MUSC 200 Lecture 6 Outline of Last Lecture I. Blue NotesII. Call & ResponseIII. Early BluesIV. Country Roots of Rock & RollOutline of Current Lecture V. The Carter Family & Mountain Style ECMa. Thumb Brush Style b. “Can the Circle Be Unbroken?” – musical analysisVI. Jimmie Rodgers & Country Style ECMa. Several musical analysesVII. 1930’sVIII. Honky Tonk Country MusicIX. TPA in the 1940’s & Big Band Jazza. Decline of Big Band Jazz & New TPA SoundCurrent LectureCarter Family: A.P. Carter (fiddle & bass), Sara Carter (vocals), & Mother Maybelle Carter (sang harmonies & played guitar, among other instruments)- Attended the Bristol Sessions, but otherwise did not tour mucho Gained fame through RADIO & cylinder recordings- Folk musicians at the time were mostly localo Carter Family was NATIONALLY FAMOUS- Old Musical Elementso Borrowed from earlier musico Lyrics had a nostalgic view of rural family lifeo Themes of unrequited love & such- New Musical Elementso Verse Chorus Form in TPA & CFo Thumb Brush Style (a.k.a. Carter Scratch, brought in by Mother Maybelle) Play chords on upper strings (higher pitches) & a melody on the lower chords (single notes in bass)- Produce a much fuller sound by doing this- This technique set the tone for ECM guitar style“Can the Circle Be Unbroken?” by the Carter Family; Mountain Style ECM- Nostalgic; cut out guitar & still have a full, rich feel- In spaces between the melody notes, play the upper notesrich sound!o Time share here is smooth & effective- Playing the rhythm with authority – big deal- Alternating bass accompaniment: scaled down version of thumb brush style during vocalso Musician plays a bass note, then a chord, then a note from the chord, then back & forth Some fragmentation of scales- Follows the way TPA artists would follow verse chorus formo Lyric song w/ theme of loss (mother); each verse reveals different facets of the loss, while the chorus ties all the pieces together Reaction v. social changes in the South- Traditional elementso High range sung by vocalisto Clear tambouro *Harmony vocals* (big focus of the track) Tight blend of harmony; beautifully sculpted dynamics- Chorus gets a little softer & then booms- Perfectly timed intervals of fast & slow singing/playing through the chorusJimmie Rodgers- Country Style ECM- Image of easygoing “guy next door” or a “rambling man”; hardworking guyo Working Man was one nickname of his; he used to work on the railroad- Range of instruments is very broad- JR musical signature = yodeling: a vocal technique where you sing with your full voice & switch to your falsetto voiceo Quickly shift between; hard to do this Distinctive, striking effect; both techniques within yodeling are hard in themselves, much less together“Blue Yodel No. 8” by Jimmie Rodgers; Country Style ECM- Displays JR’s signature yodel at various degrees throughout the song“Blue Yodel No. 11” by Jimmie Rodgers; Country Style ECM- 12 Bar Blues Form- Yodeling in this song as well***“Waiting for a Train” by Jimmie Rodgers; Country Style ECM- Siren-like vocals at the start- Yodeling- Bass (double bass)the bass is different than the traditional kind because the bass is BOWED, NOT PLUCKED- Hawaiian steel guitaro Melds perfectly with acoustic guitar (traditional ECM)- Tempo & feel so laid back; relaxed vocalso Make all the new elements blend together seamlessly- Working class image + modern image (new instruments- Hornet, clarinet, & trumpet usedo Previously used by New Orleans jazz bands1930’s- Country musico Country style ECM became dominant No drums used until 1950’s Steel guitars & several other new instruments- Western Music & Cowboy Songo Western Music was a major movie genre in the 1930’s Singing cowboys in the movie sang updated folk songs Cowboy song got lumped into Country genreHonky Tonk Country Music- Represented a different imageo Honky tonk: type of rough bar that catered to oil industry men- Began in the 1930’s; took off after WWII & supplanted other country styles- More gritty, intense songs (masculine view of social life in industrial world)o Focuses on drinking, loneliness, emotion…- Vocal quality: bright sound with high pitch; a little roughness- Instrumentation broadenselectric guitar, piano, bass…& eventually drumso Had to play somewhat loudly to be heard over the clamor of honky tonk bars- Rhythm guitar – emphasis on 2nd & 4th beatso Triplet feel: how the beats are subdivided into units of 3 Musicians play w/ lift on 2nd & 4th beats & triplet feel Distinctive feel in Honky Tonk- Hank Williams: best known Honky Tonk artist“Your Cheatin’ Heart” by Hank Williams; Honky Tonk Country Style- Lift on 2nd & 4th beats- Each beat divided into 3- In same bright, nasal tradition as the Carter Family- Large instrumentation (with a little percussion)- Theme: loneliness“I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” by Hank Williams; Honky Tonk Country Style- Electric guitar part is CRITICAL in this songo Older (Mountain Style) bass noteselectric guitar Produced a new sound (familiar, but not the same)- Hank Williams’ signature vocals: cry breaks: flip to a yodel briefly; sounds like a voice cracking; evoke the sound of crying without actually crying; less interruptive than yodeling“Much Too Young to Die” by Ray Price; Honky Tonk Country Style (1950’s – Honky Tonk while Rock music is emerging)- Theme: love, RIGHT NOW- Fiddle, cry breaks, nasal vocals- Aggressive rhythm; a little lift with guitar on 2nd & 4th beatso Briefly hear a snare drumTPA in the 1940’s & Big Band Jazz- Mid-1930’s – end WWII: big band music was the popular music styleo *Development of the rhythm section- Jazzo Emerged as the dominant form of music in South (African American origin)o TPA drew from jazz (1930’s – 1945); almost indistinguishable Swing jazz Combination of pop & jazz bands were mainstream at the time- Big band instrumentationo So many instruments; divided into 3 sections: Rhythm: piano, bass, drums; keep time; articulate the harmony Reed: play melodies, add richness; play backgrounds/pads that accompany melody to give a full sound Brass: play melodies, add richness; play backgrounds/pads that accompany melody to give a full sound (same purpose as reed section)o ***Walking bass: bass player plays one note on every beat