Last Music Quiz

Beatles (First period: initiation)

 Originals musically resemble cover models

- Stiff performance style

- Basic rock band instrumentation (with occasional harmonica)

 Original song characteristics:

- Idyllic/Edenic/Puppy-love quality of lyrics (innocence)

- Directed from performer to listener through personal pronouns:

> “From Me To You” - “I Saw Her Standing There” - “She Loves

You” - “P.S. I Love You” - “Please Please Me

Beatles (Second period: Experimentation)

 Timbre (Sound):

- More use of acoustic instruments (guitar, piano)

- Exotic non-Western instruments (sitar, tabla, percussion)

- Traditional orchestral instruments

- Experiments with tape manipulation (musique concrète)

and studio production technique

Texture: Polyphonic texture with obbligato lead guitar

 Harmony: Experimental original chord progressions

(beyond blues and rock & roll progressions)

 Text content: mind-altering drugs (Don’t do drugs!)

- Vivid imagery

- Songs meant to be listened to (not danced to)

 Melody: Fits the accentuation and flow of the text

- Some asymmetrical musical phrases to follow text

Beatles (Third Period: Maturity

Less experimentation in general

 Minimal use of orchestras or orchestral instruments

 Less use of exotic instrumentation, return to rock band format

 Experimental, but functional, chord progressions

expand the basic 12-bar blues progression

 Return to rock ‘n’ roll roots, but more self-assurance in

playing ability, not as stiff

 Sounds more like soloist with backing band rather than

unified whole band

Who (First style period)

Short, catchy songs

 Modeled after rhythm and blues, soul, Motown influences

 Infrequent, chordal guitar solos by Pete Townshend

 Melodic bass lines (countermelodies) by John Entwistle

 Busy but not cluttered drumming by Keith Moon

 Teen anthems:

- Anger, angst, distress, anxiety

Who (Second style period)

Longer, more intricate songs

 More polyphonic, layered musical texture

 Long introductions to songs

 Much use of synthesizers

 Daltrey screams more

 Bass still melodic

 More melodic guitar work, but still much chordal soloing

 Moon’s drums maniacally busy, yet still not cluttered

(Kenney Jones’ drumming is even and unobtrusive

Stones (First style period: Covers)

Covers of R & B, rock ‘n’ roll, blues, soul, Motown

- Original songs imitated cover models

- No unique personal style until c. 1965

 Stiff performances

 Strict adherence to the beat (precise rhythms)

 Energetic enthusiasm

Stones (Second Style Period: Experimental)

Intricate layers of sound (polyphonic) → more studio work

 Guitar solos worked into song texture (obbligato) in addition

to solo breaks

 Use of traditional, orchestral, and folk/ethnic instruments:

- Recorder, Marimba, Strings, Sitar, Dulcimer

 Expressive imagery in lyrics

 Music designed to fit the meaning and rhythm of the text

 Asymmetric balance between melodic phrases and

between verse & chorus

 Many songs based on a riff

Stones (Third style period: return to roots)

 Return to R & B and blues feel:

- Use of R & B horn sections (often entering on 2nd chorus)

- Return of blues forms and techniques

- Raw, rough-edged sound

- Not stiff rhythmically (as compared to 1st period)

- Keith: mostly riffs, rhythms; Mick T.: almost all guitar solos

(including slide techniques)

Turn from studio experimentation & use of unusual

instruments

 Many songs are still riff-based

 Country influence

 Blues/R & B roots

Stones (Fourth style period: maturity)

Turn from raw R & B sound

 Polished, commercially slick productions

- Layers of overdubbed guitar work; clear, crisp sound

 More frequent dual lead guitar (Keith and Ron)

 Influence of contemporary rock styles

Psychedelic Rock

Recording quality is hazy and/or muted

 Distortion sources:

- Volume levels in concert very loud

- Electronic devices & techniques for distortion:

Fuzz tone ; wah-wah pedal ; phasing (done on

control board) ; feedback

 Emphasis on instrumentalists (especially on lead guitarists)

 Combined traits of folk or folk-rock with hard R & B style

- Lyrics often drug-oriented

- Long, meandering guitar solos imitate a drug trip

(timelessness)

- Hazy recording quality imitates hazy consciousness of a

drug trip

- Constant change in focus of performers in the mix

 Many group names implied oxymorons or unusual images:

- Electric Prunes, Electric Flag, Grateful Dead, Iron Butterfly

Hard Rock and Heavy metla

Sound:

- Vocals mixed into overall sound

- Loud volumes

- Lead guitar-oriented

- Electronic distortion

- Thick-textured sound

 Form:

- Mostly riff-based songs

- Some use of basic forms (strophic, standard, hybrid

Harmony:

- Simple chord progressions of 3-5 chords

- Progressions based on practical guitar technique

- Power chords (root/fifth)

- Bass ostinato (riff) is the harmonic basis

 Time:

- Fast tempos in simple duple/quadruple meters

- Strong, hard backbeat

- Bass ostinato (riff) is also the rhythmic basis

Melody:

- Vocals limited in range (some sub-genres shout/growl)

- Guitar solos have wide range

 Other:

- Some lyrics cultivate negative images:

Witchcraft, black magic, death (“occult rock”)

Many lyrics deal with sex, drugs, drinking, partying