Popular Music

  • Popular music is a broad genre that encompasses a variety of styles emerged from different cultural, social, and historical contexts.
  • Popular music is designed to entertain and appeal to a wide audience, and often reflects societal changes and trends.
  • Instrumentation in popular music can vary greatly, encompassing everything from vocals and guitars to synthesizers and drum machines, depending on the sub-genre and era.
  • Rock and Roll (1950s-1960s): Influenced by blues, country, and gospel, defined by use of electric guitars, strong rhythms, and expressive, often rebellious, lyrics.
  • Pop (1950s-Present): Broad-ranging and often synthesizes elements from other styles; usually characterised by short-to-medium length songs, repetition of sections and melodies, and emphasis on melody over harmony.
  • Soul & Motown (1960s): A blend of black gospel music and rhythm and blues, emphasizing strong vocals with a grooving beat.
  • Punk (1970s): Typically short, fast-paced songs, with hard-edged melodic tunes, stripped-down instrumentation, and often political, anti-establishment lyrics.
  • Hip Hop (1980s-Present): Characterised by rhythmic spoken and rhymed text (rap), samples from pre-existing records, and sociopolitical commentary.
  • Electronic/Dance Music (1990s-Present): A broad range of percussive electronic music genres, typically designed for dancing at nightclubs, raves, or festivals.
  • Beat and Rhythm: The driving forces of popular music. Patterns can be simple or complex depending on the sub-genre.
  • Melody: Tends to be catchy and memorable in popular music, often utilizing hooks to draw listeners in.
  • Harmony: Uses a variety of extended and altered chords as well as standard triads to create a wide range of soundscapes.
  • Lyrics and Themes: From love and relationships to societal issues and political protest, lyrics can offer deep insight into culture and society at the time of the song’s creation.
  • Production Techniques: Important aspect of popular music with the advent of recording technology, sampling, electronic instruments, and digital audio workstations.

Listening and Analysis

  • Listen attentively with critical ears to identify the structure, instrumentation, melody, rhythm, and harmony of a piece.
  • Identify relationships between music and culture in a specific point of time or geographic location.
  • Analyse lyrics to explore underlying themes or messages.

Composing and Performing

  • Understand the typical structure of a popular song – verse, pre-chorus, chorus, bridge, and outro.
  • Gain proficiency in instruments commonly used in popular music, such as guitar, keyboard, drums or vocals.
  • Develop skills in digital music production – this is particularly relevant for modern forms of popular music like electronic/dance music or contemporary pop.