Musical Characteristics
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Musical Characteristics
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The following description is taken from Microsoft Encarta to describe the common musical elements of all R&B including Soul Music. "Musical Rhythm is the most important distinguishing characteristic of R&B music and its sub-styles. While all genres of R&B typically depend upon a four beat metre and employ a backbeat (accenting each bar on beats two and four, which are usually unaccented), the specific approach to the expression of musical time (the so-called groove - the characteristic rhythms employed within the basic metre) is one of the primary means of differentiating one genre from another, and even one player or band from another. Timbre (the tone-quality of a sound) is another important distinguishing characteristic of R&B. Most styles of R&B rely extensively on timbre variation over the course of a performance to achieve interest. R&B singers and instrumentalists often alternate between gentle, smooth timbres and harsh, raspy ones, giving the music a wide range of emotional expression. In addition to rhythm and timbre, other common elements of R&B music include the use of: (1) the twelve--bar form, using a three line lyric, originating in earlier styles of blues; (2) call and response, whereby a singer or instrumentalist will sing or play a phrase and another vocalist or instrumentalist will answer with another phrase; (3) incessant repetition of musical notes, rhythms, phrases, or verses; the use of blue notes (notes that bridge the musical relationship between the minor and major modes); and (5) a tightly integrated and complex blending of instruments, in which it is often difficult to differentiate the separate sounds or instruments being played at a given moment. Finally, with the exception of rap, most R&B performances share a common instrumentation, with the performing ensemble divided into a rhythm section and a horn section. Typically, the rhythm section consists of a drum kit, bass (electric or acoustic), piano (sometimes organ instead of or in addition to piano), and guitar, while the horn section features saxophones, trumpets, and occasionally trombones (though confusingly almost never, despite its name, horns). The emphasis on the horn section in most styles of R&B has been one of the ways in which the music has historically been differentiated from white rock music, which has tended to be guitar dominated." (Microsoft Encarta) "Soul obviously then cannot be distinguished by musical notation from earlier rhythm and blues, but rather, as music historian Michael Haralambos notes, by the "overall sound, quality and feeling" of the music." (Preface to Chicago Soul - Page xiv) |
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