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Track - Breakdown 1 - Kentrick Lamar / Alright 2 - Bill Whithers / Ain’t No Sunshine
What is the time signature of the track?
Track 1 - 4/4
Track 2 – 4/4
Does the time signature change anywhere?
Track 1 – No
Track 2 - No
Does the “feel” change anywhere?
Track 1 – He builds tension in the break down by dropping all melodic and harmonic elements except his voice.
Track 2 – No the feeling is constant throughout.
What is the tempo?
Track 1 - 74 bpm
Track 2 – 110 bpm
Significant rhythmic features?
Track 1 – The guitar harmony is a suspended syncopation. The guitar harmony also provides steady repetition throughout the song. The structure of the song repeats itself with a breakdown in the middle. The vocal melody more or less the same in each verse and the same in each hook. The string melodies tend to be repeated in 2 bar phases.
Track 2 – The bass and main harmonies reinforce the same syncopated rhythm. The kick also emphasizes this and adds more notes in for a more complex rhythm. The hi hats and snares use triplets and rolls intermittently to vary the pattern. Triplet rolls are very common in trap music. The vocal could be considered in 16/4 time for a lot of the song, although the meter is constantly changing throughout (a key feature of any good rap vocal).
Structural Breakdown?
Track 1 – Intro Withers sings for 3 ¼ bars before the first count of the first verse. Verse 1 is 4 bars, Hook 1 is 4 bars, Verse 2 is also 4 bars and so is Hook 2. There is a breakdown for 6 bars. Verse 3 is 6 bars, Hook 3 is 4 bars and there is a 6 bar outro.
Track 2 – Intro/Hook 8/Verse 8/Pre Chorus 8/Hook 8/Verse 16/Pre Chorus 8/Hook 8/Outro 8
What is the tonality? Maj, Min, Modal, Atonal
Track 1 - Minor
Track 2 - Modal
What key?
Track 1 – A
Track 2 – G
What scale?
Track 1 – A Minor
Track 2 – G
What Chord sequence?
Track 1 – A, E, G, A
Track 2 – D Min, D# Min
How often do they change?
Track 1 – A low note is plucked, and the other chord tones are then plucked an 1/8th note later, pattern switches back and forth. They change quite frequently. No chord is played more than two and every second bar is sustained. The chord can change 3 times per bar.
Track 2 – In the intro vocal sample plays the main harmony in the track. It plays a syncopated rhythm. There are two chords the first one is played every 4 bars. The second then fills the rest of the space with the syncopated pattern.
Are there other harmonies?
Track 1 – The acoustic guitar plays the only harmony in the song. The vocal melody, bassline and strings make up the rest of the harmonics if you consider them together. After the breakdown a western style piano starts to harmonize prominently.
Track 2 – A piano plays a more complex variation on the progression after the intro.
Main melodic ideas?
Track 1 – The vocal is the main melody of the song. The bass line drives the song forward, it’s also complex enough to complement the minimalistic guitar and stop it being repetitive. The bass is mixed quite loud when it comes in. It defiantly acts as the main instrumental melody. When the strings come in in the second verse they take over but the bass takes the lead again in the hook.
Track 2 – The vocal provides the main melody for the track. A trumpet soloing can be heard throughout the song.
What instruments are used?
Track 1 – Acoustic guitar, Bass, Strings, Drum set (layered with drum hits) & Piano.
Track 2 – Sampler, 808 Bass, Vocal samples, Trumpet, Piano, Vocal.
What are their roles?
Track 1 – The bass leads the track in a syncopated rhythm with the guitar. The guitar is low, but it emphasizes the upbeat. The weak guitar contrasted with the bass sets the tone, that the song is about struggle. The strings fill the upper end of the spectrum and also build and release tension in the hook and the drums pick up the pace of the song.
Track 2 – The song is both intense and relaxing. Some elements have been altered to just on the edge of eerie but still have a laid-back feel like the vocal sample in the intro. The bass is so large that it instantly adds an intensity to the song, but it is so clean and well produced you nearly feel warm listening to it. I think the bass is nearly so loud you cannot really think about anything else, and therefore in this way, it has a relaxing quality.
Timbre? Materials, How its played and FX processing?
Track 1 – Bass strong bass with a large presence. Conservative subs to maintain clarity but still warm it also has strong lows/low mids. The bass is played with a lot of swing and definitely leads the song apart from the vocal. I would say there is not much processing on this instrument just some compression. The guitar is quiet and nearly purposely sloppy. Note’s buzz and you can hear the slide on the strings. This suits the down beat mood of the song. The strings are grand in sound. They bring a somewhat up lifting feeling to the song but not on in a happy way more of a drive like feeling.
Track 2 – The bass is full and warm. Its timbre can only be achived through synthesis and digital/analogue processing. The same goes for the drums. They are short attack and are compressed. The frequency content of these samples are distorted and overdriven for loudness.
What makes this fit the genre its in? Rhythm, instrumentation, melodic content, harmony?
Track 1 – This is a Rhythm and Blues track. Its not hard to see why this is part of this genre. Withers signs his troubles to a guitar chord progression as he taps his foot. This alone is enough to categorize the song as such. The the bassline uses blues style intervals. The focusses on rhythm particularly in the breakdown where it is more prominent.
Track 2 – This is a hip-hop track with a trap and jazz influence. The album the track is off was Lamar’s homage to jazz music. This can be heard in the track’s dominant chords, semi tone chord changes and the jazz trumpet. The trap influence comes from the large 808 bass punchy, sharp, and syncopated percussion.
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This Is An Introduction To Music Theory Blog. Read From The Bottom Up.
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References
Music, C., 2021. Music theory basics: what are notes, intervals, scales and chords?. [online] MusicRadar. Available at: <https://www.musicradar.com/how-to/what-are-notes-intervals-scales-and-chords> [Accessed 12 February 2021].
LANDR Blog. (2019). Extended Chords: How to Add Color to Your Songs with Extensions. [online] Available at: https://blog.landr.com/extended-chords/ [Accessed 12 Feb. 2021].
Musictheory.Net [Online]. Available at: www.musictheory.net/lessons/42 (Accessed: 12 February 2021).
Grimm, G., 2021. Extended Chords: Different Types & How They're Formed 7,9,13. [online] MusicTheorySite. Available at: <https://musictheorysite.com/extended-chords/#:~:text=Extended%20chords%20are%20simply%20chords,general%20major%20and%20minor%20triads.> [Accessed 12 February 2021].
En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Suspended chord. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspended_chord#:~:text=A%20suspended%20chord%20(or%20sus,less%20commonly%2C%20a%20major%20second.&text=Suspended%20fourth%20and%20second%20chords%20can%20be%20represented%20by%20the,2%2C%207%7D%2C%20respectively.> [Accessed 12 February 2021].
Encyclopedia Britannica. 2021. rhythm | Definition, Time, & Meter. [online] Available at: <https://www.britannica.com/art/rhythm-music> [Accessed 13 February 2021].
Musictheory.net. 2021. Dot and Ties. [online] Available at: <https://www.musictheory.net/lessons/14> [Accessed 13 February 2021].
Howmusicworks.org. 2021. How Music Works. [online] Available at: <https://www.howmusicworks.org/508/Meter-and-Rhythm/Time-Signatures#:~:text=Meter%20and%20time%20signatures%20refer,in%20a%20piece%20of%20music.> [Accessed 13 February 2021].
Musictheory.net. 2021. musictheory.net. [online] Available at: <https://www.musictheory.net/lessons/15> [Accessed 13 February 2021].
signature, M., 2021. Meter/ Rhythm/ Time signature. [online] Music: Practice & Theory Stack Exchange. Available at: <https://music.stackexchange.com/questions/95481/meter-rhythm-time-signature> [Accessed 13 February 2021].
Classical Guitar Shed. 2021. How Strong and Weak Beats Work in Music - Lesson and Tips. [online] Available at: <https://www.classicalguitarshed.com/strong-weak-beats-music-guitar/> [Accessed 13 February 2021].
Blog.guitarmethod.com. 2021. [online] Available at: <http://blog.guitarmethod.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/7-8-Time-Accents-120.png> [Accessed 21 February 2021].
Whimsically Theoretical. 2021. Hollow Bastion: A Lesson in Irregular Time Signatures. [online] Available at: <https://whimsicallytheoretical.com/2017/03/21/hollow-bastion-a-lesson-in-irregular-time-signatures/> [Accessed 21 February 2021].
Musictheory.net. 2021. musictheory.net. [online] Available at: <https://www.musictheory.net/lessons/16> [Accessed 21 February 2021].
Famous Songs in Slightly Odd Time Signatures – a Guide to Rhythms. The Evil Jam, 29 Mar. 2017, theeviljam.co.uk/2014/07/31/famous-songs-in-slightly-odd-time-signatures-a-guide-to-rhythms/.
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Pitch & Rhythm
Combining these two concepts gives us music. My next 3 posts will be a transcription for the main melody and hook of Bill Withers’ “Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone.” The piece is a good example of melodic and harmonic rhythms.
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Polyrhythms
Polyrhythms combine different rhythm meters in the same in the context of a single time signature. Polyrhythms are often used in trap music. Trap is normally in 4/4 or 8/4 time, but percussive and melodic rhythms are often borrowed from 3 /4 or 6/8 time. A poly rhythm can come from two instruments playing in different meters or from one instrument playing multiple meters. In Trap music for example the bass line could be in a 4 /4 rhythm and a melodic synth could be in a 3 /4 rhythm. Hi hats and snares often switch to 3 /4 for rolls and then back to 4 /4. This gives the percussion a glitchy feel which is a fundamental part of the genre.
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Accents
To accent a note means to play it louder. Accents in sheet music are shown by a > symbol above the accented note. Accenting off beats is a form of syncopation.
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Syncopation
Syncopation is when strong notes are made weaker, or off beats are emphasized. (Wikipedia Syncopation, 2021). Syncopation offsets when the first strong beat of a bar is. Trap and Electro make use of syncopated kick patterns to make less predictable patterns. These syncopated kicks have a punchy and more original sound than kick patterns that rely on typical strong beats.
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Strong and Weak Beats.
The first beat of the bar also known as the downbeat is usually a strong beat except for most types of syncopated rhythm. Usually in 4/4 time the first and third beats are strong, but this can sound generic. Patterns of strong and weak beats propel music forward and can change the emotion or context of the music. Without strong and weak beats music would be lifeless and plain sounding.
(How Strong and Weak Beats Work in Music - Lesson and Tips, 2021)
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Tempo
Tempo is the word for the pace of a piece of music i.e. how fast or slow it is. Tempo can be described by a number in bpm (beats per minute) or as various Latin words that describe the pace.
The Latin words are,
Largo – very slow
Larghetto - slow
Adagio - slow
Lento - medium slow
Andante - medium
Moderato - not quite fast
Allegro – fast
Vivo - lively
Presto – very fast
Latin words for tempo changes are,
Accelerando – getting faster
Ritardando – slowing down
Ritenuto - slower
Rallentando – getting slower over time
Rubato - relax the rhythm and increase and decrease speed to suit the music
A lot of music exists within a typical tempo range for its genre. These ranges are not strict, as music songs are often outside of its typical genre range. A genre can span a broad range if you consider all its subgenres together. For example, Chill house or lo-fi can be as low as 90bpm and tech house can go above 130bpm.
In most genres of modern music pace is consistent. However classical music and scoring music still pace changes regularly even today. Genres like funk soul and jazz also use these techniques but re-popularisation of the genres in a modern context has mostly eliminated this.
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11/8 - This meter holds three compound and one simple.
Led Zepplin use complex time signatures to create some of their biggest hits, including, Kashmir which involves a 9 /8 meter. They also combine 3 /4 time with 4 /4, in Black Dog, which is a form of poly rhythm. (Famous Songs in Slightly Odd Time Signatures – a Guide to Rhythms)
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10/8 - This meter contains two compound and one simple beat. (musictheory.net, 2021)
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8/8 - This meter has two compound and one simple beat. (Hollow Bastion: A Lesson in Irregular Time Signatures, 2021)
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7/8 - This meter has two simple and one odd beat. (Blog.Guitarmethod.com, 2021)
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Complex time Also known as odd meter contains combinations of simple and compound meters. Complex time signature cannot be divided by 2 or 3. 5/8 - This meter contains a simple and compound beat.
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