When I met Buddy Baker, the first thing he told me, he says, "If you want to write about strings, you've got to remember one thing: strings don't swing. " You can't write notes for them like you would for saxophones, because they're not going to play it with that feel. Even if you give them like a dotted-eighth followed by a sixteenth-note Bellson sings a swing rhythm], they're going to play it [Bellson sing a straight rhythm]. And if you give it to them like a triplet with a rest in between, that kind of rolling triplet feel, they're still not going to play it right. They just don't swing. So I learned to give them half notes, quarter notes, whole notes, especially on ballads and things. But when they have to play a series of eighth notes, they're going to play them exactly the way it's written, whereas swing players interpret it with a bounce feel. So I was very cautious. In other words, if I had to play something like [Bellson sings the melody of Undecided], I give that to the saxophones or trumpets. But the strings, they would play it [Bellson sings Undecided with a straight rhythm rather than a swing rhythm]. Like Clark Terry said, No ta-ta. Boo-ya. " We were doing a clinic together, Clark Terry and I - by the way, he's one of the greatest clinicians ever, besides being one of the greatest trumpet players ever. So the high school kids were playing In the Mood. They were playing it [Bellson sings the melody in a straight rhythm]. Clark Terry looked at me and says, "What to you say, Lou? " I said, "You got it. " He said, "No ta-ta. Boo-ya," and he played it for them on the horn. That made a world of difference. The kids grasped that feel right away. But writing for strings, you've go to be very careful, especially if you're using strings in a context with a big band, like Artie Shaw had a big band with strings for a while. He made sure that the strings - the writing for the strings - would not conflict with that side of the band. Give them some things that they can play. So I learned fast. I learned that from Buddy Baker.