Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love): SSA Choral Octavo

Jay Althouse's arrangement captures the full personality of Porter's classic without losing sight of accessibility for SSA ensembles. The structure builds naturally from an intimate opening through recognizable swing feels into an energetic finale that gives singers a genuinely fun moment to shine. Directors return to this piece year after year because it reliably generates audience delight and delivers rewarding rehearsal experiences.

The piece opens with gentle charm, almost conversational, then swings into the jazz vernacular that made 1920s-30s musical theater so infectious. By the final tag, you're in full celebration mode—the kind of ending that leaves an audience grinning and energized.

SSA choirs looking for a crowd-pleasing standard that balances musicality with genuine entertainment value. Ensembles with limited rehearsal time will appreciate how quickly singers can grasp the form and style, while more advanced groups will find interpretive depth in the contrasts between sections.

• Establish the swing feel clearly in rehearsal by listening to Porter-era recordings and discussing the difference between straight eighth notes in the opening verse and the swung rhythms that follow.
• Balance the text clarity in the rollicking tag section; even as energy builds, individual words need to land so the humor lands with the audience.
• Use the recorded accompaniment to lock the rhythmic precision required in the swing sections, then gradually reduce reliance on it so singers develop confidence in their own ensemble listening.
• Shape the dynamics across the three distinct sections deliberately; the opening should feel intimate, the swing section conversational, and the tag section celebratory.

This arrangement works beautifully as a spring or end-of-year concert closer, especially paired with other jazz standards or Porter compositions. It's also perfectly suited to informal performances, community events, or showcases where you want to demonstrate your choir's stylistic range without programming something overly demanding.

• Swing rhythms and jazz phrasing (straight versus swung eighth notes)
• Dynamic contrast and sectional shaping across distinct musical forms
• Text clarity and comedic timing in rhythmically syncopated passages
• Blend and balance in three-part SSA writing with active harmonic movement