Listening Test: Track Listings

Question 1

“I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man”

Muddy Waters

Answer 1

Era: 1954
Genre: Urban blues
Characteristics:
- Instrumentation: Amplified guitar, amplified harmonica, bass, drums
- Texture: homophony, stoptimeused in verse; chorus much fuller texture
- Form: 16-bar blues –8-bar verse and 8-bar chorus
- Lyrics: tradition of “toasting”; supernatural imagery: black cat bone, mojo, John the Conqueror root –west African roots

Question 2

“Mystery Train”

Elvis Presley

Answer 2

Era: 1955
Genre: Early Rock n Roll
Characteristics: (Compared to Junior Parker 1953 version)
- Instrumentation: electric guitar, bass, slap bass, acoustic guitar
- Form: 12 bar blues, some extra beats
- Texture: Homophonic, thinner
- Lyrics: optimistic “it never will again”
- Time: crisper rhythm, Faster tempo

Question 3

“Maybellene”

Chuck Berry

Answer 3

Era: 1955
Genre: Rock n Roll
Characteristics:
- Instrumentation: electric guitar, drums, male vocal, bass, maracas
- Form: verse-chorus (verse 12 bars, in tonic: chorus 12 bar blues)
- Rhythm: bass line very regular and square: country influenced bass on 1 and 3, snare drum on 3 and 4
- Vocals: clearly enunciated (intentionally appeal to mainstream audience)

Question 4

“Eleanor Rigby”

The Beatles

Answer 4

Era: 1966
Genre: British Invasion
Characteristics:
- Instrumentation: string ensemble, male vocals
- Form: simple verse-chorus, but phrase lengths are asymmetrical
- Tonally: only two chords, minor chord is tonic
- Vocals harmonize in b chorus
- Texture: staccato playing of strings leaves a lot of silence
- Production: stereo effects: vocals on one side except for chorus
- Lyrics: quite stark “all the lonely people” recalls folk ballad telling a story

Question 5

“Respect”

Aretha Franklin

Answer 5

Era: 1967
Genre: Soul
Characteristics:
- Instrumentation: horns, electric guitar, drums, organ, piano, solo female vocals, backing vocals
- Form: strophic, with variations to build intensity (short instrumental B-section)
- Texture: homophony, call and response with main and background vocals
- Context: a cover of an Otis Redding song, which takes on a feminist message

Question 6

“Anarchy in the UK”

Sex Pistols

Answer 6

Era: 1976
Genre: Punk
Characteristics:
- Voices: electric guitar(s), bass, drums, male vocal, some harmony in chorus
- Texture: homophony, multiple guitar and drum layers
- Form: Verse-chorus
- Timbre: heavily distorted, fuzzy guitar sound, feedback, vocals are shouted
- Lyrics: angry, political

Question 7

“Give Up the Funk”

Parliament-Funkadelic

Answer 7

Era: 1976
Genre: Funk
Characteristics:
- Instrumentation: bass, drums, horns, synthesizers, multiple male and female vocalists
- Texture: mostly homophonic, polyphonic briefly in extended B; varies slightly in thickness in each section
- Form: ABC, ABC, A[extended B]C•Lyrics: A,B, and C each have a short, repeated line of text which double as rhythmic pattern

Question 8

“Beat It”

Michael Jackson

Answer 8

Era: 1982
Genre: Mainstream 80s pop
Characteristics:
- Form: verse-chorus (AA-B)
- Voices: electric guitar, synthesizer, drum machines, male vocal (several layers of MJ‟s voice)
- Rhythm: interlocking rhythmic patterns –including guitar line used repetitively as a rhythmic pattern
- Timbre: “crunchy‟ heavy metal guitar, mirrored in MJ‟s main vocals

Question 9

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana

Answer 9

Era: 1991
Genre: Grunge
Characteristics:
- Voices: electric guitar, drums, bass, male vocals
- Texture: thickens and thins
- Timbre: grungy
- Form: intro (verse (a-b); chorus; int) times 3

Question 10

“U.N.I.T.Y”

Queen Latifah

Answer 10

Era: 1994
Genre: 90 hip hop
Characteristics:
- Voices: saxophone, female voice, drums,
- Texture: homophonic
- Form:
- Lyrics: “U.N.I.T.Y” instead of “unity” recalls Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” lyrics
- Time: rythm track starts and stops for emphasis