[boo
g-ee-woog-ee, boo-gee-woo-gee] 
| a form of instrumental blues, esp. for piano, using melodic variations over a constantly repeated bass figure. |
| boog·ie-woog·ie (bŏŏg'ē-wŏŏg'ē, bōō'gē-wōō'gē) n. A style of blues piano playing characterized by an up-tempo rhythm, a repeated melodic pattern in the bass, and a series of improvised variations in the treble. [Possibly from Black West African English (Sierra Leone) bogi(-bogi), to dance; possibly akin to Hausa buga, to beat drums.] |
boogie-woogie
heavily percussive style of blues piano in which the right hand plays riffs (syncopated, repeating phrases) against a driving pattern of repeating eighth notes (ostinato bass). It began to appear at the beginning of the 20th century and was associated with the southwestern states-hence its early names, "fast Western style" and "Western rolling blues." Its bass figures are believed to derive from the running sequence of guitar accompaniment
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