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AoS2 - Coggle Diagram
AoS2
Rock Music
During the 1960s, rock 'n' roll evolved into more guitar-dominated music known simply as rock. Like the 12 bar blues, rock songs also tend to be based around the primary chords I, IV and V. Songs are often in 4/4 with a steady drum rhythm. Songs follow a verse-chorus structure. Rock music often uses power chords. Many rock bands were formed in the 1960s, including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin.
Instrumentation: lead electric guitar, rhythm electric guitar, lead singer, bass guitar, drummer
Hard rock: placed emphasis on loud and aggressive distorted solo guitar, features riffs, virtuoso solos and fills, often used a range of tonalities, including modal scales
Progressive rock: emerged during the late 60s, extended the normal 3-5 minutes of popular music forms into pieces lasting up to 15 minutes or more: in this sense it tried too copy classical music and jazz, where the development of musical ideas takes much more time. Involved lengthly instrumental solos, copying the improvise solos in jazz, and slow-moving chord patterns
Psychedelic rock: tried to recreate the surreal images and sounds experienced by hallucinogenic drugs common to the 60s and 70s like LSD. Used lots of guitar effects and unusual electronic instruments and effects (eg panning). Lyrics were weird and dreamlike. Bands included The Beatles and The Doors
Heavy metal: harder and more distorted than hard rock, with even longer guitar solos
Glam rock: theatrical and glitzy. Easier to listen to than hard rock, with a more rock 'n' roll feel and catchy hooks. Musicians wore outrageous costumes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter
Anthems: because of the powerful nature of the music and the lyrics, a lot of rock songs can be described as anthems. They usually have memorable, singable choruses. Examples include 'Born to be Wild' and 'We Will Rock You'
Punk Rock: Harsh and angry music from the 1970s, usually about anarchy and rebellion. Lyrics were often shouter. Often contained a limited number of chords, played at a fast tempo and distorted
West Side Story
Leonard Bernstein, composed West Side Story in 1957
It is a lively musical based on Shakespeare’s story of Romeo and Juliet but set in 20th century New York against a background of racial gang warfare.
There are two rival gangs - the Sharks who are originally from Puerto Rico, and the Jets who were born in New York.
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Types of musical song
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Duet: similar to solo character songs, except there are two people singing so you get two different reactions to a situation. You can also get trio, quartets etc
Action song: the words of the song tell you what's going on in the plot- they lead you into the next bit of the story
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Film Music
Types of film music
Music contained within the action: this is usually referred to as diegetic music. It is included in the story, e.g. music heard on a radio. Most film music is non-diagetic
Background music: this is often referred to as underscoring. It adds to the mood of the scene, reinforcing dramatic developments and aspects of character
Common features
Leitmotif: a tune that returns throughout the film. It represents a particular object, idea or character
Repetition: repetition can remind you of something that has happened earlier in the film. There may be variations like modulation or instrumentation
Pop: Some films use pop songs as part of their soundtrack – they’re usually released in the charts to gain publicity.
Setting the scene
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Music that mimics sound effects can set your imagination racing by helping to evoking a particular mood.
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How can a composer create tension?: making the tempo: allegro (like a racing heartbeat) or lento (builds suspense);extreme dynamics (such as pp-ff) which suddenly change; minor or atonal tonality; repetitive, short, snappy phrases; occasional sound effects – e.g. wind howling, screams, footsteps; drones; clashing chords.
Gaming music
Level one: early video game music as very simple and was often monophonic. Early video game music would often use synthesizers
Level two: video games from the 1990s were able to use higher quality music with more realistic instrumental sounds
Level three: the improvement of audio technology has enabled game music to now become more like a film score. Nowadays, it frequently uses orchestral and choral elements
as well as synthesizers.
Like in film music, there are different genres and the music can help to set the mood. Leitmotifs are still sometimes used for this purpose.
Earlier musicals were influenced by jazz and swing music while lots of musicals from the 1970s onwards used rock music
Musical styles are always changing. Musicals are usually written in the style of the popular music that’s around at the time – so musicals from different times sound very different
Some musicals hit the charts. For example, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Don’t cry for me Argentina’ and ‘Memory’.
Musicals use singing, dancing and talking to tell stories.
The genre started out on Broadway, a famous theatre street in New York. Later ones started in London’s West End.
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Some musicals have been made into popular musical films: Hairspray, Grease, Billy Elliot.
The types of musicals that are around today originated in the 1920s, and developed throughout the rest of the 20th and into the 21st century.
Typical structure of musicals: intro, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, coda