'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.

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