Le 1er juillet 2017
de 11h00 à 11h30
Le Patio (université de Strasbourg)
22 rue René Descartes, 67000 Strasbourg
salle 3206
Séance - Sounds of Popular Music (II)
Pré-acte / Acte
Auteur : Alyssa Barna
The scholarly examination of temporality and form in popular music has established a set of expected forms rooted in stylistic practice. Divergence from prototypical norms is, naturally, rampant among 20th and 21st century popular styles: one such development is the juxtaposition of and transition between seemingly disparate formal sections, whereby highly contrasting units defy expected boundaries. I call such instances examples of modular form. The modularity of the sections can be visualized on a spectrum: some songs appear strongly modular, with little to no connective material, while others seem weakly modular, including transitions between juxtaposed parts; however, these transitions do not mitigate the surprise of contrasting material. The use of modular form fills the void of formal categories between norms such as verse/chorus form, or alternatively, the non-recapitulatory qualities of through composition. Antecedents of this formal process are found in earlier rock, for example, in the music of the Beach Boys, which launches a discussion of these sectional forms. In this presentation I will offer analyses of songs from the recent music of the progressive bluegrass band The Punch Brothers that conform to varying degrees of modularity. Additional examples that present juxtaposed modules will follow, each showing uniquely stratified yet synthesized formal sections that chafe against formal prototypes. Further, I will posit possibilities for the theory that demonstrate a wider application beyond popular music.
