Samba Em Preludio (Esperanza Spalding) Flashcards
Key
B minor
Structure
Strophic - head arrangement based on main theme:
Intro - verse 1 - break - verse 2 - guitar solo - verse 3 - coda
16 bar sections
Guitar flourish at end - virtuosic
Harmony and Tonality
B minor
Conjunct - stepwise
Jazz harmony - not simple triads - extended, altered, substitution
Instrumentation
Female vocal
Acoustic bass guitar - virtuosic solo at start, double stops, mordants, glissando
Nylon-string acoustic guitar - chords + short melodies - has virtuosic solo
Time signature
4/4
Rhythm and tempo
Starts in free tempo - pulse pulled around freely
Tempo rubato - performer can pull back or speed up
Syncopated
Based on Bossa Nova rhythm
Bossa Nova rhythm
Dotted crotchet- quaver rhythm
(Like a salsa groove but doubled the lengths)
Heard in bass from bar 19
Melody
Syllabic - more focus on bass guitar while singing
Beginning - sings ascending broken chords
Stepwise - verse 2
Often sins highest notes (7ths) - bar 35, sings F of Gsharp dim7
Texture
Start is monophonic - is it really since double stopping (chords)
Overall MDH
Counterpoint between parts (voice and bass chords)
Bossa nova - polyphonic counterpoint - guitar + bass accompany melody
Sparse in places - creates intimate feel - just vocal and bass (fewer notes)
Verse 1
2 8-bar stanzas
Rising arpeggio (broken chord) - in triplets
First note of phrase descends by semitone - descending sequence
Move sin 3rds - occasional 7ths
Verse 2
2 16-bar stanzas
Stepwise
Ascending + descending sequences
Contrapuntal - voice + acoustic/bass
Duet
Vocals sing verse 2
Bass guitar plays verse 1 - doubled note values
Solo
Virtuosic - show off
Conjunct - small intervals
MDH - acoustic plays melody accompanied by bass
Trills, quintuplets, hammer ons, acciacaturas, extended chords
