Between their first hit, Get Happy (1929), and two more sensational standards, Stormy Weather and Let’s Fall in Love (both from 1933), came yet another musical masterpiece. In 1932, the songwriting team of Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler provided the Cab Calloway Orchestra with I’ve Got the World on a String for the 21st edition of the Cotton Club Parade. Reaching #18 on the charts that year, this swinging selection climbed to #19 the following year later when Bing Crosby recorded it with the Dorsey Brothers’ Orchestra. Twenty years later, Frank Sinatra‘s version beat them both by achieving the rank of #14 on the pop charts.
Needless to say, I’ve Got the World on a String proves once again that a terrific tune can transcend music’s and society’s transitions for decades. After all, it still swings nearly 80 years after its debut at New York’s Harlem Cotton Club in 1932. Like so many other classics by Harold Arlen, you can’t help but feel good when you listen to a great performance. In the case of I’ve Got the World on a String, you’ll probably be tapping your feet, bobbing your head or simply swaying to the beat as well. As soon as I start listening to pianist and vocalist Diana Krall performing her version of this Arlen classic, I find my mood transformed from the mundane to the optimistic image of “sittin’ on a rainbow.”
Music can be so important in our everyday lives. Whether you’re hearing loud car radios blaring sounds out of open windows with pounding bass vibrations almost shaking the vehicle or watching young people dance down the street in their own world as they listen to their iPods, people are partial to their personal musical preferences. That’s why I’m grateful that the songs of the American Popular Songbook re-emerged in popularity more than 20 years ago. As a teacher who is committed to helping students increase their musical knowledge as they learn to play the piano, I can think of no better material than these timeless standards.
When I was enrolled in the doctoral program at Boston University, I taught the undergraduate music theory students chord progressions on the piano. The purpose of this was to help these young musicians internalize their knowledge of music theory through the hands-on keyboard training. Though these young people were less than enthused about being pulled away from focusing on their attention on their primary instrument, I came away with a teaching technique that transformed my approach to giving piano lessons.
Whether I’m working with a young adolescent on a Clementi Sonatina, teaching a ten year old how to play one of her favorite Disney songs or introducing an adult beginner to the playing piano, I make every effort to help each student develop his keyboard skills by connecting his playing with his chord knowledge. After all, whether you are playing Bach, Beethoven or the Beatles, chord progressions provide the key that opens the door to understanding what’s going on in the music.
You may be wondering what this has to do with standards like I’ve Got the World on a String. Basically, you’ll find that the music of the American Popular Songbook is richly rewarding, in part because its filled with lots of ii-V and ii-V-I chord progressions which create a colorful harmonic pallet along with wealth of musical examples. These in turn open the student up to a vast musical vocabulary. You can also be sure that this repertoire has had a significant impact on some of the more solid music of today. For example, Randy Newman‘s theme from the film, Toy Story, You’ve Got a Friend in Me is a very jazzy kind of tune with a bridge that is made up of many repeated melody notes. Perhaps he was influenced by the bridge of I’ve Got the World on a String which contains a similar repeated note melody to his piece.
As I’ve mentioned before, this Harold Arlen featured composer blog post series has given me (and I hope you as well) the opportunity to look well beyond Over the Rainbow to see the variety, quality and legacy of music that this wonderful composer has contributed to our culture. Perhaps we’ll return to him in the future. However, our next featured composer will be Jerome Kern. I’ll be switching to an every other week schedule for summer blog posts, so you can look forward to hearing about Jerome Kern’s marvelous music right here starting June 8.
In the meantime, it may very well be time for you deepen your own musical connection. Whether you are an adult beginner, the parent of a high school student who wants to make a change of piano teachers, an adult piano student who wants to return to taking piano lessons after a long hiatus or the parent of a child who just got her first keyboard, taking piano lessons at one of the Ed Mascari Piano Studio’s two convenient locations (Natick, MA and Hudson, MA) is the best way to for you to get started.
Our unique 2010 Summer Piano Lesson program is designed to provide you with maximum scheduling flexibility. You can schedule the number, times and dates of your lessons during July and August and still enjoy your vacation, summer camp and family as well as all of your other seasonal leisure activities.
Contact us today to find out all about taking piano lessons at the Ed Mascari Piano Studio. Our piano instructors are always delighted to help you learn to play the music you love!
