CONCEPTS

Pitch

Bud Powell Anthropology

(Jazz)

Duration

Piano plays in a
medium-high register,
major
Major happy tonality,
blues scale (consists of 6
notes the 5 notes of
the minor pentatonic
scale, plus one
additional note which is
the diminished 5th of the
tonic) 1 - b3 - 4 - b5 - 5 b7 - 1.
No set chord progression
as it is mostly
improvised
Piano plays the melody,
bass plays the harmony
while drums keep the
rhythm
Around 4:00, piano plays
bass notes, crotchets
that keep the beat with
the improvised melody
Piece ends on a tremolo
after the return of the
main theme/riff. Tremolo
is on accidental notes,
there is a sense of
dissonance and
incompletion at the end.
Constant allegro piano
throughout the whole
piece, conveys the jazz
feel (>120 bpm)
Regular pulse/bassline is
created by the bass in
the rhythm section, to
accompany the higher
melody of the piano.
Bass plays in quavers,
eight in every bar
Simple quadruple metre
4/4 time. Piano accents
the weaker beats,
creating syncopation
against the steady pulse
of the drums and bass

Marry Me Jason
Derulo (Pop)

Piano plays an
ostinato/riff/hook, a
counter melody that
repeats throughout
the verses
G major tonality, F#
key signature
Chord progression
GDEC
During the chorus,
piano plays chords
on every crotchet
beat, as well as
playing the ostinato
Major tonality,
creates happy and
bright tone colour
Consonance,
pleasant intervals
based on major
scales

Moderato/Allegretto
tempo constant
throughout the entire
song (120 bpm)
Syncopation
accents on the 2nd
and 4th beat with the
electronic drumbeats
In third chorus, piano
plays harmony as
chord progerssion,
crotchets
accompanying the
vocals
Harmonic change
every measure/bar
there is a chord

Texture

Structure

Makes frequent use of

short note values,
quavers, semiquavers
and crotchets all in
staccato
Piano accents the
weaker beats
Polyphonic texture.
Piano is the melody
which relies on other
instruments to create
texture
Piano is accompanied by
bass (harmony/rhythm)
and drums (rhythm)
Bass plays chords of the
blues scale, it works
together with the drums
to create a clear beat for
the piano to play the
melody over
Bass plays a riff, series
of presto ascending and
descending contours
throughout the piece,
and the piano
improvises around this,
while the drums keep
the beat

Contrast of the piano

with the drums
Monothematic recurring theme that
repeats throughout the
song
No overall structure, but
recurring theme is
played throughout the
piece in between the
piano improvisation

change

Begins in thin
homophonic texture,
vocal melisma
accompanied by
piano playing
repeated ostinato
First verse begins still
in homophonic
texture. Middle of
verse, changes to
polyphonic texture
with bass drum plays
crotchets on every
beat, building up to
the chorus
In chorus, Piano no
longer plays ostinato
counter-melody but
harmonic chords in
the background.
Electronic drumbeats
are prominent over
the forte vocals,
creating a thick and
dense texture.
Typical structure of a
pop song. Verse
chorus verse chorus
bridge chorus
ABCBDB
Ostinato repeating
theme is prominent
throughout the whole
song. Accompanies
the vocal melody in
verses and provides
chord progression
structure for the
chorus. Theme also
returns in the second
chorus

Dynamics and
Expressive
Techniques

Improvisation of piano
when theme is not
played, improvisation of
piano occurs over the
harmonic bassline, and
drum rhythm
Piano plays in forte,
while drums and bass
play in mezzoforte
No crescendoes or
dominuendos
ET: the use of blues
notes, blues scale
Mostly staccato
Bass is played pizzicato
(plucked), ascending
and descending
constantly keeping the
beat and playing chords

Tone Colour

High pitch register of the

piano creates a bright
and vibrant tone colour
Piano chordophone (as
it is a stringed
instrument)
Drums idiophone
Bass chordophone
Short drum roll after first
jazz riff, leads into piano
improviisation of the
melody. Short trill on the
piano

Begins with piano,

playing mezzopiano,
and mezzoforte
vocals enter when
the verse starts
The entrance of
backing vocals and
electronic drumbeats
mid-verse creates a
gradual crescendo
building up to the
chorus, which is in
forte
In the first chorus
piano plays mp,
while drumbeats
create a strong pulse
in mf, and vocals
forte to emphasise
the lyrics
Accents in the
offbeats (2nd and 4th)
create syncopation
Piano chordophone
Vocals (autotuned)
smooth melodic tone
colour
Violin - chordophone
Piano dolce,
smooth and rich as
the harmonic
accompaniment and
counter melody
Electronic drumbeats
keep a running pulse
help to create the
vibrant and resonant
tone colour
Contrasts between
the chorus and
verses. Verses have
a sweet melodic tone
colour while the
chorus