MUSC 200 Lecture 4 Outline of Last Lecture I Went over musical features of I m Old Fashioned Fred Astaire and Come Along My Mandy Nora Bayes Jack Norworth Outline of Current Lecture II TPA Pop Music Features III Musical Features of I m Old Fashioned IV Blues a Social Context b Musical Predecessors c Musical Terms d Musical Features e 12 Bar Blues Form Current Lecture Tin Pan Alley Pop of 1930 s o Illustrated by Fred Astaire s I m Old Fashioned o 1st chorus sung 2nd chorus has the same melody 3 4 instrumental o Melodic contour the way a melody rises falls important feature in I m Old Fashioned o Melody melodic contour are important features of TPA pop music o Melody chorus of I m Old Fashioned have arcing contours in both individual verses throughout the whole song Start w a relatively high note fall deeper high low pitch the overall shape of the arc is higher and higher as the song progresses 4 phrases continuous arc nd o 2 melody is instrumental it is easier to hear the arcs in this portion of the song The arcs rise fall throughout the song 2nd phrase is a higher pitch 3rd phrase has the most high arcs o Small outro at the end of the song then it s over o Play on words I m Old Fashioned is actually about sophistication o TPA pop lyrics offer a sentimental romantic theme common features of TPA pop that are present in I m Old Fashioned o Lots of wordplay urbane style internal rhyme within each line alliteration dramatic images personification o Additional Song Features o Vocal style crooning Tone quality is crooning soft smooth o Accompaniment Large orchestra Bass snare drums are at the same light dynamic level Rhythmic danceable tune Lush sound with strings reeds behind vocals large ensemble Light lilting Strings emphasizing 3rd phrase o Song evokes an image of a modern white wealthy romantic sophistication No sexual component Musical features of songs are CHOSEN carefully specifically to evoke a particular image mood o A Fine Romance another Fred Astaire song Style 1930 s TPA Clever word play cold as yesterday s mashed potatoes Slightly more assertive than I m Old Fashioned Doesn t hold a candle to assertive rock roll Blues o Blues tradition goes back to the turn of the century most influential form of music for rock roll o Social Context of the Blues o Blues emerged at the turn of the century o Blues singers were usually African American men o Large numbers of freed slaves family did not settle in the South for awhile most moved to New York Detroit Chicago etc in the Great Migration for economic opportunities o Most African Americans lived in rural areas workers Worked as sharecroppers high rent stuck as sharecropper indentured workers Boom bust cycles caused economic distress for African Americans Lived in real poverty o Small African American middle class Minority of African Americans who did not live in poverty o Regardless of class racism segregation were issues 1896 Plessy v Ferguson separate but equal Not equal at all 2nd class status prevailed Legal extralegal i e lynching activities to enforce African American inferiority create an overall climate of terror o TPA ignored excluded African American artists music Racial hierarchy enforced Some African Americans employed in Vaudeville o Musical Predecessors to the Blues o West Africa many former slaves came from West Africa Retained their musical integrity Call response 2 segments to an ensemble Rhythmic complexity improve buzz filled tambours were present in these songs Pre Civil War many slaves were made to sing white music for their owners West Africans became familiar w white music in addition to their native music Spirituals fundamental form of music pre Civil War Work songs as a way of deriving contentment from oppression on plantations Rag time gained popularity in African American community o Musical Terms o Scale a group of notes Notes referred to by number 1st 1 2nd 2 etc 2nd group of notes 2nd octave 1st 1 Same melody different pitch Most important note is 1 When you get to the tonic 1 you get the sense of completion Tonal center of scale o Chord 3 or more notes played at the same time Name chord after name of scale from which it s built Build chord by 1 taking note of scale 2 using formula to select 2 other notes from the same scale 3 playing the notes at the same time 1st note 1st cord 2nd note 2nd chord etc Important chords 1 chord 4 chord 5 chord 1 chord tonic chord o Most at rest complete chord 4 chord subdominant chord o Halfway between tonic dominant Moderately tense slight lead back to 1 chord More gentle resolution than 5 chord 5 chord dominant chord o Most tense chord must be resolved w a 1 chord Designed to go back to the 1 chord Notions of tension release are important in chords o Melody a series of notes 1 after the other o Rhythm change over time temporal change of music o Beat pulse series of equally spaced events over time like the second hand on a clock o Meter grouping of pulses beats units 1 set of cohesive beats or 1 unit measure bar most common groupings are 3 4 o Chord progression series of chords played 1 after another Lays the framework for sense in melody rhythm Gives the melody shape structure Defining chord progressions What chord is being played what s next How long does a chord last o Measured in meters 1 bar pair of slashes visualize 4 pulses o Space between 2 slashes 1 measure Roman numerals indicate chord progressions Indicate what chord comes when how long each lasts o Phrase group of measures linked together o Turnaround device used to create harmonic tension to bring you back to the beginning of the chord 5 chord best for this Gets you back to the 1 chord o Musical Features of the Blues applicable to all blues music o Main themes love often unrequited travelling anxiety Broken love b c living in poverty puts a great strain on romantic relationships Often a metaphor for other social difficulties Travel b c travel is an excellent metaphor for many things Composers travelled a lot Great Migration Anxiety b c it was present in daily life for African Americans o 12 Bar Blues precise 3 4 bar lines 1st phrase all over 1 chord 2nd phrase start on 4 chord resolve to 1 chord Standard 2 measures of 4 2 measures of 1 rd 3 phrase 5 chord 4 chord 1 chord Standard 2 bars of 5 2 bars of 5 1 1 turnaround o 12 Bar Blues Form Symbol indicating that you do what you did in the previous beat I 1 1 1 1 IV I 4 4 1 1 V IV I V 5 4 1 5 Use the 5 chord to create tension