Critical Analysis
Rock - Fatherson
When analysing music it is important to consider the following key elements to help understand why the composer has chosen them:
- melody/harmony
- rhythm/tempo
- texture/structure
- timbre/dynamics
Watch the clip below of Fatherson playing rock music and think about the elements used.
Fatherson - "Lost Little Boys"
Instrumentation and genre
'Lost Little Boys' by Fatherson is an example of rock music and contains instruments and techniques relevant to this genre. Rock music traditionally includes the use of electric guitars, bass guitar, drums and vocals. There are other instruments that can also be used in a rock setting, such as keyboards.
An electric guitar requires amplification in order for it to make the loud sound assosciated with rock music. It is much louder than an acoustic guitar and so more appropriate for rock music.
Composers often use effects on the instruments and voices in rock music. These effects can change the sound by altering the pitch and tone of the instrument and/or by making it sound like it is being played in a bigger or smaller venue.
As you watch the Fatherson video you can hear distortion on the electric guitar as the sound of the instrument becomes unclear and fuzzy due to an increase in noise. This is achieved through the use of effects pedals. There are a variety of effects you can apply to your guitar playing in order to make it sound bigger and more textured.
Another technique found in rock music is reverb, where the voice or instrument is manipulated by an effects pedal or in the sound mix to sound like they are being played in a bigger or smaller room.
There are also effects that can be achieved without effects. Muting is where the player uses their hand or a device to make the instrument sound quieter.
Melody/harmony
Different styles of music use different textures for their melody and harmony. Rock music commonly gives the melody to the lead vocalist and shares the accompaniment with the rest of the band.
The electric guitar will play the chords to accompany the melody and at times may also be given a lead solo line to play, giving the vocalist a chance for rests within the song. This creates interest for the listener and gives the solo guitarist a chance to improvise and demonstrate their guitar skills.
The drummer will maintain a steady beat throughout, keeping in time with the bass guitar player who will play the bass line.
The bass line is created by playing single notes from the chord sequence, providing a low harmony that can be played alongside the guitar chords and the vocal melody. This helps make the song sound fuller.
Some rock bands have more than one electric guitarist and they will play a lead guitar part full of riffs and counter melodies to compliment the vocal melody.
A guitarist has many options when accompanying, choosing to play the melody or a counter melody by picking out single notes or by strumming the strings, playing full chords.
Parts of a rock song
Introductions are very common in popular music genres like rock to help set the mood for the piece.
An introduction can be as short as a few notes or as long as 8 or 16 bars of music. This will establish the key and tempo of the song. Some of the instruments will play the introduction but not necessarily all of them. The introduction is commonly made up of a short sequence of notes and chords taken from the main melody or chorus. This allows the listener to get the impression that the music is building up to the singer entering at the verse, or indeed the full band entering at the chorus.
A coda is the final section in a piece, where the composer lets you know that the music is ending. This can last for two or more bars and may include a rallentando as the piece gradually slows down to a stop. Codas in popular music include the repetition of a vocal line used in the song being repeated a few times.
Rock song melodies vary from group to group, but they all aim to have a catchy chorus so that the listener will recognise it and sing along.
The chorus will be repetitive, with only a few sentences or words so it is easy to remember. Sometimes songs will be strophic which means they will use the same music for each verse and different music for the chorus, making it easier for the listener to recognise which is the verse and which is the chorus.
Composers will change the tonality of a piece of music in order to provide more interest. They can introduce a new key and scale in their melody and harmony. Rock bands will use this technique, using a scale and key for their verse and a different scale and key for their chorus. They may even use a third new key for their middle eight section to add further interest.
A common technique is to use a minor key for the verse and a major key for the catchy chorus.
Rhythm and tempo
It is important for composers to choose an appropriate time signature, the number of beats per bar, for their music to helps to create the mood. For your National 5 exam you must be able to identify a number of simple and compound rhythms, identifying how many beats are in each bar.
A simple rhythm has 2, 3 or 4 crotchet beats per bar and the time signature will have a number 4 on the bottom half, as in: 2/4, 3/4, 4/4
A compound rhythm is a rhythm with 6, 9 or 12 quaver beats per bar and will have a number 8 on the bottom half, as in: 6/8, 9/8, 12/8.
Rock music commonly uses a rock drumming pattern with a simple time signature of 4/4 to establish a strong beat to sing along and dance to. Little Lost Boys uses a rock drum beat and a time signature of 4/4.
Composers are always thinking of ways to create interest and variety. When a drummer wants to create variation in their drumming pattern they will play a short rhythm or pattern using contrasting sounds on the kit. Usually this will consist of hitting the tom toms and cymbals. This provides interest for the listener and is called a drum fill. Fatherson's drummer uses drum fills to great effect in Lost Little boys.
Texture and structure
All composers have to consider the form and structure of their work.
AB form consists of music with two clear sections: section A and section B.
Ternary form has three clear sections of music with section A then section B then back to section A.
Rondo form consists of music with a recurring section A which is repeated between new sections of music.
Other considerations include whether to write an introduction - an opening section of music - and coda - a closing section of music. The form of music is important to make it sound convincing to the listener.
Music that consists of lots of structured repetition will be catchy and memorable for the listener. Music that is less repetitive, that keeps changing pulse and key will sound unpredictable and more random. This unpredictability can add excitement to the song.
Fatherson discuss the form of their song and how they used the various concepts like:
- verse - in order to tell the story of the song
- chorus - the catchy, repeated section which follows the verse
- middle 8 - comes midway through a song to provide interest and creates a change of mood and modulation before leading back to the chorus
Timbre and dynamics
Composers choose instruments for the varying timbres they will bring to a piece - flutes and violins sound high, while bassoons and cellos sound low. The same level of consideration also needs to be taken when composing for voices.
The lead singer in Fatherson has a tenor voice - a high sounding male voice. If his voice had sounded much lower/deeper we would have said he had a bass voice.
We can also describe female voices as being high or low. A high sounding female voice is called a soprano while a lower sounding female voice is called an alto.
