Musc 200 1st Edition Lecture 21 Outline of Last Lecture I. Early 60s Rocka. Surf Rockb. Girl GroupsII. Surf Rocka. 4 important thingsb. Soundi. Whammy barii. Rhythm Outline of Current Lecture II. Surf Rock continueda. Timbreb. Stomp Boxesc. Dick DaleIII. The Brill Building and Girl Groupsa. Phil Spectori. Wall of SoundCurrent LectureSurf Rock (continued)- Timbre = tone coloro Timbre is the features of sound that is not pitch, dynamics, or rhythm Think of the difference between the same note played on a trumpet and a guitar Clear vs raspy, bright vs dark, etc.- Vacuum tubes were originally used in amps and distortion occurred if the volume was cranked up really loud (mid-50s)- Early-60s: stomp boxes were introducedo Electronic device that was plugged in between the guitar and the ampThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.o Fuzz box: type of stomp box that used transistors for distortiono Transistors: smaller, more reliable, less fragile, and produced a different type of distortion than vacuum tubes did Vacuum tubes: warm, rich, full distortion at high volume Fuzz box: nasal, buzzing distortion without having to be super loudListening: “The 2000 Pound Bee (Parts 1 and 2)” by The Ventures- Perhaps the first recorded song to use a fuzz box- 12 bar blues in the surf rock style- 2 guitars are used – one clean, one with the distortionListening: “Latinia” by the Sentinals- Combines lush reverb with the whammy baro Plays chord, then whammies it while the reverb is occurringo Which causes the pitch to waver up and downo The lingering pitch clashes with the wavering pitcheso Slight variations of the same pitch reflecting against each other creates a full sound- ArpeggiosListening: “Paradise Cove” by the Surfmen- Saxophone at the beginning- Arpeggios- Whammied chords combined with reverb- Reverb creates a watery sound, making people think of surfingDick Dale- Defined surf rock as virtuoso guitar music- Often split the sound from his guitar into two amplifiers to have a huge sound- Often used the guitar technique known as tremolo picking- Impulsive instruments: play note and it fades away (guitar, piano, gong, etc.)- Drive instruments: if you keep feeding it energy, it keeps going (violin, voice, etc.)- Tremolo picking makes the guitar imitate a driven instrumento Continuously strike the string giving a constant flow of soundo Makes guitar sound more vocal and expressiveListening: “Miserlou” by Dick Dale and the Del-Tones- Dale’s most popular song- Early 60s groove throughout- Tremolo picking- Pick slides and left hand embellishments- Exoticism: use of musical techniques to draw images of foreign placesThe Brill Building and the Girl Groups- Early 60s: explosion of groups with 3-4 females singerso Represents return of women to pop charts, in particular African American women- Many girl groups were produced by those who worked in the Brill Building in NYC- In the early 60s, a group of songwriters clustered together in the Brill Building and began to write songs that combined elements of R&B with elements of popo Independent producers dominated the production process Not all independent producers were songwriters, but they still managed and worked with the songwriters The producer was the creative forceo Wrote music connected to TPA Traditional song crafting People hired specifically to write songs More towards the pop direction with strings, reeds, and other pop ideas- Carole King: started out as a Brill Building songwriter and later started her own singing career- Girl groups were not the only thing produced at the Brill Building, but they were the main ones- Girl Group Sound: 3 or 4 vocalists (1 lead, 2-3 backing), instruments: piano, bass, drums, guitar, maybe strings, reeds, basso Girl groups had no guitar solos or boogie woogie bass lineso Had strong, but not aggressive, danceable grooveo Vocalists had the loudest part Some R&B elements (a few blue notes and a little melisma every now and then) More pop influences than R&Bo Rhythm section existed to keep things interesting but didn’t serve a huge parto Hooky and simple chord progressions- Lyrics spoke to teenage women at this time and the gender stereotypes and expectations they faced- Some consider these girl groups as doo wop with instruments, but that’s not accurateo If you removed the instruments from girl groups, they wouldn’t have the same sound. It would be emptier because the background vocals weren’t as elaborate as doo wop.Listening: “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” by The Shirelles- Written by Carole King and her husband Gerry Goffin- Produced by Luther Dickson- This song is one of the best illustrations of the girl group sound- Has 60s grooveo Given by guitar, piano, bass, and drumso Not aggressive- Compared to R&B, this isn’t as ornamented or embellished- String section steers it in the pop direction- Backing vocals not as elaborate as doo wop harmonieso Plaintive and straightforward- Lyrics explore the issue of the gendered paradox of men having sex vs women having sexListening: “The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s in His Kiss)” by Betty Everett- Instrumentation includes bass, strings, and percussion- More elaborate and developed than the last song- Vocals closer to the R&B style- Call and response styleo Backup vocals have callo Lead vocal has responseo Represents social relationship between groups of friends, they’re talking back and forth with each otherPhil Spector- Very successful, became a millionaire before he was 21o Long career that continued into the early 2000s o 2009 – convicted of murder- Worked in the Brill Building as an independent producero Before that he was an assistant to Leiber and Stoller- Micromanaged everything- Wall of Soundo Giant, thick, dense, full effecto Used lots of instruments to fill the entire frequency rangeo Used double, triple, even quadruple trackingo Lots of reverbo Would record the sound of an instrument along with the natural reverb of the room and then play that again and record it again to get a fuller sound- Worked with the Beatles and the RamonesListening: “Da Doo Ron Ron” by the Crystals- Girl group song produced by Phil Spector - Wall of Sound: bass has a consistent flow of pitches, baritone saxophone, repeated piano, hand claps, reeds, back vocals, drumso Every instrument is continually