The Best Things In Life Are Free (arr. Kirby Shaw): SATB Choral Octavo

Shaw's arrangement respects the timeless appeal of this Gershwin classic while giving it a fresh, swinging sensibility that energizes high school and college choirs. The SATB texture is accessible without sacrificing sophistication, making this ideal for singers who want to taste jazz idioms without drowning in complexity. Programming this gives your choir a moment of genuine joy: a song whose message and melody feel as true today as they did in 1930.

Bright and buoyant. Shaw's harmonies have warmth and sophistication, with just enough jazz color to feel modern without becoming disorienting. The song lands somewhere between a feel-good standard and a jazz club, making it both accessible and genuinely musical.

This arrangement works beautifully for choirs at the high school and college level who want a genuine jazz standard without heavy swing technique demands. It also suits concert choirs looking to include one secular jazz number that sounds polished and contemporary while honoring the song's classic roots.

• Nail the rhythmic precision of the jazz phrasing before worrying about blend. Shaw's arrangement leans on offbeats and syncopation, so your sections need to lock in the pocket together.
• Let the alto and tenor lines breathe as inner voices. They carry important countermelody material that Shaw wove in, and when singers rush these supporting parts, the whole arrangement loses its lift.
• Find the humor in the lyrical message. This song is fundamentally optimistic and a bit cheeky. Your singers' faces and tone should reflect that lightness, not oversell the sentimentality.

Slot this into a concert's second half when you want to shift energy and give your audience permission to smile. It pairs naturally with other swing-era songs or works as a standalone moment of levity between heavier contemporary pieces. The seven pages also make it manageable for inclusion in variety show formats or end-of-year celebrations.

• Jazz articulation and diction in English (crisp consonants, relaxed vowels in swing)
• Reading and executing syncopated rhythms in SATB texture
• Harmonic independence as inner voices (alto/tenor countermelody awareness)
• Stylistic interpretation of a mid-20th-century standard with contemporary choral sensibility