“F O R M”

Did you know that songs/tunes have a “form”? In this video, seasoned jazz trumpeter, composer, arranger and Big Band aficionado Marcus Printup breaks down what a “form” is - specifically the A A B A form. He goes in-depth using and analyzing Duke Ellington’s famous “Satin Doll” to help us have a better understanding.

Listening index:

00:00 Intro
• Forms & Themes
• Duke Ellington "Satin Doll" - A A B A form

01:45 Audio • Putting the A A B A form into musical context
02:58 A A B A Recap
03:51 Audio • Duke Ellington and his orchestra "Satin Doll"
07:01 The A A B A Breakdown • Recap of the "bar" • Duke's piano 4 bar intro w bass
08:02 Audio • Marking the "4 bar Intro"
08:31 Audio • Marking the "First 'A' Section"

09:00 The Breakdown
• Sax section playing the melody in a unique voicing/format
• Bari Sax (Harry Carney) playing the melody line vs the bass line of the sax section
• Rhythm section playing “2 feel” (2 feel vs 4 feel)
• Trombone section playing in unison as a backgrounds
• Saxes play a whole note while trombones play a counter line towards the end of the “First ‘A’ Section”
• "Mighty Trumpets" (led by Cat Anderson) end the "First 'A' Section" with a sforzando
• Tenor saxophone (Paul Gonsalves) plays a line at the end of the "Second 'A' Section" leading into the bridge

13:33 Audio • From the top again (Intro A A)

14:30 The “Bridge” • The first "4 bars"
• Rhythm section and "4 feel"
• Saxes play melody again, but in unison
• Trombones play background in harmony

15:35 Audio ∙ First 4 bars of the "Bridge"
15:47 The Breakdown • The first 4 bars of the "Bridge" with audio

17:38 The last 4 bars of the "Bridge”
• The "and of 4"
• "Mighty Trumpets" play melody (led by Cat Anderson)

18:54 The "Last 'A' Section"
• Rhythm section going back to "2 feel"
• Saxes melody
• Trumpets and plunger mutes
• Trombones answer with a low "ahhhh"

20:06 Audio • The "Last 'A' Section"
20:36 What's next? Ray Nance: Trumpet, Violin, Vocals, Dance

21:21 “The Solo Section"
• In this arrangement, they go back to the "Bridge"
• Ray embellishes the melody

22:20 Audio • The Solo Section" (starting back at the "Bridge")

The Breakdown
• Rhythm section going back to 4 feel
• Saxes play background

23:54 Now what???
• "Last 'A' Section" - again
• Trumpets screaming in Octaves
• Trombones play counter melody
• Drummer (Sam Woodyard) plays accented kicks to uplift the band

24:52 Audio ∙ "The Solo Section" (starting back at the "Bridge")
25:17 Audio ∙ "Last 'A' Section" ... again

25:37 More stuff?
The Breakdown
• "Last 'A' Section" one final time
• Saxes play melody line but with lead alto (Johnny Hodges) on top (not Bari sax)
• No backgrounds
• Harmonic voicings similar to SATB voicing
• No Trombones until the 6th bar
• 4 bar Outro after "Last 'A' Section" ends

26:55 Audio