Review Lecture for EXAM Flashcards
Verse form is also known as
ballad form
Verse form is
a series of sections that share the same music but diff lyrics
often tells a story in a narrative fashion
EXAMPLEs of Verse form
Barbara Allen (Jean Ritchie)
“Heartbreak Hotel” (Elvis Presley)
“Purple Haze” (jimi Hendrix)
“I Wanna Be Sedated” (The Ramones)
“Paranoid” (Black Sabbath)
Verse-Chorus form is
Two sections alternating
in one section (verse) the lyrics change
in the other section (chorus) the lyrics stay the same
the chorus features the title phrase and the most memorable parts of the song
Examples of verse-chorus form
“Long Tall Sally” Little Richard
“What about Us” (the Coasters)
“My Girl” (The Temptations”
“Be My Baby” (the Ronnets)
“ Eleanor Rigby” (The BEatles)
“It’s Too Late” ( Carole King)
“ End of the Road” (Boyz II Men)
“Anti Hero” (taylor swift)
AABA form also known as
standard popular song form, verse-refrain
What is AABA form
popularized by song pluggers working on Tin Pan Alley and Broadway
the form starts with introductory sections called verses
followed by the main part of the song called: the refrain or chorus
A section features the title phrase and the most memorable music
B section may be referred to as a bridge
it can be expanded : AABA BA and AABA AABA
Examples of AABA form
“Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair” (Stephan Foster)
“I got Rhythm” (Ethel Merman)
“ Hey Good Looking” (Hank WIlliams)
“Nancy” (Frank Sinatra)
“Sh-Boom” ( The Chords)
“Blueberry Hill” (Fats Domino)
“Please Please Me” (The Beatles)
Compound AABA form
In this form, at least 1 of the sections subdivides into subsections that follow another form like verse or verse-chorus form
Examples of Compound AABA form
“Like a Virgin” (Madonna)
“Love Story” (Taylor Swift)
Ternary song form
3 main sections: ABA
1st and 3rd sections are the same or virtually the same
middle section provides contrast
Example of Ternary song form
“War Pigs” (Black Sabbath)
Compound Ternary song form
at least 1 of the 3 main sections subdivides into subsections that follow another form like verse or verse-chorus form
Example of Compound Ternary song form
“A Day in the Life” The beatles
other song forms
composers sometimes experiment with other forms
in popular music , songs usually end with an A or chorus
less common to end a song with a contrasting section
Examples of other song forms
AABC: “St. Louis Blues” Bessie Smith
ABAB: “NAture BOy” (Nat King Cole)
AB: “One” (Metallica)
Through-composed song form
If a song or song section is composed freely and does not follow a form with with sections and repetitions, then it is through-composed; rare in popular music
Example of Through-composed song form
B section of “One” Metallica
If choruses and refrains are synonym, then is verse-chorus form the same as verse-refrain form?
no , these names refer to 2 different song forms
what is a songplugger
But earlier than the 1920s, music would be transmitted across the country in terms of its written form (sheet music) and played on the piano
People who worked in buildings like Tin Pan Alley, in firms like T.B. Harms and Witmark and sons, they were called songpluggers
What is virtuosity
great skill in music or another artistic pursuit
used particularly to describe musicians, but also often for writers, actors, dancers, and athletes.
What is virtuoso
an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as fine arts, music, singing, playing a musical instrument, or composition.
highly skilled performer, and a virtuoso performance is one that astonishes the audience by its feats.
What is doo-wop
a style of pop music marked by the use of close harmony vocals
using nonsense phrases
emphasizes roots in gosepl music and so these singers would have grown up in the christian tradition possibly in the south but in the north too
Examples of Doo-wop
The Chords and “Sh-boom”
When were Broadsides (ballads) used
between 1600s-1800s
Pianos emerged and were popular between
1850s and 1920s
Sheet music era
1950s-1920s
Phonographs and gramophone records started in
1880s to the 1940s
The Radio started being used for music in
the early 1920s in Louisiana Hayride, Grand Ole Opry
When were movies used for music artists to spread their work
the late 1920s
Vinyl records were popular starting
1940s through the 1980s
When did TV start being used for music to be spread and on what shows
the 1950s on the Ed Sullivan show, American Bandstand
in the 1980s through MTV
in the 2000s through American Idol
When did Cassette tapes become popular
(ghettoblaster and walkman) the 1980s
when were VHS tapes popular
1980s
When did Compact discs become popular
in the 1990s
Blue-ray discs emerged around
1990s
What platforms were used to spread music and when
Napster 1990s
Youtube and Spotify in 2000s
TikTok in 2010s
When did digital singles and albums become popular
2000s
when were smart phones and other devices used to listen to music
2000s
What are examples of MALE SOLOISTS who performed EARLY TRACKS
“Coo Coo,” Dink Roberts
“Stagolee,” Mississippi John Hurt;
“La Cumparista,” Carlos Gardel;
“Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair,” Stephen Foster;
“Nancy (With the Laughing Face),” Frank Sinatra;
“Nature Boy,” Nat “King” Cole
What are examples of MALE SOLOISTS Who performed COUNTRY songs
Soldier’s Joy,” Gid Tanner and the Skillet Lickers;
“Hey, Good Lookin’,” Hank Williams;
“It’s Mighty Dark to Travel,” Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
What are examples of MALE SOLOISTS who performed RHYTHM AND BLUES tracks
“That Black Snake Moan,” Blind Lemon Jefferson;
“Choo Choo Ch’ Boogie,” Louis Jordan’s Tympany Five;
“Hoochie Coochie Man,” Muddy Waters; “Shake, Rattle, and Roll,” Big Joe Turner
What are examples of MALE SOLOISTS who performed ROCK N ROLL tracks
“Memphis,” Chuck Berry; “Long Tall Sally,” Little Richard;
“Blueberry Hill,” Fats Domino;
“Don’t Be Cruel,” Elvis Presley;
“Blowin’ in the Wind” Bob Dylan
Example of male soloist who performed FOLK music
“Like a Rolling Stone” Bob dylan
MALE SOLOIST who performed psychedelia
“Purple Haze” Jimi hendrix
MALE SOLOISTS who performed pop music
“Superstition” Stevie Wonder;
“What’s Going On,”Marvin Gaye;
“Billie Jean,” Michael Jackson; “1999,”
Prince
MALE SOLOIST performing REGGAE
“I SHot the Sherrif” Bob Marley
MALE SOLOISTS that performed RAP
“Rapper’s Delight,” Sugar Hill Gang;
“The Message,” Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five;
“Night of the Living Baseheads,” Public Enemy
MALE SOLOIST that performed INDUSTRIAL METAL
“Hurt” Nine Inch Nails
FEMALE SOLOIST sang a ballad and sang a cappella
“Barbara Allen” Jean Ritchie
Female soloist focused on Piano
After the Ball” Charles K. Harris
Female soloist focused on a big band sound
” I Got Rythm” Ethel Merman
Female soloist cornet and reed organ
Bessie Smith St. Louis Blues
Female soloist (harmonica) important
“HOund DOg” Big Mama Thorton
Female soloist with music focusing on Tambourine, handclaps and backup vocals
Aretha Franklin “RESPECT”
female soloist with song focusing on saxophone
“It’s Too Late” Carole King
