How To Sing Jazz
How To Sing Jazz
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Contents
SomeThoughtsAbout SingingJazz,p. 5
A FoggyDay
- Introduction,p. 1Z
- Song,p. 2l
l. A CottageFor Sale
2. My Funny Valentine
- Introduction,p. J2
- SongNo. I, p. 35
- SongNo. 2, p. 39
Lover
- Introduction,p. 43
- Song,p. 46
ri
Some
Thoughts
AboutSINGII\G JAZZ
As wnttcn:
q' d
)- |
)
|
)
|
l" ) )
J
lt . Jt-_LJ
IJere in my arms it's a - dor - a ble -
As sung:
4l il . r\ . ) f rl
4 o----'
Herc- in nty
.-Jd
artrs _
l,
aa
it's a
I
l_l_J) L;-_l-J
dor-a ble
Sirc gavea similar lift to vi'cent younans' "riise ir" Srrine" r. thc secondphrasc.
As written: As strrrg:
I rll '
,h
\ 'r a
I . d_l ll 4 t tt
t,). il) | ll
. la . I n i . o i ._ tr
Stand up and take it. Stanrl up antl take jt. _
Sing all the time sing with the radio,with records,with the cannecl
musicin grocerystoresan(
elevators'sing with the piano.Singto your own accompanirnent. sing without accompanrment.
Singall the time
If singingis not first natureto you, singand singuntil it is secondnature.
Suspension Dclay,
,
). J J._j) |'1
tl
ad. lv i .Dlj. l.l)Li.__Lj ll
It's ver - y__ Our love is
"ti-,- here lo stay;
-3 -----
b I I h abr[
..:aa. la
/
.:_a lbh
a a ). $J ll-Ji J ,r)J lf.._LJll
mov -ics- that we know Ilay- just be pass- ing _ fan - cies,_ And in time may go. -_-
r- 3 -__,_r
4llll lh il[ j__Lj ) ) ) l) ir_l-J
4 d.aa
know May just be
l.
pass
)
lng
aa
; And in
lt
rime may Bo._
BobbyShort
l-r I
It's vcr - y clear It's ver Y cleal I t's ver - y clear
The most interestingchoices would probably involvethe
Bl, sinceit is this alteredtone whicf
throwsthe piecetemporarilyinto C.
It's vcr -y clear, ir's clear, it's clear our love is here to
The altered tonality introduced by the Bi canbe exploited in many ways:
It's ver - y clcar, it's clear, it's clear- our love is here to
mov - ics that we knorv Nlay just be pass ing fan. cies,
It is easy but a little boring to carry this device through to the end of the phrase.The question is
when to break thc sequence.I rvorrldn't do it rnore than three times as far as the word "movies." But then jf wc
stop improvisingand return to the written mclody, it soundslike a breakdown of imagination.We might introduce
a rising figure in bar 12 anclretum to our sequcncein bar l3:
-l
Some parls of this tune seem absolutely irresistibleto jazz-orientedsingers.Take the simple four-
note phrasc"But, oh my dear." In the first public performanceof this song,Larry Carr sang:
But, oh my dear
Another seeminglyirresistible
spot is "long, long" jtt bar 22. The two quarter notes
clongated or embroideredor both, pointing up the are either ver
v c r y l o - o - o - o - o - o - nwga y t h c h a p p y c o u p l ew i l l b e g o i n g t r
g e t he r :
JoeWilliams
FrankSinatra(both choruses)
Larry Carr
Con anima
o4-
,np-<-
rr I
,lf
I
*; - , /'719 ?
T-
.^ r
m? te6g. ero
tfl t rt'r tlq#
'l toF-
I
C dirr
world and all its c&- Ders And how it all will end. Noth-ingseems
to be
npi-rna-nont T ,'"..'----./
meajr ln u1e wav
I ti*
Refrain
l)
F rn^j7
6 \-rL
I
.Be
I
7 /ilnJ 7
qu
-
z't1f,J- (q)7
f 5 + qTT r T
?-
,----'---------- l
In time the Rock - ies may crum-ble. Gib - ral - tar may tum - ble,
'lheyre
on- ly made of clay, But our love is here to
81rg- -
)
ovvt- (J
1.r
I
ryp'.
=- r---fl:l t.t la
+
'nf-=_:__ 1!p delicat
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t1
Introduction
TirA Foggy Day
Here is anotherballad-turned-jurnp-tune.
The lyric expresses
mock sadness
and uncertaintyuntil
thejubilantchange
of moodat "suddenly"in bar 25;rvecan'twaitlongto swing.
Like "Love Is Hereto Stay," "A FoggyDay" is built on a very distinctiverhythm wliich is always
disregarded in jazz performance:pattemsof pickupnotesapproachnotesheldfor four beats(or longer).Looking
at the sheetmusic,however,you may be surprisedto find that the writtenrhythm is not at all that whichyou
have
usuallyheard.This tune is almosta lessonin what swingsand what doesn't.The only placewherethe
written
rhythmic pattemis varied-on"I viewedthe" in bar 9-is the only spotthat swingsaswritten,and it is this
rhythm
that is the basisof all jazz interpretationof this tune, eitherinstrumental
or vocal.Thusthe rhythm is commonly
rendered:
(andperhapsdelays):
but with anticipations . N I \ \r
t 1' . a a a
I lo I i' t) |
X
A lo8 - gy day _ etc.
Don't try to avoid somethinglike this just becauseit's common. It's common because,
in a marnstreamjazz context,
it's ight. Feel free to acceptit and do your improvising from there.
The melody is built on short repeatedmotifs wllch skip up in the first 8 measurcs(up
a minor thircl
to a note not in the scale,then up a fifth; this repeated twice on differcnt degreesof the scale)and
then down in
the second 8 (with the D in bar l6 often mis-rendcredas Db which is perfectly satisfactory from jazzpoint
a of
view as long as singerand accompanistare together). The entire pattern beginsagainat bar 17
with, however,a risc
to a welfplaced rnelodic climax on "suddenly" at bar 25, and thc endingextendedby two bars
which introduce a
totally different melodic quality accompanyinga change in lyrical feeling.Recognizi'g features
like this mav helo
),ou to coRstructjazz choruses which are meaningful rather than ranciom.
This tune is a lessoni11the riSht notes, as well as the right rhythms. Sincethe pickup
notes are re-
peated, there are only sixteen differcnt notes in the first 16 bars. The notes
Gershwin has landed on after his
quarter-noteanticipations(E t, A, Ab, D, C, F, C, D) are very characteristicof the piece
and very right; they are
almost never varied. Kceping them will give you security. Improvisingsingersconcentrateon
varying the approach-
ing pickup notes.Herc are severalways of approachingjust the first sustainednote:
foB
r
8v day fog BY day
----1----
l-
fo8 gv day fog cv fog
t8
Ijere is how this Eb was approachedin some notewodhy
recordings:
Ella Fitzgerald
A fbg
How- long,- [_ won- dered,_
LouisAmstrong
Mel Tormd (a slow, fbggy interpretation)
L e t ' s l o o k a t s o m ew a y so f l a n d t n go n o t h e r n o t e s
i n t h i s s a m ec h o r d : G i r , C , l l r .
A fbg - gy d"y A
..
log gy day
-)
r
fog " 8Y day
T h c G b ( a b o v e )i s t r i c k y , a s i t t e n d st o t l u o w
t h e p i e c ci n t o t h c k e y o f D b . T h e C ( b e l o w )
tonds to swing; stripping the mclody down sonrehow
to repeatednotes will rcinforce this tcndency,
notes can usually be sung for the next phraseas rvcll: and in fact the same
Hereis an improviseci-
chorusfrom Ella Fitzgerald,utilizing the ,,right,,
Gershwiit,
andimprovising sustarned
noteswdtten by
on thepickupnotes:
In Lon - don
//--- ):
where._
real_
day-
Lon ' don had me feel lng low, brought me right down.
20
town,
A F"ggyDuy
Musicby GEORGEGERSHWIN/Lyrics
by IRA GERSHWIN
N l u d tr a t o
Piano (
IJ J
(s i{?,?.'.
4D ./.El'!. 'I)
F-
rulher Frr:Lj7
tr
r-l
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Guilrt r
F'
l d c eI
I had that feel-ing of self pi - ty, _ \\'hat to do?\\}at to dr?\\lat to dr? The
.)' a -
l4' ,\
Am um/ c7$)
D{t
cTFEl o
Refrain (lrighter hut warmly)
ttm/
t.
OJ'L' LI
iml
23
I
'l> 4 ,
(-./)
,; '.
t,t (,
FmajT E7(bb) F9 BbmajT
'
T viewed the', morn- ing \irith larm,-
D ll /- 4
Fma D9 Ggk) G9+ C9
'J>'*
p trf"<- .e
ql.r ra
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t"--
i>
I f r F -r'r r r \a "7 I
(!)
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F 7 r l 9 ) B fr n aj 7 ( ; 1 1 ( ; )r )
b li
I
l. u 1,6 I lJ l/
G9
And throush gv Lon- don town the sun \\.as shil rns
-i
A
C7 | [Ii{l /
where.
nf,-_
trmaj7
Il l,rnti I ir n ; 1 7
grlr11.____,,-
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25
I'rroduction
Tirl\ice Worh If You Can Get It
This tune is in strongcontrastto "A FoggyDay" and "Love Is Hereto Stay." Rhythnically
it is
written without tricky syncopations, it is sung much ntore nearlyas written, but with some a:rticipations
and
delays:
__,____r r.-
r_3 3 _ r
Wait - ing at tl)c cot - tagc door. And then tak ing that- vow, -
Who could ask for- an y - thing more? get it,_ Won't_ you teil* me how?-
stylized rhythms can be overdone.The words "get it" occur six timesper chorus.If the rhythm
(' g.e' t l t ' ) is exaggeratedeaclt time the devicegrows increasingly
rt tiresome.
Lov ing one who - loves- you, And then tak - ing that vow,
"Loving one who loves you" ls given a similar but more complex treatment by Sarah Vaughan.
Lov ing one who lovcs- you, _ And thcn tak - ing that vow, _
Ooh, nice work if you can get it, And you c a n g e t jt if you try. _
8et you _
(Second
you _._
you try.
(Bridge)
(Last8 ( H e r e b e g i n sa m o d u l a t i o nt o
C.)
get it, oh ._- Won,t you tell me h o w ?- I'm hold - ing hands at mid _ niglit
Here the arrangementgoes into a special
new nlelody and lyric, compatible with and
thc original song. suggestedby
l
28
Piano IF
IF
\t-
G G6 C6 D7
im far rlUC
i.i'l-#
rffltr
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P.fff
Fl-#
ftfF
ffiI+t tf]-ffl
i-ffi-F
trtr
The man who on - ly lives for nrak- ing mon_ey Lives a li fe th:Lt
G6 C6 D7 G+
sr,s.4 D7 Gmai.7 G6
Fm FFFI$
ffiifl Ja-e
|.-J..1# ----l
fffi-F f-t Ffft-H fftftl
it+++l
tfttf, ffitrffi
n_Trr r-rrrF
ffiffiffi
fftrH rrrrF
9
D Bdim.? A7 D7
rtrrl
Ht+t t:rrD sFm
nTm ftttH
Is the kind th;t is for girl and boy meant, tr'all in love you won't re - g;et it,
Cmi.6 D? G6
90 o Ami.6
sffi ||f*t
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ffifl f1-f#
ffiffi
ql 9
B7
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ftffi Efifi WB
rrrrn tffffi l-ft-it
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Refr^ : - (smoothly)
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fl+]+ aldn
ffffi1 I-TTTF l-ff?tt
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ffiF trfrffit-fffi
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Strol- ling with the one girl, Sigh- ing sigh aft - er sigh,
- ? ------r
1-1't
G jl G Edrm.7
cB c
-:-:_u
And youcan
Emi. 9
EETIN D+ Gmi. G6 A7
H+IF H#H ffi ffitn
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Dm i . G6 A7 3l
D G t-
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lrfff Ht lt-l EfI]
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l-iffH Hfl+t ffif,
eq e
B7 B7 t7
mlmmm +FTI{
t-ffffl
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ffilt
rt+i+{
lffi m# t-f-f+H ffirl
Nice work- if you can trt'+ il A n d i f ; ' ou get it,_ Wotit you tell me
----l---------- -
[".---r
*. l--.---..--.-l r
c+
32
My Funny Valentine
J./
we were proud of
key's
JJ
RichardRodgersis known to objectvery stronglyto eventlle slightest
alterationof his songs.His
My Funny valentine"is a magnilicentachievement, with a kind of simplicity,balance,ancleconomywhichmake
ugstionablethe whole practiceof improvisation.The lyric and the rnelodyfit each
otherperf'ectly,and the con-
rurs aresimplyexquisite.
irst 8 --^ *
/4--
Second8
_/\ ^ ,l\--'---/
ridge \r^J \,\-
v-'-- Last 8 ,,-/'- )- ---/
\-: \J -..-::=
for- F a c h- d a y- V a l - e n , t i l c ' s- day.
( s e c o n dchorus)
I
(cchoin
gP&;#i;il','?ii
J"r) chartge a halr for me, Not i - i-if you_ c a r e for nre.
/:\
r o r -_
for b a c l r day
Each d a y__ is Val _ en - tinc's_ day. -
CarmenlvlcRae
A CottageFor Sale
i\Iusicby \YILLAItD ROIIISON/L,r
ricsby LARRy CONLEY
Morlerat o
PIANO
'l'ir:tt
l a s Uti'
T,'l tl
\\'itl, rrt: h;.rrl
Now it's :r b u n - ga- lox'
5()nte-o rl i s s t i tr r rI - r r g b e
S l r a ri r r g t h e s o r - row anti
)yriShr
o 1930bi,DesyLV-^,IlRowN& IItiNDtRsoNINc.
'yrightRencwcd,
assigned
to C App|LL & CO.,INC.
'rnationai Copyrie|t
Sccurcd
36
ffi ffiffi
trfn mn rff1
m
cHoRUS H#
gone,_
clratvn, mv heart
----,--r----'.--.
ot - tage Fbr
37
proud_
beau- ti
way, _
'I'lic
1'ouplant - etl ios ueeds sec'lr tr.r
Cot-tage For
,----F--..
*m
ffiffi
H+t H-ft m ffiffi
told on the A Cot-tageFor l'ale-
39
VIyFun Valentine
Musicby RICHARDRODGERS/Lyrics
by LORENZHART
Moderato
delicato
Be -hold the way our fine-feath-ered friend his vir - tue doth pa rade. Thou
t.t,t i., .1..i.r- --i /'i\
L'-.r-,'i1...,,. )).1)_
malto semlolice
d tempa
know- est not, my dim-wit - ted friend,The pic - ture thou hast made. Tt'v
f'... i ,-il ,-.
] i.r.r-,
!.i 11(
't-,'
Cm
v& - calrt btow zrnd thy tous - led con - ceal thy good in - tent. Thou
no - blt-.,up - right, truth -fuJ, sin -cere and slight - ly dop - ey gent, you're
J r r
en - tine,
fI
4l
looks
BbTtEb) Bb7 B t ? rE b ) B 1 7
l f,b,v .= ---
-: ---
Eb'".j?
e b-T- ZL - t'
a
al
l5'
Aa
A bmajT AL" c m ( B !) !
d I rr t._r ff-r a#
' l - l \r
4?> a)
pl
tF{ r
rl,,__.--------_t-...--.--
----.-_,-'
Dt bs
Nct if y.ru care for Dp, Stay lit - tle V*l - un - tln.,,
.-
d rir* cTrI
:_r---=4
trlr al.l '
n o c j a n o c o c7esc.
-t--
T- 'J ,hJ
Ar'ma i7 Bb7
stay ! - uaJ
-' "11 - en- tlnes
att
f motto ctpr.
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l'
f
I rf rf
-t-
)
c
lntroductionTb Lover
two _ Iips of
say, "Tire Dev
Lov - er. lov - er, plcase bc ten - der, when you're fcars- de
(3rd chorus)
PeggyLee'sphrasing
Normal phrasing
a-) I
when you're ten - der fears de part,
fears de part,
Anita O'Day sings"Lover" in three tempos: ( 1) a gentle jazz-waltz, slightly rubato, improvising
directlyon the chords;(2) a veryfastdoubledI tike PeggyLee's;and (3) a simple swinging f, .
(l)
when I'M
My favorite jazz versionof .'Lover,' is a Storvville recordingby JackieCain and Roy Kral. Jackie
singsthe first chorus in an ad lib. f, with only minor variations.In the "last 8," with substitutechords,her melod-
ic changesemphasizecertainwords:
A
T
a) t77r rrfT
Lov - er,- when I'm near you- and I hear you - speak my nalIle
>
Aot. r--
I
I
\-
Doo-doo-doo,-Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo,-Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo,-Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo
\
Doo - doo-doo, Doo - doo-doo, You and I, to the sky
Ve e-Broadly
D6 Eml
Hq1 .r+4{r
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ut= ffi ffi
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rmIl
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ffi
tl+ul
8m Em? tr ^Ad cl
rrts'n Ht+t IH+H tff+f, (no L) HIJ1J
ffi
Refrain o
tv
\=---
48
D D7 G
.rtrn rfYH
ffi H11l ffi F{+111
FFFFH
FS{
you_
D
Tl.Il
ffi lll+q tffi
8-su!mF
F++St ffi
tltlll
ffi
ffitR
Btrmln
f+f+fl
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ffi H+l tl
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ffi
FM
ffrm
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. Your 'ry plan I de
ln you';- and to IE Er6t 0u I Iryj -
49
ir
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r' r
"tf
)
(f1:us
+trfl ffi
d ltP
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iP- "f" nP
U
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e l--=.-- o.
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-
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t.n. ten
b,
50
This romantic ballad usually played in a cooking ff tempo in which the nrusiciansdo all the work
and the singergetsall the glory-turns out to be one of the most swingingof all jazz tunes. Lyrically the adjustment
rs simple: from gentle happincssto ebullience.The main strain is built oflittle 4-note plrrasesall inCmajor. The
bridge, after this simplicity, bursts out into fascinatingharmonies: E major, Gf minor, Ft major, while the melo-
Cy takes on a nice muscular, athletic quality with skipsof a 5th and a wondcrlul major Tth in bar 19. The opcning
lncl recurring figure can be varied in countlessminor ways:
Thc possibilitiesare truly lirnitlcss,so lct's selcct some and construct a partial chorus.
-3--r
look you _
IT RIT
play,- I start,- Then melt
Frank Sinatra
IreneKral
MargaretWhiting
(Balladtempo) Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Rita Reyes
)). 41
-=-
PIANO ,/tJ,
i-
CmajT
c
o-V=-t-t--T'-*_
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>-f : r------]
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C7 r --.,- ------- Cr i i 7 7
=:-
land, Dovvn ddco " il riy h c:rrt, hear it
.-'-- 3-'-
2)
\- -J -,_,-.( nF
say, day?
.-d-
tr:r
\\e/
lone havc strain,
m? nolto catrtabile
./-=:--
^Il
d ilr' HE.
-- ,,L
F1l | -= I
fr?
--,____1J__,-t
{=_ __:,--''
FF7l6\ -l{ -
rfl t BZ6) 87
'
iet it go, Why cadt I let you know, Why cint I
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cresc e rdll. .-
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55
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