You Can Get It If You Really Want

Question 1

Features of Ska - a precursor to Rocksteady.

Answer 1

🔹 Sub-genre of ska. 
🔹 Ska was it's precursor. 
🔺 Features of Ska:
🔹 Walking bass. 
🔹 Large brass band. 
🔹 Lively 4/4 tempo. 
🔹 Organ. 
🔹 Use of triplets. 
🔹 Skank - use of clipped back beat.

Question 2

Feature of Reggae - the predecessor to Rocksteady.

Answer 2

🔹 Staccato chords on piano + guitar on beats 2 + 4.
🔹 Swung rhythms - syncopation.
🔹 Call + response (Antiphony).
🔹 Lyrics focusing on Rastafarianism, love and socialising.

Question 3

Features of Rocksteady.

Answer 3

🔹 Instrumentation - Electric/rhythm guitars, lead/backing vocals, drums, horn section: trumpets, saxophones + trombone (smaller than ska), melodically, organ, electric bass. 
🔹 One drop (drum pattern) + back beats. 
🔹 Doo-wop.
🔹 Layered gospel like harmonies. 
🔹 4/4 with 4 bar phrases. 
🔹 Chordal scoops. 
🔹 Syncopation + swung rhythms. 
🔹 Simple chord progressions - I, IV, V. 
🔹 Brass solos, doubling octaves. 
🔹 Buzzy timbres. 
🔹 Afterbeats - constant accenting of offbeats using harmony from previous beats). 
🔹 Plucked bass ostinato.
🔹 Bass plays riffs in muted picking styles.

Question 4

Texture of YCGIIYRW.

Answer 4

🔹 Melody - dominated homophony.
🔹 Piece opens with single trumpet line in unison but switches to thirds.
🔹 Some monophony - which allows the positive nature of the words to come through - “You’ll succeed at last”.
🔹 Voices sing in rhythmic unison creating a homophonic unit.
🔹 The instrumental uses homorhythm (except drums) with all instruments playing the whole tone riff in unison before harmonising.

Question 5

Rhythm and Metre of YCGIIYRW.

Answer 5

🔹 Medium/slow tempo.
🔹 Syncopation used in melody and accompaniment - try and try.
🔹 Crochet triplets on word painting constantly try and threaten the quaver rhythms.
🔹 Drum fill - bar 17 - features triplet semi-quavers - typical of rocksteady and reggae.
🔹 Semi-quaver tambourine adds variety.
🔹 Bass on first beat - playing mainly tonic crochets - unlike reggae.
🔹 Strong 4/4 rhythm throughout - backbeats used in drum/drums/gtr 2.

Question 6

Melody of YCGIIYRW.

Answer 6

🔹 Mostly syllabic - some melisma - “try”.
🔹 Falsetto used at the ends of verses, last bar of chorus and in the fade out.
🔹 Mostly conjunct.
🔹 Most phrases are 2 bars long and begin on the second beat of the bar (except for but you must “try” - 4 bars long).
🔹 Uses a vocal hook on the words “you can get it if you really want” - to the notes F, E flat and D flat - dominates song - the end is varied when the hook is repeated, it sometimes ascends.
🔹 Sung to a pentatonic scale of D flat - the verse uses D flat, E flat and F - the second part of the chorus - “but you must try” adds the B flat and A flat.
🔹 Bar 22 is an exception because it uses a C.

Question 7

Tonality and harmony of YCGIIYRW.

Answer 7

🔹 D flat major throughout.
🔹 Intro uses semi-tone steps - C to D flat - an effect created uses barre chords on guitar.
🔹 Based on the 3 diatonic chords of D flat major - with the occasional use of the medians - F minor in the verse - bar 22.
🔹 Bars 22-24 - Fm,G flat, A flat, A flat7 - gives a chromatic feel - bass is also chromatic in anacrusis.
🔹 Verse - the harmonic rhythm increases - compared to chorus.
🔹 The chorus alternates between chords I + IV each bar but ends with a perfect cadence - V7, IV, V7, I - e.g. bars 11-14.
🔹 Instrumental uses unrelated chords of E major, D major and D major - that move in a passage of non-functional harmony. BASS + GTR2 + BRASS move in a DESCENDING WHOLE TONE SCALE - A flat, G flat, E, D, (B) - BAR 39 + 43 - (this section contrasts with and adds interest to previous diatonic material).

Question 8

Background on Dekker

Answer 8

🔹 Written by the actor Jimmy Cliff in 1948.
🔹 Desmond Dekker recorded it in 1970.
🔹 It became a massive hit in the UK and America, reaching no. 2 in the charts.

Question 9

Structure or YCGIIYRW.

Answer 9

🔹Intro bars 1-4.
🔹Chorus 1 bars 4 -14 (12 bars).
🔹Verse 1 bars 14-25 (9 bars).
🔹Chorus 2 bars 26-36.
🔹Verse 2 bars 14-25 (repeat in score).
🔹Chorus 3 bars 26-36.
🔹Middle 8/Instrumental bars 36-43 (last bar of chorus overlaps first bar of instrumental, this happens frequently).
🔹Verse 4 bars 44-53.
🔹Coda/fade bars 54-end (repetitions of main hook).
🔹Verse chorus structure with intro and middle 8.
🔹The normal structure is reversed, with the chorus appearing first, therefore placing emphasis on the chorus as it is sung 4 times.
🔹Structure is defined by the repetitions of the chorus without significant contrast.
🔹 The only significant contrast comes in the instrumental but even this section remains in D flat major.

Question 10

Stylistic features of YCGIIYRW.

Answer 10

🔹 Simple chord progressions (I,IV+V) - like Summertime and DLBIA.
🔹 Catchy title hooks sung, e.g. Bar 4. - like DLBIA.
🔹 Lyrics referencing political circumstances E.G. ‘Persecution you must fear’ - like DLBIA.
🔹 4/4 - like DLBIA + FMT.
🔹 Plucked bass ostinato - this bass part is anchored to the beat, therefore emphasising beat one and playing the tonic - provides colour and weight.
🔹 Instrumentation.
🔹 Brass section (trumpet, saxophone, trombone) which plays simple line heard later in parallel harmonies and also takes over the vocal hook - smaller than ska.
🔹 Drum fills at end of phrases - e.g. Bar 17.
🔹 Tambourine semi-quavers which adds excitement - like DLBIA.
🔹 Use of back beats in drums, guitar 2 and organ.
🔹 Close harmony in gospel like backing singers is influenced by American music from the 1950s.
🔹 Highly repetitive vocal lines with a small range of notes used.
🔹 Rhythm section - derived from ska - bass, drums, 2 elc gtrs, organ.