One Has To Be "Educated Up" To Dance Music

Radio Record, Volume VII, Issue 4, 4 August 1933, Page 14

One Has To Be "Educated Up" To Dance Music

To the Editor. Sir,-The vocal refrain of ‘Young and Healthy" is just a repetition of the sentiment expressed in dozens of other dance tunes, It must necessarily have a bright, snappy lyric. The lyrics are written on lines to satisfy the public's taste and requirements of the moment. The lyrie writer is fully aware that no dance number can last longer than eight or nine months, He must mould his lyric to be up to date, simple and appealing. One has to be "educated up" (or "down," as some prefer it) to dance music in order to appreciate its subtleties. There is a great deal in it that the average listener

fails to grasp; to him the simpler the arrangement the better the band. Unless he can trace the melody all the time the band to him is only second-rate. It is refreshing to reflect that once in a while the Americans compose a songz that does not fall within the category of "sentimental slops." American bands are by far the finest exponents of dance music, and British dance musicians are the first to admit it. Three-quarters of theis tunes recorded by British dance bands are composed in America.-I am, etc.,

WELLINGTONIAN

Christchurch,