quest narrative in miniature, beginning and ending on the home chord (I) after venturing forth to chords IV and V.[1] Although it is, of course, missing the point to analyse blues songs solely in terms of their harmonic content, when the most important content is found (arguably) in the areas of timbre, gesture and groove, and these parameters’ interaction with the delivery of the lyric, I make this distinction because of the link between the blues form and the strophic nature of much rock music. Another narrative may often be found in blues performances and recordings (though not always) in the building up of dynamics, gradation of timbre, variation in the density of arrangement, or a combination of any of these, through the duration of a performance or recording.
A consideration of how musical structures are articulated, and the extent to which they accord to the default model of the quest narrative, has the potential to provide us with a useful range of analytical tools. There are various ways in which quest narrative may be articulated in rock music and those recordings that break from this convention of form seem to demand a rethinking of popular music analysis.[2] Two brief examples[3] will outline structural norms of rock music that still account for a great deal of practice and that are easily reconciled with the idea of the quest narrative
Elvis Costello - 'Welcome to the Working Week' (1977): verse/chorus/bridge form as quest narrative
This recording has a structure typical to pop and rock: verse—chorus—verse—chorus—bridge-verse-chorus, though the initial verse is presented at a slower tempo than the rest of the song, and the final chorus is truncated. Each verse-chorus unit ventures out from the home territory of the tonic key (E Major) and a timbre and dynamic of relative repose at the start of the verse to a chorus which is denser, louder, features unison rhythms in the instrumentation, and does not start on the tonic chord as the verse does. The bridge extends this excursion away from home, not touching upon the tonic chord
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- ↑ If we read McClary literally, she seems to infer that blues music is not tonal. This has to do with her conception of tonality as including all the mechanisms of nineteenth century Westem art music. I do not think for a moment she intends to indicate that the blues as a musical style is atonal. Rather, McClary is working from the idea that tonality in the blues is not functional in the sense of how it operates in Westem art music.
- ↑ The use of the term 'recording' is deliberate. The term 'song' is inadequate here, as songs may be found in various arrangements, performances and recordings, and each version may differ in respect to structure and instrumentation.
- ↑ I acknowledge that the selection of examples is idiosyncratic. There is no attempt made here to be representative of the broad sweep of styles that tend to be grouped under the term 'rock'. Although further points may be made through the use of examples that are more broadly known, I am satisfied that my purpose is served by any examples that satisfactorily illustrate the argument.
PORTAL, vol. 8, no. 1, January
