The history of music in the Western world is very centred around the classical tradition. Classical music tends to require a certain amount of musical skill and understanding to appreciate it. As a result, this can sometimes make it a little exclusive.

Popular music is different, and is appreciated on a broader scale. As the Western world developed alongside recording technology, the music industry emerged and grew larger to allow popular music to be distributed to paying customers on a broader scale.

"Maple Leaf Rag" is an example of a ragtime song which drew on jazz and classical styles to create something popular. It was composed in 1899. This would have been before recording technology developed and the music industry at the time would have sold the sheet music for pianists to play in bars, clubs and homes.

The music includes:

• A lively, cut time metre.

• Lots of syncopation to keep the rhythm varied and interesting.

• A melody based on short, catchy ideas that you can easily hum along to.

• A melody that is phrased very predictably in balanced sections that are short and often end with a pleasing perfect cadence.

• A harmonic rhythm that is swift and consistent, producing a feeling of momentum through a selection of chords that are easy to follow.

Though this video shows a pianist performing the piece quite formally, this is not the setting the music became popular in. Imagine drinks being sloshed in the background!

Fast forward a few decades in the USA and technology had come on leaps and bounds.

Broadway and Hollywood was expanding hugely and films and shows would often include songs written for popular appeal. These were increasingly being heard on radio and television.

Watch this performance by Frank Sinatra. He is singing "I've Got You Under My Skin" which was composed in the 1930s by Cole Porter. Popular music was taking the world by storm and swing music like this song included:

• A swung metre which kept the music flowing.

• Syncopated rhythms. Notice in particularly the climactic section from 1'27 which includes lots of orchestral stabs on the offbeat to add a sense of contagious excitement.

• A catchy refrain with a memorable hook.

• A large and luscious orchestration that provided an expansive accompaniment for the voice.

During the 1950s there was a huge cultural revolution. Rather than relying on large orchestras, musicians began to strip music down to to its visceral roots to appeal to the baby boomer generation that were eager and hungry to establish their own cultural identity. This music was rock 'n' roll.

Typical musical features of rock 'n' roll included:

• Chord progressions based on 3 chords within the 12 bar blues structure.

• Instrumentation that was stripped down to a band of primarily drums and guitars. This song also includes a tenor saxophone.

• Melodies that became shorter and catchier, often using a lot of repetition.

This music was designed to be fun and get people dancing!

The Beatles are probably the most famous rock band of all time. They were active during the 1960s and "conquered" America, not just with their music but also with their lively Liverpudlian charm and boyish looks.

Whilst the Beatles wrote a lot of simple, catchy music, they began to develop their ideas in a very innovative way towards the end of their careers . (You'll have to take Music A Level to learn more about this!)

This song featured in the 1964 film, "A Hard Day's Night". The Beatles' carefree friendships come across at the start of the clip. Musical features of the song, "If I Fell", include:

• A simple backbeat (snare drum playing on beats 2 and 4).

• Two-part vocal harmonies that often sing in parallel motion.

• The guitars providing the harmony and bass line in a texture that was completely melody dominated (melody dominated homophony is a good description of this).

Queen was a prolific British rock band from London that rose to fame in the 1970s. Its members included:

• Freddie Mercury (lead vocals and piano)

• Brian May (electric guitar)

• John Deacon (bass guitar)

• Roger Taylor (drums)

The features of "Somebody to Love" include:

• A slow tempo in 6/8 (compound time) which provides a gentle, lilting feel. This metre effectively allows the singer's sense of longing to be expressed.

• A rhythm section featuring piano, bass and drums. None of the instruments are domineering and provide the chords, bass line and back beat. They sometimes have fills, such as the bass fill at 1'39, and at times the drums play loud, punctuating crash cymbals, like at 1'25.

• Backing vocals with harmony. The vocals often sing lyrics and often do so with different rhythms to the lead vocals providing a texture which at times is polyphonic. They function as a "Greek chorus", supporting the singer's heartfelt exclamations! The also sing "ooh's" at times. Vocables are syllables that aren't real words.

• A highly expressive and virtuosic electric guitar solo performed by Brian May from 2'08 which is perfect for air guitar! His melodic passages were well crafted and could be very intricate, showing off his amazing ability on the instrument.

Aside from the guitar solo, the electric guitar doesn't actually feature very prominently in the song, which was often the case in lots of piano-based Queen songs. Brian May used the guitar to play short melodies that provides variety in the texture and sound. For example:

• A chord with a fall off at 1'45 which adds a contrasting tone quality.

• The single squealing note at 2'56.

• Power chords which play driving quavers at 1'50.

By watching the video you also see Freddie's extravagant sense of dress (for example, 1'52). This exuberance was typical for artists at this time and is why this specific style is often called glam rock (short for glamorous).

Killer Queen was released in 1974 and was part of the album, "Sheer Heart Attack". It was written by Freddie Mercury who played piano and sung all the vocals on the recorded track (including the backing harmonies).

The lyrics of the song are a bit elusive (find them at the bottom of this page) but it seems to be about a glamorous and extravagant character who likes to lavishly enjoy the fine things in life! The playful and charismatic nature of this character are reflected very well in the music.

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