AREA OF STUDY: DANCE - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

AREA OF STUDY:DANCE

GCSE AQA MUSIC

• ALL ABOUT MOVEMENT
• ELEMENTS ARE :METRE
• TEMPO
• RHYTHM
• PHRASE STRUCTURE

• Pulse organized into repeating patterns of strong & weak beats
• Time signature is either simple 2/3/4 or compound 2/3/4

• Speed of the beat being fast, medium or slow
• Similar dances can have different tempos
• eg: fast or slow minuet, medium or slow waltz

• Organized long & short notes
• Dances feature particular rhythms which identify one from another
• Eg: polka rhythm is different to the gavotte
• Waltz rhythm is different to the salsa

• Regular symmetrical phrases to which dance steps can be fitted & maintained
• Anacrusis (upbeat of the bar) phrases must also be symmetrical in structure

• GAVOTTE
• Fairly fast
• Uses melodic sequences based on simple rhythmic patterns with little or no syncopation
• Simple 2/2 time
• Usually begins with anacrusis that occupies 2nd ½ of the bar

• Slow, serious
• Slow tempo encourages the use of ornamentation to decorate the melodic line
• Simple ¾ time
• Sometimes the 2nd beat is given special emphasis

• Fast
• Regular 4 bar phrases in AB (binary) form
• Compound 2 time = 6/8 time
• Baroque suites often end in gigue
• Texture is contrapuntal = 2 or more melodic lines playing together, with imitations in A which are inverted in B section

• Like the gavotte = fairly fast tempo
• AB (binary) form
• Simple 2/2 time
• Also starts with an anacrusis, BUT this is on the last ½ beat of the bar

• Minuet is an elegant dance performed at a moderate pace
• In AB (binary) form usually marked with repeat signs
• Consists of regular phrase lengths
• Contains well defined cadences (closures of phrases)
• Uses sequences & simple rhythm patterns
• Simple ¾ time
• The only Baroque dance which survived into the Classical period

In the Classical symphonies, the Minuet 2 became known as a Trio, because the texture was reduced to 3 parts. The Minuet 1 was then repeated after the trio (Minuet 2). Minuet 1 was usually embellished with improvised ornamentation, making the form ABA1, which in realist is ternary form.

• WALTZ
• Popular ballroom dance of European 19th century
• Emphasis on melody, with supporting accompaniment
• On the beat accompaniment, with the lowest chord note followed by the upper notes on beat 2 & 3
• Eg: C eg
• F ac
• G bd etc…. Almost OOM-CHA-CHA like
• Tempo was flexible
• Simple ¾ time
• Tempo flexible
• Waltzes written for dance & listening purposes
• Those for dancing = a more regular tempo
• Those for listening = use of pauses / fermata & rubato to disguise the um-cha-cha constant triple time
• Composers for listening dances varied; whilst the Strauss family wrote ballroom waltzes, & Tchaikovsky wrote for professional ballet dances

• Energetic Bohemian folk dance
• Rhythm is often:
• (ta-fa-te)-fe Ta tay ta say
• Simple 2/4 time
• Basic dance steps of quick-quick – slow
• Physically learn saying “hop step step jump”

• SALSA from Cuba (south of Florida)
• Cuban dance from 1960’s
• Syncopated rhythms & energetic moves
• Consists of a 5 note spread out over 2 4/4 bars
• Every musical element fits around theclave pattern
• Simple 4/4 time
• Influences are from :
• Africa = percussion & thumb piano
• Spain = guitar & simple chords

• Brazilian national dance
• Percussive rhythms & syncopated harmonies
• Call & response vocals
• In a Major key with emphasis on the 2nd beat
• Simple 2/4 time
• Influences are from :
• West Africa = percussion
• Portugal = guitars 
• Often combines other dances, for eg:
• Samba & tango
• Samba & rumba
• Samba & cancao (sung samba)
• Samba & salao (samba played at public balls)

• Argentina’s popular folk dance of the 19th century
• Repeated rhythmic patterns
• Instruments = violin, piano, double bass
• Simple 2/4 or 4/4 time
• Modern bands fuse tango with ideas from jazz, rock, dance music to form new club rave rhythms

• RHYTHM & BLUES
• Emphasis on song instead of instruments
• Improvising was NOT a great part of this new R&B
• Had a consistent backbeat with 12 bar blues chord changes eg:
• C C C C / F F C C / G F C G
• Simple 4/4 time
• Evolved out of 1940’s jump Blues
• Laid groundwork for Rock N Roll
• Artists = Toni Braxton, Mariah Carey, Ray Charles,TheDrillers

• Up tempo R&B
• Skimming string rapidly on a guitar & on ever changing rhythms
• Happy “get up & go & dance” kind of music
• Simple 4/4 time
• Reggae came about one hot summer, when it became too hot to dance & perform Ska, so the rhythm was slowed down & a new music genre was developed
• Origin in New Orleans R&B scene, called Ska
• Jamaicans heard music over transistors from USA, cribbed it; after their 1962 independence, poor districts & shanty towns sprung up; increased unemployment, crime, abuse, anger, lawlessness & violence. “Rudeboys” adopted reggae into Jamaican culture, & brought new dimension to reggae lyrics
• Artists = Bob Marley, Lee Perry, UB40, Desmond Dekker

• Strong steady beat for dancing
• Clear cut rhythms throughout song
• A memorable / easy melody
• Simple 4/4 time
• Developed in 1970’s
• Longer than the usual 3 minutes of a pop song
• First disco film = Saturday night fever
• Followed by film of: Grease,Flashdance,Footloose,Dirty Dancing
• Artists = Bee Gees, Donna Summer, Rose Royce, Chic

• Breakdown of familiar songs which are changed through speaking in rhythmic patterns to music backings
• Early days = scratching records & drum loops were used
• Later, introduced hardcore guitars & major beatboxes, scratching was replaced with samples (segments of other songs)
• MC raps over the beat backing
• Themes = political issues of drugs, alcohol, abortion,sexuality,gender, racism,race intergration, discrimination, gang cults
• Simple 4/4 time
• Form of rap = hip hop
• Rap emerged as the alternative to disco in USA in 1970’s
• Gangsta rap developed in 1990’s
• Artists = Puff Daddy, Eminem, Will Smith,Ice T, M C Hammer, Snoopdogg, So Solid crew, & only successful female rapper to date , being Missy Elliott

• Deeper bass grooves
• More electronics
• Basic beat
• Instrumental layering
• Occasional female vocals
• Simple 4/4 time
• Grew out of post-disco era of the 1980’s
• DJ’s wanted dance music, so House developed with the hallmark of synthesized sound effects
• Large club scene in USA & UK, where tourists from Spain & Greece club scenes had returned home & took music with them
• Artists = Seb Fontaine, John Kelly, Eddie Amador

•  HIP HOP
• Dance types which immerged were:
• Break dance
• Roboty – o
• Footloose
• Form of rappin’
• Simple 4/4 time
• Describes the music, dance & art form of the New York Bronx district

• AMBIENT HOUSE
• Sampled & looped sounds along with a vodacoder (speech synthesizer)
• Also known as “chill out” music– where one blends timbres of instruments & voices
• Simple 4/4 time
• DJ’s taped people’s voices repeating sentences / words etc, mixed these & produced backing to a rhythmic beat

• ACID HOUSE
• Style of dance from Chicago USA
• Squelchy sounds & deep bass lines of Roland TB303 synthesizer
• Got term from 1st song by band Phuture, called “acid tax”
• Simple 4/4 time
• Jelled in warehouse parties in London in 1986 onward; forerunner of raves
• Hit British TOTP with groups like M/A/R/R/S, S’Express & Techno-tronic

• Electronically produced
• Designed for small audiences
• Tempo either sped up or drastically slowed down
• Simple 4/4 time
• Roots in electronic house music in Detroit in mid 1980’s
• Artists = The Prodigy, 2 Unlimited, Orb

• Beats per minute on recording are sped up to undanceable levels
• Designed to alienate the broader audience
• Very fast simple 4/4 time
• Only appeals to minority of the music lovers
• Artists = Plastikman, Aphex twin

• Aggressive hardcore combining driving techno beats with breakbeat & dancehall reggae
• Frenetic, fast head banging up tempo music, where an MC initiates call & response between clubbers & the DJ
• Frenetic simple 4/4 time (up to 160 beats per minute)
• Uk Jamaican raga + white English rave = jungle music
• Ragga is an extension of reggae DJ’s; rave involves all night dancing to synth-lead tunes.

• More soulful with synths not sustained, melodies less dense in texture, individual instruments heard only for a short period of time
• Vocalists are important
• Rhythms are chopped up & played back in syncopated sections
• Medium simple 4/4 time
• Named after Paradise Garage club in New York
• 1996 UK club scene added aggressive drum beats & bass lines & some even added raga
• Artists = Oxide & Neutrino, Miss Ultra Nate, True Slappers, Craig David

• Form of Indie Rock music = post punk of the 1980’s
• Lots of rhythms strung together to make a distorting sound; not always rhythmical & regular; almost sounds like poli-rhythms
• Thick textured head banging simple 4/4 time
• Artists = Nirvana, Limp Biskit,Kurt Cobain,Korn,Smashing Pumpkins,Pearl Jam
• Almost teeters on the edge of UNMUSICAL / UNRHYTHMICAL pop bands; the above artists always being under the influence of drugs and alcohol when performing.

• Brief synthesizer lines of endless track repeats with very slight rhythm changes
• Trance is DJ led, using echo, repetition, sequences, very fast beat, very slow harmonic bass & co-ordinated lighting; all these effects set up a trance like state in the clubbers
• Heart paced & sense orientated simple 4/4 time
• Combination of Techno & Hardcore which broke out in the 1990’s
• Trance has developed on its own since 2000, being popular in the Mediterranean summer rave scene
• Artists = Sacha, William Orbit, Chicans, Ferry Corsten

• Known as alternative music, describing music which comes from independent labels; tracks not found in the mainstream charts, until Nirvana in 1991
• 2 forms of indie :
• * indie rock = post punk of 1980’s
• * indie pop = sweeter 3 chord & very simple melody
• Guitar based = mix of lead, rhythm & bass guitar for melody & accompaniment
• Simple 2/4 or 4/4 time
• Experimental bands fall into this category ; where music is very loud & guitar based
• Similar to Brit-pop, which is based on R&R models like the Beatles.
• Artists = Nirvana, Kate Bush, Goo Goo Dolls, Oasis, Blur

• Defined by its percussion, 4/4 time, strict dance tempo
• Caused a separation between live & recorded music
• The DJ’s manipulate the recordings more than a live performer can, since technology has advanced so fast since 1995
• Simple 4/4 time
• Devices used are as follows :
• LOOP
• MIDI
• REMIX
• SAMPLER
• SEQUENCER

• LOOP = 4 bar section which fits harmonically & rhythmically with a combination of loops; being a short melody, arpeggio (dmsd), vocal hook (short repeated line)
• MIDI = musical instrument digital interface = connects electronic musical instruments with PC’s & effects units
• REMIX = small extracts are taken from existing music & it is electronically transformed into a new piece of music, with hooks in chorus, bass riffs, new chord structures, borrowed rhythms or instrument changes
• SAMPLER = device which records, manipulates & replays digital audio samples. These samples can be modified to create new sounds or to play back original sounds in different order
• SEQUENCER = device which is used to record, edit & replay any performance instructions; eg: MIDI note off / on, sequences control synthesizer & sampler

• Consists of sampling & sequencing
• Vocals are taken from other tunes, speeded up & new rhythmic sections are created
• Drum loops are arranged to move from 1 rhythm to the next
• Simple 4/4 time
• Drum ‘n ‘bass = crafted jazz influenced styles +funk + Latin American influences
• Artists = Bukem, The Jingleberries

• GAVOTTE- LONGER ANACRUSIS
• SARABANDE – SLOW; ORNAMENTATION
• GIGUE - FAST ; 2 TIME
• BOURREE-SHORT ANACRUSIS
• MINUET-ELEGANCE; 1 23

• WALTZ- UM-CHA-CHA 1 23
• POLKA - QUICK QUICK SLOW

• SALSA- CLAVE RHYTHM STICKS
• SAMBA-LOUDER 2ND BEAT
• TANGO- CONSTANT RHYTHM; VIOLIN, PIANO & DOUBLE BASS

• R & B- LOUDER VOCALS THAN INSTRUMENTS
• REGGAE- UNIQUE EVER CHANGING RHYTHMS
• DISCO- STRONG BEAT; MEMORABLE MELODY
• RAP- MC RAPPER WITH BEATBOX

• HOUSE- ELECTRONIC BASS GROOVES
• HIP HOP - BREAKDANCE RHYTHMS
• AMBIENT - SPEECH SYNTHESIZING
• ACID - SQUELCHY; DEEP BASS

• TECHNO- TEMPO SPEEDS FLUCTUATING
• HARDCORE- VERY FAST TEMPO; HEADBANGING ELECTRONICS
• JUNGLE- AGGRESSIVE ; MC CALL & RESPONSES
• GARAGE - VOCALS; SOULFUL;VARIED INSTRUMENTS APPEARING

• GRUNGE- DISTORTED RHYTHMS & SOUNDS
• TRANCE - ENDLESS TRACK REPEAT
• INDIE- LOUD GUITAR BASE
• CLUB DANCE - STRICT PERCUSSIVE
• DRUM ‘N ‘BASS- DRUM LOOPS CONNECTING 1 SECTION TO ANOTHER