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The Motown Beat• A medium tempo, between
100-120 beats per minute
• A strong backbeat
• Light timekeeping, usually percussion
• Moderate syncopation
• A bass line in free rhythm
• A dense, multi-layered, heterogeneous texture
Motown Melody
• Riffs– Instrumental riffs tend to be
shorter
• Saturation
Motown Harmony• Our experience with the Blues taught us three useful things
about harmony– We hear harmonies from the bass up
– I, IV and V are the three basic chords of the blues—and of early rock
– The change from one chord to the next creates a rhythm
Motown Instrumentation• A rhythm section
contains three types of instruments– Bass instrument (stand-
up or electric bass)
– Chord instrument (guitar or piano)
– Percussion instrument (drum kit, tambourine, etc.)
Dynamics and Inflection• Dynamics refers to loudness and softness
• Inflection is dynamic variation on a small scale, a stress of one note over another
• Hierarchy
– Vocal lines most prominent
– Bass line and backbeat next loudest
– All other lines in the background
Texture• Texture is the
relationship of different layers of musical activity
• Most commona) Melodyb) A strong backbeatc) Light percussion
Texture• Motown songs
consist more of a set of preferences than a set of prescriptions
• A persistent feature in Motown recordings is call and response
Form• The form of the
song amplifies and reinforces the
verbal message
• Mostly through the alternation of
verse and refrain
Summary of the Motown Sound• Light timekeeping
(percussion and chord instruments)
• Melodic saturation• Moderate syncopation• Rich instrumentation• Hierarchical dynamics• Dense, multilayered
texture• Verse/Refrain forms
that climax at title phrase
Why is Motown So Influential?
• A balance between melody and rhythm
• Multiple points of entry (riffs and hooks)
• A fresh new vocal sound close to mainstream taste
• Instrumentation that appealed to a wide-ranging audience
• Easy to follow forms
• What is Soul music?
• Who are some of its main contributors?
• What are some musical examples?
• How is Soul music a reflection of the late 1950s and early 1960s?
The Sounds of Soul (video)
• Who are the Funk Brothers?
• What is their contribution to Motown?
• Which musician do we establish an allegicance with? How do the filmakers create this allegiance? What makes this musician compelling (or not)?
Standing in the Shadow of Motown