Transcript Music Appreciation: The History of Rock

Music Appreciation:
The History of Rock
Chapter 1: Elements of Music
Music is…...
The art of combining tones or sounds
 Organizing sound (melody, harmony,
words, rhythms, and beat) to please the
human ear.

Listening types:

Active listening: Listening to music while
directly paying attention to it.

Passive listening: Listening to music
while doing other things.
Why the Study of Music is
Important:
1) Part of our daily lives (know more
about everyday things)
 2) Soothes and Relaxes the soul (music
therapy philosophies)
 3) Allows us to communicate better with
our fellow man

The Six Major Elements of Music
1)
 2)
 3)
 4)
 5)
 6)

Sound
Harmony
Melody
Rhythm
Form
Text (Words)
1) Sound

Includes source/instrumentation, timbre
(tone color), texture and volume
The Four areas used to identify
SOUND in Rock Music are:

1) Source (instrumentation)- what is
being played, what is used to
contribute to the types of sounds

2) Timbre (tone color)- think of the
adjectives you would use to describe a
voice.
Sound…continued.

3) Texture
 Monophonic- single voice or instrument
 Unison- same melody, same notes and pitch
 Homophonic- principal line with one or more
instruments/voices as backup to that line.
 Polyphonic- several melodies occurring all at
once in different parts or instruments.

4) Volume- dynamic level (soft or loud).
 Crescendo- gradually louder
 Decrescendo or diminuendo-
gradually softer
Volume Change: Nirvana “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
https://youtu.be/hTWKbfoikeg
2) Harmony
The way that sounds are combined to
create a piece of music.
 The use of intervals (scales) and chords
that add depth to the musical line.
 Chord progression- the combination of
sounds (notes like F, A, C create a major
chord, etc.)

Scales- from scala in Italian,
meaning “ladder”

Provides the basic harmonic and melodic material for a
given piece of music.

A selection of pitches within the interval of an octave.

Major scales (diatonic): specific pattern

Tonic- the home key, original note.
Chords

Harmony occurs when two different notes are
played simultaneously. Three or more pitches at
the same time produce a chord.

The first, third and fifth notes of a scale form a
chord. Same for the 2nd, 4th, 6th, etc.

Tonic chord- based on the first scale degree.
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SubDominant chord- based on fourth scale degree
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Dominant chord- based on the fifth scale degree.
Chord progressions
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Most rock progressions follow the progression
of: I, IV, V, I
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Many country songs use the same.
I-IV-V chord progression: The White Stripes “Hotel
Yorba”
https://youtu.be/DZPEUyiNcjA
3) Melody

A musical line that has a succession of
single notes that have a beginning, middle
and an end.

In melodies, look for:
 Range
(wide or narrow)
 Motion (conjunct or disjunct)
 Shape (ascending, descending or static)
Wide Range: Beach Boys “Good Vibrations”
https://youtu.be/Eab_beh07HU
Static shape: Bob Dylan “Subterranean Homesick Blues”
https://youtu.be/MGxjIBEZvx0
4) Rhythm

Relationship between music and time- the “heartbeat” of
music.
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Tempo is known as the musical pace.

Meter is the way in which pulses are organized.
Beats are organized into measures.
Changing Meter: Pink Floyd “Money”
https://youtu.be/cpbbuaIA3Ds
5) Form

Design and structure of a musical work. It helps
the listener keep track of the units of music that
are used to make a song.
 Standard
form: most often AABA, ABAB, or ABAC
 Strophic form: Verses set to the same music, but
the words change verse to verse. (Think about Blues
and Folk Songs)
 Through-Composed form: Follows the form of the
text or words. There is no repetition of previouslyheard material.
6) Text (words)

Convey an idea which the listener can
relate to his or her life.

Two things we look for in song text are:
 The
sentiment (emotions or feelings) and the
mode (the way the song is presented- as a
narrator, 3rd person) of the text. The verb
tense informs the listener as to when the
action of the song takes place.
Five families of musical
instruments:
 1)
 2)
 3)
 4)
 5)
Woodwind
Brass
Percussion (keyboards also)
Stringed
Electronic
Musical Advancements by Technology

1) Recording Industry- Invention of the
grammaphone, records, radio, tape/8 tracks,
CD and .mp3 files

2) Use of synthesizers and electronics in
performance and recording.
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3) Computers (creating, writing, producing
and playback)
Scientific classifications of Musical Instruments:
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1) Idiophones- vibrating mass of material (most
percussion instruments). Usually struck,
shaken, plucked or scraped.
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2) Membranophones- sound produced by
vibrating skin (drums)

3) Aerophones- movement of air causes
vibrations
 1.
 2.
 3.
Brass- vibration of lips/air in a mouthpiece
Reed- vibration of reed by air
Flutes/Whistles- air column vibrates, splits.
Scientific classifications of Musical Instruments
(continued)….

4) Chordophones- string vibrates to
produce a sound
 1)
Guitars/banjos
 2) Violins/cellos/string bass
 3) Harps
 4) Piano (sometimes classified as a keyboard)
Scientific classifications of Musical Instruments
(continued)….

5) Electrophones- sound is produced by
electric means
 1)
Amplification (when it alters sound)
 2) Synthesizers
 3) Digital means- assigned to a frequency
(MIDI)
Generational Continuity
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Music that we hear in our youth can shape
our musical tastes later in our lives
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Musical concepts/ideas can be passed
and utilized by later generations
Musical Influences
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Bo Diddley and the “Bo Diddley Beat”
http://www.prx.org/pieces/26446-the-bo-diddley-beatthe-music-of-bo-diddley-and-h#description
Tony Iomme and the “Heavy Metal Sound”
His sound influenced hard rock and metal players including
bands Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Kyuss, Soundgarden,
Rage Against The Machine, Alice In Chains, Queens of
The Stone Age, Tool, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Guns N'
Roses, the Smashing Pumpkins, the Foo Fighters,
Godsmack, Anthrax and Slipknot.
Django Reinhardt
https://youtu.be/PQhTpgicdx4
https://youtu.be/3umWSgFGdEc
Generational Opposition

Every generation has to differentiate itself
from the past

Artists draw from the past but reflect their
own times and experiences in their music
Artist Influence on Other Artists

Certain artists made contributions that
altered the direction of rock music, while
others inspired future generations to
incorporate similar styles into their
performance.
Carole King
Songwriter /
Singer
Aretha Franklin
Gospel / Soul
Styles into R & B
https://youtu.be/1pime_S5Gh8
Chuck Berry
Guitar Style / Harmony
Eric Clapton speaks about Chuck Berry’s guitar
playing and the unusual techniques he used. Clapton
says “If you play all this double string stuff, it sounds
full. If you play single string it sounds thin or fiddly.”
Chuck Berry utilized double stops and chords
normally used in piano playing rather than the
bending and sliding structures typical of blues guitar.
He tended to mute certain strings which changed the
sound of the chords and added a unique texture to his
playing.
Music and Your Brain
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Music has been shown to lower stress and anxiety,
boost memory, and to boost reasoning skills. Again, the
effects are not based on a person’s familiarity with or
opinion about the quality of the music.

Research shows how music stimulates brain
function
Bobby McFerrin: Wired for music

https://youtu.be/ne6tB2KiZuk
Music Therapy
Music with brain disease/injury patients
Music Makes Henry Come Alive:
Alzheimer's Research
https://youtu.be/8HLEr-zP3fc
Music Listening and Hearing Loss
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Volume

Duration
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Protection
Listening versus Watching
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Engaged listening with focus on content

Videos with divided focus on
listening/imagery
Easy Access to Music Creation
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Electronic creation of sound versus traditional
acoustic approach
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Ability to produce on computer versus studio
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Marketing/distribution
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Devaluation of quality based on ease of
production?
College Radio
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Traditionally home to new and noncommercial music

Experience for those wishing to pursue
career in radio
Listening Template
Analyzing the sounds you hear in a song
-Instruments
-Mood
-Tempo/speed
-Lyrics
-Style
Timeline
-When was song created/popular
-Cultural events
-Historic Happenings
-Societal Trends
Visual Culture
-Film
-TV
-Fashion
Rock and Roll as Performance
-Live Shows
-Theater
-Dance
Rock and Roll as Literature
-Storytelling/narrative
-Imagery
-Form/poetry
-Language/word usage
Industry and Technology
-Instruments
-Recording
-Production/Distribution
-Performance Enhancement