Basic Music Structure, Part 1 - for Lindy Hop and Swing Dance

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The topic of musicality can be obvious to some, and totally baffling to others. This resource is meant for students and educators to help break down this material.

As dancers, we're supposed to look like how the music sounds, and a huge part of that is observing and predicting changes that occur in music through things like musical structure or macro musicality. However, hearing those changes can be really tricky for some.

In this video, we'll talk about hearing the differences between 3 basic structures (AABA, ABAC, and Blues), and we'll talk about some of the differences in terminology between dancers and musicians. We'll also listen for different musical features to help make the changes more obvious.

02:11 AABA Explanation
03:42 ABAC Explanation
05:30 Blues Structure Explanation
07:04 How to Hear Phrase / Chorus Changes
08:03 Practice Listening to the Background

Below are some playlists of these common structures, as well as examples of songs that deviate from them. Hope this resource helps! Enjoy!

AABA Forms:
   • AABA Songs  

ABAC Forms:
   • ABAC Songs  

Blues Forms:
   • Blues Songs  

Songs With Interludes:
Exactly Like You, Count Basie, 32 Bar -    • Видео  
What a Shuffle, Chick Webb, 32 Bar -    • WHAT A SHUFFLE by Chick Webb and his ...  
Dinah, Count Basie, 32 Bar -    • Dinah  
Say Forward, I'll March, Jay McShann, 32 Bar -    • SAY FORWARD, I'LL MARCH (Original)  
Georgianna, Count Basie, 32 Bar -    • Georgianna  

Consistently Different Forms:
Pig Foot Sonata, Lionel Hampton - 30 bar (last A is shortened):
   • Видео  
D. B. Blues, Lester Young - AABA (A = 6 8counts, B = 4 8counts):    • Lester Young - D. B.  Blues  
Baby, What's the Matter With You, Roy Eldridge - AABA (A = 6 8counts, B = 4 8counts):
   • Baby, What's The Matter With You?  
Ram Session, Earl Bostic - ABA (all phrases are 4 8counts):    • Ram Session  
Night and Day, Coleman Hawkins - A1 (8 counts) A2 (8 counts) B (8 counts):
   • Видео