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boogie-woogie

boogie-woogie

4 8.1
A lively blues style played on the piano with a strong repeating bass and improvised melodies
  • noun
  • /ˈbuːɡi ˈwʊɡi/
translation icon : boogie-woogie
  • During the party, the band played a great selection of boogie-woogie music that everyone enjoyed.
  • boogie-woogie piano
  • boogie-woogie beat
  • play boogie-woogie

So what he does in this is, as you will see, he goes through all these different styles of piano playing, boogie woogie, stride piano, bebop.

Examples

  • The boogie was a popular dance, and piano players such as Fats Waller were proficient in playing the "boogie woogie."

    Academic text (1992)
  • "Can you explain the chord structure for boogie-woogie?" a professor asked.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • I love the boogie-woogie beat -

  • "I made a million dollars playing boogie-woogie," he said.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • I just play boogie-woogie and all that old stuff.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • "You once told me there were two kinds of boogie-woogie," I said.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • I'll never write another boogie-woogie tune as long as I live.

  • Once she wanted sheet music from the Music Box, and she let me talk her into a piano arrangement of a boogie-woogie song I'd heard at a college party.

    Blog text (17)
  • I've been playing this boogie woogie at eight beats to the bar.

  • But after a moment, the bass figures he's improvising start to change, and before long, it's transformed into the eight-to-the-bar figure of a boogie-woogie beat.

    Fiction book (2001)

Synonyms

boogie
vsboogie-woogie
75 7.5

Lively blues music played on piano with a strong, fast beat

focuses more on a distinct repeating bass figure and improvisation
woogie
vsboogie-woogie
  • Archaic
9 9.5

Lively dance music with a strong beat like boogie that makes people dance

is driven by repeating bass and improvisation rather than dance focus
barrelhouse
vsboogie-woogie
  • US
8.3

A lively piano style of blues often played in bars

is the specific blues piano style defined by repeating bass and improvisation

How Rhythmic

dance music
16 1.4
boogie-woogie
4 8.1
jive
  • Archaic
24 8.4
blues
85 3.4

Surface Forms

boogie-woogie singular

Etymology

Boogie-woogie probably comes from African American slang boogie, which meant 'to dance' or 'move' to a strong beat. The doubled name boogie-woogie is a playful echo, and that fits the music's strong, repeating piano bass that makes people want to dance.