I've Got the World on a String- Frank Sinatra

Question	Answer
Context:	Capitol executive Alan Livingston had managed to replace Sinatra’s usual arranger, Stordahl, with a brilliant young unknown called Nelson Riddle. Sinatra was led to believe it was Billy May who arranged and composed it. Recorded in 1953.
Structure:	4 bar instrumental introduction, ending with a pause. Song is in 32 bar song form (AABA). The A section has faster harmonic movement, mostly changing chords every minim. The B section is more static, with long-held chords changing at intervals of two bars.
Instrumentation:	Voice, Big Band, Strings Snare Drum emphasises beats 2 and 4. No piano.. Rely on brass section and sax section for stab chords in the background.
Harmony:	D major Choice of key suits Frank Sinatra's Baritone range, minor third lower.
Texture:	The rhythm section are generally very quiet in the background, with the snare drum coming out to emphasise the beat. Mostly driven by walking Double bass, then by both drums.
Rhythm:	In the first B section the bridge has the simplest of melodies, almost all on F and G sharp. The pizzicato bass rhythm changes from the dotted crotchet then quaver pattern to even crotchets.
How Sinatra Sings it:	‘What a world’ is sung an octave higher- easier for the singer to project and in a brighter part of his range. Sinatra avoids the agile leaps of the original in the fourth bar of him coming in.

Resource summary

	Created by Matty MIddleton almost 6 years ago