Strayhorn.

Chromaticism and neighbor tones

Arrangers and soloists use many chromatic approaches and neighbor tones (a note above and a note below the chord tone) in the sax lines.

How to choose

Harmony

Harmonic function

Tonal and functional harmony from Tin Pan Alley songs and the blues: sixth-chord tonic, ii–V, secondary dominants, passing diminished chords. The most-used progressions are the 12-bar blues and rhythm changes (from the chords of Gershwin's I Got Rhythm, 1930), along with 32-bar standards.

Typical elements

• I6–vi7–ii7–V7 (turnaround) and the version with a secondary dominant I–VI7–ii–V.
• Passing diminished chords (Bb6–Bdim7–Cm7–F7).
• Cycle of dominants (III7–VI7–II7–V7) in the bridges.
• IV–#iv°–I/5 in blues and standards.
• Repeated riffs that move over the degrees of the blues.

Section voicings

• Sax soli: closed 4–5-part voicings (alto 1, alto 2, tenor 1, tenor 2, baritone) that harmonize the melody note by note (block voicing), often with the melody doubled at the octave.
• Brass: trumpets in tight closed voicings, trombones below in more open voicings.
• Piano: stride and “Basie style” (very few notes, sparse phrases up high).
• Rhythm guitar (Freddie Green): three-note chords on the middle strings in quarter notes, almost pitchless (they supply time and “color”).

Harmonic rhythm

One or two chords per bar; the blues has changes every 1–4 bars; riffs can stay on one chord for 4 bars.

Typical progressions

Rhythm and groove

Feel in four

Classic swing is 4/4 “in four”: walking double bass, rhythm guitar and kick (feathering) all play the quarter notes, the ride or hi-hat carries the swing, the hi-hat closes on 2 and 4. The result is a light, continuous flow that drives the dancers.

Swing ratio

At dance tempos (140–180) the eighth notes are close to the triplet (about 2:1) but softer; in fast “hot” tunes they straighten out. The horn sections accent the upbeats and the long notes on the “&”s.

Two-beat and the transition

The orchestras of the early 1930s still use the two-beat (bass on 1 and 3), then move to 4/4 thanks to the double bass and drummers such as Jo Jones (who moves the time from the kick to the hi-hat).

Riffs and call and response

The rhythm of the arrangement is made of short riffs that repeat and answer each other between sections (saxes against brass), with “kicks” (accents) underlined by the drums.

Microtiming

Time “on top” (energetic) in Goodman's bands, more relaxed and “light” in Basie. Freddie Green's guitar sits exactly on the beat: it is the band's clock.

Drums

Principle

The swing drummer is the band's engine and traffic director: keeps a light, steady time, underlines the written accents (kicks) of the brass and sets up the sections with fills.

Kick

Very light quarter notes (feathering) at low velocity, more “felt” than heard; strong accents (bombs) on the horn kicks; in “hot” numbers (Gene Krupa, Sing Sing Sing) the four-on-the-floor kick becomes more present, along with the low tom.

Hi-hat and ride

• Half-open hi-hat played with the stick (Jo Jones) with the “ching, chick-a-ching” swing pattern and closing on 2 and 4.
• Ride (smaller cymbals of the era) with the spang-a-lang pattern from the late 1930s.

Snare

Light backbeat (rim click or hits on 4), comping to accent the horns, rolls and press rolls in the shout choruses; brushes in ballads and medium tempos.

Toms and percussion

Low tom in quarter notes as a “second kick” (Krupa), woodblock and cowbell as colors in the early-1930s bands.

Dynamics

Low dynamics under the soloists; in the final shout choruses the drums explode with cymbals, kick and accents of the whole band.

Interaction

The drummer reads the arrangement: “set-up” (short fill before a kick), “catch” (accent together with the horns), section cues (1-bar fill before every new 8-bar section).

Sections

Intro: often drums and piano; head chorus: light accompaniment; solos: comping; shout chorus: loud; coda: breaks and final chord with a roll and cymbal.

Fills

1–2 bars in swing triplets, snare and toms, always “inside” the form (last bars of an 8-bar section).

Sounds

Big kick (24–26") tuned low but soft, deep snare with snare wire, thin, dark cymbals, 14" hi-hat.

Typical mistakes

Kick too present (covers the double bass), rock backbeat, fills outside the form, ride in straight eighth notes, ignoring the kicks.

Bass

Sound

Plucked double bass (often slap in the earliest recordings) with a strong attack and short tail; in the early 1930s still the tuba bass in the more traditional bands.

Walking

Four notes per bar: root on the first beat, chord tones and passing tones toward the next chord. Walter Page (Basie) is the model of regular, powerful walking; Jimmy Blanton (Ellington, 1939–1941) makes the double bass a solo instrument.

Two-beat

In the lighter sections or in the heads: root on 1 and fifth on 3.

Relationship with the drums

Bass and kick feathering are a single pulse in quarter notes; the bass must always be slightly more present than the kick.

Harmonic instruments

• Rhythm guitar (Freddie Green): quarter-note chords, three notes on the middle strings, unamplified acoustic (archtop) sound, almost percussive.
• Piano: stride (Fats Waller, Teddy Wilson), spare “Basie” style with notes up high, fills between phrases.
• Sax section (2 altos, 2 tenors, baritone): harmonized soli, pads, riffs.
• Trumpet section (3–4) and trombones (2–4): kicks, riffs, shouts, mutes (plunger, harmon, cup).
• Clarinet: soloist (Goodman, Shaw) or leading the sax section (Glenn Miller).
• Vibraphone (Lionel Hampton).

Melody and vocals

Themes and riffs

Singable melodies (standards) or short, repeated riffs (Kansas City style), harmonized by section. Soloists improvise over the changes with phrases that arpeggiate the chords and use the blues scale.

Voice

Band singers (Ella Fitzgerald with Chick Webb, Billie Holiday with Basie and Artie Shaw, Frank Sinatra with Tommy Dorsey, Helen Forrest, Jimmy Rushing with Basie for the blues). Rhythmic singing, phrases slightly behind the beat, scat.

Vocal groups

Andrews Sisters, Boswell Sisters, Mills Brothers: tight 3–4-part harmonies.

Effects

None; natural reverb of the ballrooms or studios.

Instruments

• 3–5 trumpets, 2–4 trombones
• Sax section: 2 altos, 2 tenors, baritone (+ clarinet)
• Piano, acoustic rhythm guitar, double bass, drums
• Vibraphone (in some orchestras)
• Lead vocal and vocal groups

Drum patterns

Synths and sounds

• Piano V — Piano: Upright or grand piano with a little ambience; for the Basie style, sparse notes in the high register.
• B-3 V — Organ: For electro swing or modern reworkings (Wild Bill Davis brought the Hammond into 1950s jazz).
• Augmented Strings — Strings: For “sweet” orchestras and ballads with strings (Artie Shaw also used strings).

Song structure

Typical big band arrangement

• Intro (4–8): full band, drums or piano.
• Chorus 1 (32 or 12 bars): head, often on saxes with brass answers.
• Chorus 2–3: solos (tenor sax, trumpet, clarinet) with band “backgrounds.”
• Section soli (sax soli or brass soli): one section plays a harmonized line.
• Shout chorus: the whole band at full volume, high brass.
• Return of the head (often just the last A) and coda (tag, final chord).
• Length 2:45–3:30 (78 rpm), live versions longer (Sing, Sing, Sing over 8 minutes).

Section-by-section arrangement

Growing density: light head, solos with restrained backgrounds, final shout. Call and response between sections throughout the piece.

Mixing and mastering

Sonic goal

The sound of an orchestra in a hall: compact sections, soloist up front, light and continuous rhythm, natural ambience. Period recordings are mono with one or a few microphones (the band balanced itself by moving musicians closer or farther); a modern swing-style production (Michael Bublé, Gordon Goodwin, Postmodern Jukebox) uses mics per section and a shared ambience. Loudness: −16/−12 LUFS for orchestral jazz, −11/−9 for swing pop and electro swing.

Drums

Overheads as the main sound (HP 50 Hz, clear ride/hi-hat at 3–6 kHz), kick barely audible (HP 40 Hz, 60–80 Hz +1 dB, no click), snare with present wires; slow bus compression 1–2 dB. Pan: overheads 60–80%.

Double bass

HP 40 Hz; 80–120 Hz body; −3 dB at 200–250 Hz; +2 dB at 800 Hz–1 kHz for note definition; opto 3 dB. Center, slightly louder than in a jazz combo mix because it has to compete with the band.

Rhythm guitar

HP 120 Hz; 1.5–3 kHz for the “chop”; no compression or 1–2 dB; pan 20–40% near the piano.

Piano

HP 50 Hz; cut 300 Hz; presence 3 kHz; pan on the opposite side from the guitar (20–40%).

Sax section

One mic per instrument or a pair on the section. HP 80 Hz (baritone 50 Hz); cut 300–500 Hz if nasal; moderate 2–3 kHz presence. Bus with 1–2 dB of opto compression. Fan pan: alto 1 in the center, alto 2 left 15%, tenors at ±30%, baritone right 40% (or the real stage layout).

Brass (trumpets and trombones)

Trumpets: HP 150 Hz; 1–3 kHz presence (watch 2.5–4 kHz, which can become aggressive: narrow Q −2 dB if needed); bus compression 2 dB. Trombones: HP 80 Hz; 200–300 Hz body; 1–2 kHz presence. Pan: trumpets and trombones spread across the full width, trumpets behind the reeds as on stage.

Soloists

Spot mic of the soloist raised by 2–4 dB with automation during the solo; same ambience as the band.

Vocal

HP 80 Hz; 200–300 Hz −2 dB; 3 kHz +2 dB; compression 3–5 dB (opto/vari-mu); plate or hall 1.8 s pre-delay 50 ms; center.

FX

A single hall (1.8–2.4 s) or an echo chamber for the whole band; different sends per section (more on the brass, less on the rhythm).

Buses and groups

Sax bus, brass bus, rhythm bus, vocal bus; light compression on the buses (1–2 dB) and tape on the mix.

Sidechain

Never (at most dynamic ducking of the background horns from the vocal, 1 dB).

Master

Chain: EQ (HP 25 Hz, optional soft Pultec) – compressor 2:1 1 dB – limiter. Target −14/−12 LUFS for an orchestral jazz record, −10/−9 for swing pop; true peak −1 dBTP; preserve the dynamics between a light chorus and the shout chorus (6–10 LU of short-term difference).

Common mistakes

Kick too loud, aggressive trumpets at 3 kHz, sections too separated in the stereo field (they don't sound like a block), different reverbs per section, crushing the shout chorus with the limiter.

Mix reference tracks

Count Basie — April in Paris (1955); Duke Ellington — Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue (Newport 1956); Glenn Miller — In the Mood; Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band — Count Bubba (modern).

Reference listening

• Fletcher Henderson — Wrappin' It Up (1934)
• Benny Goodman — Sing, Sing, Sing (1937)
• Count Basie — One O'Clock Jump (1937)
• Chick Webb & Ella Fitzgerald — A-Tisket, A-Tasket (1938)
• Coleman Hawkins — Body and Soul (1939)
• Glenn Miller — In the Mood (1939)
• Artie Shaw — Begin the Beguine (1938)
• Duke Ellington — Take the "A" Train (1941)
• Count Basie — Jumpin' at the Woodside (1938)