Begin the Beguine–Andrews Sisters
You have probably been wondering why we are spending so much time providing different versions of “Begin the Beguine.” The key to music appreciation for us is the understanding of orchestration and arrangement. Music directors rely on the twin concepts embedded In these two words: what instruments should I use to play a song and what is the style and tempo that I should use, once my instruments of choice are selected.
We used the Cole Porter song to illustrate three concepts: dance music that anyone can dance to (Artie Shaw); a tango that confines choreography (Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell in the latest post, which we can call “Begin 1”); and a loosely arranged, tap-dance version in an earlier post, which we can call “Begin 2.” Each version has its own merits; none are “better” than the others. They are different, and so they engender different reactions. What is important for us to realize is that orchestrators and arrangers make an initial decision and all else flows from that decision. Most likely, the music director, the choreographer and the performers all collaborated on the initial decision, but the decision is then implemented by the orchestrator and arranger.
Go back to the Artie Shaw dance band version. We see no string instruments, as might be found in a symphony orchestra: no bowed violins, cellos or basses. We see one bass, but it is plucked and thus sits more appropriately in the percussion section with the drums. We see a lot of brass, in the form of trumpets and trombones but no French Horns or tubas. Where is a wind instrument, other than the clarinet and saxophones, like a flute, a bassoon, or an oboe?
Today, we predominantly use guitars, bass, keyboard and percussion.
Back to Cole Porter and “Begin the Beguine.” Why do we tend to gravitate toward “Begin 2?” It has received many more views and reactions than the other renditions combined. One of the reasons is the initial decision by Alfred Newman to refrain from using any set style in the orchestration and arrangement of “Begin 2.” It is not a tango any longer; and it is not a rigid swing arrangement. Rather, it is a “swinging” arrangement of a song that is being adapted to fit a tap dance routine. This permits the performers to set the choreography “around” the music, without having to conform to the music. Thus, we get to an interesting part of the number, where the orchestra stops playing and the two performers create a tap rhythm that is so reminiscent of the music that we don’t immediately notice that the orchestra has stopped playing. We are carrying the tune in our minds. And now, perhaps for the first time, we recognize the tap rhythm as being an integral part of the music. It is as though there was an extra instrument from the outset that had integrated itself into the music.
This is why we use the word “loosely” in our description. The orchestration is more flexible, permitting the dancers to be more flexible in their performance. In some situations, this can lead to chaos. In some situations, it can lead to an inspired performance. You have voted for the latter. We agree.
We were ready to move on and leave “Begin the Beguine” in the rear view mirror; we have some other dance routines that we want to explore with you. But then we came across some music that made us pause. We will come back to Eleanor Powell, but first we want to show you what the Andrews Sisters did with (or to) “Begin the Beguine” with the help of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Note how the Andrews Sisters used harmony and counterpoint to create more than vocal music; they actually are adding another instrumental line of music. Other groups did this too; the clearest example is how the Mills Brothers used their voices as instruments.