Samba em preludio

Question 1

Context

Answer 1

• Bossa nova
• Mix of Brazilian Samba and Jazz
• Features of Samba:
• Polyrhythmic (more than one rhythm at once)
• Syncopation
• Use of acoustic guitars
• Features of Jazz
• Extended and altered chords such as Bm11 and Cmaj7b9.
• Improvisation
• Use of blue notes
• Jazz-style chord sequences

Question 2

Texture

Answer 2

• Intro is monophonic, apart from double-stopping (two notes at once).
• Rest is melody and accompaniment
• Last section is Polyphonic as both Verse 1 and Verse 2 melodies are present.

Question 3

Tonality

Answer 3

• It is in B minor
• This is typical of Bossa Novas which tend to be minor
• Despite the complexity of the music, it does not modulate.

Question 4

Structure

Answer 4

• B1 – Intro
• B4 – Verse 1 (A)
• B19 – Link
• B23 – Verse 2 (B)
• B55 – Guitar Solo
• B89 – Verse 3 (A&B) Voice and Bass duet (Bass plays Verse 1, Vocal sings Verse 2)
• D.S. – Repeat of second half of Verse 2 with riff ending (coda).

Question 5

Rhythm

Answer 5

• Frequent syncopation – Jazz and Samba feature
• Use of bossa nova rhythm (dotted pattern).
• Longer note values in Verse 2 (B) because the tempo feels twice as fast
• Use of triplets.
• Some metrical displacement of the melody between Verse 2 and the ‘duet’ later in the piece – Verse 2 is highly syncopated whereas the duet is more on the beat.

Question 6

Metre/tempo/dynamics

Answer 6

Metre-
* Written in 4/4
* Some bars in 5/4 and 6/4 during free tempo sections but these do not feel like longer bars as they are used purely to extend phrases where there is no set pulse
* Clear sense of 4/4 or 2/2 during Bossa Nova section.

Tempo-
* Free tempo at the start during the ‘prelude’
* Fixed tempo at moderate speed during the Bossa Nova section.
* Free tempo in the last few bars.

Question 7

Instrumentation

Answer 7

• Vocal:
• Female – low register
• Acoustic Guitar:
• Has an improvised solo (Jazz feature)
• Sometimes plays chords and small melodic passages
• Acoustic Bass Guitar:
• Virtuosic
• Includes double-stops, rapid passages, mordents and harmonics.

Question 8

Melody

Answer 8

• Verse 1:
• 8-bar idea
• Features arpeggio (broken chord)
• First note of each phrase descends by a semitone or tone – long downward sequence.
• Very low for female range (low E)
• Disjunct – intervals of 3rd and 7th feature
• syllabic
• Each phrase spans a 7th
• On repeat, melody is developed by changing rhythm.
• Jazzy flattened 5th in b18
• Verse 2:
• Longer note values than verse 1, but tempo has increased so this is deceptive.
• 16 bar idea (rather than the 8 of verse 1)
• Melody is almost entirely conjunct
• B23-26 and b31-34 are sequential but a 4th higher
• B34-35 repeats flattened 5th idea from verse 1
• Bossa Novas tend to have descending melody lines

Question 9

Harmony

Answer 9

• Essentially tonal because most chords are based around I, II, IV and V
• Uses Jazz/American Song influences – complex chord sequences
• Frequent chord extensions and alterations such as Bm11 and C#7(b9)
• Diminished 5ths and flattened 5ths
• Chromatic chord sequences
• No traditional cadences, but each section lands on V or I
• Sometimes there is chromatic movement in the bassline