4 Groups DJs Often Forget

There are two main DJ topics. One is handling the dancefloor and the dancers and the other one is the music itself. What we often forget is that an event has more groups than DJs and dancers. During a good event all involved parties are happy and even though the other groups are often happy without our doing, we have to be aware who they are and stay alert to their needs.

Event Organisors

What makes event organisors happy differs strongly. Most of them are happy when the participants are happy. Some of them have additional requirements like a certain atmosphere or a certain style of music. Hence we have to be sensitive to organisors needs and doing a good job means to incorporate those into our sets. These don't always have to match what dancers would prefer - for example while dancers might enjoy a change in the band break (e.g. play Swing when the band plays Jazz), the organisor might want you to keep to the style of the band.

Other DJs

Most of the times nothing is needed to keep collegues happy, a good advice is to simply don't annoy them.
Many people seem to have the idea that they can just look on the cover of the vinyl or on the screen of a laptop to figure out a song instead of politely asking. While not every DJ reacts strongly to this, I recommend asking instead of just looking.
One commonly made mistake by beginner and intermediate DJs is that they play music they got from a fellow DJ, that djs the same night. Researching music is a lot of work, and a common thought to a happy face by a collegue that tells you "Do you hear this? This is YOUR song!" is the non-spoken "Yes, and I would've liked to play it!". Stick to the music you've researched yourself when playing at the same night as a DJ who gave you music.

Bands

Most bands I like I've never had to worry about my actions during the break, simply don't play any of their recorded music, they'll rock so hard, there is nothing to worry about.
Bands that aren't good are a lot trickier. While you don't want to show them off, there are also dancers and organisors to take care off. I like the honest approach and think it's best to save the dancers night and have the band see what makes dancers happy instead of trying to spare them loosing face. Because if they do it is up to them and they might be actually happy about experiencing what is needed, so they can improve too.

Location Owners

I'm used to dancing in local venues that are pubs or bars. These venues need to make money to work. So I try to DJ that the people on the dance floor go on and off and have time for a drink. This way they might dance less that one night, but won't get kicked out after two weeks, because they only drink water in the bathroom. This way both groups stay happy. Want to know how to do it? Read how to empty the dancefloor.

Try to be aware of all parties wishes and decide from there what is best. Know that it is not always possible to make everyone happy.

+1 if you like including everyone!

.. If It Ain't Got That Jazz

In the past years there has been a trend in the lindy hop scene - we dance a lot more to New Orleans Jazz. Many scenes have local bands that play great New Orleans Jazz, like Bolden Buddies from Montpellier, Rhythm Junkies from Vilnius or the amazing Gentlemen & Gangsters from Göteborg. Even though it is somewhat obvious we don't think about the fact that this is not the music lindy hop was created to and what that implies.

The bands that played at the Savoy Ballroom were Luis Russel, Count Basie, Chick Webb, etc. They played Big Band Swing with one of the characteristics being the syncopation which made people start to incorporate the triple step into the dance.

Different music results in different dancing. When Swing music turned Boogie the dance changed, when Boogie turned Rock'n Roll, the dance changed again. Dances match their music.

The lindy hop we dance today very often is a non-syncopated lindy hop. Lots of charlestoning and kicking as result from tempo and rhythm from New Orleans Jazz. While I do love New Orleans Jazz and most definitely dancing to it, I think it's important to keep in mind, as dancer and especially as DJ, what music made the dance what it was.

Everyone with a computer, an internet connection and a free spotify account can DJ. This is definitely a win for the scene. It's important not to let ignorance overrun the work people had to do automatically when collecting and researching music on vinyl or CD. I think it becomes even more important to be aware as DJ what kind of music you play and what kind of dancing it nurtures.

DJ-ing Teachers - A Special Opportunity

We DJs can play the dancefloor but can't chose who comes to events we play at. So we have to cater to the needs of those who are there. If that means it's a crowd that can only dance to very slow music, we'll have to play mainly in that tempo range. Funnily enough if a DJ gets asked why (s)he is playing slow music the answer is often "beginner music". What is beginner music and how does that affect teaching?

Dancing to 28 to 32 bpm is difficult because you have to superficially keep up momentum. Thinking of simplifying as slowing it down to those tempos is adding new difficulties and if you dance for too long on super slow music when you start, it adds habits that will be tricky to get rid of later.

 

It is patronizing to assume that beginners can't dance to medium tempos right away and worse - demotivating when they see the cool kids dancing to faster (actually regular) tempos at parties.

Of course we have to simplify stuff, and slowing stuff down to a certain degree makes sense, but stop in reason. Beginner classes with triple steps can be done to 34 bpm as slowest. Rhythm can be taught in easier ways as Groove Walks to beginners at tempos around 38-40 bpm.

Don't create weird new stuff for beginners. Teach them what you dance. Don't dumb down, but simplify!

If you are a teaching DJ you have a special opportunity, you can decide what the people on the dancefloor can dance to, - because you teach them. So when you play slow music - play it because you want to dance to it!

DJ Research Challenges - In The Mood by DJ Superheidi

I've been a bit slow, but DJ Superheidi from Rotterdam sent me this awesome piece of research she did, and that's exactly the kind of research I wanted to trigger! Enjoy what she sent me:

It's about the notorious song: "In the Mood", hell yes! Maybe it's an old story to some, but it isn't to me. But this started with a musician. I wondered about the baritone sax player in Edgar Hayes Orchestra, as I really dig that low moaning sound. Heard a similar sound in the Blue Mills Rhythm Band. Finally looked it up last week and it turns out to be the same guy: Joe Garland. 

That's how I stumbled on the voyage of "In the Mood", a song that changed across the 1930s before it became a hit record by Miller's Orchestra. Joe Garland is credited for "In the Mood". A popular riff in Harlem before he wrote it down. 

I knew "Hot and Anxious by Fletcher Henderson. but not what came before: Wingy Manone's "Tar Paper Stomp" from 1930 recorded by Barbecue Joe and His Hot Dogs (1). Just after that came Horace Henderson's "Hot and Anxious", recorded by his brother Flechter in 1931 (2). But I really like the Don Redman version from 1932 (3), it's getting already closer to swing.

In 1935 the tune evolves and gets swinging in the Mills Blue Rhythm Band recording of "There's Rhythm In Harlem" (4). And in 1938 the Edgar Hayes Orchestra records (with Joe Garland playing) as "In the Mood" (5).

Garland offered the tune to Artie Shaw who didn't record it because of long arrangements (>8 minutes). But he did play it live in the Blue Room in 1938 over 6 minutes and it was broadcasted live (6). But there is a shorter and faster version from around 3 minutes. Must be from the same period but I don't know if this short version was before or after Miller's recording from 1939. And remarkably it is announced as "an original composition by Artie Shaw" (7).

Finally the song was sold to Glenn Miller and in 1940 it became a hit record. Some state it was chopped down and rearranged and recorded in 1939, but some say it's nonsense as Edgar Hayes' version is already shorter. So I'm a slightly curious from when exactly the shorter Shaw version is. (will see if there's anything on the liner notes of the CD sleeve in the library).
Had to finisch with Mora's Modern Rhythmists version of "Tar Paper Stomp" from 2000 (9) for a nice round-up. 

The much loved and hated Glenn Miller hit will always be around. Even if it seems forbidden territory for swing DJ's. but play it (locally?) and people do rush to the floor. Maybe because it's good, maybe because it holds memories for many of us, it may have been the first swing song they heard. And it just sticks in your head after the first time. Now I think I have to add it as well (8).

A few days later she sent me this addition:

Miller's recording is from August 1st, 1939. The shorter Artie Shaw live recording is from December 18, 1938. So it came before Miller's hit.

Want to listen to this music? - check it out on 8Track!

You like this completed research challenge? Thumbs up and +1 it!

You completed one of the challenges? Send it to me and I'll publish it!

DJ Challenges - A Week Of Swing by DJ Superheidi

Last week, I published DJ challenges, so DJs get to know their music better at the same time as to have some fun. The first reaction I got was from DJ Superheidi from Rotterdam, Netherlands. She sent me A Week Of Swing. Enjoy! :)


Monday At Minton's - Chu Berry Jazz Ensemble with Hot Lips Page
Tuesday At Ten Benny Goodman - Benny Goodman
Wednesday Night Hop - Andy Kirk
Thursday Evening Swing - The Cats & The Fiddle
Where Did Robinson Crusoe Go With Friday on Saturday Night? - Harry Roy & His Orchestra
Harlem On Saturday Night - Lil Hardin Armstrong
Sunday - Bud Freeman & His Summa Cum Laude Orchestra
Every Day Is A Holiday - Lary Clinton&Bea Wain

Want to listen how days sound? Check out the playlist on 8Track.

You completed one of the challenges? Send it to me and I'll publish it!

Aspects of DJ-ing

Sometimes when I tell people, that don't dance any kind of swing dance, that I DJ, they assume that I mix my own music, that I scratch etc. In the Swing scene the reaction tends to be more: "It's just music put into a playlist". To me DJ-ing for dancers is neither one nor the other. Being a DJ denotes two parts: serving music to dance to and also educating dancers about music.

Serving Hot Tunes

The maybe biggest challenge for beginner and intermediate DJs is that we don't play for ourselves but for a room full of dancers. This does not mean that I play music I dislike but almost analogue to teaching - I only teach stuff I like. When DJ-ing this means something slightly different. I don't play all the music I like. I play the music that is the intersecting set of music from the tastes of the room and mine. 

Serving the room also means taking care of the ambiance. Do you want to have an easy-going or a high energy atmosphere? Do you want the floor to be crowded or not? Connecting the music in a way to shift the ambiance to where you want it can be done through tempo-managing and styles and various other ways.

And All That Jazz

The second aspect is to educate the dancers. We DJs spend countles hours on researching music, musicians, history and connections that make us the "experts". DJs should know what bands played at the Savoy and what the difference between Traditional New Orleans Jazz and Swing is.
For some people it's the music that made them start to dance Lindy Hop or Balboa or whatever Swing dance. For others the music is secondary and the interest is for example in the infectious joy. Music made the dance what it is. As the experts it is our job to play this music so people can have a chance to experience what it must have been like to dance back in the days. It is our job to play this music so people can find the spirit and joy of all those swing time era dances.

We DJs can call ourselves lucky. Swing music is considered normal in most scenes. As with any good teacher, we have to continue learning ourselves to be able to continue to teach and educate. This means continuing to research, understanding better, finding new old tunes etc.

It is for those two reasons I call myself Doctor Jazz. It's a song by Joe "King" Oliver and if you don't understand the connection, listen to the lyrics. :)

A Jazz Song Alphabet by Dr. Jazz

This week it's going to be a very simple post. It's a Jazz-Song Alphabet with some hidden treasures to please your ears. It's a funny task because some letters are overcrowded with good tunes, and others are tricky to fill. Also, even if you stick to not taking the same band twice, you will miss bands. Only enough reason to come up with more Jazz-Song-Alphabets. This is an open call - which other DJs come up with a different Jazz-Song Alphabet?

After You've Gone - Coon-Sanders Orchestra
Blues Galore - Johnny Dodds Chicago Boys
Clementine From New Orleans - Bix Beiderbecke
Dee Blues - Benny Carter
Eeny Meeny Miney Mo - Putney Dandridge
Four Four Rhythm - Paul Treiman & His Aristocrats
Gettin Together - Mezzrow-Ladnier Quintet
Hep Tee Hootie - Jimmy Dorsey
I'm Painting The Town Red - Teddy Wilson
Jack, I'm Mellow - Trixie Smith
Kentucky - Buster Bailey
Love Is Good For Anything That Ails You - Artie Shaw
Missouri Gambler - Larry Clinton
Number 19 - Earl Hines
Organ Grinder's Swing - Bunny Berigan & His Boys
Puddin' Head Serenade - Andy Kirk & His Twelve Clouds Of Joy
Queer Notions - Fletcher Henderson & His Orchestra
Rocks In My Bed - Ivie Anderson
Squeeze Me - Tiny Parham and His Musicians
Tickle Toe - Count Basie
Undecided - John Kirby
Victory Stride - James P. Johnson
Wailing Blues - Wingy Manone & His Cellar Boys
You Ain't Living Right - Blanche Calloway & Her Band
Zulu Wail - Clarance Williams and Evelyn Preer

Check the Comment-Section for a download link.

Yours, Doctor Jazz

Want to see all alphabets? Go here!

EDIT 14.03.2013

The Challenge: 

• compile a jazz alphabet
• if you don't find a good song for a letter, send it anyway
• preferably don't repeat songs that have been in other compilations already
• preferably don't repeat the same artist
• send it to me, and I'll post your playlist on this blog :)

Hello Central Give Me Dr. Jazz

I'm just back from DJ-ing at The Snowball. Besides this being a super great event for new years, it is also an event where you can apply your DJ skills. Many people still think that DJ-ing is just appending a couple of good songs. But there are so many things to watch out for, like speed or style. Both can be used and sometimes have to be used to move things or respond things going on. This article will be talking about some moments during sets or complete sets, where the style was not a choice but an instrument to playing the dancefloor.

The first set I played Wednesday night from 1 to 2 am. The floor wasn't exactly crowded and the level of the dancers was a good intermediate-advanced in average. You could feel that the energy was low, which made sense - many people spent the day traveling to get to Stockholm. So an obvious choice was the tempo range, that would have to stay under 44 bars per minute. What was less obvious was the choice of music style-wise. Every song has it's own energy and low energy songs would've despite good tempo killed the dancefloor immediately and people would've gone sleeping. So the only real possibility was to play a set with music with a strong walking bass, mainly big band swing. Suffice to say - the dancefloor was equally full when I left my set.

Another fun set was on Friday from 4 to 5 am. The big difference to Wednesday was that the energy had found it's high during a fantabulous band battle between Gordon Webster's Band and Gentlemen & Gansters from Göteborg. This left people with lots of inspiration and and the wish to dance, but little energy. There was no need of external energy infusion, which would have probably been more exhausting than helping. Easy going music in a more New Orleans-style and also 20s-sound kept them swinging till the end.

The biggest challenge that I faced was after the second band battle at this years Snowball. Gordon played against the Stockholm Swing Allstars and the energy in the main ballroom was boiling when they finished. I was on directly after and playing no-matter-what-but-still-good song would've made a huge crowd leave the ballroom, despite most people actually wanting to dance since the end of the band battle was more watching and standing than actual dancing. So required was a song that wasn't too fast so many people could dance to it, it would have to be high energy to not have a too big of a contrast. I decided to play Jump Through The Window by Roy Eldridge. Additionally to fulfilling the just stated requirements, the most important part was that it is a widely known song, thanks to the ILHC 2009 Routine by Skye and Frida, which would make people have a really easy time to dance to it, and still being able to ride the flow of energy received from band battle. It worked perfectly :)

If you enjoyed my music at snowball and want me to be there again next year, mention me in the snowball feedback survey!

Swingly yours,

Dr. Jazz

How To Empty The Dancefloor

 There is a saying in Germany: "the dance floor proves the dj right" which implies that you can do anything as long as the dance floor stays crowded. At least in swing, I think there are good reasons to occasionally empty the dance floor. Of course the problem is always how to empty the dance floor while keeping the dancers happy. This article is not only about various ways of clearing the dance floor but also how you can use these handy tricks in different locations.

Get A Drink!

At least in Germany, there are a lot of social dancing events in pubs. The classic drama is that the dancers don't purchase beverages but rather refill their bottle in the bathroom with tap water so they can quickly get back onto the floor, making the owners unhappy because they don't earn any money.  This destructive behavior usually pays off quite quickly in the form of organizers' having to search for a new location for their dance event. I have seen this happening all over the place and most of the time I see it repeating itself, despite some local teachers' effort to explain _why_ the dancers need to buy the drinks at the bar, even if it's non-alcoholic.

DJs have the ability to influence this behavior. If you play music that makes people not want to dance all the time, there will be a higher chance that they will post themselves at the bar and order a drink.  However, simply DJ-ing badly will upset the dancers. This creates a dilemma - you want to keep the dancers happy at the same time that you want them to get off the dance floor.  One tactic I've been using to sort out this dilemma is using multiple styles. This is good anyway because of people's varying tastes. E.g. I will play five songs in Fats Waller style with a stride piano sound, then five big band songs, then five New Orleans jazz tunes and repeat. Changing styles will make the dancers more happy all around and it also encourages them to leave the dance floor and have a beer when the music style doesn't fit their taste anymore.  Of course this example picks only three different styles; you should feel free to change those and adapt as the floor requires.

Give Them Some Space To Swingout

Big events live off a large attendance and the crowds are usually workshop participants of a beginner to workshop-advanced level.  However, it is also necessary for these events to attract top dancers, who may not take part in the workshops, because they make for exciting Jack'n' Jills, Strictlies, and shows.  They also help to create an overall inspiring atmosphere - put another way: good advertisement. To attract the level of dancers between the workshop participants and the teachers, the parties will need to give them a chance to dance. A situation that arises quite frequently is that the dance floor is way too packed to dance freely. One way to solve this issue is to empty the dance floor by playing faster tempo songs. This usually clears the floor of the majority of beginners and some intermediates. The advantage is that you keep the advanced dancers happy, because they usually don't mind faster tempos and enjoy finally having room to swingout.  At the same time the beginners and intermediates, because they have someone to watch, return to the dance floor when the tempo drops again with a new inspiration to continue dancing and learning.



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Jumpin The Numbers

Swing DJ-ing is choosing music. Choosing music based on dancers, atmosphere, style, maybe place and several more aspects. Atmosphere is a two-way street. On the one hand, you DJ based on the atmosphere, and on the other hand you influence the atmosphere by the music you play. While there are multiple factors that influence the ambiance, the focus of this article is on the speed of the music played.

Speed Up!

What I often do to increase the speed of the music is something I learned from DJ Jenn: pick the next song 4 Bars Per Minute (BPM) faster and the one after 2 BPM slower. Then repeat. Example: 36, 40, 38, 42, 40 ...

This way you will continuously get faster (and increase the energy of the dance floor) but letting them get accustomed to the faster speed, by always having a little slow down.

I've added a few things to smooth out various little hiccups. Usually I encourage everyone to DJ the whole range from very slow to very fast. Sometimes this is not practicable, like when DJ-ing a floor of beginners who can't dance fast, or a late night floor where people want swing but are not ready anymore for fast tracks. The problem is that you'll get too fast out of a range that is comfortable to dance, if you stick to 4-2. If the music is too slow, the dancers will likely have no energy or go home. If the music is too fast it might be frustrating. So to stay in a good range, for example 34-42 BPM, you can change 4-2 to 3-2. This way, you'll go up slower and stay longer in the same range.

Another hiccup often occurs in the higher tempos, when the energy of the crowd is not high enough anymore to maintain fast tempos for a long time. It's the opposite problem from late nights. Opposite in the way that if you follow 4-2, you will stay too long in the fast range. The 50-60 BPM range will exhaust the floor easily. There are two way of solving this issue. One is to increase the intervals : go 6-3 or even 8-4. The other way is to go without going down anymore. Go up up up. 52-56-60.

And Slow Down

To go slower one can simply inverse 4-2 and go down by 4 BPM and then up by 2. I hardly ever do this. I prefer to drop the speed at once. The amount of the drop will vary depending on the energy available. I'll give you a couple examples:

60BPM to 30BPM

This might fit well onto a big dance floor with many people who you just exhausted on very fast music. They'll long for some slow tracks and a few beginners who got left out towards then end will happily join in again after getting inspired.

55 BPM to 40 BPM

This would be typical for a dance floor full of dancers with lots of energy. Dropping the tempo to low might kill the atmosphere here.

52 BPM to 29 BPM

This could be from a set where the scene is not accustomed to dance to beats over 42 BPM. So 52 was definitely on the very high end and dropping the speed to 29 will not kill their energy.

Remember to drop to odd and even numbered BPMs. Otherwise you will miss half of your music.

Occasionally I like to top things off before dropping the tempo. This is done by choosing a song that starts slow and turns fast. A classic is "After You've Gone". After this, people will be ready to dance to some slow songs that swing hard.

Bars vs. Beats

When it comes to organizing swing music, one fairly common criteria is the so called BPM. I also use it to a certain degree when actually DJ-ing. BPM is a measurement for the speed of a song and stands for either beats per minute or bars per minute. The difference is simply in the number range. Beats are four times the bars, because there are four beats to a bar in swing music.

While Beats are more exact (when using whole numbers) I don't see much use for that extra precision. I've seen both in use. I personally use bars, mainly because it's less work to get and because I don't need it any more exact.

Getting the BPM

To get BPM, you'll have to either tap them out, count them out, or find a (to me) still unknown program that can handle swing music and determines it for you.

To tap out the music, you'll have to get a software or use online software and depending on wether you want to determine beats, you have to tap once every beat, or every fourth beat to get bars.(Some programs might actually do the beats to bars conversion itself. There are of course more software options to explore if you are interested.

I usually count out music, by counting bars for 15 seconds and then multiply the number by four. While there are more ways, this is the one I prefer.

Fun Fact: Just from talking to fellow DJs, it seems like there are national tendencies. ;) If you are a DJ, state your country in the comments and if you are using beats or bars!

Finding Music Vol 2

This post follows up on where to find new music. In most cases, those two collections named will probably keep you busy for quite a while and might be more then sufficient.

If you want to dig deeper though, there are a couple of other ways of course, and these are ways I use:

Who Played With Whom 

Find out who played in the bands you like and look for those names. Often there were sub-groups or they formed groups later on in their career. Information about who played with whom can be found e.g. on the covers of the chronological series (background image) or wikipedia. Looking for members of Duke Ellington's band, I found Johnny Hodges, who has some amazing recordings himself.

Books

On that note I want to mention a book, "This thing called swing", where there are plenty of connections shown, and many interesting people named.

Antique Shops

Occasionally you have luck looking for old records in shops. Success strongly depends also on what country and city you live in. I've personally never found anything useful, but I know people who have built their collection by doing this.

Internet

• free online music like Spotify or Deezer (might be country dependent)
• Often music from that time is now freely and legally available on the net. The thing to watch out for is illegal downloading and poor quality (below 192 kbit/s) (e.g. youtube). 

  Search for

• public domain repositories (archive.org, http://publicdomain4u.com/)
• chronological covers on google, and find forums that share public domain music
• archives
• blogs

Collections

The two collections mentioned in the former post are of course in this category. But from time to time you'll find offers on shops like amazon - 200 songs for 5 bucks. You will probably toss 190 or even 195 of those songs, but if there is one good song in that collection and you did chose this path, it was probably worth the money :)

Finding Music Vol 1

Whether you are a teacher and you are looking for music for your class or you are a DJ and want to grow your collection, the search for swing music is a necessity. 

Every DJ has a bit of a different story on how they started. I can't recall mine, it just started :D 

The easiest way, and I've seen many people do this, is to ask a DJ for some music. However, I would actually recommend not simply copying someone else's harddrive, but rather getting out there yourself and starting from scratch. With copied music, whether you're using it for class or a party, you'll have to listen to it beforehand anyway to familiarize yourself with the songs and make sure they fit your needs and taste. So why not just use that time to find your own stuff? 

Two birds, one stone: You'll listen to different songs as you sort through albums, familiarizing yourself with the one you like as you go along, and you'll be building your own unique collection at the same time. 

To start building your own music collection, there are two truly great collections out there:

• The Ultimate Jazz Archive 
• Chronological Classics 

Getting one of those, or even both, will give you a great start. Since they are quite big, two tips: 

First, check for musicians you like. 

Second, check for a certain time period. 

Get those records first. The collections themselves will be too overwhelming. 

On a personal note, a "less" known musician I like very much and is verydanceable is Bunny Berigan. The time period I like most is 32-39. Have fun with it! :)

Music in Class, Vol I: Or Why It Should Swing

Playing swing music in a Lindy hop class is very natural and important, since music and dance are so strongly connected.  Yet despite what might seem like an obvious choice, it is not always the case that swing music is chosen for Lindy classes.

This post looks at the arguments some people offer for using non-swing music in class and provides counter-arguments. 

The reasons that teachers use non-swing music are usually one or a combination of the following:

  1. There is no (good) slow swing music
  2. It's difficult for a beginner to hear the beat (in comparison to pop music)
  3. Real swing music might not attract people

Let's start at the end and move up.  Regarding Argument Number 3, in my experience patronizing people has almost never been a good idea.  Even more importantly, I've had many students in my classes who first appreciated the music and then started dancing.  Also, if someone doesn't like swing music, maybe Ð just maybe Ð Lindy hop is just not for him or her. 

Moving on to Argument Number 2.  First of all, it's true that hearing the beat is not always easy.  Hearing the beat tends to be more tricky on late 20s Jazz and New Orleans Jazz.  But with a good music selection, you'll find swing music, that has a nice and easy-to-hear walking bass.  Secondly, avoiding swing music ignores the main problem.  We don't avoid teaching swing outs just because they are tricky.  If students have trouble hearing the beat, come up with exercises to help them develop that skill.

And arriving at the Number 1 Argument against using swing music in class, good, slow swing music absolutely _does_ exist.  It's just about getting up and doing some research and finding it. It's not as easy as finding good fast swing music, but definitely still doable :)

In conclusion, it is my firm belief that it is crucial to play swing music in swing dance classes.  I do it, advocate it, and enjoy it! :)

Now read Music In Class Vol. II