AFRICA🎸🌧🏔 Flashcards
What style is Africa?
Soft-rock love song with elements of African music
Who wrote Africa
David Paich
Jeff Porcaro
When was Africa recorded
1981
When was Africa released
1982
What is the instrumentation in Africa
Rock band : drum kit, additional percussion, lead + bass guitar, synths, male lead vocals, backing male vocals
Tempo of Africa
Allegro moderato
Dynamics of Africa
Chorus is forte
Everything else is mezzo-forte
Describe Harmony in Africa
Diatonic
Describe Melody + pitch in Africa
Mostly conjunct
Occasional use of pentatonic scales
Vocal pitch range is less than 2 octaves
Rhythm in Africa
Ostinato rhythms, totally quavers
Constant use of syncopation
Time signature of Africa
2/2 (split common)
Texture of Africa
Homophonic
How many bars are in the intro of Africa?
4
In Africa what is the key of the intro?
C# minor
Intro chords in Africa
A, G#m, C#m
What makes up the intro? (2…) (Africa)
2 riffs
Describe riff a (Africa)
Syncopated and on beat rhythms
Repeating chord A (root position)
Concluding with chords G#m and then C#m
Describe riff b (Africa)
An ostinato pattern of 5 quavers
Uses B major pentatonic scale
Parallel 4ths
Where does riff a appear? (Africa)
In every section except the chorus
Where else (besides the intro) is riff b heard/ used? (Africa)
The instrumental develops riff b
How many bars is verse 1? (Africa)
35 bars
What key is verse 1 in? (Africa)
B major
How many phrases make up verse 1? (Africa)
4
How many bars are in each phrase in verse 1? (Africa)
1 = 9 bars
2= 9 bars
3= 9 bars
4= 8 bars
Harmonic rhythm of verse 1? (Africa)
1 chord per bar
Chord progression of verse 1, including the riff at the end? (Africa)
B
D#m
G#m
B/F#
A/E
E/F#
G#m
Riff a ( A, G#m, C#m)
How many bars are in chorus 1? (Africa)
18 bars
What key is the chorus in? (Africa)
A major
How many phrases are in chorus 1? (Africa)
4
How many bars are in each phrase in the chorus 1? (Africa)
1 = 4 bars
2 = 4 bars
3 = 4 bars
4 = 6 bars
Which / how many vocals sing phrase 1 in chorus 1? (Africa)
1 male solo
Which/ how many vocals sing phrase 2 of chorus 1? (Africa)
2 male vocals
Chords of the chorus ? (Africa)
F#m
D
A
E
Chord progression of the last phrase of the chorus 1? (Africa)
F#m
D
A
C#m
E
F#m / E/G#
How many bars long is link 1? (Africa)
8
Key of link 1? (Africa)
A major
When is link 1 played? (Africa)
Riff a + b played between chorus 1 and verse 2
How many bars are in verse 2? (Africa)
26 bars
How many phrases does verse 2 have ? and number of bars in each phrase? (Africa)
3 phrases:
1 = 9 bars
2 = 9 bars
3 = 8 bars
Differences between verse 1 and 2? (Africa)
Verse 2 has a counter melody / descant played on a flute - like instrument (recorder)
Verse 2 is 9 bars ( 1 phrase ) shorter than verse 1
More backing vocals than in verse 1
How many bars are in chorus 2? (Africa)
18 bars
Is chorus 2 different from chorus 1? (Africa)
NO
Link 2 is the same as …? (Africa)
Link 1
How long is the instrumental? (Africa)
17 bars
Chord progression of the instrumental? (Africa)
Same as verse chords
B
D#m
G#m
B / F#
A / E
E
F#
G#m
A
G#m
C#m
Describe the melody of the instrumental? (Africa)
Based on riff b
The instrumental is the shorter version of…? (Africa)
The verses
Describe the melody in the first 4 bars of the 9 bar phrase in the instrumental! (Africa)
A descending melody
B major pentatonic scale
Ending with a triplet
Describe the melody in the last 5 bars of the 9 bar phrase in the instrumental! (Africa)
An ascending + descending melody
E major scale
More rhythmic variety
Describe the melody in the first 3 bars of the 8 bar phrase in the instrumental! (Africa)
An ascending melody
B major pentatonic scale
Ends with the use of grace notes and syncopation
Which 2 pitches mainly make up the chorus melody? (Africa)
A
G#
How is the 2nd phrase of the chorus melody sung? (Africa)
2 part harmony
The final phrase of the chorus changes the harmony slightly in order to prepare for a return to the tonic of B major. What is this final chord progression for the final 6 bars of the chorus? (Africa)
F#m
D
A
C#m
E
F#m
E / G#
Which instrument has a new riff in the final chorus? (Africa)
Electric guitar
What scale is the opening of the instrumental me, lady written in? (Africa)
B major pentatonic
What are the lyrics heard at the end of the instrumental? (Africa)
‘Hurry boys she’s waiting there for you’
Which section uses mainly primary triads? (Africa)
The chorus
What is the tonic key of the peice? (Africa)
B major
What cadence is heard at the end of riff a? (Africa)
Perfect
Which section features triplet rhythms? (Africa)
The instrumental
What key does the work open in? (Africa)
C # minor
In verse 2 a counter melody is played , what instrument plays it? (Africa)
Recorder
The opening line of the chorus has how many singers? (Africa)
1
How many singers does the second line of the chorus have? (Africa)
2
What chord is heard in the 2nd bar in the verse? (Africa)
iii
What is a riff? (Africa)
A short repeated phrase or motif of music
What plays the riffs in the introduction? (Africa)
Synth
Which instruments play riff a? (Africa)
Bass guitar, marimba, synth
Describe the melody in verse 1 (Africa)
Mainly conjunct
Syncopated
Describe the vocals in verse 1 (Africa)
Mostly Syllabic
Melismas at the end of phrases 1-3
Range of an octave (b-b)
Which instrument plays the counter melody in verse 2?
Recorder