Led Zeppelin was a British rock band that set many standards. One of the most iconic moments was when the band toured the United States in 1973 and broke the world record for live concert attendance set by the Beatles during their tours of the mid-1960s (Starr & Waterman, 2014, p. 382). "Stairway to Heaven" is a song that is a cornerstone in Led Zeppelin's history. Back when the group recorded this, it was not a single. If someone wanted this song they needed to purchase the whole album. This song involves many components that all intertwine with each other. The 8-minute long song is considered more of a ballad than a straight rock song. It consists of guitar sustains, along with solos in the song. Throughout, there are 8 and 4-meausre phrases with occasional 1 measure interludes, which acts as instrumental links to the next section. The song opens with a calm acoustic guitar and a doubled flute. This continues with the entrance of the vocals at approximately the 2-minute mark. After this, the electric guitar enters with keys and the tempo is pushed by a bit more in pace. It is almost at halfway through the song that drums enter and the dynamics increase in the song to thicken the textural mood and material. The tempo continues to pick-up throughout and at the end, the solo voice ends the song. The song is made up of three main sections. The first two sections are made primarily A & B, which alternate and then have the linking interlude tossed in. The last section of the song includes C & B sections with instrument interludes again and the addition of a D section.
Carlos Santana is a guitarist who was born in 1947, and has been creating and performing amazing music since. To this day, Santana is a performer who continues to 'wow' individuals. Santana was a pioneer in creating a fusion of rock and Latin American music. "Oye Como Va" is a song that is still popular to this day. The intricate layering of instruments is what makes this song complex. The Afro-Cuban traditions that link to Latin American music are heard within this. Instruments included in this are guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, and Latin percussion. The mixing of this recording is what makes it the way it is in regards to balance, blend, and positioning of instruments and sounds. Majority of Santana's songs and performances are focused around his lead guitar playing. The complexity of rhythm is what makes fusion rock and Latin American music solid in its grooves. When listening, you can hear the bass in the middle of everything being the glue that holds it all together. The percussion instruments and sounds are positioned more towards the outside of the recording. The intro, which includes an organ and the bass is a sound that would come from a rock band group where the fusion starts. This groove locks the groove for the entire song. This is connected to salsa music with the figure being played by the bass and organ are called the tumbao. The locking rhythms align vertically and horizontally to have a hard groove through the entire piece. Between the solos, the groove continues and acts as an accompaniment underneath. You hear the recurring rhythmic figure from the introduction. Majority of the song is instrumental with only a small percent having vocals included. Many of the sounds included within are stylistic of the rock era with the guitar solo and distortion along with the organ.
Disco was an important part of dance music in America's history. In "Bad Girls" right off the first beat you feel and hear the 'thump-thump-thump-thump' of the bass drum to give that driving, pushing tempo to keep moving. The groove on the closed hi-hat also contributes to the dance music along with the guitar groove. The entrance of the keys gives a block chord sense with the entrance of the rhythmic horns behind it. The short back-up vocal syllables play to the rhythmic sense of the dance feel. Throughout, the tempo stays the same. There is no stop-time in disco music and when there are unison rhythmic hits, the 'thump' continues through. This type of music is based on a verse-chorus form with the chorus being heard first. In "Bad Girls" there are entrances and drop-outs of instruments/voices, such as brass, back-up vocals, and the whistle. This comes and goes throughout the song.
"Psycho Killer" is an interesting song, which reflects on different elements of music. This band, The Talking Heads, used an approach from minimalistic music, which is mainly known from composer Philip Glass. The Talking Heads were not a group who went to far in depth with the structure of their songs. The way that they did this was by using different textural items within instruments, voice, and feel of the song. In "Psycho Killer" the main attention is on David Byrne's lead vocals. Even though the song starts with a straight forward bass riff, which is similar to that in 70s funk. When the guitar enters, it plays chords that are articulated with different patterns into the bass riff. The entrance of the vocals give a sense of "weirdness". Byrne's voice was high-pitched, nervous, schizophrenic type of sound that he produced. In this song, some of the words are spoken and some are sung. There are instances where there is a combination of both. Most of the song is in 8-measure phrases. The main form is ABB/ABB/CBB/Coda. The last item hear is feedback, which could be a play on the title with the sound of a psycho killer.
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