More Than Words': Analyzing Popular Music Beyond the Lyrics

'More Than Words': Analyzing Popular Music Beyond the Lyrics
                                                Ian Power

                        Offce, Offce Hours, E-mail, Names of TA's, etc.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
People listen to songs, or other kinds of music with text, constantly--using messages found in the lyrics
to get excited, to be soothed, to express love, to help with a task, to help them cry, or to solidify the most
fundamental philosophies of their lives. Message, meaning, or feeling, however, does not come purely
from the syntax of the text; combining words with music adds another layer of perception to both
elements, and the practice has been repeated and varied by humans (and animals) since the beginning
of spoken language. This class serves as an introduction to musical analysis by focusing on popular
music: how it was made, how it creates its perceptual effects, how it changes what is being sung or
spoken alongside it. By moving through techniques for analysis, glances at different parts of history,
written analysis assignments and musical or lyrical composition projects, students will leave the class
better equipped to interrogate the constant barrage of musical text in their everyday lives--and better
equipped to manipulate it themselves. The object of this course is to give insight into how every piece of
music with text is saying more than is written in the text alone. This class will mostly, but not exclusively,
examine music with English text.

COURSE OVERVIEW:
The format of the class is typical: two lectures and one section per week. The frst lecture will present a
theoretical overview of the subject; the second will look at musical examples with more depth. While
there are reading assignments for this course, you should treat the pieces of music as your textbook. You
will notice that there are no lectures specifcally about lyrics; we will, however, be talking about music's
relation to its lyrics in and throughout every class in an attempt to draw them together to form cohesive
arguments about how a song functions. This will culminate in a fnal discussion on what musical
meaning is, if anything, and what use its study has in our everyday lives. Along the way you will
complete four short assignments to test out techniques learned in class; two projects of musical or lyrical
composition to get you thinking from an artist's perspective; two small exams on the more factual
material in the class; and a fnal analysis paper where you create an argument about a piece of music of
your choosing, and analyze it using the analysis and writing techniques taught throughout the class.

PREREQUISITES:
Previous musical study is not required for this class, nor is it discouraged. Traditional music theory is
but one of myriad ways to analyze music, and in this class you will learn others that can be adapted to
your skill set and musical perspective. You will be asked a number of times to discuss music with lyrics
that you yourself listen to. The fnal project has an option for those with no prior musical training, as
well as one for those with experience in writing or performing music.

GRADING:
Projects (2): 25%
Assignments (4): 20%
Paper (1): 20%
Exams (2): 20%
Attendance/Participation: 15%

CALENDAR
Each week features one lecture that gives an overview of the subject, and one lecture that looks at a few musical
examples in greater detail and examines their histories.

Week 1: A Brief History of Song and Songs. Introduction to Analysis. Assignment 1 distributed.
               -An overview of the class, a look at how song functioned before popular music, and at some
               events and circumstances that led to today's popular music sphere.

Week 2: Hearing the Parts of Music. Intro to Analysis, continued. Assignment 1 DUE. Assignment 2 distributed.
              -Instruments, forms, genres & styles, musical elements (pitch, rhythm, harmony, melody, register,
              timbre, texture).

Week 3: Popular Media and Economy. Assignment 2 DUE.
               -An introduction to what separates 'popular music' from other forms of song and music-making.
               How popular music is bought and sold, and what effects that has on artists and audiences.

Week 4: How a text becomes a melody (or a harmony; or an accompaniment). Assignment 3 distributed.
              -Prosody and Rhyming, Melodic contour, Style.

Week 5: Authority and Perspective. Assignment 3 DUE.
               -Does anyone have authority over musical meaning? Should an artist's personal history be taken
               into account? Do songs have different characters, like in plays or flms?

Week 6: Further into Forms, and Close Analysis #1. Midterm project distributed.
               -Discerning a song's sections, mapping them with style and affect. Then, the frst of three classes
               devoted to a close and intensive analysis of one song.

Week 7: Vocal style and affect.
                -Vocal techniques and vocal production. Singers and singing.

Week 8: Midterm exam. Midterm Project DUE.
        Studio Production, including Pro Tools/Garage Band tutorial (In section).
               -Learning about the studio process. Audio processing and mediation.

Week 9: Further into Rhythm and The Beat. Assignment 4 distributed.

Week 10: Authenticity, Ownership, and "Sounding" Identity. Assignment 4 DUE. Final Project distributed.
              -Music and musical style as integral to personal, racial, gender, class, or sexual identity.
              Authenticity and its manipulation for purposes of oppression or empowerment.

Week 11: Further into Timbre.

Week 12: Close Analyses #2. Final Project DUE. Final Paper distributed. (Section: Final Project Performances)
               -The second and third of three lectures devoted to closer analyses of a particular song.

Week 13: Revisiting Musical Meaning. And: Do Popular Media belong in the classroom? (Section: Project
               Performances)

Final Paper DUE during exam week.
Final Exam

ASSIGNMENTS (20%)
The assignments are a training ground to a) apply musical analysis, and b) work on creating an
argument in writing. At the beginning of the semester, you will pick a song from any genre that you are
interested in enough to analyze it repeatedly throughout the semester. You may choose a different song
for your fnal paper, or not.

Assignment 1: Choose a song, any song (should probably be under 8 minutes) from any genre or time
period of popular music, that you will analyze in different ways throughout these four assignments.
Describe what situations you are most likely to listen to the song in, how closely you listen to the song,
and what sort of activity you think the song's general audience uses it for. Then, outline as best you can
what the song means to you, using both what is contained in the lyrics, and describing as best you can
how the music affects that meaning. 500-700 words.

Assignment 2: Listen to your chosen song; focus on the frst thirty seconds. First, describe the music
as it happens: what instruments enter and when, what the instruments are playing, dynamics, tempo,
characteristics of the beat and melody (if it has appeared), and characteristics of the voice and lyrics (if
they have appeared). After this, describe the same 30 seconds again, but in a non-linear way: describe
the overall feel and style of the excerpt as best you can using the elements you've described in part one.
What kind of atmosphere does this set up for the rest of the song? 500 to 700 words.

Assignment 3: Choose three friends, from different parts of your life if possible. Have each of them
listen to your song. Tell them to come up with four single words to describe the singing style or
character, and four single words to describe the affect of character of the song as a whole. From the
twenty-four words you've collected, choose between three and fve that either intrigue you the most or
differ the most from what your impression of the singing or song is. Attempt to analyze the song
objectively to come up with where your friends may have gotten those ideas (no fair asking them for
help). Your analysis may incorporate both musical and cultural data. 500 to 700 words.

Assignment 4: Select any excerpt of your song between fve and ten seconds long. Absolutely no
more than ten seconds. Analyze this excerpt as thoroughly as possible, in NO FEWER than 700 words,
without repeating yourself or being redundant. Push yourself to come up with as many original ideas as
you can about the rhythm, melody, vocal style, form, other musical elements, genre, production, history,
and everything else. Remember, it is not enough to describe what is happening; use your discernment of
elements to develop and argument about how each element coheres into a perceptual effect of the
music that affects how the lyrics are understood and/or heard.

PROJECTS
This class will feature two projects, which will act as a chance for you to take some of what you have
learned and use it creatively to create new music. This will help you see some of the challenges and
pleasures of actually generating material from an artist's perspective while considering what you have
learned about how music is perceived by others.

Midterm Project (10%): Choose a song from those we have studied in class so far (a list will be
provided). Re-write the lyrics of the song about a different topic of your choosing, but in such a way
that the music *still* complements the lyrics in an appropriate way. Then, write a 500-800 word
response in which you explain how you think the music complements the old lyrics, and in what way
you think the music complements yours (or vice versa). Note: A paper that describes the music as having
the same effect on each set of lyrics will not be acceptable. You are analyzing by looking for difference.

Final Project (15%): Picking a song/piece from the given list, you may do one of three things:
1) Write and perform new lyrics to go along with the music of one of the given songs.
2) Write and perform new music to go along with the lyrics of one of the given songs.
3) With a partner, write and perform an entirely new song, music and lyrics.

Your fnal product may either be a live performance (recorded), or your new material superimposed
onto the existing material with pro tools (or another program you're more comfortable with). You will
play these pieces in section, either live or playing back the new audio fle. If you do not feel comfortable
singing lyrics or playing an instrument, you can have a friend perform for you.

Accompanying this should be a 700-1000 word response paper outlining your thought process in
creating your new material that addresses at least fve of the following: prosody, form, melodic contour,
vocal style, rhythm, timbre, and genre, as well as anything else you think is important to the
understanding of your work.

FINAL PAPER (20%)
By Week 10, you should choose whether you're going to write your fnal paper on the song you've been
analyzing in the assignments, or a new one; if the latter, you must also have chosen the new one. In
2000-2500 words, perform ONE of the following tasks:

1) Analyze how the music affects, complements, or transforms the lyrics using a discussion of the
following elements: prosody, form, melodic contour, vocal style, rhythm, timbre, and genre. (Any other
elements you wish to include are fair game as well, but these must be covered.)

or

2) Analyze how the music affects, complements, or transforms the lyrics using a discussion of ONE of
the following elements only: prosody, form, melodic contour, vocal style, rhythm, timbre, harmony,
register, or genre. The word requirement remains the same, so you will have to get pretty in depth.

Remember, as in all of your assignments, you are to do more than simply describe what is happening in
the music; you must use your recognition of these elements to make a cohesive argument about how the
music and lyrics work together. You are to avoid redundancy at all costs. You are encouraged to, at
some level, include discussions of history, anthropology, philosophy, economics, or technology. You may
include a discussion of the lyrics' meaning without the music, but this should not take up the bulk of
your paper, and your thesis must involve the music. You are encouraged to present your ideas at some
point to the professor or your TA for feedback.

EXAMS
The midterm and fnal exams are designed to cover historical facts and analytical techniques and terms.
The fnal will be cumulative, but weighted towards the material not covered on the midterm. These
exams also serve to place emphasis on lecture attendance; material in lectures that will be on the exam
will be made very explicit to this end.

ABSENCES AND PARTICIPATION
You are permitted two absences from lecture and one from section during the term (in only that
confguration; you can't miss section three times if you go to every lecture). After one of these barriers is
reached, you lose half a letter grade (e.g. B to B-) for every further absence. Participation and discussion
are essential to comprehension of the readings. You will be required to offer your perspective at least
once every section.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Any plagiarism or integrity in authorship or your own work is a serious matter, and can affect your
academic status in this class, or at the university at large. See the university's policy on academic
integrity on the website or in the handbook.

ACCOMMODATIONS FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
Students needing academic adjustments or accommodations because of a documented disability must
present their Faculty Letter from the Accessible Education Offce (AEO) and speak with the professor
by the end of the second week of the term. Failure to do so may result in the Course Head's inability to
respond in a timely manner. All discussions will remain confdential.

Analytical alternatives to 'traditional' music theory...

Basics of Melody and Prosody

                   AWKWARD SYLLABIC STRESS

                                                        David Bowie – Ashes to Ashes

                                        FIRST DOWNBEAT IN
                                         THREE MEASURES;
     RISING MELODY                       REGATHERING OF
   INCREASES TENSION                         CONTROL

                                                            Miley Cyrus – See You Again

Recording/Editing Instruction: Artistry with No Prior Musical Training

Contemporary Popular Texts