musc323 quiz 2

new sound worlds explored by rock

loud volumes, harsh sounds

identity

roles of an outsider, different type of outsider from the 50s rebel

• “indie” elite

• socially disturbing individual

how did the beatles begin

by playing covers of American R&B and rock and roll songs

how is rock viewed

serious, artistic music

beatles: 1964

played their own songs and leg the British Invasion of North America

• involved in the growing conception of rock music as artistic

beatles: 1966

group stops turing and focuses on studio production

beatles: 1967

sgt. pepper’s lonely hearts club band released

what styles did the album (sgt. pepper’s lonely hearts club) embrace?

• rock

• old-time popular music

• classical

• south asian

• electronic music

recurring themes in lyrics of pepper’s lonely hearts club

• alienation

• drug use

• recollections of youth

“a day in the life” 1967 themes

alienation, drug use, recollections of youth

“A Day in the Life” intensity

sonic intensity of the orchestral crescendo passage

role that rock takes on

important political, social voice (anti war movement of the 60s/70s

which styles did the album, sgt, pepper’s lonely hearts club band embrace?

rock, old time popular music, classical, south asian, electronic music

concept album

all the tracks work together to tell a larger story or explore a central theme

• ex: a day in the life—john lennon and paul mccartney's collaboration showcasing their songwriting.

which movement was warhol associated with?

pop art movement

velvet underground

• formed in 1965

• manager is andy warhol

  • group appeared in his artistic event (disco night): the exploding plastic inevitable

heroin (1967)

• composed by lou reed

• about drug use; offer a psychological portrait of a heroin user

• extension of he recitations of poetry common in the beat movement (poets who read their works at cafes often w musical accompaniment—precursor of today’s poetry slams

what form is heroin (1967)?

• basic form; not a standard form

• built around that of the poem

  • 4 large stanzas

  • with each stanza, music gets faster and louder; sugests accelerating heartbeat and drug rush. 4 waves in the song

jimi hendrix

• schooled in the bues

  • innovative approaches to the electric guitar of blues artists as muddy waters and bb king. those artist got new sounds outta the guitar

    • ex: voodoo chile (1968)

  • cultivation of new sounds on the elec guitar grows outta their music

why was hendrix known as the guitar pioneer?

developed new techniques and sounds:

• feedback

• fuzz

• wah wah pedal

• loud volumes

Electric guitar fuzz

a heavy audio effect that clips and flattens a guitar's electrical signal into a square-like wave, creating a thick, buzzy, and saturated tone

electric guitar feedback

an infinite sound loop that happens when your guitar string vibrates, the guitar's pickup turns that vibration into an electrical signal, the amplifier blasts it out of a speaker as sound waves, and those sound waves bounce back to physically shake the guitar string all over again

wah wah pedal

a foot-controlled guitar effects pedal that alters your instrument's tone to create a vocal, sweeping "wah" sound

hendrix: purple haze (1967)

• song refers to a drug experience

• blues elements in song

  • 8 bar sections, similar to harmonies in 12 bar blues

  • vocal melodies similar to blues; begin w singing/speaking on a repeated note

  • guitar solos build upon playing styles of earlier generations of blues guitar players

which different kinds of rock emerge and diverge from each other in Purple Haze?

• psychedelic rock

• progressive rock

• glam rock

• heavy metal

purple haze (1967): identity

• new figure captured by hendrix: the rock god

• psychedelic rock & the idea of social withdraw

  • young ppl separating themselves from society thru drug use or growing hippie culture

why was 1970s rock a crucial decade in rock history?

• after this decade, rock would nvr enjoy the same degree of commercial success, popularity, and critical status

• debates over what rock is, could be, and should be

• emergence of subgenres: progressive rock, glam rock, heavy metal

Led Zeppelin (1968-1980)

• members: robert plant, jimmy page, john paul jones, john bonham

• innovation: emergence of hard rock styles; free structure of songs

• tradition: blues as foundation for songs

whole lotta love (1969)—led zeppelin

• direct blues connection

  • lyrics derived from “you need love” composed by willie dixon, sung by muddy waters

the blues side of whole lotta love

• similarities w the Dixon lyrics

• use of a riff (as heard in hoochie coochie man) at the beginning and end

• no 12 bar blues. instead repetition of the riff (as in muddy waters)

form of whole lotta love

• combo of conventional verse/chorus

• free, open sections: stereo effects, overdubbing of parts, use of the theramin

• hard rock sound

progressive rock

• subgenre that began in the late 1960s in the UK

• sgt pepper’s lonely hearts club band album as an inspo for this subgenre

defining features of progressive rock

• long songs w intricate forms

• concept albums

• references to classical music

• use of instruments outside of conventional rock setup of guitar, bass, and drums

  • emphasis on synthesizers

• lyrics: dealt w mystical, spiriual, and philosophical topics. NOT themes of romance and good times typical of rock

early bands of progressive rock

• king crimson

• emerson, lake, and palmer

• yes

• pink floyd

Yes, “Roundabout” (1971)

• 0.00 use of classical guitar, “electronic” sounds created by playing a tape recording of piano notes played backwards

• metaphorical lyrics

• form: 2 larger sections (A and B)

• overlap of sections

• meter changes

• difficulty of music: not a song to be sung by the avg person or played by an avg band

A section of yes, “roundabout”

• :45 Verse 1

• 1:18 Verse 2

• 1:45 Bridge Meter change—three bars of 4 beats followed by a bar of 2 beats

• Verses and bridge—but no chorus

A2 section of yes, “roundabout”

• 2:15 verse

• 2:49 bridge

B section of yes, “roundabout”

• 3:25 New section; based on repeated four-bar phrase. Verse melody returns at the end of the section

• 4:57 Return of opening and bridge melody

• 5:50 Solos on top of bridge music

A3 section of yes, “roundabout”

• 7:05 verse

• 7:26 bridge

closing section of yes, “roundabout”

7:53 alternation of between duple (4 beats in a bar) and triple meters

heavy metal

• late 1960s in the UK w groups like black sabbath and deep purple

• subgenre of rock that draws upon qualities of 3 other subgenres

  • hard rock (led zeppelin): loud volumes, full, powerful guitar sounds

  • progressive rock: long songs, unconventional forms, and virtuosity

  • glam: theatrics and stange characters/identities

basic characteristics of heavy metal

• loud, rough guitar sounds

  • low range of guitar

  • power chords: stripped down chords consisting of 2 notes

• fast, aggressive rhythms: prominence of drums

• emphasis on virtuosity: guitar solo as climax

• harsh, loud vocals

• lyrics has themes of the occult, violence, and sex

  • later metal styles can also be philosophical and spiritual

heavy metal: a subgenre begets subgenres

• progressive metal

• death metal

• black metal

• thrash metal

• hair metal

• symphonic metal

thrash metal

• subgenre that emerged in the 80s

• big 4: metallica, megadeth, slayer, anthrax

• faster tempos, both guitar and drums, emphasis on virtuosity: ability to play riffs and solos at incredible speeds

• palm mutting and downpicking on the guitar

palm mutting

gives guitar a darker sound

• goal is to make every single note sound exactly as powerful as the last

downpicking

gives individual notes a more percussive attack

• goal is to stop the strings from ringing out too much