Exam 4 Flashcards
Song: Money (That’s What I Want)*
Artist: Barrett Strong
Genera: Motown
Ø Begins with piano
Ø Tambourine enters next
Ø Baritone saxophone, drums and bass guitar enter next
Ø Stop time employed when lead vocals enter – shouting vocal style accompanied only by drums and instrumental shots
Ø Backup vocals enter at the title lyrics
Ø Lyrics speak of material needs
Song: My Girl*
Artist: The Temptations
Genre: Motown
Ø Starts with a bass riff – guitar riff enters over this
Ø Finger snaps emphasize backbeat
Ø Light drums come in with solo vocals – soft backup vocals
Ø At the chorus, trumpets and strings enter; backup vocals become more active
Ø Strings are the featured solo instrument
Ø Lyrics- about a girl
Song: Baby Love (FORMAL ANALYSIS)
Artist: The Supremes
Genera: Motown
Ø Instrumentation includes vibes, drums, and piano
Ø Stomping boards emphasize each beat though there is a fairly strong backbeat
Ø Clear lead vocals with light harmonizing backup vocals enter
Ø Guitar is added in the second verse; backup vocals add call and response
Ø In the third verse, saxes enter (alto and bari) and take a solo – adds variety to this simple verse form in 4/4 time signature
Song: Stop! In the Name of Love*
Artist: The Supremes
Genera: Motown
Ø Begins with an instrumental smear which leads to an explosion of instrumentation and vocals
Ø Instrumentation includes Hammond organ, bari sax, drums, trumpets, bass, vibes…….
Ø Song begins with the chorus – a mixture of harmonized and solo vocals sing this
Ø Melodic vocals sing over the instrumentation – backup vocals interject
Ø Lyrics are love based
What group had “stomping boards” beat within music
The Supremes
Song: I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)*
Artist: The Four Tops
Genera: Motown
Ø Starts with a piano riff, bass and drums
Ø Tambourine emphasizes backbeat; sax joins piano on riff; strings enter briefly
Ø Solo vocals – harmonized backup vocals enter intermittently to emphasize soloist’s lyrics
Ø lyrics are love based
Song: Heat Wave*
Martha and the Vandellas
Genera: Motown
Ø Begins with piano, organ, drums – shuffle beat in 12/8 time
Ø Saxophones enter; bari sax introduces a riff that will permeate the piece;
Ø Tambourine enters emphasizing every beat
Ø Semi-shouting, emotive lead vocals – backup vocals provide a call and response
Ø Backup vocals join lead vocals on the title lyrics
Ø Lyrics are vaguely sexually suggestive
Song: Uptight (Everything’s Alright)*
Artist: Stevie Wonder
Genera: Motown
Ø Starts with funky bass riff and drums emphasizing every beat
Ø Guitar joins bass on the riff
Ø Brass and saxophones enter
Ø Wonder’s vocals enter – guitar emphasizes the backbeat with chords
Ø Harmonized backup vocals intermittently enter
Ø Lyrics about a relationship (poor boy/rich girl)
who was Jerry Wexler
an important producer for Atlantic, became instrumental in developing southern soul throughout the decade
Southern soul became associated with what was called “the Stax Sound”. The style that can be described by the following:
o extensive use of horns
o more emotional vocal style
o delayed backbeat
o no backup vocals (main focus on lead singer)
o vocals seem spontaneous and at times improvised
Song: (Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay*
Artist: Otis Redding
Genera: Atlantic and Stax (Southern Soul)
Ø Begins with guitar and surf noises
Ø Vocals, drums and piano enter – strong backbeat
Ø More melodic vocal style, but still very emotive
Ø Electric guitar enters at chorus; surf noises return
Ø Sax and brass enter at the second verse playing a riff in the background – they drop out at the chorus
Ø Lyrics are contemplative about a relationship
Song: In the Midnight Hour*
Artist: Wilson Pickett
Genera: Atlantic and Stax (Southern Soul)
Ø Begins with a 4 measure intro of horns
Ø Piano, horns, bass and electric guitars fall into a repetitive two-bar vamp
Ø Sax, rhythm guitar and snare drum lock into the backbeat – it is slightly delayed
Ø Semi-shouting lead vocals – seems somewhat improvised and spontaneous
Ø Lyrics are sexually suggestive
Song: Soul Man*
Artist: Sam and Dave
Genre: Atlantic and Stax (Southern Soul)
Ø Begins with a guitar riff accompanied by piano and hi-hat
Ø Drums and horns enter
Ø Semi-shouting vocals enter accompanied by instrumental riff – horns plays shots
Ø Tambourine enters at the chorus; vocals become harmonized – chorus is characterized by a returning horn riff
Ø Lyrics are sexually suggestive
Song: I Never Loved a Man (the Way That I Love You)*
Artist: Aretha Franklin
Genre: Atlantic and Stax (Southern Soul)
Ø Starts with electric piano (organ-like sound) riff and drums; bass joins in
Ø Vocals enter – semi-shouting, emotional style
Ø Piano and brass enters – the texture becomes more dense
Ø Instruments stop – harmonized vocals enter a cappella
Ø Lyrics about love and devotion
Song: Respect*
Artist: Aretha Franklin
Genre: Atlantic and Stax (Southern Soul)
Ø Starts with brass, sax, drums and “funky” guitar; tambourine emphasizes every beat
Ø Harmonized backup vocals enter – semi-shouting lead vocals enter
Ø Vocals are accompanied by organ, tambourine, drums and bass
Ø Alto sax solos over brass, tambourine, drums and bass
Ø Lyrics are about demanding and expecting respect
Song: Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag, Pt. I (FORMAL ANALYSIS)
Artist: James Brown
Genre: Atlantic and Stax (Southern Soul)
Ø Starts with brass and shouting vocal style
Ø Brass and sax fall into a riff
Ø Walking bass and drums; guitar emphasizes the backbeat with choppy chords
Ø Rapid guitar chords signal the division of sections in the song
Ø The lyrics pay homage to the dance craze of the early 60s
Ø modified simple verse in 4/4 time signature
Song: Say it Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud*
Artist: James Brown
Genra: Genre: Atlantic and Stax (Southern Soul)
Ø Starts with vocal interjections and drums
Ø Brass and sax enter with a riff; bass joins in
Ø Children’s choir in call and response with Brown
Ø More of speaking style – the roots of rap?
Ø Very simple song, but very funky in its rhythm – polyrhythmic rather than melodic
Ø lyrics about black pride
Song: Good Vibrations (FORMAL ANALYSIS)
Artist: Beach boys
Genera: American rock/psychedelia
Ø Starts with a clear A-B-A-B form – it then proceeds through three different sections (C-D-E), the last of which is reminiscent of the B section
Ø A Section
o Solo vocals (use of falsetto)
o Accompanied by bass and Hammond organ
o Drums and tambourine enter
o Triple division of beat on snare leads to the B section
Ø B Section
o Theremin enters
o Solo vocals to begin; backup vocals enter singing a mixture of nonsense syllables and lyrics – backup vocals use falsetto
Ø A and B section are repeated
Ø C Section (1:53)
o Beat changes – this in an instrumental section with backup vocals
o Includes tack piano, Jews harp, harmonica, bass, tambourine, sleigh bells and organ
Ø D Section (2:15)
o Begins with organ and tambourine
o Bass and percussion join in
o Bass voice enters first; joined by falsetto voice
o Organ plays a theme – vocal “ahs” lead into the last section
Ø E Section (2:56)
o Beginning is reminiscent of the B Section
o Characterized by a polyphonic texture
o Maracas and bass come in and are joined by cello, drums and tambourine
o Theremin solo ends the piece
Song: Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds*
Artist: The Beatles
Genera: British Rock/psychedelia
Ø This is the epitome of a musical rendition of an acid trip
Ø Has two distinct sections
Ø A section
o Starts in triple time
o Characterized by a guitar ostinato (riff)
o Instrumentation includes bass, guitar and drums with a shuffle beat
o Dreamy vocal style
Ø B section
o Introduced with four strong drum beats
o Moves to quadruple time – more of a rock ‘n’ roll sound
o Strong backbeat; Hammond organ; guitars and walking bass
o More of semi-shouting vocal style – narrator describing the tripper
Song: A Day in the Life (FORMAL ANALYSIS)
Artist: the Beatles
Genera: British Rock/psychedelia
Ø Segues in from a reprise of the title track – includes crowd noises – strong backbeat, electric guitar and bass – harmonized vocals sing the chorus
Ø Song is in compound ABA, also known as ternary form – A transition B transition A coda
4/4 time signature
Ø A section
o Begins with acoustic guitar – piano and walking bass enter
o Maracas enter with solo vocals
o John sings of occurrences in an everyday life – reading the newspaper; going to movies
o Drums enter in the second verse; become more active as the song progresses
o Lyrics “I’d love to turn you on” (reference to drug use?) signals the transition
Ø Transition (1:41)
o A 40-piece orchestra whirlwind - overdubbed four times so that it sounds like a 160-piece orchestra
o Leads to B section – characterized by a much sparser texture
Ø B section (2:16)
o Orchestra drops out leaving piano, bass and drums playing a very insistent, steady beat
o Alarm clock sounds
o Paul sings – describes a typical morning in a day in the life
o Accompaniment is more typical of a jazz combo than a rock ‘n’ roll band
o Lyrics “Somebody spoke and I went into a dream” signals the transition
Ø Transition (2:49)
o Vocal aahing with strings – strings become more and more prevalent, eventually taking over the melody
o String “fanfare” leads into the repetition of the A section
Ø A section (3:18)
o Returns to the previous instrumentation of piano, walking bass, drums, maracas and guitar
o Section is truncated – there is only one verse this time
o Vocals speak of a newspaper article – the topic material is rather irrelevant and meaningless – so what is the point?
o Lyrics “I’d love to turn you on” signals the coda
Ø Coda (3:46)
o Orchestral whirlwind once again builds up
o It abruptly stops and a piano chord is struck and held for approximately 40 seconds
Song: Revolution #9*
Artists: The Beatles
Genera: British Rock/psychedelic
Ø Starts with a piano solo
Ø Vocals enter repeating the words “Number Nine” – this will be said nine times throughout the course of the song
Ø Tape looping begins – spliced bits of tape with backward masking put together and played over and over again
Ø Also includes an orchestral warm-up and chord from Sibelius’ Seventh Symphony that had been spliced in and repeated
