What is Scat Singing?

Not an easy question to answer for several reasons. You could define scat singing as where the voice essentially becomes an instrument. But, unlike a conventional singer, there are no lyrics or melodies to follow.

Table of Contents

The creation of vocalizing and phrasing that has no words sung to the music is called “scat.” In some ways, what you would expect to hear a jazz trumpeter or saxophone player produce. Except you are using your voice as the instrument.

But, Scat singers are not all the same, as we shall see as we try to answer the question, “What is scat singing?”

Not Universally Loved

That applies to jazz fans as well as people who aren’t into jazz at all. It is a divisive issue. On one side, those that appreciate the technical vocal skills involved. On the other side, people who would just prefer to listen to the singer improvising a little around a standard melody and formal lyrics.

Before We Look Too Deeply

This style of jazz singing seems to have been arrived at purely by accident. Some believe it was created by Louis Armstrong.

The story goes that Armstrong was in a recording session with his band, The Hot Five, in 1926. They were recording a song called “Heebie Jeebies,” and the music fell off the music stand in the middle of a take. The ‘take’ was going well, and he didn’t want to stop.

Armstrong couldn’t remember the words, so he improvised some sounds to fill in. Just meaningless syllables, perhaps imitating what he might have played on his trumpet.

Voila, Scat singing had arrived…

Some will dispute this turn of events. Not the fact that it happened, as Armstrong said it did, but when. Pianist Jelly Roll Morton claimed he had heard a comedian by the name of Joe Sims do it way before Armstrong did.

Whatever, the fact is that in 1926, we had a recording of some scat singing by someone who became a master at it. In many ways, it gave creative singers an opening they hadn’t had before. They were free to add their own embellishments to a melody as they had never done.

Don’t Think It Is Easy

If you think that, you would be very wrong. A good way of looking at how scat singing works is by looking at how an instrument might improvise around a theme.

When I say instrument, I am referring to one that creates a melody. This might be a trumpet, saxophone, clarinet, piano, guitar, or anything similar.

If the musician has an understanding of harmony, which as a jazz musician will probably go without saying, they will know what to do. They know that pressing a certain key or string will produce a note that will be harmonically accurate to the underlying chord.

The Singer Has No Such Luxury

While the musician can use theory and understanding to create improvisations, the scat singer cannot. They have to use their ear and create the notes instantly in their head and sing them immediately. There is no time to stop and think about it. It is spontaneous.

And there are not only the correct notes to consider but the rhythm and style of the piece. Another great example of early scat singing was “Hotter Than That” by Louis Armstrong.

This particular recording begins to show his personality in the way that he creates the sounds and rhythms. So, when people ask, “What is scat singing?” you can just play a little Louis Armstrong for them.

Do All Jazz Singers Use This Technique?

The simple answer to that is no. Although, there is a very fine line to determining what a jazz singer is. People have their opinions. Most would agree on Ella Fitzgerald or Mel Torme. Sarah Vaughn and Billie Holiday, and a few others.

But what about Frank Sinatra?

He sang plenty of jazz songs, but does that make him a jazz singer? Not in my book. Not in the way that Ella, Louis, Mel Torme, and some of the others were.

He was a singer who sang just about everything. And sang it well. But you never heard him employ scat techniques. Unless you think the end of “Strangers In The Night” qualifies. If so, it was a rather lame attempt. No, I think he was just crooning.

Don’t misunderstand me…

Just because you don’t employ scat singing techniques doesn’t mean you aren’t a jazz singer. You can sing jazz, even improvise vocally around the theme, and still be very much a jazz singer with or without scat.

But in the case of Sinatra, he sang show tunes, standards, and big ballads, as well as a few jazz songs to boot. He covered a range of genres, and his style was not all jazz.

Those jazz singers who use scat techniques do so rather sparingly. It doesn’t appear in every song. You might get two or three examples on an album. But not every track.

Can Scat Singing Be Influenced by External Situations?

I think so. If you listen to those early Louis Armstrong songs, the style is different from what came just twenty years later. It has developed as an art, and that development has been influenced by certain things.

If we look at Sarah Vaughn, her improvisation sounds were grounded in Bebop traditions. This may well have been influenced by Cliff Brown and Dizzy Gillespie, with whom she worked. “Shulie A Bop” is Sarah Vaughn in full flow.

Then there was Ella Fitzgerald…

Her style was influenced by the Big Band and Swing eras. She rose to fame in those periods when saxophones and trumpets played a big part.

Her scat vocals put in mind the sounds made by those instruments. But, you can hear from “How High The Moon” that there was quite a bit more involved in this style of singing than meets the eye. Quick and snappy, you could hear a sax or trumpet playing this.

Let’s ‘cool the scat’ and move over to California…

On the West Coast, we had what some called “Cool Jazz,” reflected in how Mel Torme delivered his work. Try “Bernie’s Tune,” where Torme has no lyrics to the song at all and scats his way through the whole thing.

There are others, of course. But, those who practiced this complex art often reflected the environments and the periods they worked in. That even applies to the syllables they used, even though some are unintelligible to outsiders.

Betty Bepop

Betty Carter was another virtuoso at scat singing and worth a closer look. To many, she is an unknown name, and people are surprised to learn she was still gaining success in jazz circles in the 1980s.

She was often called “Betty Bebop.” Her associations with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie during the rise of that style of jazz in the 40s earned her that title. In the 50s, she worked with Max Roach and Miles Davis.

Her style and rigorous demands on musicians meant work was hard to come by. It was only later in the 70s, when she formed her own band, that real recognition came. She was a virtuoso, as you can hear in “All I Got.” It also carries a more than half-decent bass at the beginning.

Not Just Singers

Those we have just mentioned and many more were just singers. That was their job. Then, there are people like Louis Armstrong. A musician first, but then his vocals and his scat vocals took on a more than interesting sideline.

Do you Get The Picture?

Perhaps you can see how it is respected in jazz circles and tolerated to a certain extent by those that just don’t like the scat style. Then some people are openly hostile. They sometimes refer to it as singing nonsense to create a tune.

It’s a matter of taste, of course; nothing wrong with that. But, like it or loathe it, you can’t dispute the technical vocal qualities required to be able to do it.

Are You A Fan of Jazz Music?

Well, take a look at our detailed articles on the Best Jazz Songs, the Best Jazz Albums of All Time, the Best Jazz Musicians of All Time, the Best Jazz Saxophone Players, and the Best Chicago Jazz Clubs for more information.