MUS 2673 - Elements of music

Simple Verse

(also known as strophic form). In simple verse form, a composer sets the words of the first stanza to music and then uses the same music for all subsequent stanzas. Each section thus consists of the same music with different text. Most hymns, Christmas carols, folk tunes, and patriotic songs are in simple verse form. Listen to Woodie Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land". The song consists of six sections or verses (plus a short introduction and a brief instrumental interlude between the second and third verses). Notice that even though the text changes with each new verse, the music is identical each time. You may also notice that the last line of each verse is identical (or similar) each time. This is the refrain. It functions like a chorus (placing things in perspective through repetition in different contexts) but is not substantial enough to be considered as a distinct section on its own.

Four Common Rock Music Forms

- Simple Verse - Simple Verse-Chorus - Contrasting Verse-Chorus. - AABA ForM

AABA Form.

Although most rock songs are built upon the principal of alternating verses and choruses, some rely on statement, contrast, and restatement. "Every Breath You Take" is one example, albeit an unusually sophisticated one because it consists of three distinct sections. A more common formal procedure can be designated as AABA. In other words, a section is introduced and repeated, followed by a contrasting section (called a "bridge"), and then a restatement of the initial material. AABA forms were very common in the decades before rock and roll ("Over the Rainbow" and "I Got Rhythm" are two well-known examples). Although the AABA form was superceded in popularity by verse-chorus forms in rock and roll, it can still be found frequently. "Surfer Girl" by the Beach Boys offers a clear example. It also features a modulation in the final A section as the tonality moves from E-flat to E.

Bob Dylan, "Mr. Tambourine Man" (1965)The Byrds, "Mr. Tambourine Man" (1965)

Compare Bob Dylan's performance of "Mr. Tambourine Man" to the performance of the same song by The Byrds. The version by The Byrds has a thicker texture because there are more instruments and also because the timbre of the individual parts (acoustic guitar vs. 12-string electric guitar; solo singer vs. rich vocal harmonies) are much richer.

Tempo

In most music, each beat is evenly spaced. The speed or pace of the beats is called tempo. Tempo can be indicated with a particular duration in clock time (i.e. quarter note = 80 beats per minute) or using conventionalized terms that describe speed and character. Common indications of Tempo:

Tonality and Modulation

Most rock songs have a central pitch, called the tonic, around which they gravitate and on which they usually end (The Roman I refers to the tonic or the home pitch). We call this the key of the song. For example, musicians often refer to a song being in a certain key, as in, "the key of A". Most songs stay in the same key, but sometimes they move to a different key. Some songs attempt to increase the excitment by modulating by step to a higher key (sometimes called the "Truck Driver Gear Change") several times. Although the result is often cheesy (Stevie Wonder's "I Just Called to Say I Love You"), it can also be very effective as in The Who's "My Generation".

Beach Boys, "Surfer Girl" (1963)

The idea of AABA songs is the repetition and contrast. There is just enough contrast in the B section to offset the repetition of the other sections. Most AABA songs would be too short if they consisted only of a single statement of the pattern. Because of this, many AABA songs contain a full or partial reprise of the material. An example of an AABA song with a full reprise is Jerry Lee Lewis's "Great Balls of Fire". Notice that the reprise begin with two full verses of instrumental solo. This helps to offset the three successive statements of the same material which might otherwise sound repetitious.

Duration

The length of time a pitch sounds. In musical terms, this is measured in whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, eigth notes, sixteenth notes, and so on. To see a diagram outlining the relationship of the durations,

Form

is the purposeful organization of an artist's materials. It is the way a composer organizes the melodies, rhythms, textures, timbres, and text into coherent sections that, together, form a musical work. Since the form describes the way the music unfolds over time, it can be a difficult element to recognize and may take time (repeated careful listening) to fully comprehend. Still, the ability to recognize a form allows insight into the ways the music is presented and permits meaningful comparisons among songs. It is one of the most important elements we will consider in this book.

Time Signature:

meter in music is indicated by a time signature: two numbers, one on top of the other, placed at the beginning of the music to tell the performer how the beats of the music are to be grouped. The top number of the signature indicates how many beats there are per measure; the bottom number tells what note value is the beat. For example, in 3/4 time there are three quarter notes in each bar; in 4/4 time there are four quarter notes in each bar; in 6/8 time there are six eighth notes in each bar.

Moderato

moderately

Harmony

occurs when two or more pitches are sounded simultaneously. When the combination of pitches blends to produce a pleasing sound, the result is called consonance; when the pitches do not blend. n most rock songs. The harmony is created by chords-two or more pitches that sound at the same time-that provide support f

Intervals

since a melody consists of a progression of pitches, we can discuss the distance, or interval, between consecutive pitches. Melodies that move mostly by step ("Frère Jacques") are called conjunct and melodies that have gaps between consecutive notes ("The Star-Spangled Banner") are called disjunct.

Adagio

slow

Beat

the basic unit of time in music. It is an even pulse that divides the passing of time into equal segments. When we tap our feet to music, we are reacting to the beat.

Accent

the beat or part of the beat that is emphasized or given prominence. In most music (as in Frère Jacques), the accent falls on the beat with the first beat of each bar, or downbeat getting the greatest accent of all. A beat can sound accented if it is played louder or held longer than the surrounding notes.

Timbre

the character or quality of a sound that distinguishes it from other sounds. There are many acoustical phenomena that contribute to a sound's timbre. Although we could easily explore many in detail, we will mostly focus on degrees of purity and distortion of sound.

Syncopation

the effect of rhythmic displacement created by shifting the accents from strong beats to weaker ones, or to positions that do not fall on any of the main beats of the bar. This adds variety and excitement to the music. A good example of syncopation occurs at the end of the first phrase of Stephen Foster's "Camptown Races," where the "dah" of "doo-dah" is syncopated.

Downbeat

the first beat of each bar. It is almost always stressed.

Texture

the overall sound of a piece that is achieved by the number of parts (voices or instruments) and the ways they are combined. A "light" or "thin" texture is achieved by using only a few individual parts that are not rhythmically active. A "heavy" or "thick" texture can be achieved by combining several individual parts that are rhythmically more active.

Rhythm

the pattern of musical movement as organzied in time. Rhythm consists of durational patterns (longs and shorts) and is measured in beats.

Pitch

the relative position, high or low, of a musical sound. We generally refer to pitches by their letter names: C D E F G A B and then the pattern begins again with C. Pitch is usually described in terms of high and low. For example, many heavy metal songs are sung in a very high range and many punk sungs are in a lower range.

Offbeat

the unstressed beats that fall between the stressed beats. If we divide a quadruple bar (four beats) into eight units, using the word "and" to represent the extra divisions (one and two and three and four and), the offbeats are all of the ands. Using proper musical terminology, the beats are called quarter notes (since each beat is divided into quarters) and the offbeats fall on the eighth notes.

Contour (melody)

this term refers to the shape of the melody. Melodies can rise, fall, or stay constant.

Contrasting Verse-Chorus.

Contrasting verse-chorus form, like simple verse-chorus form, consists of sections of text that change each time (verses) and sections of text that recur (choruses). But whereas simple verse-chorus form sets both sections to the same music, contrasting verse-chorus form sets each to different music so that they are more readily distinguished. Listen to Chuck Berry's "Rock and Roll Music" and notice the way the music for the choruses differs from the music for the verses. The melody in the choruses is in a high range, hovering around a central note until it drops down at the end. The prominent instrument is a rhythmically active piano in a high register playing a style known as "honky-tonk". Each of the choruses is fourteen bars long. In the verses, the texture is noticeably thinner. The melody begins in a lower register that gradually makes its way up to the pitch level of the choruses, the prominent instrument is the guitar, and each verse is only eight bars in length. Notice, also, the difference in function between the verses and choruses. The choruses praise the qualities of rock and roll music while the verses make comparisons to other types of music and justify the speaker's musical preferences. As with most songs in verse-chorus form, the chorus is the most memorable part.

Meter

If we stress every other beat (ONE two, ONE two, ONE two) we have two beats per measure, called duple meter. If we stress every third beat (ONE two three, ONE two three) we have triple meter. Most rock music is in quadruple meter (four beats per measure). In quadruple meter, the first and third beats are emphasized (with the third beat having slightly less emphasis than the first).

Janis Joplin, "Mercedes Benz" (1970)

Janis Joplin's performance of "Mercedes Benz" is an excellent example of a thin texture--very thin since she is singing by herself with no accompanying instruments (this is sometimes called "monophony" since there is only one voice) and a very rough texture because of the distortion. Imagine how this would sound if it were performed by someone with a very pure voice: a crooner like Bing Crosby or Frank Sinatra or an opera singer. Much of the appeal in Joplin's performance comes from the earthiness of the rough timbre.

Parts of A Song

Listen to "Every Breath You Take" by the Police. Can you identify the sections and their organization into patterns of repetition and contrast? Some helpful terms will be introduced below that identify the common sections of rock songs below. For now, we will use uppercase letters to identify the sections. This is a common procedure in form analysis and one that can be applied to almost any type of music.

Phrasing

Melodies, like sentences, tend to be constructed from smaller units called phrases. Each phrase comes to a recognizable resting place or cadence, yet is part of a larger group and thus sounds incomplete on its own. In many cases, a phrase or pair of phrases appear to pose a question that is answered by the following phrase or pair of phrases. Listen to the first verse of Janis Joplin's "Mercedes Benz". The melody consists of four distinct phrases that, together, form a complete musical unit. Notice that the first two phrases ascend to a high point, as if asking a question, while the last two phrases return to the starting point, as if making a statement. Pay special attention to the first and fourth phrases. Even though both present the same text, the different melodic contour of each results in a very different effect.

Progressions

Most accompaniments consist of chord progressions: a movement of chords in a purposeful fashion. Many rock songs are built on standard progressions identified by Roman numerals (the numerals refer to the degree of the scale on which they are built). A very common progression, especially in early rock music, is I-IV-V (I-IV-V refers to the chords built on the first, fourth, and fifth degrees of the scale). This progression is the basis of twelve-bar blues or songs like "Louie Louie" by the Kingsmen. As the Austrailian comedy group Axis of Awesome points out in this video, "all the greatest hits from the past 40 years use just four chords" (I-V-VI-IV).

Chuck Berry, "Rock and Roll Music" (1957).

Words and music by Chuck Berry.Notice that this song has both verses and choruses. The music for the verses is different from the music for the choruses.

Steely Dan, "Reelin' in the Years" (1972).

Words and music by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen.Time Signature: 4/4 with shuffle eighths. Notice the shuffle in the drums and bass at the beginning during the guitar solo.

Woodie Guthrie, "This Land is Your Land" (1940)

Words and music by Woody Guthrie (music based on the Baptist hymn, "When the World's on Fire").Notice that the music for each section (verse) is essentially the same. The discrepancies in length are the result of Guthrie's free approach to performance to give the song an improvised feel. This is common in a lot of folk music.

Measure or Bar

a group of beats. When describing music, we divide long spans of time into smaller, more comprehensible units called bars. During this course, for example, we will discuss 12-bar blues, we will see many examples of 16-bar verses, and we will discuss the "middle 8" or "bridge", a contrasting section (usually it consists of 8 bars) found in many pop songs.

chorus

a section of the song that is repeated (text and music). This normally recurs several times between verses with the text and music basically identical each time. If the verses tell the story, the chorus places the incidents in perspective through repetition.

Bridge

a section that provides contrast with the verses and the choruses. It usually occurs only once and delays an expected occurrence of a chorus or a verse.

Melody

a sequential collection of pitches or notes arranged in order to form a recognizable unit. We can describe melody in terms

Refrain

a shorter repeated section (usually a line of text) that occurs within one of the larger sections. Refrains commonly occur as the last line of a verse. In this case, even though the verses are different, the last line of each is the same.

Verse

coherent passages of text (stanzas) that are set to the same music. Usually the text (stanza) changes but the music remains the same. This is normally the section of the song that tells the story.

Allegro

fast

Accelerando

gradually getting faster

Ritardando

gradually getting slower

Backbeat

in a quadruple bar, beats two and four are naturally weak. In most rock music, however, these beats are accented. This is called a backbeat. The backbeat is a primary element in rhythm and blues as well as in most rock and roll. It gives rock music its characteristic groove. Chuck Berry even refers to the importance of the backbeat in the lyrics to "Rock and Roll Music" (for a listening guide and audio link, see below):

Straight Eights and Shuffle Eights

in popular music, the eighth notes can be even or uneven. When they are even we call them straight. When they are uneven we call them shuffle eighths.

Pitch (melody)

is the melody in a high range; does it cover a wide range or a low range

John Lennon (performed by Green Day), "Working Class Hero" (1970)

Time Signature: 3/4. There are three beats in each bar. Notice that the first beat of each bar is accented

Supremes, "You Can't Hurry Love" (1966)

Time Signature: 4/4 with a strong backbeat. Notice that the drums emphasize beats 2 and 4 throughout

Oasis, "Wonderwall" (1995)

Time Signature: 4/4. Listen to the rhythm in the guitar. Each beat is accented with a slight emphasis on the second and fourth beats.

America, "Horse With No Name" (1971)

Time Signature: 4/4. Notice the emphasis on certain beats. In the first bar the accent is on 2 and 4; in the second bar the accent shifts to the offbeats (this pattern repeats throughout the song)

Beach Boys, "Surfer Girl" (1963)

Time Signature: 6/8. Each bar consists of six beats with an emphasis on the first and fourth beat of each bar.

Pink Floyd, "Money" (1973)

Time Signature: 7/4. There are seven beats in each bar. Listen to the bass line. There is one note per beat except for the second beat which has two notes (bum, ba-da, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum)

Kingston Trio, "Tom Dooley" (1958)

Traditional (circa 1868). Words by Thomas C. Land.Notice that this song has a verses which tell a story and a chorus that puts the story into a perspective. Although there are changes in texture from the chorus to the verse, the melody is the same in both.

Simple Verse-Chorus

Verse-chorus forms, unlike simple verse form where each section has a new text, have sections of new text (verses) and sections of recurring text (choruses). In the case of simple verse-chorus form, both the choruses and the verses are set to the same music. Listen to the Kingston Trio's performance of "Tom Dooley". The three verses tell the story of Tom Dooley from his perspective. They are sung by a single performer using first-person narrative (Dooley referring to himself as "I"). The verses are framed by choruses which present the identical text each time and place the story in perspective by reiterating Tom Dooley's fate. The choruses are sung by all three performers and the perspective shifts to second-person narrative (referring to Tom Dooley as "you"). All of this is preceded by a spoken introduction in third-person narrative (referring to the characters as "he", "she", or "they"). Notice that, despite surface differences (the use of more voices in the choruses), the music for the verses and the choruses is essentially the same. That is, the melodies, harmonies, and rhythms do not change. Because the song has text that changes each time (verses) and text that stays the same (choruses) we refer to this as a verse-chorus form. Because the music is the same for both sections, we refer to this as a simple verse-chorus form.