Play with Closing Markers: Cadential Multivalence in 1960s Prechoruses and Related Schemas

Heetderks, David

doi:10.1093/mts/mtz023

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…consistent harmonic design, with a goal-directed progression of tonic in the verse, pre-dominant to dominant in the prechorus, and a cadential arrival on tonic at the beginning of the chorus (Nobile 2020, Chapter 8;Heetderks 2020). Beginning in the 1990s, artists began exploring alternative means of expressing the form's teleology, especially through changes in instrumental texture and vocal delivery.…”

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“…My specific terms reflect the particularities of cycle-long teleology in pop and rock songs. Theorists have previously offered several similar terms for this three-part process: David Heetderks (2020) gives us initiation-liftoffarrival; Asaf Peres (2016) uses setup-buildup-peak; Alyssa Barna (2020) and Brad Osborn (2023) go with verse-riser-drop, using the preferred terms of EDM artists and scholars; and Kyle Adams (2019) proffers a rhetorical process through expository, intensifying, and culminating functions.…”

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Teleology in Verse–Prechorus–Chorus Form, 1965–2020

Nobile

2022

MTO

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This article traces a stylistic history of verse–prechorus–chorus form from its inception in mid-1960s rock ’n’ roll through the EDM-infused pop of the 2010s. The central argument is that across its various presentations, verse–prechorus–chorus form is based on a consistent teleological structure, which I term the telos principle. I chronicle this form’s history through three style periods: I begin with the 1960s through ’80s, over which time verse–prechorus–chorus went from a novel offshoot of standard verse–chorus form to a dominant formal layout. Next, I look at how the form developed between 1991 and 2010, when texture, timbre, and voice increasingly overshadowed harmony as the primary drivers of formal motion. Finally, I consider the 2010s, which saw the strongest efforts toward subverting traditional pop and rock formal processes, especially surrounding the chorus’s central formal status. Throughout the discussion, I demonstrate how the telos principle can guide expressive interpretations of these formal subversions. In tracing verse–prechorus–chorus form’s historical lineage, this article connects the harmonically oriented theories of ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s rock, such as ".fn_cite($Nobile_2020)." and ".fn_cite($Heetderks_2020).", with recent work on post-2010 EDM-infused pop, such as ".fn_cite($Peres_2016).", ".fn_cite($Barna_2020).", ".fn_cite($Adams_2019).", and ".fn_cite($Osborn_2023).". In so doing, the article reconsiders recent formal innovations not as a rejection of prior paradigms but as new developments within an ongoing thread that remain in dialogue with popular music’s stylistic history.

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Teleology in Verse–Prechorus–Chorus Form, 1965–2020

Nobile

2022

MTO

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“…169–74). However, there are more that could be explored, and there might be some songs where considering several musical features in combination is more appropriate than primarily focusing on harmony (for brief examples of alternate approaches, see de Clercq 2012 and 2017; Summach 2012; and Heetderks 2020).…”

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Form as Harmony in Rock Music. By Drew Nobile. Oxford University Press, 2020. 268 pp. ISBN: 978-0-19-094835-1

Heetederks

2020

Pop. Mus.

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The Royal Road Progression in Japanese Popular Music

Ramage¹

2023

Music Theory Spectrum

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The so-called royal road progression (RRP), whose archetypal lead-sheet representation is F–G–Em–Am, is a distinctive feature of modern Japanese popular music. The RRP arose from the manipulation of basic elements of diatonic harmony and coexists with several closely related progressions in J-pop style. Composers often use the RRP to lend Aeolian flavor to major-key songs; however, the RRP is a tonally flexible pattern. After presenting a typology of phrases that use the RRP, I argue that the progression can articulate partial tonic function and can induce a binary tonal system, which occupies the conceptual space between tonal pairing and double-tonic complex. I also provide a diachronic account of the RRP as an element of J-pop history and pop-music history in general. By relating the concepts of partial tonic function and binary tonal system to the RRP, this paper gives insight into the understudied harmonic language of J-pop and invites application of the concepts to other musics.

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Play with Closing Markers: Cadential Multivalence in 1960s Prechoruses and Related Schemas

Cited by 5 publications

References 27 publications

Teleology in Verse–Prechorus–Chorus Form, 1965–2020

Teleology in Verse–Prechorus–Chorus Form, 1965–2020

Form as Harmony in Rock Music. By Drew Nobile. Oxford University Press, 2020. 268 pp. ISBN: 978-0-19-094835-1

The Royal Road Progression in Japanese Popular Music

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