CI on Music Theory Print

Cinematic soul

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Style#

Cinematic soul builds on the foundations of soul music. The backing track can include drums, bass guitar, clavinet and electric guitar played with a wah-wah pedal. On top of this are orchestral instruments including a string section and brass, similar to that heard on a movie soundtrack.

History#

During their psychedelic soul period of 1968–1973, The Temptations created what is described as “cinematic soul”, songs, often long in length, with longer instrumental introductions and detailed orchestration. Two such examples are the Temptations’ 1972 recording of “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone”, and their follow-up single, “Masterpiece”. Isaac Hayes’ “Theme from Shaft” was considered another good example of cinematic soul, and subsequently influenced David Bowie’s “Stay”, released several years later. Curtis Mayfield’s “Superfly” was a top ten Billboard hit, and praised as an archetypical example of the genre.

Circassian music

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Instruments#

Circassian music is characterized by certain instruments, including: * Pshine (), a type of Circassian accordion (related to the Georgian accordion) and its associated playing style. * Pkhachich (), 2 sets of “wood blocks”, each set containing about six pieces of wood held by hand, struck together to rhythmically accompany a song. * Bereban, a drum known as ‘Dhol’; in Adyghe it is called “Shontrip”. It is struck by hand or with two short batons. Drummers’ hands bleed when they train, or overplay. * Pkhetaw, (‘Wood-strike’) a small wooden table-like instrument, hit with sticks for keeping tempo. * Apa-pshine (), a three string lute. * Qamil (), the Circassian flute. * Shik’epshine (Adyghe: ШыкIэпшынэ), a Circassian stringed instrument also known as a horse-tail violin.

Circus music

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Origins#

Although circuses have been in existence since the time of the ancient Romans, circus music first started as a performance by a fiddler or a flutist. It was not until the twentieth century that circus music was performed by big bands. The first modern circus director and performer was Philip Astley (1742–1814), a veteran of the Seven Years’ War and a skilled equestrian. With his horsemanship skills and the addition of jugglers, acrobats, and clowns, Astley opened Paris’s first circus in 1782. The first known composer of circus music was Charles Dibdin (1745–1814). He was partners with Astley and he also financed the theatre used for the royal circus. Dibdin was a very well known composer in his time and had written hundreds of works before he decided to join Astley to work for the circus. He wrote all of the pieces used in the circus, which were mostly intermezzos or comedy pieces. An ensemble of approximately sixty children was used as singers and dancers to perform the many pieces that he wrote for the circus, such as “The Graces”, “Clump and Cudden”, and “Pandora”, which was arguably the most famous piece that was used in the circus because it was originally used in a popular puppet show that mocked contemporary figures of the time.

City pop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Definitions#

Definitions of “city pop” have varied and many of the artists labelled with the genre have played in styles that are significantly different from each other. In 2015, Ryotaro Aoki wrote in The Japan Times: Jon Blistein of Rolling Stone concurred that city pop was “less a strict genre term than a broad vibe classification”. while Pitchforks Joshua Minsoo Kim called it “a vague descriptor for Japanese music that incorporated jazz and R&B”. Wax Poetics Ed Motta wrote, “City pop is really AOR and soft rock but with some funk and boogie too. Because when you hear funkier city pop tunes, you hear not only the influence, but in some parts they steal from groups like Skyy, BB&Q Band, and those kinda American boogie and funk groups.” An Electronic Beats writer characterized city pop as Japan’s “answer to synth pop and disco”.