Like 'Smooth', it is based on a characteristic Latin-American rhythm, in this case the Bo Diddley beat, named after the musician who developed it. This is, essentially, a clave rhythm with five accents. Bo Diddley (1928-2008) was a rhythm and blues musician; he introduced and popularised this rhythm which is now regularly found in rock and pop music as well as pieces influenced by Latin-American music. It was first used in a song released in 1955, which was called simply the 'Bo Diddley Beat'. He was the first to bring together what is really a 3-2 clave rhythm with a rock and roll beat. It can be notated as here and is often played on tom toms:
Another song which used this beat was 'Not Fade Away' by Buddy Holly, covered later by the Rolling Stones. This is how the rhythm (using rhythmic augmentation) was notated in the version by the Rolling Stones:
Now listen to 'Migra' by Santana all the way through. Listen carefully to the use of Bo Diddley beat, and think about the similarities and differences it has with the other two tracks from the 'Supernatural' album we have studied:
Most of the lyrics to 'Migra' are in Spanish, and the song deals with the policies of the USA towards Latin American immigration. The only lines sung in English are:
People, people, let's start together, let's do it right;
People, people let's love one another, I know we know how.
It opens with a dominant drum beat, establishing the underlying rhythm of the song. It is a fleshed-out version of a 3 2 clave rhythm and a development of the Bo Diddly beat.
Santana's guitar enters, soaring ever higher, before the first entry of the voice. The guitar uses distortion and rapid note alteration – a clear characteristic of his guitar playing. The timbre changes throughout due to the distortion. It is an instrumental introduction.
In the introduction;
Establishes the Bo Diddly beat
Establishes the instrumentation
Establishes the guitar techniques
Starts with a spanish verse.
Note that, despite the key signature, Santana treats this piece as being in F major, with the majority of the song being played over an F (tonic) pedal bass. But the melody is in F minor. The use of A flat and E flat in the melody, the flattened third and seventh respectively, gives a slightly bluesy feel to the melody. They underlay is treated as if it is in F major. Throughout the first section, the voice and guitar engage in a call-and-response dialogue.
Short phrases
Simple melody
Distortion and pitch bends for the guitar
Then an extended version of the previous few phrases with the guitar solo repeating small parts of the phrases.
The verse is followed by the chorus, though the underlying beat and basic open fifth harmony on F remains, the voice and guitar dialogue continuing:
There are two quavers accented in the percussion in every bar, beginning with the two quaver rests in the excerpt above. A short instrumental follows, playing a two-bar pattern four times. (repetition) The guitar is more in the background here and cannot really be called call and response. A clap is added to emphasise the last two beats of the Bo Diddly.
Then there is an instrumental break. The sound of the accordion can also be detected at this point. The guitar has been distorted to sound like the accordian and the melody is now major which adds to the tonal ambiguity.
The English words follow, sung to the same melody as the opening verse. Voice and guitar call and response. Back to a minor melody with major underlay. Nothing new from the spanish verse apart from the English words.
Now a long instrumental break. After this, the horn section is featured, though with the underlying Bo Diddley beat still very prominent. The horn section consists of four trumpets and two trombones, playing homophonically at this point, as summarised in this example, the balancing phrase ending on the high F. The brass uses a mute and the guitar is distorted to sound like them. Tonal ambiguity again.
A bass riff follows over a more straightforward backbeat. Beat not syncopated anymore (quavers in the snare and four-to-the-floor bass drum only) and much simpler with just the bass over the top.
The guitar enters with an extended solo, featuring clear rock guitar techniques, including pitch bend, glissando, vibrato, distortion and some use of the 'wah wah' or 'cry baby' effect.
The 'wah wah' effects pedal is used to create a distinctive tone quality that seeks to mimic the human voice. The technique originated in the 1920s when trumpet and trombone players found that, by opening and closing a mute in the bell of the instrument, they could produce a 'crying' effect.
Later, electronics enabled the effect to be applied to guitars, with the country artist Chet Atkins probably being among the first to achieve this with a self-designed pedal. A similar pedal was engineered by Vox in the 1960s, with Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix being among the first to use it on commercially released numbers. Because of the sound it produces, the 'wah wah' pedal is also known as the 'cry baby' pedal.
Structurally, the chorus is repeated
Then there is another verse with both the Spanish and English words. There is nothing new here.
It is then followed again by the horn section before the coda is reached.
The coda consists of some more advanced chords, including F9 (F, A, C, E flat, G) and F#9 (F#, A#, C#, E, G#). The coda is the "tail" of the piece. The song ends with the opening guitar melody, which was first played from bar 5. All of the previous guitar techniques are used.
Music
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Thursday 1 March 2018
Smooth
Melody
Largely syllabic
Melismas on "mood" and "you" and "smooth"
Harmony
Consonant harmony
Vocals and underlay (homophonic)
Piano and percussion provide the underlay
Call and response between vocals and guitar
Only four chords used; Tonic (A minor , subdominant (D minor), dominant (E major), some use of B diminished as a substitute for the subdominant
2-bar bass pattern, disjunct and largely decending, syncopated
Harmony sometimes drops of to leave only the congas
Harmony stays relatively the same
Tonality
A Minor
Rhythm
Syncopation in the vocals
Very straight drum kit part;
Snare on beats two and four
Four to the floor
Bossa nova rhythmn
1 2 and 3 4 1 2 3 and 4
Dotted rhythms over the top
Accents strong beats as there is always a dotted crotchet on beats one and three
Cymbals on all quaver beats
Polyrhythmic
Swung
Syncopated bassline
The layering of rhythms is the groove
Metre
4/4 time signature
Tempo
Andante
Texture
Homophonic
Instrumentation
Electric guitar
Vocals
Drum kit
Congas
Keyboard
Timbales (cascara – hitting the side of the drum to change the timbre)
Guiro
Trumpet
Trombone
Structure
Intro – electric guitar solo, keyboard, horn section (trumpets and trombones)
Verse
Verse
Chorus
Chorus
Instrumental
Verse
Verse
Chorus
Chorus
Break
Chorus
Instrumental
Outro
At the end of each chorus there is a gap before syncopated chords come in and the instrumental starts
Background
Written by Itaal Shur and titles "room 17"
Changed lyrics by Rob Thomas, vocalist for Matchbox Twenty, and titled "smooth"
Written for his wife
Released from Santana's album Supernatural
Lead single of the album
Influences
Traditional African folk music
Pop Rock
Latin Rock – instrumentation
Guitar Techniques
Hammer on
Pull off
Slide
Pitch bend
Vibrato
Distortion
Harmonics on top
Fast quaver-triplets and semi-quavers
Uses pitch bends on sustained notes
Counter melodies to the vocalist
Brass
Called the horn section but only trombones and trumpets
Close harmony chords
Counter melodies for the vocals
Octave doubling
Vocals
Effects used in the first two verses
Vocoder
Small range which fits well with the close harmony horns
Largely syllabic
Melismas on "mood" and "you" and "smooth"
Harmony
Consonant harmony
Vocals and underlay (homophonic)
Piano and percussion provide the underlay
Call and response between vocals and guitar
Only four chords used; Tonic (A minor , subdominant (D minor), dominant (E major), some use of B diminished as a substitute for the subdominant
2-bar bass pattern, disjunct and largely decending, syncopated
Harmony sometimes drops of to leave only the congas
Harmony stays relatively the same
Tonality
A Minor
Rhythm
Syncopation in the vocals
Very straight drum kit part;
Snare on beats two and four
Four to the floor
Bossa nova rhythmn
1 2 and 3 4 1 2 3 and 4
Dotted rhythms over the top
Accents strong beats as there is always a dotted crotchet on beats one and three
Cymbals on all quaver beats
Polyrhythmic
Swung
Syncopated bassline
The layering of rhythms is the groove
Metre
4/4 time signature
Tempo
Andante
Texture
Homophonic
Instrumentation
Electric guitar
Vocals
Drum kit
Congas
Keyboard
Timbales (cascara – hitting the side of the drum to change the timbre)
Guiro
Trumpet
Trombone
Structure
Intro – electric guitar solo, keyboard, horn section (trumpets and trombones)
Verse
Verse
Chorus
Chorus
Instrumental
Verse
Verse
Chorus
Chorus
Break
Chorus
Instrumental
Outro
At the end of each chorus there is a gap before syncopated chords come in and the instrumental starts
Background
Written by Itaal Shur and titles "room 17"
Changed lyrics by Rob Thomas, vocalist for Matchbox Twenty, and titled "smooth"
Written for his wife
Released from Santana's album Supernatural
Lead single of the album
Influences
Traditional African folk music
Pop Rock
Latin Rock – instrumentation
Guitar Techniques
Hammer on
Pull off
Slide
Pitch bend
Vibrato
Distortion
Harmonics on top
Fast quaver-triplets and semi-quavers
Uses pitch bends on sustained notes
Counter melodies to the vocalist
Brass
Called the horn section but only trombones and trumpets
Close harmony chords
Counter melodies for the vocals
Octave doubling
Vocals
Effects used in the first two verses
Vocoder
Small range which fits well with the close harmony horns
Love of my Life
Melody
Origional melody from the third symphony by Brahms
Melismatic on the word "me"
Mainly syllabic
Syncopation in the melody of the chorus ( "every day, evry night" )
Long notes with ties which creates a thoughtful and meaningful mood
Harmony
Imitative call and response between the guitar and vocals
Bassline is four notes which go down in tones except the last one which is a semitone
Sustained chords
Gentle bass
Always ends in a perfect cadence
Consonant harmony but with added 7ths and 9ths
Percussion emphasises the backbeat but this helps us to hear the main bead
Tonality
Minor (G minor - Santana's favourite key)
Brahms wrote it in C minor
Rhythm
Snare on beats 2 and 4 for most of the song
Chorus - "every night" - syncopated
Syncopation in guitar solo
The verses although they are not dotted unlike Brahms they are syncopated
Tempo
Andante
Metre
In common time (4/4)
Brahms origionally wrote it in ¾ and alternates between upbeat and downbeat
Santana does it in 4/4 and it is only ever on the offbeat
Texture
Starts off monophonic with the guitar and keyboard but transitions to a call and response between the vocals and guitar/keyboard.
In the studio version the keyboard and guitar start off homophonic with the guitar taking the lead.
Ultimately in both versions it becomes homophonic.
Instrumentation
Drum kit
Keyboard
Electric Guitar
Vocals
Acoustic guitar
Congas
Bass Guitar
Timbre
Electric sound from guitar and keyboard.
Drum heavy.
African Influences
Heavy percussion
Congas
Syncopation
Call and response
However the melody comes from a western classical piece
Structure
Intro
Verse
Break
Verse
Verse
Break
Chorus
Drum fill
Instrumental
Chorus
Bridge
Instrumental
Repeats to fade
Guitar Techniques
Vibrato
Pull-off
Glissando
Pitch bend
1st verse – it plays a counter melody
2nd verse - it plays imitative call and response with the vocals (a fancy word for this is antecedent-consequent phrasing)
3rd verse – it plays a counter melody
In the Chorus the guitar doubles the voice
Bridge section
Instrumentation cuts out
Builds up gradually
Sus4 chords
Leads to instrumental
Instrumental
Improvisatory
Very wide range of pitches
Pentatonic scale
Syncopated
Pitch bends
Hammer ons
Pull offs
Note repetition often when doing a pitch bend
Congas added
Change in instrumentation
Glissandi
Origional melody from the third symphony by Brahms
Melismatic on the word "me"
Mainly syllabic
Syncopation in the melody of the chorus ( "every day, evry night" )
Long notes with ties which creates a thoughtful and meaningful mood
Harmony
Imitative call and response between the guitar and vocals
Bassline is four notes which go down in tones except the last one which is a semitone
Sustained chords
Gentle bass
Always ends in a perfect cadence
Consonant harmony but with added 7ths and 9ths
Percussion emphasises the backbeat but this helps us to hear the main bead
Tonality
Minor (G minor - Santana's favourite key)
Brahms wrote it in C minor
Rhythm
Snare on beats 2 and 4 for most of the song
Chorus - "every night" - syncopated
Syncopation in guitar solo
The verses although they are not dotted unlike Brahms they are syncopated
Tempo
Andante
Metre
In common time (4/4)
Brahms origionally wrote it in ¾ and alternates between upbeat and downbeat
Santana does it in 4/4 and it is only ever on the offbeat
Texture
Starts off monophonic with the guitar and keyboard but transitions to a call and response between the vocals and guitar/keyboard.
In the studio version the keyboard and guitar start off homophonic with the guitar taking the lead.
Ultimately in both versions it becomes homophonic.
Instrumentation
Drum kit
Keyboard
Electric Guitar
Vocals
Acoustic guitar
Congas
Bass Guitar
Timbre
Electric sound from guitar and keyboard.
Drum heavy.
African Influences
Heavy percussion
Congas
Syncopation
Call and response
However the melody comes from a western classical piece
Structure
Intro
Verse
Break
Verse
Verse
Break
Chorus
Drum fill
Instrumental
Chorus
Bridge
Instrumental
Repeats to fade
Guitar Techniques
Vibrato
Pull-off
Glissando
Pitch bend
1st verse – it plays a counter melody
2nd verse - it plays imitative call and response with the vocals (a fancy word for this is antecedent-consequent phrasing)
3rd verse – it plays a counter melody
In the Chorus the guitar doubles the voice
Bridge section
Instrumentation cuts out
Builds up gradually
Sus4 chords
Leads to instrumental
Instrumental
Improvisatory
Very wide range of pitches
Pentatonic scale
Syncopated
Pitch bends
Hammer ons
Pull offs
Note repetition often when doing a pitch bend
Congas added
Change in instrumentation
Glissandi
Within you, without you
Alap – the opening section of a classical indian performance
Gat - the opening verse where the vocals come in
Normal major scale pattern of tones and semitones – TTSTTTS
Mixolydian scale pattern – TTSTTST
(for information on the mixolydian scale see page on Modes)
Has no clear meter - in the exam, use the words metrical ambiguity to describe this
Polophonic texture
Vocal sections – a very relaxed 4/4 time signature
Call and response section - sounds as if it is in a 5/4 time signature (actually in 10 beat cycles)
Beat cycles - Classical Indian version of time signature
AI – Section A but slightly altered
The harmony does not change – same chord throughout – C open fifth chord (just the notes C and G played over and over again)
It has no third in it so it is neither major nor minor which reflects mixolydian mode
Uses the Mixolydian scale
Was originally in C major but when it was sped up, the pitch automatically went up as well so it is actually in C# major. (could never be performed in the right key or speed in real life because it was altered like this)
The use of the Tritone reflects the spiritual dissonance of the lyrics
Structure
Alap
Section A - 4/4
Section AI – Goes up at the end
Section B
Instrumental section – call and response between classical and - 5/4 - 10 beat cycles – longer than any of the vocal sections
Section AII – At the end there is a question asked but instead of answering it goes into an instrumental
Section B
Very brief outro of instruments and canned laughter
Instrumentation
Tambura
Violin
Swarmandal
Sitar – George Harrison call and response section
Vocals
Tabla
Dilruba – accompanies the vocals
Melody
Use of the tritone – augmented fourth/diminished fifth
Harmony
Same harmony throughout the whole piece
Open/root fifth chord
C# major
Uses the mixolydian scale
Texture
It is polyphonic as there are many different melodies and rhythms playing at once but the hazy quality to the song blends them so the overall effect sounds closer to homophony
Tempo/Meter/Rhythm
Mostly in 4/4
Instrumental section in 10 beat cycles – sounds like 5/4
Sped up from the original recording
Text
Use of the tritone reflects the spiritual dissonance of the text
Asks a lot of questions but doesn't answer many
Reflects the vagueness of Hindu philosophy
Gat - the opening verse where the vocals come in
Normal major scale pattern of tones and semitones – TTSTTTS
Mixolydian scale pattern – TTSTTST
(for information on the mixolydian scale see page on Modes)
Has no clear meter - in the exam, use the words metrical ambiguity to describe this
Polophonic texture
Vocal sections – a very relaxed 4/4 time signature
Call and response section - sounds as if it is in a 5/4 time signature (actually in 10 beat cycles)
Beat cycles - Classical Indian version of time signature
AI – Section A but slightly altered
The harmony does not change – same chord throughout – C open fifth chord (just the notes C and G played over and over again)
It has no third in it so it is neither major nor minor which reflects mixolydian mode
Uses the Mixolydian scale
Was originally in C major but when it was sped up, the pitch automatically went up as well so it is actually in C# major. (could never be performed in the right key or speed in real life because it was altered like this)
The use of the Tritone reflects the spiritual dissonance of the lyrics
Structure
Alap
Section A - 4/4
Section AI – Goes up at the end
Section B
Instrumental section – call and response between classical and - 5/4 - 10 beat cycles – longer than any of the vocal sections
Section AII – At the end there is a question asked but instead of answering it goes into an instrumental
Section B
Very brief outro of instruments and canned laughter
Instrumentation
Tambura
Violin
Swarmandal
Sitar – George Harrison call and response section
Vocals
Tabla
Dilruba – accompanies the vocals
Melody
Use of the tritone – augmented fourth/diminished fifth
Harmony
Same harmony throughout the whole piece
Open/root fifth chord
C# major
Uses the mixolydian scale
Texture
It is polyphonic as there are many different melodies and rhythms playing at once but the hazy quality to the song blends them so the overall effect sounds closer to homophony
Tempo/Meter/Rhythm
Mostly in 4/4
Instrumental section in 10 beat cycles – sounds like 5/4
Sped up from the original recording
Text
Use of the tritone reflects the spiritual dissonance of the text
Asks a lot of questions but doesn't answer many
Reflects the vagueness of Hindu philosophy
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
Technological Effects
Use of varispeeding
Structure
Introduction – electric organ melody – A major Electric organ plays spooky music at the start – melody has a dropped 7th and 6th
Verse
Pre-chorus- modulates B flat major
Drum fill – straight – 3 beats
Chorus – incomplete descending scale - modulates to G major – harmonies in thirds – chords I IV V
Verse
Pre-chorus
Chorus
Verse
Chorus- repeats to fade
Instrumentation
Electric organ
Vocals (adt and varispeed used)
Bass guitar
Drums
Acoustic guitar
Tamboura
Melody
Uses an incomplete descending scale
Dropped 6th and 7th
Harmony
Lots of modulation;
Starts off in A major
Modulates to B flat major in the pre-chorus
Modulates to G major in the chorus
Basic harmony in thirds in the chorus
Chorus – Chords – I IV V
Drone-like harmony in the verse gives a hypnotic feel
Texture
Homophonic with counter melodies
Tempo/Meter/Rhythm
In ¾ for the verses and 4/4 for the drum fill and chorus
Drum fill is straight not swung
A very on-beat bass guitar
Text
Very trippy
Inspired by LSD, John Lennon's son and Alice in Wonderland
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds - the letters stand for LSD
With a little Help from my Freinds
(Intro – electric guitar, drums, vocals. Three chords C D E (all major) bass line goes up in step = very unusual because album is continuous and has to change from cmajor in the previous song to emajor)
(Verse – chords = I, ii, V, I 4/4 time signature. Counter melody form bass guitar.)
What would you think if I sang out of tune,
Would you stand up and walk out on me.
Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song,
And I'll try not to sing out of key.
(Chorus - chords = I, VII, IV, I)
I get by with a little help from my friends,
I get high with a little help from my friends,
Going to try with a little help from my friends.
(unexpected instrumental)
What do I do when my love is away.
(Does it worry you to be alone)
How do I feel by the end of the day
(Are you sad because you're on your own)
No I get by with a little help from my friends,
I get high with a little help from my friends,
Going to try with a little help from my friends.
(Middle eight = Chords = vi, II, I, VII, IV)
(John and Paul sing in thirds)
Do you need anybody,
I need somebody to love.
Could it be anybody
I want somebody to love.
Would you believe in a love at first sight,
Yes I'm certain that it happens all the time.
What do you see when you turn out the light,
I can't tell you, but I know it's mine.
Oh I get by with a little help from my friends,
I get high with a little help from my friends,
Going to try with a little help from my friends.
Do you need anybody,
I just need someone to love,
Could it be anybody,
I want somebody to love.
Oh I get by with a little help from my friends,
Going to try with a little help from my friends.
I get high with a little help from my friends,
Yes I get by with a little help from my friends,
With a little help from my friends.
(Verse – chords = I, ii, V, I 4/4 time signature. Counter melody form bass guitar.)
What would you think if I sang out of tune,
Would you stand up and walk out on me.
Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song,
And I'll try not to sing out of key.
(Chorus - chords = I, VII, IV, I)
I get by with a little help from my friends,
I get high with a little help from my friends,
Going to try with a little help from my friends.
(unexpected instrumental)
What do I do when my love is away.
(Does it worry you to be alone)
How do I feel by the end of the day
(Are you sad because you're on your own)
No I get by with a little help from my friends,
I get high with a little help from my friends,
Going to try with a little help from my friends.
(Middle eight = Chords = vi, II, I, VII, IV)
(John and Paul sing in thirds)
Do you need anybody,
I need somebody to love.
Could it be anybody
I want somebody to love.
Would you believe in a love at first sight,
Yes I'm certain that it happens all the time.
What do you see when you turn out the light,
I can't tell you, but I know it's mine.
Oh I get by with a little help from my friends,
I get high with a little help from my friends,
Going to try with a little help from my friends.
Do you need anybody,
I just need someone to love,
Could it be anybody,
I want somebody to love.
Oh I get by with a little help from my friends,
Going to try with a little help from my friends.
I get high with a little help from my friends,
Yes I get by with a little help from my friends,
With a little help from my friends.
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