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American music
American music
American music.pdfДручок Володимир
Icons of American music
Icons of American music
American music has an incredible diversity of styles, genres and techniques, but there are some characteristics that make it distinct from the music of other countries.
Syncopation. It is defined as stressing a beat that is normally not emphasized in the course of the song.
Irregular Melodies. The melody of a song is usually a repeated motif or series of notes played consistently throughout the song. While the melodies in European music are often consistent and precise, American music uses many unusual melodies.
The Swung Note. Changing the time value of a note (called a “swung note”) is very common in American music. For example, two notes may be written down as the same duration, but a musician might play the first note very quickly and hold the second one for much longer.
America has even created several new genres of music, such as jazz, blues and country.
The guitar is a key instrument for many genres of American music.
The electric guitar was invented here as well as the solid body electric guitar.
Modern popular music wouldn’t be the same without the electric bass, an invention of Leo Fender.
For Jazz are common such instruments as trumpet, saxophone, trombone, clarinet, piano, a bass instrument (such as a double bass or electric bass guitar) and drums.
The most characteristic instruments for Country are:
●Banjo (a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator).
●Dobro guitar is a six-string resonator guitar.
●The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument.
●The bass guitar is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family.
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s.
Guitar and vocals are the instruments most frequently heard in Blues music. Other instruments are harmonica, drums and bass.
Let’s start with Louis Armstrong - jazz trumpeter and vocalist who was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
In the 20s, Armstrong developed his unique style together with jazz band “The Hot Five”.
He also became known for scat singing during performances.
Scat singing is vocal improvisation with nonsense syllables or without words at all.
Let’s listen to his song “What A Wonderful World”.
In his early years, Armstrong was best known for his virtuosity with the cornet and trumpet.
Along with his “clarinet-like figurations and high notes in his cornet solos”, he was also known for his intense rhythmic “swing’, a complex conception involving accented upbeats, upbeat to downbeat slurring, and complementary relations among rhythmic patterns.
Blues and its star Bessie Smith.
Blues is characterized by its lyrics, bass lines, and instrumentation. Blue notes (or “worried notes”), usually thirds, fifths or sevenths flattened in pitch, are also an essential part of the sound. Blues shuffles or walking bass reinforce the trance-like rhythm and form a repetitive effect known as the groove.
Bessie Smith, nicknamed the “Empress of the Blues”, was the most popular female blues singer of the 1930s.
She had a strong contralto voice, which recorded well from her first session, which was conducted when recordings were made acoustically. I’m inviting you to listen her song “Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out”.
With a career spanning over fifty years, Dolly Parton (born in 1946) has been described as a “country music legend” and has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling female artists of all time. In 1974, her song, “I Will Always Love You” went to number one on the country chart.
Though unable to read sheet music, Parton can play many instruments, including: the dulcimer, autoharp, banjo, guitar, electric guitar, fiddle, piano, recorder, and the saxophone.
Parton has also used her fingernails as an instrument, most evident on her 1980 song “9 to 5”.
Let’s listen to “I will always love you”.
The second musician I will talk about is Bob Dylan. Named Robert Zimmerman at birth, Bob Dylan was born in the coal-mining town of Duluth, Minnesota. Dylan would compose several iconic message songs during the civil rights movement.
Bob Dylan played 18 instruments: Autoharp, Bugle, Conga, Cowbell, Didgeridoo, Drums, Acoustic guitar, Bass guitar, Electric guitar, Harmonica, Harmonium, Electric keyboard, Mandolin, Piano, Flute, Saxophone, Trumpet, Whistle.
Among the most famous of these was “Blowin’ in the Wind”.
Let’s listen to “Blowin’ in the Wind”.
Bob Dylan's instrumental competencies
Elvis Presley
Known as the “King of Rock and Roll”, Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi. As a teen, his family would relocate to Memphis, Tennessee. Elvis would become synonymous with the city of Memphis.
As one of the earliest performers on the legendary Sun Records label, Elvis brought traditionally Black music to a white audience.
One of my favorite songs of Elvis Presley is “If I Can Dream”.
Elvis Presley has been described variously as a baritone and a tenor. An extraordinary compass, the so-called register, and a very wide range of vocal color have something to do with this divergence of opinion. The voice covers two octaves and a third, from the baritone low-G to the tenor high B, with an upward extension in falsetto to at least a D flat. Elvis' best octave is in the middle, D-flat to D-flat, granting an extra full step up or down.
Call him a high baritone. In “It's'now or never”, (1960), he ends it in a full voice cadence (A, G, F), that has nothing to do with the vocal devices of R&B and Country. That A-note is hit right on the nose, and it is rendered less astonishing only by the number of tracks where he lands easy and accurate B-flats.
Moreover, he has not been confined to one type of vocal production. In ballads and country songs, he belts out full-voiced high G's and A's that an opera baritone might envy. He is a naturally assimilative stylist with a multiplicity of voices - in fact, Elvis' is an extraordinary voice or many voices. (Henry Pleasants, in his book “The Great American Popular Singers” 1974).
Stevie Wonder
Legendary singer-songwriter, pianist, and activist Stevie Wonder was born in Saginaw, Michigan.
Blind from birth, Wonder exhibited innate musical talent while still a child performing in his local church. As a result, Motown Records signed Wonder before he even reached puberty.
Wonder’s albums are considered classics of soul music.
One of his most famous songs is “I just called to say I love you”.
Wonder is skilled on the keyboard, bass, drums and harmonica. He mastered all four instruments before hitting his teenage years. In 1969, Motown gave him complete control of his recordings. He was one of the first artists to write, produce, arrange, and perform his own songs.
Virtually a one-man band during his peak years, his use of synthesizers and further electronic musical instruments during the 1970s helped expand the sound of R&B.
In his childhood, he was best known for his harmonica work, but today he is better known for his keyboard skills and vocal ability. He also plays the piano, synthesizer, harmonica, congas, drums, bongos, organ, melodica and clavinet. Wonder has been credited as a pioneer and influence to musicians of various genres including pop, rhythm and blues, soul, funk and rock.
Jimi Hendrix
He is regarded as one of the most influential electric guitarists in the history of popular music and one of the most celebrated musicians of the 20th century.
He was born in rainy Seattle, Washington.
Upon moving to England, Hendrix formed the band Jimi Hendrix Experience. His raucous take on American R&B skyrocketed the group up the English charts. By 1969, Hendrix was the world's highest-paid rock musician.
In August, he headlined the Woodstock Music and Art Fair.
And now let’s enjoy his composition “Voodoo Child”.
Jimi Hendrix is considered the creator of the modern electric guitar sound. In addition to his solid foundations in blues, Hendrix was also a versatile guitar player in styles such as rock, jazz, soul, British rock, and psychedelic rock. His versatility, combined with his expressive technique and his experimental approach to music technology led to the signature sound of his music.
Hendrix used an old blues technique, using the thumb of his fretting hand to play the bass notes. By applying this technique to electric guitar, he could use the other four fingers more freely to create distinct voicings, which can be heard on songs like “The Wind Cries Mary”, “Bold As Love” and “Little Wing.”
Hendrix also used pedal effects in many of his songs. The pedals he used included fuzz pedals (such as Roger Mayer Octavia and Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face), along with the Uni-Vibe pedal, distortion, Wah-Wah and other effects. He was not the first one to use pedal effects, but he used them in a clear and expressive way that made the guitar the lead act of a song.
Prince
Producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter Prince Nelson, known as Prince, was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Prince would become one of the most influential artists of his generation through landmark albums “1999”, “Purple Rain”, and “Sign o’ the Times”.
In addition, his film “Purple Rain” has become an iconic entry in 80s pop culture.
Prince also wrote and produced work for The Time, Vanity 6, and a slew of other pop acts. Sinead O’Connor and The Bangles had massive hits singing his compositions.
And now let’s listen “Purple Rain”.
He was known for his flamboyant, androgynous persona; his wide vocal range, which included a far-reaching falsetto and high-pitched screams; and his skill as a multi-instrumentalist, often preferring to play all or most of the instruments on his recordings.
Prince produced his albums himself, pioneering the Minneapolis sound. His music incorporated a wide variety of styles, including funk, R&B, rock, new wave, soul, synth-pop, pop, jazz and hip hop.
James Taylor
Iconic singer-songwriter and guitarist James Taylor was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He would move to North Carolina as a child, where he discovered the work of Woody Guthrie and began learning guitar.
He produced some of the finest contemporary folk songs of the time. Taylor’s defining composition is “Fire and Rain”.
Taylor is also a great interpreter of songs. His cover of the soul song “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)” is one of his biggest hits.
And now goes James Taylor’s composition “Fire and Rain”.
Conveyed by his gentle tenor, his contemplative songs—rooted in complex chord changes and influenced by Appalachian folk music, Hank Williams, and early soul vocalists—were set against his deft accompaniment on acoustic guitar and the rock-oriented backing of a regular group of studio musicians that included Kortchmar.
The next person is Jeffrey Scott Buckley who was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist.
Buckley's voice was a particularly distinguished aspect of his music; he possessed a tenor vocal range, spanning around four octaves.
Buckley made full use of this range in his performances, particularly in the song “Grace”.
Buckley played guitar in a variety of styles, ranging from the distorted rock of “Sky is a Landfill”, the jazz of “Strange Fruit”, the country styling of “Lost Highway”, and the guitar fingerpicking style in “Hallelujah”. He occasionally used a slide guitar in live performances as a solo act, as well as for the introduction of “Last Goodbye”, when playing with a full band.
His songs were written in various guitar tunings which, apart from the EADGBE standard tuning, included Drop D tuning and an Open G tuning. His guitar playing style varied from highly melodic songs, such as “The Twelfth of Never”, to more percussive ones, such as “New Year's Prayer”.
Alicia Keys
Singer-songwriter and pianist Alicia Keys was discovered as a teenager singing in Harlem, signing a record deal at the age of 15.
Keys would first reach success with “Songs in a Minor”. The album received praise for its skillful mix of classical, soul, and hip-hop.
Success would continue to follow Keys, as she topped the Billboard chart several more times with her blend of soul and classical music, along with her iconic “Empire State of Mind” collaboration with Jay Z.
Alicia Keys - “Fallin'”
Keys has been praised for her expressive vocals and emotive delivery. In a review of “Songs in A Minor”, “Jam!” complimented her "crooning" and "warm" vocals as well as her belting “gospel-style”. CMJ “New Music Monthly” commended her "deep soulful voice and heartfelt delivery" of her songs. “Q” magazine compared her vocal talent to Mary J Blige's and acknowledged her “sincerity” as “another plus” to her musical instincts.
“PopMatters” noted her "deep purple vocals" and considered that Keys is "less concerned about technical proficiency" and more interested in “rendering musical moments as authentic and visceral as possible”. “The Guardian” wrote that Keys “sings with devastating allure”.
Reviewing a live performance, the “Los Angeles Times” wrote that Keys has a “commanding voice” and the “style and vision to convey the character and detail of the songs”, and praised “the range and taste of her musical instincts”. ”NPR” described her voice as “yearning and ready to break, even as it remains in control”, considering it one of the elements integral to her music.
Kurt Cobain (Nirvana)
Nirvana’s singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain was born in Aberdeen, Washington.
Kurt Cobain’s band Nirvana became the biggest rock band of the 90s. Their seminal record “Nevermind“ is an evolutionary step in the history of rock and roll and has cemented their place in music history.
One of their most outstanding songs is “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.
Nirvana were – and still are – the biggest grunge (opens in new tab) band on the planet.
Grunge fuses elements of punk, rock and heavy metal, but without punk’s structure and speed. The genre featured the distorted electric guitar sound used in both genres, although some bands performed with more emphasis on one or the other.
Like these genres, grunge typically uses electric guitar, bass guitar, drums and vocals.
by Valentyn Fediainov-Spichak
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