The document discusses the complexities of music analysis, contrasting ancient Greek perspectives with modern interpretations, emphasizing the emotional content and structural beauty of music. It highlights the distinction between songs, arrangements, and tracks, and explores the development of songwriting and recording practices over time. Additionally, it poses critical questions regarding the ontological and representational aspects of music, encouraging an analytical approach that prioritizes various musical elements.

1. Dr Paul Carr

3.  Interesting to compare view to that of Plato and the late
antiquity scholars. Greek Modes for example were
deemed to contain emotion.
 Viewed the ‘beauty’ of music as being its formal
structure – contained no emotional content within its
notes or referred by them
 Influenced by Kant’s concept of being ‘disinterested’
 Leads to some interesting questions:
 Is there a difference between what a piece of music is –
and what is known about it?
 What impact does our memory and imagination have
on our interpretation of music?

4.  Do our opinions and words reflect reality – or
construct our own version of it?
 What is the impact of the author (composer) on
how we interpret music.
 What is the impact of lyrics?
 Can music represent ‘real’ meaning?

5.  Production Analysis could include factors such
as
 Impact of Society and Culture
 Impact of the Press
 The impact of the record label/company
 In this session, we will focus more upon -
 Songwriting/Compositional Process
 Intentionality of the composer
 Studio Practices

6.  For analysis of the text – we will consider ‘The
Elements of Music’.
 We will generally be considering where the
ontological presence of a piece of music is.
 Important to remember – that some factors
(melody and harmony for example) can be part
of Production and Immanent process.

7.  Song: Includes basic harmony (chords), melody, lyrics, and some
degree of formal design.
 Musical Arrangement: A specific setting of the song. Includes
instrumentation, specific parts, groove, etc.
 Track: The recording itself, includes both song and arrangement.
 Song and Arrangement can be altered at any point. This is not true
for The Track, as it is a fixed set of relationships that is an
autographic representation of its makers.
 Compositional process can be simultaneous (all three parameters
occurring at the same time.
 Or linear – Song – Arrangement – Track
 Interesting to analyse how songwriters and producers develop
their ideas (or your own work!). How do these three components
work together?

8.  Dictionary definition of musical ingredients for
a Song usually includes the following broad
categories. The basic analysis tools for some of
these factors have already largely been
covered:
Melody Basic Formal
Harmony Lyrics
Design

9.  Can be modified and changed (arranged),
without altering the songs basic character.
 Songs can therefore easily be differentiated
from particular recorded versions – because
they do not involve any precise SOUND.
 Songs are the most recognisable of the three
parameters, and songwriters always get
principal credit on a record, even if they have
had nothing to do with its construction.

10.  Songwriters have historically held a privileged position
in Popular Music.
 It is only recently that musicians (often important
factors in forging a musical work) have gained
royalties through the PPL (in the UK).
 Tin Pan Alley – songwriters were usually separated
from the artists who performed their songs. The songs
therefore had an independent life – not related to their
‘arrangement’ or ‘track’ versions.
 Leiber & Stoller were an early exception to this:
Producers and Composers.
 Many Blues artists were forerunners of the modern day
singer/songwriter as they often linked the composer,
song and arrangement together.
 Post Rock & Roll – songs became linked to specific
recordings (Tracks) to a unprecedented degree.

11.  Listen: ‘Tutti Fruiti’ by Little Richard (1955)
and then Pat Boone’s version (1956).
 What factors differentiate these recordings
from each other?

14.  More detailed than the song.
 Includes aspects such as – instrumentation, style,
groove, texture, timbre, dynamics, tempo, structural
form etc.
 In the context of modern record making, electronic
processing can be part of ‘arranging’ technique, thus
overlapping with The Track.
 For example instrument effects, outboard signal
processing such as compression, mixing desk protocols
such as stereo mix and pan, etc.
 Bands can sometimes aim to obtain a ‘live’ sound, or
alternatively experiment with arranging techniques
that are impossible (or very difficult) to recreate live.

15.  Arranged for voice, guitar, and string quartet.
 Arrangement has a clear identity which was not conceptualised as
part of the Song, and could be reproduced live or notated (The
string parts were).
 However the process of recording inadvertently captured both of
McCartney's attempts at singing the song.
 The fact that the strings were overdubbed at a different ‘time’
makes this work different from a recording of a live performance.
 This soundscape is specific to recorded sound, even though it
sounds like it could be played live – the details dictate otherwise.
 Analysis should therefore take this into account – differentiating
between the Song and Arrangement.

16.  When song writing and recording originally
came together they were sequential processes –
often due to financial implications (Studios
were expensive)
 With the advent of the home studio, the
process has become more symbiotic and
interchangeable.
 For this reason, it is essential to consider the
whole Record (Song, Arrangement, and Track) as
the focus of musicological analysis.

17.  The recording itself.
 It therefore includes the other two parameters.

18.  When we hear the record, we experience both Song and
Arrangement through the Track.
 Very important to realise that Song and Arrangement retain
ontological independence (we can analyse both).
 They potentially have specific modes of representation (lead sheet,
performance, etc) outside of the Record.
 These modes of representation can change over time – IE one may
decide to alter the chords of the song, or the instrumentation of
the arrangement
 This is not the case for the Track – this is a fixed set of
relationships, a mix of action and intent – AUTOGRAPHIC!
 It is interesting to consider how these three parameters can
potentially interrelate in the compositional process, and more
importantly how the Song and Arrangement are influenced by the
Autographic process.

19.  Where is the ontological presence of the song?
 In a single recordings?
 Or Multiple Performances – live gigs,
arrangements, cover versions, etc
 With this philosophy – we consider
compositions/songs more in the imagination
than individual instances – they are considered
the combination of many parts – over time, space
and place.
 When listening to a specific recording – we are
only hearing one instance of the song

20.  For Example
 Timbre
 Texture
 Harmony
 Dynamics
 Melody
 Rhythm
 Mix
 etc

21.  We can discuss/describe how these elements function
independently within the music either diachronically
or synchronically – ‘embodied’/rationalistic meaning.
 We can link them to our own and others’ ‘designative’
meaning.
 We can discuss how they are prioritised to indoctrinate
interest and meaning in the music.

22. To get started, you need to consider where the analytical priority of the
music to be analysed is. For example:
1. Melody (Song)
2. Harmony (Song – although could be Arrangement)
3. Lyrics (Song)
4. Form (Song/Arrangement)
5. Texture (Arrangement)
6. Tempo (Song/Arrangement)
7. Metre (Song/Arrangement)
8. Timbre (Arrangement)
9. Dynamics (Song/Arrangement)
10. Mix (Arrangement)
 Consider two questions
1. How important to the analysis are each of these factors? – Place them in
order of priority and consider some reasons for your answers.
2. How could you use these as a starting point for analysis?

23.  Small Group Task: Listen to the following
pieces. In small groups prioritise the
importance of the above techniques by
numbering them. Provide reasons for your
choice to feed back to the group.
 ‘Car Wash’ by Rose Royce
 ‘All Along The Watchtower’ by Bob Dylan
 ‘Sir Duke’ by Stevie Wonder

24. Element Number Reason
Melody
Harmony
Lyrics
Form
Texture
Tempo
Metre
Timbre
Dynamics
Mix

25.  It is essential that you all begin to develop an
academic voice in preparation for your 3rd year
studies (as well as this assignment!). Although
I will usually recommend texts week by week,
can I suggest the following texts and activities
as a starting point
 This Week – read Stan Hawkins – Prince:
Harmonic Analysis of Anna Stesia I(in Learning
Materials - list)
 Post Opinions of the Essay and what has been
covered in this lecture on my blog

26.  Moore, Allan F., Analyzing popular music
(Cambridge University Press, 2003).
 Wald, Elijah, How the Beatles Destroyed Rock N
Roll (Oxford University Press US, 2009).
 Frith, Simon, and Andrew Goodwin, On record
(Routledge, 1990).
 Shuker, Roy, Popular music (Routledge, 2005).
 Hesmondhalgh, David, and Keith Negus,
Popular music studies (Arnold, 2002).
 Middleton, Richard, Voicing the popular (CRC
Press, 2006).
 Stephenson, Ken, What to listen for in rock (Yale
University Press, 2002).

27.  Many important texts are available in preview format
on Google Books. Read the example below as an
example of how it can be used.
Zak, Albin, The poetics of rock (University of California
Press, 2001).pp 1 – 17. Good overview of of impact of
technology on popular music