Module 1
Basic Music Components & Song Structure; A Brief Explanation Through Todays Top Songs
Defining Music…
There are plenty of ways the incredibly broad subject of ‘music’ can be defined, and none of them are explicitly wrong. Though, I like to break down what music is into the fundamental components of sound. Even these fundamentals can be debated, but let’s take a look at the five I consider: Pitch, Duration, Amplitude, Timbre, and Morphology.
The lower pitch has a frequency of 220Hz, while the higher pitch has a frequency of 440Hz.
Pitch is literally defined by the highness or lowness of a sound. Scientifically, pitch is measured in frequency, or hertz (Hz). Higher frequencies = higher pitches, while lower frequencies = lower pitches. Pitches can be combined and strung together to create more common things such a melody and harmony. These two components can then be extended into longer units called chord progressions, which we will cover in Module 3. Pitch is generally perceived relative to other factors, including other pitches. As such, there is no singular high or low pitches, but instead higher and lower pitches when compared to one another. See the players here to listen to a set of two pitches!
In western music notation, pitches can be written on what we call a staff using the ‘musical alphabet.’ This alphabet starts at the letter ‘A’ and goes to the letter ‘G’ before restarting. This restart is because, in a way of speaking, each letter symbol is the same sound, just perceived at a higher frequency (demonstrated in the above media players as well.) As pitches go up the staff, the higher the pitch is. There are also symbols that allow us to alter a letter pitch, creating a system of 12 pitches that are equally spaced. Certain pitches can be collected and utilized throughout the piece consistently - which creates what we call modes and key signatures - we’ll learn more about these in later modules.
You can see the image here for a basic view of the staff. If all of this is new to you, it may be worth your while to view the site musictheory.net for basic western music theory lessons.
In electronic music- or most music produced today - pitch can be displayed in several different ways. It can be expressed via the frequencies we’ve already discussed, or visually in the form of a piano roll. The image here is of the piano roll in the digital audio workstation, Logic Pro X. The keyboard interface to the left shows the pitches, while the items on the roll itself are the pitches and their duration. In the piano roll visualization, pitches are higher at the top, and lower at the bottom, mimicking both a real piano and the staff.
Duration is exactly what it sounds like - how long a sound lasts. In many contemporary classical or electronic compositions duration is measured in milliseconds, seconds, minutes, or any time scale. However, in most other music created today, duration is expressed through rhythm and meter. Meter is how we organize groups of rhythms across the entirety of a piece of music. In western notation, we have time signatures and note values to help us organize said music. Time signatures provide information on how each measure is organized (with each measure being the section of staff in between the vertical lines), and the rhythms being the collection of note values inside the measure. Note values are what we call whole notes, half notes, eighth notes, and so on. Each is half the length of the previous, as suggested by their naming convention. See the image here for a couple of common time signatures. Each signature is felt a little bit differently from the other, and we’ll be able to explore how once we start exploring more music. Again, if this is all completely new to you, check out these lessons at musictheory.net!
Meter and rhythm are handled pretty similarly in digital audio workstations, or DAW’s. These software include options to set time signatures for entire projects and divide the tracks into measures just like western written notation. The workflow is a little different but is altogether the same system. Here’s another image from Logic to show you what the interface may look like. In the middle section here, you have the bar (measure) number and beat you’re on, the tempo or speed of the tracks, as well as the time signature and a key signature.
Amplitude is defined by how much a particle is displaced from its starting position by a sound wave in any given period. The more energy a sound has, the larger the sound wave, subsequently the louder the sound is perceived. Scientifically measured in decibels (dB), the amplitude can be controlled precisely by many audio processing software. Before reaching any software, the amplitude can be controlled by other electronic equipment (such as amplifiers) or the performer themselves. They can then be further processed to increase the volume of the sound after amplitude is recorded.
A distinction: amplitude is a numerical value associated with a sound that describes how it physically behaves. On the other hand, volume is the perceived loudness of a sound after it is processed by the brain. For the purposes of this course, the generalized and common terms of volume or loudness will be more than sufficient in writings and communications.
Image of a Spectrogram by Aquegg from Wikipedia
Timbre (pronounced TAM-burr) is an incredibly complex component of sound that is defined by the partials of a sound. Partials are the frequency bands that are present in noise that all combine to create sounds that are unique to one another. Stated simply, it’s why a flute and a trumpet sound different from one another, why people’s voices sound different from one another, and even why different models of the same guitar can have different sounds! We can now measure timbres with the technology found in spectrograms, as seen in the image here. As stated before, timbre is an incredibly complex subject - check out this article if you want to learn more, and you can view this video from Berklee Online for another simple explanation.
Morphology is a relatively new term that was coined by 20th-century composer John Cage. He describes it as the change over time that can occur to a sound.* Think of an echo that decays over time, or turning the volume knob up during a song. Morphology can occur across any sound and effect any aspect of the sound, not just volume, and is often referred to as an ‘envelope.’ Though, this is usually more applicable to electronic music than acoustic music. Morphology is inextricably linked to timbre and can be viewed as somewhat redundant. However, I like to view morphology as a combination of all of the previous components and how they are interacting with each other across the entirety of a given piece.
*John Cage, Silence (Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1961)
Image of John Cage by Anefo Bogaerts, from Wikipedia
“Okay…but I thought this course was about music, not physics…”
You’re right, and I promise all of this foundational information will be important as we visit other types of media in later modules! We’re going to finish up this technical module by looking at a couple of top songs in the U.S. from 2021. Through the music of Olivia Rodrigo and Drake, we’ll be learning about some basic song structures.
good 4 u by Olivia Rodrigo
This summer ‘21 song is one of a few that rocketed Olivia Rodrigo to stardom seemingly overnight. It features well-produced beats, a catchy melody, and a story that is likely relatable to many listeners. Additionally, the song has a simple and familiar structure, which makes it a great place to start is critical listening of these kinds of pieces.
Before you start, though, grab a piece of paper and a utensil, or bring up some kind of note-taking document. Using timestamps, lyrics, or other characteristics, try to sketch out the different sections of the song. A section can be defined by different instrumentation, volume, rhythms, or lyrics. Don’t worry about labeling sections ‘correctly’ just yet - we’ll get to that. Feel free to create as many or few sections as you like and just sketch what you intuitively think is right. The chart here is an example of what your chart may begin to look like, but again, these are just notes, so make them however you see fit. Oh, and obviously you can pause and rewatch any sections of the video. Let’s begin!
How did you do? You can compare your own chart to what I came up with myself here. I use a few terms that you’re probably familiar with, and if not, you will be soon enough!
The verse of a song is usually defined sections of music that contrast from one another in some way. In most pop music, the verses tend to be musically identical to one another with the only difference being a change in lyrics. Though, sometimes verses can vary greatly with other characteristics, including changes in instrumentation or in any of the components of music we’ve talked about above.
The chorus is a repeated section of a song that provides some familiarity to the listeners, usually accompanied by a repeated melody and lyrics and the same chord progressions. Choruses do not have to be verbatim to one another - in fact, some of the best music can take repeated portions of music and make small changes as the piece goes on to ramp up the experience. This is exactly the case with good 4 u, with the last chorus having a slightly different melody and performance by Olivia, as well as other differences found in the instruments.
A bridge can take many forms and is often used as a contrasting section that drives us into a verse or chorus (of which we’ve heard before.) The contrasting elements of a bridge can include different pitches, instrumentation, volume, or again, any of the components we’ve already discussed. Bridges are often called transitions as well, though I like to reserve that term for less contrasting material that still serves as a transition
A pre-chorus is exactly what it sounds like, a section of music that prepares us for the chorus. It can also be set with different pitches and instrumentation, almost functioning as a bridge. The distinction is that it would always come before a chorus.
The development of a song structure chart is by no means a science. I myself had difficulty determining if what I had labeled the pre-chorus would actually be considered a bridge. It’s by far the most contrasting section and serves to break up the patterns we have served so far, but its use in ramping up back into the chorus led me to label it as a pre-chorus. So long as you are able to justify articulate your reasoning, I don’t see much reason to split hairs further!
Knife Talk by Drake feat. 21 Savage and Project Pat
Another song released in late 2021, Knife Talk was featured on Drake’s album '“Certified Lover Boy,” containing verses from 21 Savage and samples from Project Pat. The song features several techniques/styles including sampling, call & response, and some interesting rhythmic flow; all of which we’re going to further explore in our next module about hip-hop and rap. Until then, however, we’re simply going to chart out the song sections as we had done before. Try it out for yourself while giving the piece a couple of listens, and I’ll see you on the other side.
With this piece, you should have noticed quite a bit of variance in the song structure compared to the last. Overall there is a similar balance between verses and choruses, but there are far more verses here. This is to be expected with a rap track, and it creates an interesting inversion when compared to pop pieces where the featured content tends to be the choruses.
As we progress through each verse, we can also hear developments of the other musical components, for example, in Drakes first verse, we not only get a different flow and rhyme scheme, but also additional layers of instrumentals heard in the form of a string instrument trilling - subtly popping out of the structure. Since the underlying music is so understated, these subtle developments do a lot of work to keep the listener engaged.
We’ll cover more hip-hop and rap in the next module by analyzing some early history and techniques of the genre. This track, as well as some others on this album, is a great introduction to the kinds of things we find in early rap and hip hop, even though it was produced in 2021. Continue on to the “Learning Extension” if you would like before moving on to Module 2 - and don’t forget to complete this module’s assignment!
Learning Extension: Interpolation and Music Copyright
Olivia Rodrigo’s song good 4 u received a great deal of unexpected attention in 2021 due to its similarity to a 2007 song by Paramore called Misery Business. This specific scenario is rife with a never-ending issue inflicting the industry: music copyright laws! Adam Neely has a great video on the topic covering the matter thoroughly, and I strongly recommend you check it out. He also covers topics like chord progressions in these songs, which will give you a little insight into where we’re going in future modules.
Module Assignment 1
Song Structure of My Universe
Complete another song structure chart, but this time for the song My Universe by Coldplay & BTS. This is another chart-topper of 2021, and will likely follow a similar structure to good 4 u and other pop songs. You can complete this all in Blackboard!
(Click the ‘Module Assignment’ link for a quick way to the assignment)