Transcript N3 Popular Music Styles

Curriculum for Excellence
N3 N4 and N5
Popular Music Styles
Aims of the Unit
To become familiar with Popular music
styles.
To successfully identify all National 3 level
vocal concepts.
Some advice….
Try to revise the concepts as you are
working your way through this unit. Don’t
leave it all until the last minute!
Listen to a wide range of music and try to
identify the concepts you hear. Remember,
you will come across popular music style
concepts in just about all music.
Keep your work up to date!
Now, on to the Listening
N3 Popular Music Styles Concepts
Question
Answer
Blues
Jazz
Improvisation
Latin American music
Pop
Rock
Round
Ascending
Descending
Repetition
Ostinato
Riff
Rock 'n' roll
N3 Popular Music Styles
Question - An opening phrase which is often
followed by an 'answer'. Question and answer
phrases tend to be of equal length and similar
style.
Answer - A short musical phrase that follows on
from a 'question' phrase. The phrases are
usually the same length and often have similar
note values.
N3 Popular Music Styles
Blues - Blues started as Black American folk
music, developing from spirituals and work
songs. Blues music is often in 4/4 time and is
mostly patterned on a 12-bar structure (although
8 and 16 bars are also found) and on a scale
where some notes are flattened.
Due to its origins in slavery, blues music tends to have a
sadness to it.
N3 Popular Music Styles
Jazz - At first this was music created by
black Americans in the early 20th century.
Features of the music may include
syncopation and improvisation
A jazz group playing jazz - Herbie
Hancock - Jazz Fusion Canteloupe
Island
N3 Popular Music Styles
Improvisation - The performer makes up
music during the actual performance. They
don’t have the melody written down to help,
although there may be suggested chords as a
guide. Improvisation is an important feature of
jazz and popular music.
The clarinet can be heard improvising in this
dixieland piece - Original Dixieland Jazz Band
- Tiger Rag
N3 Popular Music Styles
Latin American music - Dance music from
South America. Percussion instruments provide
lively off-beat dance rhythms
An example of Latin American music - Aqui and Ajazz,
Spyro Gyra 'South American Sojourn' live
N3 Popular Music Styles Concepts
Pop - A style of popular music played by a
group of musicians.
Hear some pop music here:
Beyonce
performing ‘Love on Top’
Love on Top
N3 Popular Music Styles Concepts
Rock - A style of popular music with a heavy,
driving beat. Usually features electric guitar,
bass guitar and drum kit.
Listen to a collection of great rock songs - Top 50
greatest rock songs of all time
N3 Popular Music Styles Concepts
Rock 'n' roll - 1950s American music which grew from
the combined styles of jazz, blues, gospel and country.
Rock 'n' roll music featured throughout the hit film Grease –
watch an excerpt from the film: Born to Hand-Jive
This video summarises key
elements of the music whilst
playing a medley of rock 'n' roll
excerpts in the background:
Tuxford Academy - rock 'n' roll
N3 Popular Music Styles
Repetition - An exact repeat of a musical idea.
N3 Popular Music Styles
There is repetition in this piece – compare the
first two lines
N3 Popular Music Styles
Round - Each part sings or plays the same
melody, entering one after the other. When they
reach the end they start again, eg Frere
Jacques.
N3 Popular Music Styles
Ascending - Ascending notes rise in pitch.
This example shows notes ascending mainly by leap.
This example shows notes ascending mainly by leap.
N3 Popular Music Styles
Descending - Descending notes fall in pitch
N3 Popular Music Styles
Ostinato - A short musical pattern repeated many
times
YouTube: St Paul's Suite by Gustav Holst
– See and hear the ostinato in the 2nd violin part
N3 Popular Music Styles
Riff - A repeated phrase usually found in jazz
and popular music.
This illustration shows the guitar riff for a song
by The Kinks called 'You Really Got Me'. Notice
the repeat marks at the start and end of the bar.
Hear a famous riff played here.
YouTube: Smoke on the water