AREA OF STUDY: Popular song since 1960

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AREA OF STUDYPopular song since 1960

• GCSE AQA Music

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Types of Popular Song since 1960

• (1)  Solo Ballads
• (2)  Musical Theatre
• (3)  Blues / Gospel / Soul influenced
• (4)  Folk influenced
• (5)   Rock n Roll / 1960s / Reggae / Heavy
  metal / Progressive rock / Punk rock / Brit pop /
  Boy girl bands
• (6) Fusion 

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VARIOUS DECADESASPECTS OF IMPORTANCE

• 60S
• Guitar, tambourine,limited drum kit, syllabic
  backing vocals, limited electric instruments
• 70S
• Less drum prominence, little percussion, organ,
  echo backing vocals, trumpet, saxophone, more
  improvising, guitar accompaniments 
• 80S
• Limited melody, electronic keyboards, trumpet,
  saxophone, synthesizers, harmonic backing vocals,
  expanded drum machinery
• 90S
• Clubbing rave rhythms, heavier textured
  instruments, simple melody, computerized
  tracking 
• 2000 ONWARDS
• MC DJs, computerized technology above live
  performers, MIDI interfaced instrumentation,
  digital instrumentation 

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SOLO BALLADS

• Describes certain song types since medieval
  period being a musical form poetry telling a
  story
• Story / song strophic form ( verses having some
  forms metres) with repetitive chorus 
• Contemporary pop ballads also use strophic form
  with repeat chorus. 
• Slower tempo, allowing singer to deliver story of
  ballad 
• Fuller backing orchestrations 
• Sophisticated / difficult / rich harmonies 
• Mostly personal reflective songs from performers
  life happiness, tragedy, loneliness, growth
  points, crises 
• By 1960, composers who wrote for other
  performers, were pushed aside for bands who were
  writing own melodies in response, Carole King
  performed own compositions with gentle soft rock
  sounds

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• Carole King Tapestry, Youve got a friend, Its
  too late
• Elton John Bernie Taupin Rocket man, Daniel
  many more will stand the test of time in music
  world already become a pop standard ballad form.
  His piano accompaniment adds to the ballad, by
  weaving piano part around the lyrics, punctuating
  melody with accompaniment features maintaining
  a rhythmic feel to songs.
• Sting Brand new day more individual
  expressive. Ballads are fused with soul jazz
  rock, using world musics classical techniques
  to flavour songs
• Bjork Vespertine, One little Indian
  unconventional vocals, uses music outside rock
  pop traditions, like choral music experimental
  music technology
• Culture club Karma chameleon, Church of the
  poison mind, Its a miracle

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MUSICAL THEATRE

• Before R n R pop songs came from musical theatre
  films
• Singing, dancing and acting accompanied by a
  full orchestra 
• Songs occurring at strategic moments in the play
  / film 
• Orchestra jazz musicians, so they used basis
  for improvising music 
• 1968 Joseph the Amazing technicolour
  dreamcoat influenced by jazz rock 
• Became starting point for conventional musical
  relevant to the time Evita, Cats, Phantom of
  the opera, Les miserables

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• Irving Berlin
• Cole Porter 
• Richard Rogers with writer Oscar Hammerstein
• Andrew Lloyd Webber with writer Tim Rice
• Claude Michel Schonberg with writer Victor Hugo

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THE BLUES

• Originally Afro-American rural song in southern
  USA
• Performed by soloist with guitar
• Had a sad quality to tone, hence the blues
• Later became urban in New Orleans influenced
  jazz
• Vocalists were accompanied by developing blues
  bands on clarinet, trumpet, piano double bass

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• 12 Bar blues pattern in 4/4 time of I IV V chords
  takes the following form
• I I I I7
• IV IV I I
• V7 IV or V I I 
• Melodies feature flattened 3rd 7th, sometimes a
  flattened 5th of the scale
• Singers non keyboard performers use pitch bends
  slides to communicate the sadness sense of
  injustice expressed in the lyrics of the blues 
• Continues to influence jazz pop up to present
  day

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• Composers Lemon Jefferson (blind) 
• Singers Ma Rainey / Bessie Smith (1920) /
  Little George Sueref (2000) 

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GOSPEL

• Associated with Afr-Am church services for -
  100 yrs
• Developed own singing style
• Spirituals from slavery days of 19th C combined
  the STRUCTURE of
• Harmonic European hymns
• Call response patterns
• Syncopated rhythms
• Blue note of West-African scales
• Free vocal improvisation 
• STYLES
• Clapping
• Shouting
• Dancing
• Less inhibitions

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• 1930s to today interesting quartets of expert
  singers using DEVICES
• delayed notes
• melisma extensions (many notes to 1 syllable)
• repetitive single syllables
• sobbing
• shouting
• 1960s to today large choirs with rock beat
  accompaniments by keyboards, bass, drums female
  soloists improvising high above the choir
• Many unknown church singers 
• Famous Edwin Hawkins Singers, with well known
  song used in Sister Act 2 O Happy Day

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SOUL

• Dates from late 1950s to early 60s
• Fusion of tradition
• R B of the time with solo vocal gospel music
  techniques
• Roots in Gospel music with call response vocal
  text
• 1950s, some Gospel combined with R n R
  swing Jazz SOUL to be born
• Not about spiritual matters, but human emotions,
  dealing with the pain of love songs were
  sexually explicit
• 1960s sub genres of soul were born Motown
  soul Atlantic soul
• Characteristics
• Strong rhythms
• Simple core harmonies
• Colourful orchestral backings
• Powerful, expressive soloists
• Close harmony backing vocals, called BROX singers

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• 1955 James Brown please please please
•  
• 1959 Ray Charles (RB pianist) What Id say
•  
• 1960 Aretha Franklin Lady soul
•  
• 1962 Otis Redding Mr. Pitiful

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FOLK MUSIC

• Term defines of the people
• Music belonging to a country or region
• Eire UK both rich in traditional folk dance
  music
• Central to any gathering for a wedding, birthday
  or funeral wake
• All about participation
• Countries have well known performers in folk
  music
• England Lindisfarn
• Ireland Chieftains / Enya
• Wales Sian James / Fernhill
• Scotland Battlefield band / Runrig
• Eng/Irish The Pogues

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• Woody Guthrie nasal Country Western singer,
  with issues of civil rights nuclear war
• Bob Dylan original songs on traditional
  instruments. Became protest leader for civil
  rights / song blowing in the wind is civil
  rights official anthem uses simple diatonic
  chord sequences in clear cut rhythmic repetition
• 1965 Folk Rock developing through amplifying
  guitar sound
• At start of 20th C, revival in English folk
  music, owing to Cecil Sharp R Vaughan Williams
  travelling around recording notating
  broadcasting folk music on BBC TV Radio

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ROCK N ROLL

• In USA, developed from fusion of
• Country western with
• Rhythm blues
• CW white musician performers
• RB urban black Chicago musician performers
• RR fusion of the above 2 styles start of
  racial related cultural flavours

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• CW melodies being diatonic memorable
• Sung with nasal vocal tome
• Accompanied by acoustic guitar double bass
• RB played in clubs dance halls
• Instruments electric guitars amplified
  saxaphone
• Structure 12 bar blues with accelerated tempo
  tighter rhythms

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• Bill Hayley the Comets CW band with
  amplification
• First RR song was a cover version to older RB
  song shake rattle roll in 1954 
• Elvis Presley RR hits Jailhouse rock, Blue
  suede shoes, Love me tender many more .. also
  stood the test of time become cover versions
  for 2000 pop girl/boy bands pop idols
• Chuck Berry Little Richard RB singers which
  defined a new RR style in song Tutti frutti,
  being fast, syncopated vocal dominated 

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1960s / MERSEYBEAT

• UK became famous for its rock bands of the
  Beatles, Rolling stones the Who
• Composers performers with own distinct style of
  songs, with emphasis on
• RB
• Loud amplification
• Frantic guitars
• Drums
• Wild vocals
• Bumps / grinds / twitches 
• Beatles introduced SKIFFLE pop music played on
  homemade instruments
• Founders of FUSION because they took western
  ideas non western cultures, used 2 worlds to
  create new ROCK FUSION

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• The Beatles MANY MANY SONGS just a few to name
  love me do, please please me, strawberry fields
  forever, Sgt Peppers Lonely hearts club band
  will also stand the test of time in the music
  world as they are icons in the world of rock
  music history 
• The Rolling stones
• The Who

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JAMAICAN REGGAE

• Origin in New Orleans RB scene, called Ska
• Jamaicans heard music over transistors from USA,
  cribbed it after their 1962 independence, poor
  districts shanty towns sprung up increased
  unemployment, crime, abuse, anger, lawlessness
  violence. Rudeboys adopted reggae into Jamaican
  culture, brought new dimension to reggae
  lyrics 

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• Up tempo RB
• Skimming string rapidly on a guitar on ever
  changing rhythms
• Happy get up go dance kind of music
• Simple 4/4 time
• Note
• Reggae came about one hot summer, when it became
  too hot to dance perform Ska, so the rhythm was
  slowed down a new music genre was developed

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HEAVY METAL

• Heavily based on RR, but contained heavier
  timbre more colourful instruments which were
  coming onto the scene

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• Called Heavy Metal because of the sharp edge
  the music produced on the audience 
• Very drum electric guitar orientated, with bass
  riffs dominating most of the songs
• Themes were more about underworld activities,
  witchcraft, Satanism, perversion of thoughts,
  fulfilling sexual cravings, lusts desires
• Band called Free 1970 - All right now 
• Also, Meatloaf 1972/3 Bat out of Hell

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PROGRESSIVE ROCK

• Mix of classical rock music taken up by only a
  few bands in the 1968 1978 decade

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• Longer than 3 minutes , so unable to be released
  as a single
• Used
• slow moving chord sequences
• formal melodies
• Band featured long instrumental solos
• Electronic effects
• Took ideas from western classical music
• Serious themes like abortion, euthanasia, unfair
  trial, kidnappings, rape, domestic violence 
• 1968 Pink Floyd release a saucerful of
  secrets  
• 1975 Genesis 
• 1977 Yes!

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Punk rock

• After 1975, reaction AGAINST trends of
  progressive rock
• Musicians wanted to return to RR roots not use
  classical music ideas to form songs
• Rebellious young adult movements alongside
  fashion new image of punk
• The image (1970) came before the music (1975)
  fashion statements of ripped clothing, spiky
  hair, safety pins, tattoos, bright psychedelic
  make up, lots of black intermingled with bright
  colours 
• Movement was about shock scandal, youth raging
  against authority, boredom music of the time
• Music image

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• CHARACTERISTICS OF MUSIC
• Simple chords structure of 1950s songs
• Slogans instead of lyrics
• Limited chords from 1-3 in a complete song
• Unvarying rhythms battered out on drums
• Shouting in place of singing
• Negative themes about life
•  

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• 1976 sex Pistols
• 1977 The Buzzcocks 
• 1990s Oasis
• 1997 Damned / clash 
• Song titles range
• Anarchy in the UK / pretty vacancy / God save the
  queen / Ever fallen in love with someone you
  shouldnt have?

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Brit pop

• 1990s Oasis band was founder of this genre
  world wide took UK music to higher heights than
  the Beatles did
• Strongly influenced by the 1960s Beatles music
  with
• Chord progressions
• Solo chorus vocals
• Strong catchy rhythms
• Much percussion
• Lyrical lead guitar
• Used traditional structures for melody harmony
  instrumentation
• Themes everyday life, adverts on the
  underground, Sunday lunch
• 1990s Oasis / Blur
• 2000s Toploader / Coldplay

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Boy and Girl bands

• Important aspect in Rock music pop idol / hero
  worship from the fans
• CHARACTERISTICS
• Obvious verse chorus forms
• Memorable hooks
• Voices are more important than the
  instrumentation
• Chorus multi-tracked to be fuller in texture
• Instruments are backings of IT or synthesizes
  sounds, which have developed the Karaoke of 2000
  onwards
• Percussion is related to a persons pulse heart
  beat, thereby being suitable for dance music

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• Many have appeared disappeared, depending on
  the types of songs which audience purchase too
  many cover versions of old 1950s 80s original
  songs, which some bands re-invent for a short
  while, only to be replaced by another audience
  voted band fame is short lived music is a tool
  to become famous. The art of making ones OWN
  original music has lost itself amidst a youth
  driven by FAME, money short lived success.
• Bands Backstreet boys / Boyzone / five /
  Westlife / atomic kitten / S club 7 / Blue etc
  etc

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Fusion

• Term describes music which is a BLEND of western
  pop with some non western distinct style eg
• Jazz rock
• Afro American
• Afro Caribbean
• Indian raga English pop
• Latin American Cuba

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INFLUENCES FROM(A) AFRICA CARIBBEAN

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• Afro European influences created the music of
  Afro-American Caribbean
• From Afro-American came blues, jazz,soul RB
• From Caribbean came Reggae, calypso, salsa soca
  (soul calypso fusion)
• Paul Simons Graceland album South African
  Rock fusion

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(B) INDIAN SUB CONTINENT

• Sitar Tabla used in Raga music
• RAGA modes used for composing Indian songs
• Also formed frame for western pop in the Beatles,
  since george Harrison was a hindu who exercised
  his faith through his music
• 1990 band Kula Shaker used BANGRA (style of
  folk music sung played by agricultural workers
  in the northern Indian Punjab) in Rock music,
  along with Indian instruments

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( C ) LATIN AMERICAN

• Instruments claves, guiro, cowbells, agogo,
  maracas, which have been used as percussive
  instruments since start of western pop music
• Rhythms alongside this, now fusing Salsa (from
  Cuba a folk dance which holds many cultural
  ideals from Spain, Latin America West Africa
• 1999 Ricky Martin Livin la vida loca fuses
  L-A instruments with verse-chrous western song
  style 
• 2000 Celia Cruz the Fania All stars band
  fuses Cuban salsa solo with USA house band
  instruments 

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Terminologies and their Definitions

• 1
• Multi-track recording
• A recording technique where several tracks of
  sound are recorded independently, BUT played back
  together to form a composition

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• 2
• Reverb
• The prolonging of sound caused by its complex
  reflections between walls, floor, ceiling of a
  room / hall etc the acoustics of a place .. the
  effect can be created electronically applied to
  music to improve its timbre (tone colour)

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• 3
• Distortion
• A misrepresentation of the original wave form of
  sound during transmission

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• 4
• Compression
• To reduce volume of sound using electronic
  gadgets

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• 5
• Vocoder
• Speech synthesizer

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• 6
• Sequencing
• input editing music using a MIDI devices, so
  as to play back, record realize music on the PC

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• 7
• Sampling
• Recordings of digital sound information, played
  at various speeds, loops combinations

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• 8
• Panning
• To move amplified sound to the left or right
  speaker, gaining different balances effects in
  the voice, instruments overall sound quality

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• 9
• Strophic song
• Where the same music is used for every stanza (
  verse) of the text

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• 10
• Middle 8 structure
• Also called the bridge used during latter part
  of song new contrasting material to break
  boredom of a verse chorus song

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• 11
• Wah wah guitar effect
• Created by a foot pedal, tone control circuit
  designed to manipulate upper harmonies of played
  notes, creating a vocal wah sound

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• 12
• Distortion on guitar
• Process of modifying the wave form of guitar to
  produce different timbre to the original. Fuzz
  is a distortion form

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• 13
• Flange on guitar
• Foot pedal electronic effect which delays
  signals creates a bulging, sweeping effect
• 14
• Chorus on guitar
• Delaying original sound by sharpening /
  flattening the pitch the effect is that of
  several guitars plating the same music

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• 15
• Bass guitar
• 4 metal strings, electronically operated play
  riffs to dominate texture of songs in rock
  reggae. Fretts dampen the highest overtones by
  placing fingers on the frets.
• 16
• Fretless guitar
• No frets as such, so glissandi is possible,
  creating a form of distortion depending on how
  good the guitarists technique is.

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• 17
• Synthesizer
• 1970s large synths, which generated analogue
  sounds
• 1980s digital synths, notes could be triggered
  through a MIDI, stored recalled
• 1990s retor analogue synths, because they
  create warmer sounds

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• 18
• Drum kit
• Snare, tom tom, bass drum, cymbals ( foot
  operated hi hat with 2 clashing cymbals)
  sometimes, a cowbell
• 19
• Drum machine
• A specific type of synthesizer designed to
  produce percussion sounds. It uses a sequences
  which enables individual sounds to be edited
  recorded separately

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• 20
• Lead rhythm guitar
• Electric 6 strings, solid bodied guitar,
  fastened to a bridge played with a plectrum.
  Pick ups on the guitar, allow amplification
  loudspeakers to pick up string
  vibrations.switches can be single or combined,
  producing various sound effects. Stomp boxes /
  foot pedals allow live performances of effects