MUSC 2019 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Bar Form, Eurythmics, Commodores
Lecture 2 - Definitions, Rise in Rock 'n Roll
January 10, 2018
8:10 PM
• 3rd form: blue form
o Takes the primary harmony (I-IV-V) and uses it to develop a 12 bar form, where the
arrangement is specific
o African-Americans learned the I-IV-V form in Christian Churches and developed the 12 bar
form
o
I (chord)
I
I
I
IV
IV
I
I
V
IV
I
I
• Four beats per chord
• If musicians know this format, this allows many musicians to play together without
knowing each other, and to create music on the spot
A
I
I
I
I
A
IV
IV
I
I
B
V
IV
I
I
Letters represent a phrase, the each of the roman numerals depicts one bar.
• Rhythm: how notes are arranged against the pulse in meters
o Straight/square rhythm: everything aligns with the pulse, the beat conforms to the drum
• Tends to limit the physical response, it suggests rigidity
• Song example: Sweet dreams by Eurythmics
o Syncopation: Everything goes against the rhythm set by the drum
• Notes challenge the rigidness, and invites a more free feeling
• More roots in African culture than American culture
• Invites a bodily response, and makes people want to dance
• Song example: Brick house by The Commodores
Rise in Rock 'n Roll
• Many factors enable rock 'n roll
o Geared towards teens
o First time music is geared to a demographic
• Baby Boom
o Many teenagers during the 1950s
• Post-war prosperity
• Teenagers
o The idea that you were either a child or an adult changed
o Marketers realized there were a group of people, teenagers, with disposable income, and
targeted them
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