Central High School - Brecky Yearbook (Washington, DC)

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wing 's Khbzq Ed Solomon Jack Smith Robin Gould Jackie French WING is the music of today-the music of youth! Classical music was all right for the Eighteenth Century, as it reflected the emotion of its day, but it isn't typical of the Twentieth Century. The difference between classical music and the swing music is the differ- ence between such a gallant sailing vessel as The Flying Cloud and the modern, streamlined Queen Mary. They are as different as Anthony Adverse and S. S. Van Dine's fast-moving mystery stories. Swing, to be appreciated, should be carefully listened to, and studied. While it is primarily dance music, and excellent dance music at that, its wonderful variations and the technical prowess exhibited by the performers should not be lost while you recklessly throw a girl over your shoulder or lose all sense of time and place as you frantically clap your hands in time with the rhythm. Incidentally, when Glen Miller was on the stage of the Capitol Theater, a couple of months back, he was forced to stop playing his marvelous com- position, In The Mood, because the noise made by the cats in the audience disturbed the mem- bers of his band so much that they couldn't play. These show-offs didn't hear the phenomenal dynamics of Mr. Miller's arrangement and kept the people who appreciated the music from hear- ing it. These squares are the ones who should be made to suffer the monotony of a long sym- phony. There is, however, an increasing number of interested individuals who are striving to es- tablish real swing in its deserved position. On the other hand, swing brings to these people some of the better classical pieces done up in the way they like to hear them. My Reverie and Our Looe as classics were little known, but many people became acquainted with these works for THE Rnvnzw i141 the first time when they heard the swing version. The argument is advanced by some people that swing is monotonous, but by this statement they show their lack of knowledge and appreciation of this type of music. Compare Benny Goodman's record, I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart, with his Iurnpin' At The Woodside, or Charlie Barnet's record, Cherokee with his arrangement of Love Grows on a White Oak Tree. No similarity may be found in any of these. A study of the styles of different bands will also bring out this variety. Another advantage of swing is the fact that the artist has a chance to express his own emotions through improvisation. To be good in this Field the musician must have a thorough foundation in classical music as well as in swing. He must bc able to play classical music as well as his selected type. Swing music is difficult to play. With the new rhythm has developed a new type of beat. For years, the notes have been hit on the down-beatg now, the up-beat is used. The technical ability required is tremendous. An entirely different technique is imperative in order to give the ar- rangements the proper deliverance. Furthermore, swing has a great deal of variation. Keys are changed in the middle of a piece. Compositions are shorter, and there is more syncopation. Summing this all up, progress has created a desire to get across new ideas in music. Con- sequently, a new style of conveying these ideas has been developed. Swing has a place in the field of music just as the waltz has. It is the newest of all music, and so it isn't so well known to those who were brought up with classical music. It is our belief that, if these persons would listen to swing without prejudice, they would come to the conclusion that it is grand music.

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Reach in, an' git him by the tail. He inserted his hand. A vicious hiss sounded as he quickly withdrew his arm. He bit me, maw! But I'll git 'im. He tried again, with like consequences. Sit down for awhile, son, and whittle some more. He returned to his seat. Five minutes he carved. Maw, I feel bad. An' look how big my arm is! Suddenly the knife clattered to the floor. He slumped forward in his chair. Dead. His mother dragged him to a cot in the other room, where she covered him over. She took the map, went into the field, and dug up the treasure of twelve spiders. The chicken she noted with some surprise. She returned to the house and put the spiders and chicken into a box. There was a knock at the door. She closed the bedroom door, went into the kitchen, and hastily put the dishes into a kettle. Come in. The door opened. The sheriff and two men entered. Howdy, Miz Clemens. Where's Harold? Hello, sheriff. I'm jist cleanin' up. Harold ain't come in yet. Wal, drawled the sheriff with his thumbs tucked under his belt, jus' thought it'd relieve yuh if I dropped in and tole yuh we caught the fellow wot did the killin'. She started, dropping a dish from her hand. Smiling, the sheriff beckoned to his two com- panions, and they all withdrew. Immediately she burst into tears, then went to the bedroom, where she knelt beside her son and cried till exhausted. Dragging herself into the kitchen, she took down the box and opened the lid. The ugly features of a copperhead sprang forth. She uttered a stifled cry and thrust her hand amongst the coils of the serpent's body. aim BETTY BOND '40 Hove you ever thought, On a rainy day, What a diference there is in rains! S o1ne rains are dark and gloomy, Others are soft and gray. Cold autumn rains are saddeningg Warm April showers are gay. Can't you tell when a rain is friendly! I can, right away. Tun Rmvrxw l13l

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isfen and Eye Helen Daz Amos Taylor Rutherford Day Christine Taylor John Diggins Betty MeCrahon S BEETHOVEN was writing his music in Vienna, Napoleon was conquering all of Europe. Yet Napoleon lived to see his empire topple like a house of cards, and Bee- thoven died when his work was just beginning to be appreciated. When Strauss had that same city dancing to his brilliant melodies, the House of Hapsburg reigned serenely over an empire second only to Russia in area and population among the nations of Europe. Today we know the tunes of Strauss by heart, but the Hapsburgr have disappeared, and Austria-Hungary is but a memory. Buildings are torn down and forgotten, treaties are broken before the ink is dry, nations rise and fall in the space of a decade, but the man who can write a tune that peor-ie will remember has created something which will defy time for- ever. ' Modern popular tunes die out in a short time because people quickly grow tired of their simple tunes and formulated lyrics. They are written for a commercial market-for money. But great music- classical music-is permanent, because it is made of the same stuff as laughter, tears, love, and heartbreak. Its composers have ex- perienced every human emotion and have ex- pressed each one in music of overwhelming sin- cerity and eloquence. Why is classical music not more generally liked? Nearly all of us have some respect or love for it. To begin with, the word classical is repellant. It sounds highbrow. Serious music is a better term, but not all good music is serious. Hayden's Surpnlre Symphony is humor- ous, and Dukas' Sorcerer? Apprentice is down- right hilarious. School music appreciation courses may also have something to do with this attitude. Dis- secting and analyzing works of art is all right for the scholar, but not for the listener seeking en- joyment. Formalized study makes a chore out of a pleasure, work out of relaxation. The text- books are misleading too. They tell us that Mozart and Beethoven were geniuses, the former always merry and cheerful, and the latter living a life of torment and frustration befitting a man of genius. The truth was that they both led humdrum lives, Mozart pestered by creditors, and Beethoven besieged by blood-sucking relatives. In their music they sought an escape. It is still an escape for all of us who lead humdrum lives today. Composers are human. Their music would not appeal to us if they were not. Today we are continually subjected to a barrage of popular music which is dinned into our ears from morning to night. As month succeeds month, the titles change, but the songs are always more or less alike. It has the effect of deadening our appetite. We have been stuffed with :i starchy swing diet for so long that, when a svm- phony program offers us a really square musical meal, it is too big for usg we are unable to ap- preciate or cope with it. So we keep on with starch. The chief appeal of popular music lies in rhythm, a primitive instinct found in everyone. its appreciation requires no particular concen- tration or mental strain. Drawings have been found in the caves of Cro-Magnon Man, repre- senting people dancing what appears to he the Charleston, proof that the feeling for rhvthm is as old as man himself. We can listen to iam with our ears, but not with our minds. Un- fortunately, or fortunately, this is not the case with good music. From the foregoing discussion we can draw the following conclusions. Classical music is not en- joyed by a great many people because it is made to seem too sacrosanct, or because they don't think they can afford the time and energy required for its proper enjoyment .... It has every artistic and emotional advantage on its side. Tx! Review I15l