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#26461 04/11/01 09:06 PM
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What's the term for the introductions common to songs written in the 1920's thru 1940's. Quite often, these intros would have engaging lyrics and a tune wholly different from the song itself. Examples would include intros to songs like "Stardust." Often, the intro would not accompany a particular recording. Thus, it's possible to know a song verbatim, without ever having heard the intro.


#26462 04/11/01 09:29 PM
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I am sorry that I can't provide the answer, clearwrite, but may I welcome you Aboard? When I read the subject line, I wondered whether you were going to sing hello to us all. I am confident that you will find the answer you seek here, and a whole lot else. Enjoy.


#26463 04/11/01 10:23 PM
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i vaguely recall "interstitial" being used in the pit to indicate a musical introduction, particularly one that was vamped while a scene was developing onstage in preparation for a song. perhaps wow can confirm this???

i'm not sure, regardless, if this is what you had in mind. when i read your post, i immediately thought of my Frank Sinatra christmas sheet music; he loved to add seemingly unrelated tunes and lyrics as introductions to all of the old favorites. the term used by the sheet music publisher, as indicated on the score, is simply "intro."

welcome a-Board, clearwrite... glad to have you


#26464 04/11/01 10:39 PM
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Welcome aBoard, clearwrite! I think you really need paulb,
lusy(where are you, Darling?), or musick for this; maybe even Jazzo., he likes some of that I think. But will throw in my 2¢' worth and say that for some reason the word
"leader" came to mind.


#26465 04/11/01 11:56 PM
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Maybe the word you're looking for is "verse". The main body of the song, at least the part everyone is familiar with is the "chorus".


#26466 04/12/01 06:33 AM
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Welcome, Clearwrite!

I've just been checking random copies of my sheet music collection (19th century through to 1950s), and the 'introductions' are labelled "verse" (as Kupatchka noted). The other part of the song was labelled, variously, "chorus" or "refrain".

And I agree that many "intros/verses" are gems (Stardust, in particular, and most of the Gershwin songs).


#26467 04/12/01 03:36 PM
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I think Kupatchka (Welcome aboard) is probably correct. The classic popular song of the 20's to the 50's has a format as rigid as a Mozart sonata; the first section is the verse, followed by the chorus. Many songs which nearly everyone recognizes by the chorus have verses which are practically unknown.


#26468 04/12/01 04:34 PM
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the first section is the verse

Isn't the chorus known as the "bridge" in pop songs? (Any sympathetic vibrations?)


#26469 04/12/01 05:27 PM
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I don't think the bridge and the chorus are the same, but I'm not an expert on the subject. We need to hear from Musick.


#26470 04/12/01 05:43 PM
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paulb beat me to the stack of sheet music, if only to verify that "verse" was correct. Well done and welcome "kupatchka" and "clearwrite". The bridge is a third or "c" section, where verse = "a" and chorus = "b". It (usually) has a different structure, tone center and harmonic tempo, and often can act as a bridge back to either the "a" or the "b" sections. This description works better for 20ctry popular music that it does for "serious" forms, and I use the term lightly (and in direct refusal of using the term "classical" here - "Classical" refers to a historical period of music - not a specific form).

[rant]I was busy the last time posters in the "Love of Music..." started whipping around the word classical (as if they were a radio station looking for sponsors)... especially those who clearly know better.[end rant]

It's all about that thing we call "'merican beauty".


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