I'm teaching a course on the history of rock 'n' roll this year. It represents quite a (welcome) change for me. I'm using Garofalo's Rockin' Out for several reasons. First, it's very thorough and detailed. It does a great deal to illuminate the industry, changes in technology, and the general cultural and social milieu surrounding this music. Second, more pragmatically, I've used it in the past.
What I don't like about the Garofalo is the lack of focus on the "music itself;" being a theorist, that's what interests me the most. The listening guides by my TTU colleages Angela Mariani and Chris Smith go a long way toward addressing this.
I will confess that much early rock is new to me. I did not grow up listening to it. As longtime readers of this blog probably know, I'm first and foremost a classical person; rap and metal comprise most of the rest of my listening, along with some other contemporary popular music.
So I'm trying to acquaint myself with Johnny Cash, Elvis, Buddy Holly, Bill Haley and his Comets, etc. I tend to learn quite a lot about music by playing it, so I'm trying to learn many of the songs I'm discussing. Most of them are no problem: twelve-bar blues, pick a key, etc. The bass line may be walking, like this:
Some feature more of a "country" bass line, but in the framework of a twelve-bar blues:
Some are more complicated because they change keys or play with the form a bit:
There are two songs that are vexing me, however--testing my aural skills training in a rather enjoyable way. First, Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire:"
There are portions that are in 7 (3+4): the bass line on the recording I have goes: G-D-C | G-D-G-D; on this video, the bassist plays G-D-D | G-D-G-D. There are also spots in the chorus where it sounds like the vocal arpeggiations are outlining a different key than the bass line suggests; I think this is an illusion, though, since both are pretty straightforwardly in G major:
s-t-r-r | d-d-l-s | s-t-r-r | d-d-l-s | d-m-s-- | f-r-m-s | r-t-d
V | IV I | V | IV I | I | (I) | (I)
The bass line does arpeggiate C-E-G, where G is the root of the I chord. The arpeggiation makes it sound like the fifth of the IV chord. And to me, the "Burns, burns, burns..." coming to rest on scale degree 5, perhaps suggests an arrival on dominant, but the bass support is tonic.
The second song that is vexing me is Elvis's early "Good rockin' tonight:"
It sounds to me like the bass starts roughly two beats after the guitar, but when it enters, it sounds so much like a downbeat to me that I have a hard time reconciling where the guitar then fits. The bass and the guitar seem to go in and out of phase in this song (listen to the first guitar solo, around :50).
What I don't like about the Garofalo is the lack of focus on the "music itself;" being a theorist, that's what interests me the most. The listening guides by my TTU colleages Angela Mariani and Chris Smith go a long way toward addressing this.
I will confess that much early rock is new to me. I did not grow up listening to it. As longtime readers of this blog probably know, I'm first and foremost a classical person; rap and metal comprise most of the rest of my listening, along with some other contemporary popular music.
So I'm trying to acquaint myself with Johnny Cash, Elvis, Buddy Holly, Bill Haley and his Comets, etc. I tend to learn quite a lot about music by playing it, so I'm trying to learn many of the songs I'm discussing. Most of them are no problem: twelve-bar blues, pick a key, etc. The bass line may be walking, like this:
Some feature more of a "country" bass line, but in the framework of a twelve-bar blues:
Some are more complicated because they change keys or play with the form a bit:
There are two songs that are vexing me, however--testing my aural skills training in a rather enjoyable way. First, Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire:"
There are portions that are in 7 (3+4): the bass line on the recording I have goes: G-D-C | G-D-G-D; on this video, the bassist plays G-D-D | G-D-G-D. There are also spots in the chorus where it sounds like the vocal arpeggiations are outlining a different key than the bass line suggests; I think this is an illusion, though, since both are pretty straightforwardly in G major:
s-t-r-r | d-d-l-s | s-t-r-r | d-d-l-s | d-m-s-- | f-r-m-s | r-t-d
V | IV I | V | IV I | I | (I) | (I)
The bass line does arpeggiate C-E-G, where G is the root of the I chord. The arpeggiation makes it sound like the fifth of the IV chord. And to me, the "Burns, burns, burns..." coming to rest on scale degree 5, perhaps suggests an arrival on dominant, but the bass support is tonic.
The second song that is vexing me is Elvis's early "Good rockin' tonight:"
It sounds to me like the bass starts roughly two beats after the guitar, but when it enters, it sounds so much like a downbeat to me that I have a hard time reconciling where the guitar then fits. The bass and the guitar seem to go in and out of phase in this song (listen to the first guitar solo, around :50).