Review Lecture for EXAM Flashcards
Verse form is also known as
ballad form
Verse form is
a series of sections that share the same music but diff lyrics
often tells a story in a narrative fashion
EXAMPLEs of Verse form
Barbara Allen (Jean Ritchie)
“Heartbreak Hotel” (Elvis Presley)
“Purple Haze” (jimi Hendrix)
“I Wanna Be Sedated” (The Ramones)
“Paranoid” (Black Sabbath)
Verse-Chorus form is
Two sections alternating
in one section (verse) the lyrics change
in the other section (chorus) the lyrics stay the same
the chorus features the title phrase and the most memorable parts of the song
Examples of verse-chorus form
“Long Tall Sally” Little Richard
“What about Us” (the Coasters)
“My Girl” (The Temptations”
“Be My Baby” (the Ronnets)
“ Eleanor Rigby” (The BEatles)
“It’s Too Late” ( Carole King)
“ End of the Road” (Boyz II Men)
“Anti Hero” (taylor swift)
AABA form also known as
standard popular song form, verse-refrain
What is AABA form
popularized by song pluggers working on Tin Pan Alley and Broadway
the form starts with introductory sections called verses
followed by the main part of the song called: the refrain or chorus
A section features the title phrase and the most memorable music
B section may be referred to as a bridge
it can be expanded : AABA BA and AABA AABA
Examples of AABA form
“Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair” (Stephan Foster)
“I got Rhythm” (Ethel Merman)
“ Hey Good Looking” (Hank WIlliams)
“Nancy” (Frank Sinatra)
“Sh-Boom” ( The Chords)
“Blueberry Hill” (Fats Domino)
“Please Please Me” (The Beatles)
Compound AABA form
In this form, at least 1 of the sections subdivides into subsections that follow another form like verse or verse-chorus form
Examples of Compound AABA form
“Like a Virgin” (Madonna)
“Love Story” (Taylor Swift)
Ternary song form
3 main sections: ABA
1st and 3rd sections are the same or virtually the same
middle section provides contrast
Example of Ternary song form
“War Pigs” (Black Sabbath)
Compound Ternary song form
at least 1 of the 3 main sections subdivides into subsections that follow another form like verse or verse-chorus form
Example of Compound Ternary song form
“A Day in the Life” The beatles
other song forms
composers sometimes experiment with other forms
in popular music , songs usually end with an A or chorus
less common to end a song with a contrasting section
Examples of other song forms
AABC: “St. Louis Blues” Bessie Smith
ABAB: “NAture BOy” (Nat King Cole)
AB: “One” (Metallica)
Through-composed song form
If a song or song section is composed freely and does not follow a form with with sections and repetitions, then it is through-composed; rare in popular music
Example of Through-composed song form
B section of “One” Metallica
If choruses and refrains are synonym, then is verse-chorus form the same as verse-refrain form?
no , these names refer to 2 different song forms
what is a songplugger
But earlier than the 1920s, music would be transmitted across the country in terms of its written form (sheet music) and played on the piano
People who worked in buildings like Tin Pan Alley, in firms like T.B. Harms and Witmark and sons, they were called songpluggers
What is virtuosity
great skill in music or another artistic pursuit
used particularly to describe musicians, but also often for writers, actors, dancers, and athletes.
What is virtuoso
an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as fine arts, music, singing, playing a musical instrument, or composition.
highly skilled performer, and a virtuoso performance is one that astonishes the audience by its feats.
What is doo-wop
a style of pop music marked by the use of close harmony vocals
using nonsense phrases
emphasizes roots in gosepl music and so these singers would have grown up in the christian tradition possibly in the south but in the north too
Examples of Doo-wop
The Chords and “Sh-boom”
