Transitions
1960-70
Overview:
The Youth Generation of the 1960s
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Kennedy's assassination
Social issues
Sexual revolution
Music was a central to the 1960s landscape
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
• Early years
• New York City 1961
• March 1962
Bob Dylan
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The Free-wheelin' Bob Dylan
With The Times They Are a-Changin'
Dylan warns the establishment
Newport Folk Festival
Another Side of Bob Dylan
Folk rock
Like a Rolling Stone
Bob Dylan
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Dylan seemed to disappear
“All Along the Watchtower"
Nashville Skyline
Dylan after the 1960s
Dyaln’s Significance
Lyrics
• Symbolism, internal ironies, sarcasm,
thought-provoking messages, dry wit,
surrealism, and graceful flow
Soul And Mowtown:
Aretha Franklin
Soul And Mowtown:
Aretha Franklin
• Early years
• Early 1960s, Aretha pop singer for
Columbia Records
• Wexler and Atlantic Records
• Songs by some of the finest songwriters
• Vocal agility
Respect
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First uptempo hit
Emotionally redefined fast soul
Transforms sexual machismo
Became anthem for women’s movement
Interlocked rhythm section
Respect
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Riffs or sustained chords
“Gospel sound”
Spelling out RESPECT memorable
Verse/refrain has changed
Denser textures
What a Friend We Have in Jesus
• familiar form
• sixteen measures
• AABA pattern
What a Friend We Have in Jesus
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rhythm uncomplicated
F major
Expands form
“freedom” of musical form
What a Friend…
• fills form with melody
• Compare the first two measures of the original
tune with Aretha’s phrase
• notes added and rhythms significantly modified
• some notes falling behind where they “should”;
others coming ahead
• pitch variations
• “blue note”
What a Friend…
• Interpolations
• freedom to add words
• Melisma: a technique in which one syllable
is extended over two or more pitches
Amazing Grace
• eleven minutes
• contains many examples of extended
melismas
• Wide range of vocal timbres
• Shout “What a Friend” “and needles pain”
• Very breathy tone
San Francisco: Overview
1. Drugs
2. Volume levels at live concerts reached a new
high.
3. San Francisco groups often placed considerable
emphasis on the instrumentalists
4. Electronic technology
Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin
• Early years
• Ghet Helms
• Big Brother
Ball and Chain
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Stutters, reiterations
Melismas, interpolations
Hommange to Smith?
Hisses “sitting”
Necessary embellishments
Ball and Chain
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Joplin’s voice not as rich as Smith’s
Tempo of the song slower
Musical space must be filled
Progressively less restrained
Pearl
• Roots in R & B and Gospel
• Janis was unique
Mercedes Benz
• Parodies hippie values and communalism
• A cappella
Art Rock And Frank Zappa
Art Rock And Frank Zappa
• In the late 1960s, the creative minds in rock
began to expand
• Just how far can Rock go?
Classical Elements and
Rock Elements
1. Quote a classical excerpt in the midst of a
rock song.
2. Use a classical melody as the basis of a
rock song.
3. Create a series of rock songs conceived as
units in a larger form.
Frank Zappa
• Introduction
• Offends
• Early years
Help I’m a Rock
A "It can't happen here"—non-metric, non-tonal
vocal expanding this lyric
B "Who could imagine"—(1) "freak out in Kansas"
(followed by improvisation on "Kansas")
(2) "freak out in Minnesota" (followed by
improvisation on "Minnesota")
C: Instrumental section—piano and drums in a
fragmented, non-tonal, pointillistic style
Help I’m a Rock
B: "Who could imagine"—"freak out in
Washington, D.C." (followed by
improvisation on "D.C.")
A: "It can't happen here"—enters underneath
previous section, but begins to dominate
D: "I remember"—metric; three phrases
Help I’m a Rock
A: "It couldn't happen here"—brief return
E: Suzy Creamcheese—dialogue with semifictional Zappa character
A: "It can't happen here"—brief return;
filtered voices
Help I’m a Rock
• Combines two common classical forms: the
arch form and the rondo.
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B B
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• Improvisation
• Experimentation with textures
Frank Zappa
• Drugs
• Uncle Meat
• Fillmore East
• Shut Up Play Yer Guitar