STRUCTURAL PATTERNS
During the first half of the 20th century almost all popular music, including swing, was built around the AABA pattern. This means that the piece had two types of sections (A and B) that were repeated in that order. The A contained the most relevant melodic and lyrical part and the B served as a contrast, to break the monotony of the song and generate musical tension. With a bit of practice, it should be relatively easy for you to recognise this pattern (see section Structure recognition for more information) and this will help you better understand music and dance in a more musical way.
Jammin' in Georgia, by Buddy Johnson, is an example that will allow you understand one of the aspects where recognition of the pattern of the structure can be useful in anticipating what will happen in the song. As we have already mentioned in other parts of this website, in the majority of pieces we dance to the fourth eight is usually conclusive (closing the phrase). That is why it is rare for the last eight to reproduce the same patterns as the first three. Take a look at this video and see how the accents on the first and third beat of each eight are repeated in each one, except the fourth:
In fact, even though we do not know whether there will be a more or less marked closure of the phrase in the fourth eight, if any moves or steps we do in this last eight are completely different from those we were doing in the rest of the phrase, they will most probably fit in very well. This visible change in our way of dancing will help reinforce the feeling that we are finishing an idea. If you wish, you can see an example in the section of musicality based on the structure of music.
Another example of a pattern related to the structure is found in one of the ways in which a break can musically be prepared (if you are interested in going into this topic, visit predicting breaks). In order to reach the last eight of a phrase with the musical tension high enough to bring about the need for a break, the instruments or voices that are doing the accompaniment can play a very characteristic pattern. They play one note in each eight, following a specific harmonious evolution during the first three eights. You can listen to this in the song 24 Hours a Day by Georgia Gibbs. In this case the voice choir sustains the note in each eight and generates a musical tension that, inevitably, will be resolved by a break in the last eight.