It Dont Mean a Thing IF YOU AINT GOT THAT SWING BY: ALLISON
BRATTON
Slide 3
History It Dont Mean a Thing, If You Aint Got That Swing was
composed by Duke Ellington in 1932 It quickly became a jazz
standard This version is was performed in 1961 Louis Armstrong sang
and played the trumpet and Duke Ellington played the piano in this
recording
Slide 4
This is a picture of Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington Around
the time that this song was recorded.
Slide 5
Analysis 4/4 time 2 measures of piano and percussion and bass
Trumpet solo starts and continues for 14 and a half measures
Singing starts on Pick up to measure 17 and trumpet stops back to
the original piano and percussion with a little variation. The
Verse continues for 2 measures, chorus for 9, bridge for 5 and back
to chorus for 4.
Slide 6
Analysis continued Louis Armstrong then sings the chorus with
variation and adds scat for 9 measures, and then does the same with
the verse for 4 and ends with the chorus for 4. Horn and clarinet
go back and forth for 9 measures Piano solo for 4 And the songs
ends with the horn and clarinet have a chase for 25 measures.
Slide 7
Timbre This is a song that encourages dance. The feeling and
movement of the song communicate that clearly! The instruments play
in according to the lyrics. Louis Armstrong say swing a horn swings
Louis says sing and a clarinet sings At the beginning the bass
starts as a steady back-beat and than evolves to a quicker moving
pace as the song gets more in intricate and involved. It helps
create interest and that swing motion in the song.
Slide 8
Timbre continued Something that makes this version unique is
Louis Armstrong's unique style of trumpet playing The added
clarinet to the song adds a great dialogue in addition to the
trumpet