The Motown Beat

1
The Motown Beat

• A medium tempo, between 100-120 beats per minute
• A strong backbeat
• Light timekeeping, usually percussion
• Moderate syncopation
• A bass line in free rhythm
• A dense, multi-layered, heterogeneous texture

2
Motown Melody

• Riffs
• Instrumental riffs tend to be shorter
• Saturation

3
Motown Harmony

• Our experience with the Blues taught us three
  useful things about harmony
• We hear harmonies from the bass up
• I, IV and V are the three basic chords of the
  bluesand of early rock
• The change from one chord to the next creates a
  rhythm

4
Motown Instrumentation

• A rhythm section contains three types of
  instruments
• Bass instrument (stand-up or electric bass)
• Chord instrument (guitar or piano)
• Percussion instrument (drum kit, tambourine, etc.)

5
Dynamics and Inflection

• Dynamics refers to loudness and softness
• Inflection is dynamic variation on a small scale,
  a stress of one note over another
• Hierarchy
• Vocal lines most prominent
• Bass line and backbeat next loudest
• All other lines in the background

6
Texture

• Texture is the relationship of different layers
  of musical activity
• Most common
• a) Melody
• b) A strong backbeat
• c) Light percussion

7
Texture

• Motown songs consist more of a set of preferences
  than a set of prescriptions
• A persistent feature in Motown recordings is call
  and response

8
Form

• The form of the song amplifies and reinforces the
  verbal message
• Mostly through the alternation of verse and
  refrain

9
Summary of the Motown Sound

• Light timekeeping (percussion and chord
  instruments)
• Melodic saturation
• Moderate syncopation
• Rich instrumentation
• Hierarchical dynamics
• Dense, multilayered texture
• Verse/Refrain forms that climax at title phrase

10
Why is Motown So Influential?

• A balance between melody and rhythm
• Multiple points of entry (riffs and hooks)
• A fresh new vocal sound close to mainstream taste
• Instrumentation that appealed to a wide-ranging
  audience
• Easy to follow forms

11
Standing in the Shadow of Motown

• Who are the Funk Brothers?
• What is their contribution to Motown?
• Which musician do we establish an allegicance
  with?  How do the filmakers create this
  allegiance?  What makes this musician compelling
  (or not)?