Keswick School GCSE Music

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Disco first appeared in the nightclubs in the
USA. The roots of disco were in soul, jazz
and funk. Disco was played in clubs and it
totally changed them.

Until about the 1960s audio equipment was
pretty ropey you couldnt play a recording
loud enough to dance to, so most clubs had
live bands.
In the 1970s, amplifiers, turntables and
loudspeakers got loads better. Suddenly you
could play records loud enough to fill a club
with sound. DJs took over from band leaders
as the important people in a club.
People danced on their own rather than in
pairs and they really enjoyed showing off
their groovy dance moves and flashy outfits.


Lighting technology got more exciting too
flashing lights and effects became part and
parcel of the experience of a night out in a
club.
Disco tunes are almost always in 4/4. Theyre
played at around 120 beats per minute.
The simple beat makes disco tunes really
easy to dance to because just about any
dance move will fit. People loved this
because it gave them the freedom to make
up their own moves.
Disco music has catchy tunes. Every disco
tune has a hook a bit of the tune, a word
or a phrase that sticks in peoples minds so
they remember (and buy) the record.
A disco tune will almost always start with an
intro.

The intro does two jobs it grabs peoples
attention and sets the mood.

Intros often use the best bit from the rest of
the song to make people sit up and listen.



After the intro, the structure of a disco song
basically goes verse-chorus-verse-chorus...

All the verses usually have the same tune,
but the lyrics change for each one.
The chorus has a different tune from the
verse, usually quite a catchy one. The lyrics
and tune of the chorus dont change.
In a lot of songs the verse and the chorus are
both 8 bars long.
The old verse-chorus thing can get a bit
repetative. To avoid this most songs have a
middle 8, or a bridge, that sounds different.
Its an 8-bar section in the middle of the
song with new chords, new lyrics and a
whole new feel.
The song ends with a coda or outro thats
different to the verse and the chorus. In
disco it usually fades out gradually so the DJ
can mix the end of one song with the
beginning of another.
The guitar sound in disco is pretty distinctive.
As with most pop music up to the 1980s the
main instruments in a disco line-up are the
electric guitars.
The lead guitar plays solo tunes.
The rhythm guitar strums chords along with
the beat.
The strings on the rhythm guitar are often
muted by pressing down with the side of the
hand. This stops the sound from ringing on
and makes them sound more percussive.
Most disco music has short, rhythmic, heavy-
sounding bass riffs.

The bass guitar works in the same way as the
electric guitar, except that it has four string,
tuned to E, A, D and G. Bass guitarists pick
out the individual notes of a bass line they
dont play chords.
Sweeping string sounds give the music a real
meaty sound by filling the gaps between the
other sounds.

Brass instruments are used to add in an
occasional parp parp. Theyre called stabs
and they almost always fall on an offbeat.
You hear acoustic and electronic drum kits
playing alongside each other on many disco
tracks.
The low bass drum plays every crotchet
beat.
The snare drum mostly plays on beats 2 and
4. The hi-hat plays offbeat quavers.
This basic drum rhythm plays all the way
through the song.

This rhythm is referred to as Four to the
Floor.
Extra percussive sounds like hand claps are
often added by drum machines. Disco also
creates backing loops using sequencers.
Short snippets of music, e.g.bass lines,
tunes, chords and rhythms, are recorded on
sequencers. Theyre played repeatedly
through the recording. Loops are usually
made so theyll fit together in different
combinations.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-
m9ZP_tTtLc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBR2G-iI3-I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-
opY4qcidFk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_izvAbhEx
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS9OO0S5
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