AS SET WORKS 2010: VOCAL MUSIC

STUDY 1

CLIFF: YOU CAN GET IT IF YOU REALLY WANT

Classwork Sheet 1

CHARACTERISTICS OF ROCK STEADY o o o o o o o o o o o Like reggae there is a clear backbeat (beats 2 and 4) Concentration on limited number of chords (mostly I and IV) Short repeated melodic and rhythmic patterns Lyrics to do with protest (again pre-empting raggae and Bob Marley especially) Music for people to dance to Close harmony Backing Vocals accompanying main voice typical of rocksteady High trumpet riffs show influence from Cuba and Mexico Tight rhythmic style shows influence from Latin America Two guitars have accompanying roles rhythm and harmony together with electric organ (both) (a sound often used in Jamaican genres). Bass part forms a 4-note riff (heavy and steady nature gives rock steady its name) which changes with the harmony Snare drum part is played cross stick

Further Research www.oxfordmusiconline.com; www.allmusic.com; http://www.youtube.com; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxELSzay2lc

WRITTEN WORK
Complete the definitions of the technical terms on the TECHNICAL TERMS SHEET, and for each write in a detailed reference to the score that illustrates the term.

Jimmy Cliff (b Somerton, St James, 1948). Cliff is a Jamaican reggae singer who came to Kingston at the age of 13 where he established his roots. In 1965 Cliff emigrated to Britain, settling in London. After forming a reasonable successful band ,he recorded several singles for Island Records, trying to assume a more cosmopolitan soul style. In 1972 Cliff performed the lead role in the film The Harder they Come (1972), a musical drama set in the Kingston slums that helped to bring Jamaican reggae to an international audience. His original compositions for the film, You can get it if you really want, Sitting in Limbo and the title song, established him as one of the leading stars of the reggae movement. Cliffs hard, clear, high voice and pop-inflected vocal style, as well as his Muslim faith, set him apart from the mainstream of Jamaican reggae singers who came to prominence in the 1970s. Rock Steady A style of urban popular music, originating in Jamaica. It was a transitional music between ska and reggae, akin to American rhythm and blues, and with a heavy emphasis on harmony groups and solo vocalists, who also began to explore social issues in their lyrics. The distinctive horn section of the influential ska group, the Skatalites, no longer dominated the local popular music sound after they disbanded in 1965. Instead, a line-up of piano, bass and drums established rock steady and ultimately led to reggae in 1968. In addition, the frenetic beat of ska had been slowed down for dancing during the summer heatwave of 1966, and so provided a chance to penetrate the increasingly political and socially aware lyrics sung by groups like Desmond Dekker and the Aces, and the Wailers, then including Bob Marley. (Steffens R., http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com <accessed 19.01.09>) Desmond Dekker (1941-2006) Desmond Dekker (Desmond Dacres) was another Jamaican artist predating Bob Marley who had extraordinary popular hits such as The Israelites on both sides of the Atlantic. The style of that song was an early version of reggae called rock steady.