Heritage Softail said:
I am just getting started on this learning adventure, so this may be a total noob question. How does one start to analyze the structure of a song? I have in mind "Telegraph Road" by Knopfler, two totally different moods in the song, as reflected in one lead sounding sort of majorish and the other a minor vibe. Knopfler does not play fast but seems to be good at communicating a vibe. Seems to know how to place notes. That is the real issue.
Form occurs at many levels but basic overall form is really dictated by how musical material is treated throughout the duration of a musical work.
For instance, a basic structure for most rock songs is
Introduction
Verse 1
Chorus
Verse 2
Chorus
Bridge
Chorus
You can usually distinguish the repeated parts because the musical material repeats.
If it repeats exactly the same way you would say a song with the form stated previously follows an ABABCB pattern where (A) contains the same melody and chord progression every time it occurs, (B) has an alternate melody and harmony but it is also stated the same time every time and (C) has yet again more new music but is only stated once.
Beyond melody and harmony, changes in timbre can also mark formal divisions. So playing with clean tone vs distortion can be a formally important change as well.
While verses and choruses are the large scale formal elements of rock music, one can zoom in and examine the form within 'A', 'B', and 'C'.
1) One can look at the length of each division. The number of measures in each is important, for instance. Most rock music is in common time or 4/4 but some tunes can be in 6/8 or even complex metres such as in the case of some prog rock, jazz, fusion, or even other styles. (Master of Puppets has a few odd metre changes)
2) One can look at phrase. Basically, what is the form of melody. If a melody is two part, three part, or four part. If it is continuous or segmented. Usually, important end points in a melody are marked by a rhythmic accent whether that be a long held note or a rest / pause. Sections of a melody can be repeated or it can be through composed. No matter what the form, you will probably notice that there are certain small musical ideas that repeat often throughout the duration of a piece. You will also notice that in a chorus of a radio song, there is often a single idea--consisting of four or five pitches--that is repeated throughout the length of the chorus. This is called a hook and is used so that any listener will be able to instantly recognize the piece. Call it a selling feature.
3) The contour and interval content of melodic material can also be examined. Looking at if the melodic motion is stepwise (Major or minor second) or if it is by leap. (Minor third and larger) Furthermore the relationship of pitches throughout the length of a musical phrase can be examined, specifically by examining the rise and fall relative to the starting and ending note. When crafting a melody, a good sense of rise and fall as well as a good mix of stepwise motion and leaps is integral to creating interest and direction.
4) One can even examine counterpoint. For songwriting, I would encourage this. Look at the relationship between the melody and chord tones at each change on the downbeat and continuing onward from there. You will find that the melody is usually either the interval of a fifth or a third above the chord root and it either rises or falls.
5) The rhythmical content of the melody can be examined. Are there repeating rhythmical ideas? Are the rhythms through composed?
6) The instrumental parts can also be examined. Where do the chord changes happen? Are they cyclical or through composed? Is the melody written over chords or does the melody dictate the harmony? What is the quality of the chords being used? Are they major or minor? Are they using triad extensions such as 7ths, 9th, 11ths, etc? Is the piece not based off of triads but using some other organizational principle? In addition to vertical harmony, one can also look at horizontal harmony i.e. which scales and modes are being used for creating all the musical material in the piece. Is it pentatonic? Natural minor? Major? Modal?
Well, I think I probably raised more questions than I answered but I think this is the basics here. Sorry to my fellow university students for avoiding the proper terminology as much as possible but I'm trying to make this as simple as possible. Not everyone knows the field specific terminology and it isn't unfair to shut these people out just because they have never heard these words before.
