"pop"

Still under construction here ...

So what is pop music about? Well, "pop" is short for popular eh? Isn't there a "culture" named after this style of music? Pop culture? That ever evolving, never catch up of cultural evolution? The stories in pop songs are so often concerned with the topic of love, the poetry of the love song set to the popular dance groove of it's day. Add in a catchy hook and this basic combination of simple, timeless elements so often create the core of American Pop music.

Has the style of popular music has evolved over the decades? Totally. Back in the teens of the last century, Ragtime and Tin Pan Alley was the pop music of the day continuing through the the roaring 20's with cats like Louis Armstrong on the top of the charts. In the 30's the swing thing came in as the popular dance music of the day with bigger orchestras creating lush arrangements of gorgeous melodies. Players such as Benny Goodman topped the charts. The way of the 40's in popular music was characterized by smaller groups, playing faster tempos to the dancers delight. Bebop styled arrangements emerged as the popular "craze" of the day which drove the dancers to new heights of dizzyness. Vocalists became the focus during this period, setting the standard that continues today in pop music. So all of the popular music up to this point is part of what we today call jazz. Really? Yep.

The early 50's saw the swing groove merged with the blues with cats like Louis Jordan on the top of the charts. By the mid 50's, rock and roll emerged from the blues and singers such as Elvis Presely changed American pop music dramatically. This is probably the point where the idea of a "pop culture" began to emerge, as the pop and rock stars set the standard as to what was cool and "in" so to speak, especially in styles / fashions for young people. In the 60's, the songs of love were the hits, the Beatles of Great Britian providing one top 40 hit after another. And if Elvis changed things dramatically, the Beatles set the standard which still continues to shape many groups emerging today. Towards the end of the 60's, the rockers emerged from the scene with a different take on the pop scene. This early rock was not nearly as sophisicated as it's contemporary pop music, usually quite raucus and base in comparison, setting the tone for much of what was to follow.

In the 70's, the pop world clung to it's easy listening, nice melodies and great vocalists, often adding the tone colors of rock music without losing it's softer essence. In the 80's, pop music took on a greater reliance on the newer synthesized sounds and electronic instruments, again much to the delight of the dancers. Disco emerged towards the end of the decade as was perhaps the most danceable style of that era. In the 90's, pop music again crossed back towards the vocalist and the "torch songs" began to reign again. By the mid 90's the "divas" of pop had emerged, female vocalists of incredible skill and lyrical beauty sang not only songs of love but also fronted bands with incredible rhythm machines, again to the dancers delight. Today, this trend continues, pop singers singing songs of love with danceable grooves.

So why is American pop music so cool? Well, perhaps in that mainly it is created for the everyday person, the working folks, the 9 to 5 er's, folks that like to go out dancing and socialize a bit, stoke up the barbie with family and friends on the weekend. Pop music is not hard to understand, the lyrics are often based on a simple idea that just about all of us can relate to. The "hook" of a pop tune often being a simple message of love based on a couple of easily sung pitches. Like the one's that get stuck in our heads that won't seem to go away? Exactly. Interesting perhaps is that pop music is oftentimes very complex theoretically and oftentimes beautifully crafted works of art, especially when compared to the more theoretically basic rock, blues and the folk styles. In pop nusic, it's not uncommon to hear the full spectrum of diatonic harmony utilized, modulations, pop arrangements including scoring for orchestras and vocal / melody lines that are not only quite demanding of the singer in regards to range, intervals within the line etc., but often the hightlight thus very exposed in the mix. And least we forget that when they gig, many of these pop singers are dancing up a serious storm while singing the tune!

Here is a timeline of the "pop" stars as described in the above paragraphs.

Here is a listing of the most popular of American pop songs, as based on record sales. Many if not all of these songs are known as cover tunes, songs that working musicians learn to perform so as to enhance their performances and popularity.

Latin pop. A recent genre within the pop world is created by the addition of the Latin sounds into the pop music formulas. Here we add horn sections playing sizzling riffs, explosive percussion sections of congas, timbales and all manner of percussion and groove enhancers. All of this powers the dance groove with a Latin flair with the vocal line often in Spanish or English or both. But when we are on the dance floor, enjoying the groove, perhaps it all melds together in a rejoicing of love and togetherness, created by simply taking the best elements of all and any and artisitcally combining them together. Thus the American way ...

Richie Valens

Goria Estaphan

Ricky Martin

Pop curriculum of study.

The following ideas present a curriculum of study for the internalization of the equal tempered language with just a hint of the blues, with links back into the theoretical discussions within the text. Basically divided in three levels, which would translate loosely into beginning, intermediating and advancing, the distinctions are arranged by the following theory. So, where to begin? Do pop players tend to do it all? All the scales, chords, rhythms, all the styles? Yep.

Starting diatonically. Initiating in the diatonic realm is the long-term goal to develop the ability to articulate on one's chosen instrument any musical idea i.e., a scale, mode, arpeggio, chord, chord progression, lick, honk and squeal from any pitch, or simply "anything from anywhere." This anything from anywhere translates into learning one's instrument and basically exhausting the diatonic resources. So, in attempting to develop to this level of understanding we might choose to play all of our scales, arpeggios, chords, licks and ideas from each of the 12 pitches of the chromatic scale. Coolness emerges in that by approaching things this way, we get a sense of the closure within the resource, i.e., there are only 12 pitches, 12 major scales, 12 Aeolian modes etc.

The trick to the above format is that each of us must move at our own pace, thinking that we can accelerate things if we so choose by diligent and aggressive study. Can we force our ears to hear and understand more complex sounds through the shedding? Can we speed up the process by challenging ourselves by playing things we do not truly hear or theoretically understand, thinking that maybe at some point there might be some sort of "epiphany of assimilation" of the colors, advancing our knowledge of the jazz language?

I think these learning possibilities are all true. It is just one of the many reasons that people teach or coach younger players. For to nurture and experience the explosive growth potential of a talent is perhaps truly among the most magical things we can ever behold.

So where to begin? Well, what tunes are you learning? What are the elements used to create the song? If at any point in your studies you need help just ask o.k?

Part 1 / diatonic elements / melodic resources.

What songs are you working on? Pick a tune eh?

Do you have written music for the song? Can you read standard music notation?

Hip to the major and minor pentatonic colors?

Can you create these two colors from each of the 12 pitches of the chromatic scale on your chosen instrument?

Can you create these two colors from each of the 12 pitches of the chromatic scale at the piano?

Understand how to add in the tritone into these pentatonic groups of pitches to create the blues color? The major / relative minor colors?

Got a blues scale under your fingers?

Have you taken the blues challenge yet?

With this blues challenge ability in place, have you started to pepper in the substitution possibilities outlined in the blues chord substitution charts?

What blues heads are under your fingers?

Have you written out any of your own blues licks into the 12 bar blues form?

Got a major scales under your fingers?

Can you sound the pitches of the C major scale on the piano?

Can you filter this scale through the diatonic interval studies?

What song in the major tonality are you learning?

What songs are you working on?

Are you hip to the relative major / relative minor scales pairings?

What song in the minor tonality are you learning?

Can you run the major scale through it's 12 keys?

Are you familiar with the organizational properties of the cycle of 5th's?

Cycle of 4th's?

Can you run the natural minor scale through it's 12 keys?

Are you able to extract the 7 church modes from the major / relative minor scale?

Can you alter the natural minor scale to create the harmonic minor color?

Can you alter the natural minor scale to create the melodic minor color?

Can you build and accurately sound a diminished scale on your chosen instrument?

Can you build and accurately sound a whole tone scale on your chosen instrument?

Part 1 / diatonic elements / harmonic resources.

What songs are you working on?

What are the first partials created by the overtone series?

Are you familiar with 4 basic configurations of tertian triads?

Can you arpeggiate these triads?

Can you sing the arpeggiation of the major triad?

How is your ability to spell out the letter names of triads?

What are the four important ways to configure the triad?

Can you spell these four different types of triads from each of the 12 pitches of the chromatic scale?

Can you create the two inversions of the major triad?

Can you create the two basic inversions of the minor triad?

Can you create the diatonic triads on each of the scale degrees of the major scale?

Can you project the above idea from each of the 12 pitches of the chromatic scale?

Can you create the diatonic triads on each of the scale degrees of the natural minor scale?

Can you project the above exercise from each of the 12 pitches of the chromatic scale?

Can you add the 7th to each of the four different types of triads?

What songs are you working on?

Can you create a 7th chord on each of the degrees of the major scale?

Can you create the above exercise from each of the 12 pitches of the chromatic scale?

Are you cool with the numbers?

Can you create a 7th chord on each of the degrees of the minor scale?

Can you create the above exercise from each of the 12 pitches of the chromatic scale?

Can you create quartile chords from each of the 7 degrees of the major scale?

Can you create quartile chords from each of the 7 degrees of the minor scale?

What are the three common types of chord cadences?

What is chord type and chord function?

What are the two chord degrees used to define a chord's type?

What is the key component that sets dominant harmony apart from tonic harmony?

What is the principle type of harmony used in the blues?

What are the three chord types used in the Two / Five / One chord progression?

What songs are you working on?

Can you arpeggiate up to the seventh degree each of the three principle chords in the 2 / 5 / 1 harmonic motion?

Can you run the above exercise from each of the 12 key centers of the chromatic scale?

Can you recreate the arpeggio exercise in the minor tonality?

Can you run the above minor tonality exercise from each of the 12 key centers of the chromatic scale?

What are the diatonic color tone extensions for tonic harmony in the major tonality?

What are the diatonic color tone extensions for tonic harmony in the minor tonality?

What are the diatonic color tone extensions for dominant harmony?

Can you create different chord voicings of the three chord types?

Can you aurally define which of the color tones create which of the four main musical styles of American music?

Can you spell a fully diminished 7th chord?

Can you spell an augmented dominant 7th chord?

What are the characteristics of the suspended 4th chords ( sus 4 )?

Can you create two different voice leadings for a authentic cadence? Plagel cadence? Deceptive cadence?

What is implied by the term diatonic modulation?

What happens in a non diatonic modulation?

Part 2 / parent scale / symmetrical colors / multiple resolutions / chord substitutions.

What is implied by the idea of anything from anywhere?

What does the formula of  7 + 5 = 12 imply?

From what scale degree of which equal tempered minor scale can we diatonically create the fully diminished 7th arpeggio?

What allows for one fully diminished 7th chord to properly resolve to 4 major tonal centers?

What allows for one fully diminished 7th chord to properly resolve to 4 minor tonal centers?

Can you arpeggiate the diminished triad chord from each of the 12 pitches of the chromatic scale?

What are the two common scale configurations created from the fully diminished 7th arpeggio?

What are their intervalic formulas?

How are the four most common chord substitutions of the jazz language created from the fully diminished 7th arpeggio?

What is the intervalic formula for the whole tone scale?

Can you spell an augmented triad from each of the 12 pitches of the chromatic scale?

Can you articulate these 12 augmented triads on your chosen instrument?

Can you add a blue 7th to each of 12 augmented triads?

What scale degree can each pitch of the whole tone scale assume creating it's unique multiple resolving properties?

What six major keys will the G whole tone scale resolve to? Minor too?

What pitches do the six pitches of the whole tone scale resolve to?

Can your create the above resolutions convincingly on your instrument?

What six minor keys will the C 7 +5 chord resolve to? Are some destinations better than others? Why?

Can your create the above resolutions too the minor tonality using the augmented colors convincingly on your instrument?

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"Some people want to fill the world with silly love songs..." Paul McCartney