“It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing, doo-wah doo-wah doo-wah doo-wah doo-wah doo-wah doo-wah doo-wah” – Duke Ellington Hear a seamless collage of several varieties of swing: Music Theory Songs by Ethan Hein Aside from the blues, swing is the United States’ most significant musical innovation. People typically associate its rubbery, …
Tag Archives: Django Reinhardt
The orchestra hit as a possible future for classical music
In my paper about whiteness in music education, I tried to make a point about sampling classical music that my professor was (rightly) confused about. So I’m going to use this post to unpack the idea some more. I was arguing that, while we should definitely decanonize the curriculum, that doesn’t mean we need to …
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Teaching myself the Bach Chaconne with Ableton Live
Recently someone posted this performance of the Chaconne from Bach’s violin partita in D minor on an eleven-string guitar by Moran Wasser. My favorite interpretation by an actual violinist is Viktoria Mullova’s. I appreciate her straightforward and unsentimental approach. I also enjoy the version from Morimur, and I’m not alone. It’s one of the most …
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My top 100 jazz tracks
A while ago I wrote a post explaining how jazz works. In response, someone asked me to name my favorite hundred jazz tracks. So here’s my list. It’s totally subjective and necessarily incomplete, but I can guarantee that any of these tunes will make your life better. Hear them on Spotify.
The best jazz versions of classical pieces
For my tastes, you can’t beat the Ellington Nutcracker. [iframe_loader width=”480″ height=”360″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/ONknTGUckKc” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen] Ellington’s Peer Gynt suite is also pretty wonderful. [iframe_loader width=”480″ height=”360″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/1mne1rQ0rcw” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen] This one has inspired some remixing from me. [iframe_loader width=”100%” height=”166″ scrolling=”no” frameborder=”no” src=”http://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F12726693&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true&color=ff7700″]
Mashups as micro-mixtapes
Back in 1966, Glenn Gould predicted that recorded music would become an interactive conversation between musician and listener. He described dial twiddling as “an interpretive act.” He was wrong about the dials, but right about the main point, that technology would make listening to music more like making music. Anybody with iTunes instantly becomes a …