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THE SCAT SINGING DIALECT: An Introduction to Vocal Improvisation

by Michele Weir

There is a difference between scat singing and scat What is Vocal Improvisation?
singing that has musical integrity and sounds good. Vocal improvisation is another term for scat sing-
This article will explore the latter. First, it is important ing, or scatting. Vocal jazz improvisation is similar to
to offer context about jazz pedagogy and scat singing in instrumental jazz improvisation in that the improvis-
order to understand and appreciate the historical per- er spontaneously invents melodic lines over the chord
spective of this unique genre of music. progression of a song. For both singers and players, the
overarching musical goals include:

Historical Perspective 1. Improvising melodic lines that are inventive and
Among all jazz singer recordings ever made, only work well within the chord progression (known as the
a small percentage contain scat singing. Out of those, changes).
only a relative few demonstrate the level of artistry of
a singer such as the great Ella Fitzgerald. Formal jazz 2. Making the music feel good rhythmically.
education was introduced in the late 1940s, but it was
almost exclusively tailored to instrumentalists and did 3. Sounding conversationally expressive as though the
not fully begin to take wing until the 1970s. Even then, improviser is telling a story that is being conceived in
formal vocal jazz education was still in its infancy. To- the moment, in real time.
day, the number of universities offering an instrumen-
tal jazz major far outweighs the number of universities Jazz vocalists and instrumentalists, especially in
offering a vocal jazz major, and even the ones that do educational circles, commonly speak of learning the
rarely have a dedicated vocal improvisation course. language—that is, the language of jazz and, more
Singers are commonly placed in existing instrumental specifically, the language that has been by far the most
improvisation courses that are not designed to meet the influential and prevalent among jazz musicians dating
needs of the vocal improviser. back from the last seventy years: bebop. Bebop was a
We must, then, consider the historical perspective style period of the 1940s whose leading proponents
of the potential student scat singer: there has been no were Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. The idiomat-
overabundance of great role models and little or no ic melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic languages of be-
opportunity in formal education to study and practice bop are still prevalent among jazz singers and players
vocal improvisation. Additionally, it would be unlikely today. A primary focus in jazz pedagogy is to become
that the student had much lifetime exposure to any jazz fluent in the language of jazz (bebop) then “say what
music unless his or her parents happened to be jazz you want to say” within that language. Scat singing dif-
buffs. These combined factors may have contributed to fers from instrumental improvisation in a number of
a degree of historical underdevelopment in the art as key ways, especially as it pertains to their respective
a whole, especially at the educational level. Fortunately, pedagogical needs.
the current outlook for meaningful vocal jazz pedago- First, scat singers use scat syllables instead of lyrics
gy and quality role modeling has steadily improved as in their improvisation. Unlike instrumentalists, devel-
a second generation of jazz-trained vocal pedagogues oping a healthy repertoire of syllables is a required
has risen to university positions, where they are able to task. The importance of singers having fluency with
mentor aspiring jazz singers. Over the past ten years syllables should not be understated. Until a singer is
or so, the quality of vocal improvisation and ensemble completely comfortable with a repertoire of scat syl-
performance at festivals has greatly improved. lables, they are handicapped; nothing they sing during

CHORAL JOURNAL September 2025 Volume 66 Number 2 61