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27-443: A chorus is the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse. Chorus may also refer to: Chorus (song) In popular music, the refrain or chorus may contrast with the verse melodically , rhythmically , and harmonically ; it may assume a higher level of dynamics and activity, often with added instrumentation. Chorus form, or strophic form , is a sectional and/or additive way of structuring

54-481: A derry down O encountered in some English folksongs is in fact an ancient Celtic phrase meaning "dance around the oak tree." These suggestions remain controversial. There are two distinct uses of the word "chorus". In the thirty-two bar song form that was most common in the earlier twentieth-century popular music (especially the Tin Pan Alley tradition), "chorus" referred to the entire main section of

81-452: A jazz standard with recordings occurring already the year of publication. One of the first in jazz style is by Loring “Red” Nichols and his Orchestra on Brunswick (4957) recorded 23 October 1930. Many songs use its chord progression, such as Duke Ellington 's " Cotton Tail ". Charlie Parker alone based many songs on its chord progression, such as " Moose the Mooche ". Gary Larson referenced

108-409: A piece of music based on the repetition of one formal section or block played repeatedly. Although repeats of refrains may use different words, refrains are made recognizable by reusing the same melody (when sung as music) and by preserving any rhymes . For example, " The Star-Spangled Banner " contains a refrain which is introduced by a different phrase in each verse, but which always ends: O'er

135-511: A recurring line of identical text and melody which is part of a formal section—an A section in an AABA form (as in " I Got Rhythm ": "...who could ask for anything more?") or a verse (as in " Blowin' in the Wind ": "...the answer my friend is blowing in the wind")—whereas 'chorus' shall refer to a discrete form part (as in " Yellow Submarine ": "We all live in a..."). According to the musicologists Ralf von Appen and Markus Frei-Hauenschild In German,

162-548: A refrain mid-verse: There lived a lady by the North Sea shore, Two daughters were the babes she bore. As one grew bright as is the sun, So coal black grew the other one. (Note: the refrain of "Lay the bent to the bonny broom" is not traditionally associated with the ballad of "The Cruel Sister" ( Child #10). This was the work of 'pop-folk' group Pentangle on their 1970 LP Cruel Sister which has subsequently been picked up by many folk singers as being traditional. Both

189-497: A scene in which students are trying out for a Gershwin revue, and in the movie My Girl , during a dinner scene in which the grandmother sings it, oblivious of the other characters. An extensive list of notable singers have recorded this song. The most popular versions are those of The Happenings (#3 on the US charts in 1967 ), Judy Garland , Ethel Merman , Ella Fitzgerald and, more recently, Jodi Benson . The song immediately became

216-477: A single iteration of the entire 32 bars of the AABA form, especially among jazz musicians, who improvise over multiple repetitions of such choruses." In jazz, an arranger's chorus is where the arranger uses particularly elaborate techniques to exhibit their skill and to impress the listener. This may include use of counterpoint , reharmonization , tone color , or any other arranging device. The arranger's chorus

243-579: Is generally not the first or the last chorus of a jazz performance. In jazz, a shout chorus (occasionally: out chorus ) is usually the last chorus of a big band arrangement, and is characterized by being the most energetic, lively, and exciting and by containing the musical climax of the piece. A shout chorus characteristically employs extreme ranges , loud dynamics , and a re-arrangement of melodic motives into short, accented riffs. Shout choruses often feature tutti or concerted writing, but may also use contrapuntal writing or call and response between

270-563: Is repeated in every iteration. In this usage, the refrain does not constitute a discrete, independent section within the form. Many Tin-Pan Alley songs using thirty-two bar form are central to the traditional jazz repertoire. In jazz arrangements the word "chorus" refers to the same unit of music as in the Tin Pan Alley tradition, but unlike the Tin Pan Alley tradition a single song can have more than one chorus. Von Appen and Frei-Hauenschild explain, "The term, 'chorus' can also refer to

297-537: Is the foundation for many other popular jazz tunes such as Charlie Parker 's and Dizzy Gillespie 's bebop standard "Anthropology (Thrivin' on a Riff)" . The song came from the musical Girl Crazy , which also includes two other hit songs, " Embraceable You " and " But Not for Me ", and has been sung by many jazz singers since. It was originally written as a slow song for Treasure Girl (1928) and found another, faster setting in Girl Crazy . Ethel Merman sang

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324-422: The brass and saxophones , or between the ensemble and the drummer . Additionally, brass players frequently use extended techniques such as falls, doits, turns, and shakes to add excitement. I Got Rhythm " I Got Rhythm " is a piece composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and published in 1930, which became a jazz standard . Its chord progression , known as the " rhythm changes ",

351-404: The fifth episode of the third season of Amazon Prime ’s streaming series The Boys . While watching the 1943 version of Girl Crazy , The Female ( Karen Fukuhara ) daydreams about performing “I Got Rhythm” as a Broadway-style song-and-dance number with Frenchie ( Tomer Capone ). Fukuhara performed her own vocals for the scene. It is also featured in the film Mr. Holland's Opus , during

378-580: The heart's desire: All Love's lordship lay between, A sheen on the breasts I Love. O Troy's down, Tall Troy's on fire! . . . Phrases of apparent nonsense in refrains ( Lay the bent to the bonny broom? ), and syllables such as fa la la , familiar from the Christmas carol " Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly", have given rise to much speculation. Some believe that the traditional refrain Hob

405-491: The land of the free, and the home of the brave. A similar refrain is found in the " Battle Hymn of the Republic ", which affirms in successive verses that "Our God", or "His Truth", is "marching on." Refrains usually, but not always, come at the end of the verse. Some songs, especially ballads , incorporate refrains (or burdens ) into each verse. For example, one version of the traditional ballad " The Cruel Sister " includes

432-611: The melody and the refrain come from the ballad known as " Riddles Wisely Expounded " (Child #1). ) Here, the refrain is syntactically independent of the narrative poem in the song, and has no obvious relationship to its subject, and indeed little inherent meaning at all. The device can also convey material which relates to the subject of the poem. Such a refrain is found in Dante Gabriel Rossetti 's "Troy Town": Heavenborn Helen, Sparta's queen, O Troy Town! Had two breasts of heavenly sheen, The sun and moon of

459-407: The music called for — sets of triple rhymes — but found that the heavy rhyming "seemed at best to give a pleasant and jingly Mother Goose quality to a tune which should throw its weight around more". Finally, he began to experiment with leaving most of the lines unrhymed. "This approach felt stronger," he wrote, "and I finally arrived at the present refrain, with only 'more-door' and 'mind him-find him'

486-399: The opening melody of the third movement of William Grant Still's Symphony No. 1, "Afro-American." In the 1920s, Still played in the pit orchestra for Shuffle Along , and speculated that Gershwin may have borrowed the melody from his improvisations in the pit, which were later used in his own symphony. In 1987 Still's daughter, Judith Anne Still, wrote in a letter that Gershwin stole

513-408: The rhymes." He added that this approach "was a bit daring for me who usually depended on rhyme insurance". Ira also wrote that, although the phrase "Who could ask for anything more?" is repeated four times in the song, he decided not to make it the title because "somehow the first line of the refrain sounded more arresting and provocative". The four-note opening riff bears a striking resemblance to

540-459: The song (which was in a thirty-two bar AABA form). Beginning in the rock music of the 1950s, another form became more common in commercial pop music, which was based in an open-ended cycle of verses instead of a fixed 32-bar form. In this form (which is more common than thirty-two bar form in later-twentieth century pop music), "choruses" with fixed lyrics are alternated with "verses" in which the lyrics are different with each repetition. In this use of

567-677: The song from her father. An instrumental arrangement for piano and orchestra appears in the 1945 Hollywood Victory Caravan . The song is featured in the 1951 musical film An American in Paris . Gene Kelly sang the song and tap-danced , while French-speaking children whom he had just taught a few words of English shouted the words "I got" each time they appeared in the lyrics. This version finished at #32 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema. The song appears in

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594-604: The song in the Far Side . In 1939, I Got Rhythm was arranged and orchestrated by Bruce Chase for a premiere performance by the Kansas Philharmonic, now the Kansas City Symphony . A version of the song set to a disco beat was recorded by Ethel Merman for her Ethel Merman Disco Album in 1979. In 1992, the show Crazy for You featured the song sung by Jodi Benson . Another version of

621-419: The song in the original Broadway production and Broadway lore holds that George Gershwin , after seeing her opening reviews, warned her never to take a singing lesson. The piece was originally penned in the key of D ♭ major. The song melody uses four notes of the five-note pentatonic scale , first rising, then falling. A rhythmic interest in the song is that the tune keeps behind the main pulse, with

648-455: The term, "Refrain," is used synonymously with "chorus" when referring to a chorus within the verse/chorus form. At least one English-language author, Richard Middleton, uses the term in the same way. In English usage, however, the term, »refrain« typically refers to what in German is more precisely called the »Refrainzeile« (refrain line): a lyric at the beginning or end of a section that

675-406: The three "I got..." phrases syncopated , appearing one beat behind in the first bar, while the fourth phase "Who could..." rushes in to the song. The song's chorus is in a 34-bar AABA form . Its chord progression (although often reduced to a standard 32-bar structure for the sake of improvised solos) is known as the " rhythm changes " and is the foundation for many other popular jazz tunes. The song

702-408: The word, chorus contrasts with the verse, which usually has a sense of leading up to the chorus. "Many popular songs, particularly from early in this century, are in a verse and a chorus ( refrain ) form. Most popular songs from the middle of the century consist only of a chorus." While the terms 'refrain' and 'chorus' often are used synonymously, it has been suggested to use 'refrain' exclusively for

729-526: Was used as the theme in Gershwin's last concert piece for piano and orchestra, Variations on "I Got Rhythm" , written in 1934. The song has become symbolic of the Gershwins, of swing and of the 1920s. As usual, George Gershwin wrote the melody first and gave it to Ira to set, but Ira found it an unusually hard melody for which to compose lyrics. He experimented for two weeks with the rhyme scheme he felt

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