Listening Deans Community High School Music Department.

Listening

Deans Community High SchoolMusic Department

popular music

For your Intermediate 2 exam you have to be able to recognise

different styles of popular music …

Many of these styles you will have heard of before … but you

may not have heard any examples of music in those styles

The SQA go back more than 100 years when they talk about

popular music and most of the styles they expect you to

recognise come from the years 1900 - 1970

List as many different styles of popular music as you can …

popular music

Ragtime

Blues

Jazz

Dixieland

Boogie-Woogie

Swing

Rock

Pop

Country

Soul

Latin American

Samba / Salsa

popular music ragtime

Scott Joplin

Ragtime music developed in the southern states of the USA in the late 1890s

It is a mixture of European music (the march) and Afro-American music (syncopated melodies)

Ragtime music was written down (not improvised) and played on the piano

The most important and well-known composer of ragtime music was Scott Joplin (1868-1917)

http://www.celebritybirthdayblog.com/images/scottjoplin3.jpg


Features of Ragtime music

• piano music

• ‘on the beat’ left hand accompaniment

• march-like (‘oom pah’)

• syncopated melody in right hand

• regular 16 bar melodies (4 bars X 4)

extracts

• Scott Joplin: Maple Leaf Rag• Scott Joplin: The Entertainer• Scott Joplin: Bethena



Example of ‘on beat’ LH

Example of ‘syncopated’ RH


popular music blues

The blues was a type of folk music that grew out of a mixture of African and European music

It first developed in the southern states, (the slave states) of the USA

The blues told of the feelings, fears and hopes of the singer

Originally the blues was performed by one singer usually accompanied by guitar or banjo

Some of the notes of the scale were ‘bent’ (sung below pitch) and this gives the blues its special flavour


popular music blues

Features of Blues music

• use of the ‘blues’ scale

• 3rd and 7th of the scale sung ‘flat’

• ‘12 bar blues’ structure

• improvised

• slide guitar

extracts

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popular music blues

Example of blues scale

I I I I

IV IV I I

V IV I I

12 bar blues chord pattern

blue note blue note


popular music jazz

Jazz developed in the first two decades of the 1900s in New Orleans

Like Ragtime and Blues it was a mixture of African and European music

Many different types of music probably influenced how jazz developed … including:

• Ragtime/Blues• Marches• Hymns/Spirituals• Work songs• Minstrel show music

Early jazz was not written down, it was ‘improvised’

Jazz bands often used instruments left over from the marching bands of the civil war


popular music jazz

Features of Jazz


• 3rd and 7th of the scale sung ‘flat’


• improvisation

extracts

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popular music dixieland

Dixieland Jazz or Traditional Jazz was the first type of Jazz

Dixieland Jazz groups were small - around 6 players

cornet, clarinet, banjo/piano, trombone, string bass, drums

most of the early jazz musicians were not formally trained

the jazz was improvised - relying on the skill of the performers

often used ‘12 bar blues’ form

often each player had a chance to improvise on the main tune



Some important early dixie players were:

Jelly Roll Morton

Louis Armstrong

Joe King Oliver

Bix Beiderbecke



Features of Dixieland Jazz



• equal emphasis on all 4 beats

• improvisation

• small group of players

extracts

• ??• ??• ??


popular music boogie-woogie

Boogie-Woogie was a style of jazz that was nearly always played by solo piano

It had a strong, driving, ‘ostinato’ type bass pattern in the left hand

The right hand improvised using a blues scale

Boogie-woogie usually used the 12 bar blues form

A Boogie-Woogie Bassline


popular music boogie-woogie

Features of Boogie-woogie

• usually for solo piano

• strong, ‘driving’ left hand riffs

• improvised melodies in right hand


• improvisation

extracts• Meade Lux Lewis: Honky Tonk Train Blues • Jimmy Blythe: Chicago Stomp• Jools Holland: Let the Boogie Woogie Roll


popular music swing

During the 1920s jazz bands gradually became larger with 10 or more players

These larger groups needed more organising than the original smaller groups

Music began to be written down to avoid the clashes that would happen if all the players improvised together

A typical swing band might consist of:

• Brass: 3 trumpets, 3 trombones

• Reeds: clarinet, 2 alto/2 tenor saxes

• Rhythm: piano, guitar, bass, drums


popular music swing

The brass and the reeds would often alternate - one section having the tune the other providing the accompaniment - then they would swap over

The instruments in each group often played together in chords (harmony) giving a smooth, mellow sound

Individual instruments might improvise

Arrangers were beginning to use ‘added’ chords to give their harmonies a ‘richer’ feel - ‘added 6th’ chords, 7th chords

Melodies became more complex, going beyond the simple ‘blues’ scale and using all the notes of the chromatic scale


popular music swing

Features of Swing

• large ensemble: brass, reeds, rhythm

• instruments used in ‘close’ harmony

• rich, smooth, mellow sound


• mainly written out, notated

• use of ‘added 6ths’ and 7th chords

extracts

• ??• ??• ??


popular music rock

Rock music is a form of pop music which usually has a strong driving beat.

It was developed in America in the 1960s and combines elements of folk, blues, rock’n’roll and pop music.

Lyrics were still aimed at a youth audience but were sometimes more complex talking about political issues.

Some early musicians who played rock music are listed below along with the style that influenced them:

Bob Dylan; folk music & bluesThe Beach Boys; rock’n’roll and pop musicThe Rolling Stones; rock’n’rollThe Beatles; pop


popular music rock

Feature of Rock Music

• form of ‘pop’ music with a driving beat

• change from acoustic to electric sounds

• often included vocal harmonies

• simple time, often 4/4

ExtractsBob Dylan: Masters of WarThe Beach Boys: Fun, Fun, FunThe Rolling Stones: Come OnThe Beatles: A Hard Days Night


popular music rock ‘n’ roll

Rock’n’Roll developed in America in the late 1940s combining elements of blues, boogie-woogie and jazz.

It was also a mixture of African and European music but was mainly aimed at a white American audience.

In early Rock’n’Roll a saxophone was often the lead instrument but this was later replaced by the electric guitar.

A Rock’n’Roll group would usually include: • Electric Guitars: 1 lead, 1 rhythm• Bass Guitar• Drumkit• Keyboard: sometimes


popular music rock ‘n’ roll

Features of Rock’n’Roll

• move from acoustic to electric instruments

• emphasis on 2nd & 4th beats

• strong, driving bassline

• use of ‘12 bar blues’ structure

• lyrics aimed at youth audience

extracts

• Fats Domino: The Fat Man• Elvis Presley: That’s All Right (Mama)• Bill Hayley: Rock Around the Clock


popular music pop

Pop music developed in America in the late 1940s and 1950s from a variety of other styles including ‘big band’ and ‘swing’ music and refers to popular music of the day.

Frank Sinatra was an artist who crossed over between big band and pop music.

Pop music was sold to a wide audience but was aimed at a youth audience. This was reflected in many of the lyrics.

Today the term pop music covers a range of different styles such as:• Rock• Hip Hop• Dance• R&B• Country


popular music pop

Features of pop music

• refers to popular music of the day

• smoother vocal sound

• lyrics aimed at youth audience

• simple time, usually 4/4

ExtractsFrank Sinatra: I get a kick out of youThe Everley Brothers: All I have to doCliff Richard: Summer Holiday

popular music country

On this page some background info about the style ….

HistoryFamous namesInstrumentsetc


popular music country

This page will list some of the concepts associated with this style

Will introduce the musical extracts used to exemplify the musical style

popular music soul




popular music latin american




popular music salsa / samba



Listening Deans Community High School Music Department.

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