Treat+her+Right

Because there are no set works for Music Styles, each question in Section B of the exam will ask you to enter the name of the work you have studied.

In Unit 3, we studied an Australian work (Antarctica) and the other work (Treat her Right).

Treat her Right will be the work referred to as 'the other work'.

Practise writing the title and composers of this work for each of the sample exam questions:

media type="file" key="08 Treat Her Right.m4a" align="center" width="300" height="50"

Question 1: In Semester one you studied an Australian work. This question refers to the other work you studied. Identify that work.

Title:

Section of work studied (if applicable)

Composer:

Explain how **two contextual issues** have affected the creation of the selected work.

//Treat Her Right// Roy Head and Gene Kurtz


 * Contextual Issue 1: Development of Technology **

During the 1940's and 50's, electric instruments were invented such as electric guitar, electric bass and electric piano.

These became very popular and were used a lot in Soul, R&B, Jazz and Rock and Roll.

This technology can be heard in 'Treat Her Right' in the use of a very brash, bright tone colour created by the use of electric amplification.

The use of electric instruments in the rhythm section allows for manipulation of dynamics and tone colour to exaggerate the contrast

between the verse and chorus.

The balance in the rhythm section could also be more easily controlled, because of the ease at which the volumes of the instruments could be changed.

This meant that the driving bass line could be given a more prominent place in the texture without compromising the volume level or tone colour of any of the other instruments.


 * Contextual Issue 2: Development of Civil Rights for African Americans. **

At the time the song was written (1965), civil rights was a major issue in American society, with African Americans still being treated as lesser citizens than their white counterparts.

However, the African American fight for equality was gaining momentum, and the music of black America became a rallying call for the civil rights movement.

Soul was predominantly a black genre, as it originated from R&B and Gospel, which both have significant roots in the Blues, which was the music of the slaves. Roy Head was known as the 'blue eyed soul singer' which referred to the fact that he was a white man singing typically black music. This was a huge step for the civil rights because it signalled a crossover of black music into mainstream white culture which in turn indicated that the civil rights movement had made an effect on the white community. CLAIRE  The Soul song Treat Her Right, written by Roy Head and Gene Kurtz in 1965, was greatly influenced by what was happening in America at that particular time in history. One example of this is the development of technology. In previous decades (i.e. the 40’s and 50’s), the invention and development of electric instruments took place such as the electric guitar, electric bass and electric piano. These became very popular and were increasingly used in soul, rhythm and blues, jazz and rock and roll. In Treat Her Right, this technology can be heard and it impacts on the tone colour of the piece, creating a significant contrast between verse and chorus. The fact that these instruments were electric enabled them to manipulate volume, balance, dynamic level and tone colour particularly within the rhythm section. While the verse is rather muffled and muted, the chorus has a very brash, bright and harsher tone colour, created by the electric instruments. Tone colour and texture would be a lot thinner without the use of electric instruments. It allows the bass guitar to cut through the sound and drive the music forward in the verses. Therefore, the use of electric instruments in this style plays a significant role and has a great impact on tone colour, texture, dynamics, contrast and the overall feel of the piece.
 *  Development of electric instruments **

 **Development of civil rights for Afro-Americans** Another major event in history of this era was the development of civil rights for Afro-Americans. While the original blues style was very slow and depressing (mirroring the misfortunate events in the black people’s lives at the time), Soul is influenced by rhythm and blues, a much more upbeat and optimistic form with a strong, driving rhythm. Through these soul songs, the Afro-Americans often conveyed political messages and used the songs as rallying calls against racism and civil rights. However, soul music was not only popular among black people, but also became increasingly popular among white audiences. This growing popularity of soul and rhythm and blues led white singers such as Roy Head to copy the style. White performers of the soul and R&B genres such as Head were known as ‘blue-eyed soul singers’. Ten years earlier, this piece would not have been written and performed by a white soul singer. Treat Her Right not only demonstrates the rising popularity of soul, and how far race relations had progressed by 1965, but also in a deeper sense the way the world was eventually and slowly beginning to become a better place for the Afro-American community living alongside whites in harmony. Grace Contextual Issue 1: Development of technology

During the 1940's and 50's, electrical instrument technology developed and began to infiltrate into popular music. The use of these instruments allowed for a great degree of dynamic and tonal manipulation previously not achievable, as well as the rather brash, harsh tone colour used in Treat Her RIght (THR). Electronic instruments were capable of a much larger dynamic than their accoustic versions. The use of these allowed the rhythm section to become of far greater prominance within the texture. THR (1965) makes use of this relatively new development. The instrumentation includes electric bass, guitar and keyboard. The use of an amplified bass line allows in to become a vital part of the texture. It provides the perpetual motion through the use of running quavers and is prominant only through electrical manipulation. The contrast between the chorus and the verse is also made possible by such manipulation. The chorus uses an extremely loud, brash rhythm section to create contrast to the more laid back verse. Only electric instruments allowed the rhythm section to become so prominant, and to include such dynamic extremes.

Contextual Issue 2:Development of Race Relations and African American rights.

Soul, the style in which THR is placed, finds its early roots in blues. This was a song of the African American slaves who mourned the loss of their freedom by singing in the fields. Their melancholy was represented by the slow insistent pulse and use of the blues scale. When the African American population obtained freedom, many moved to the cities. The change in music from blues to Rhythm and Blues reflects this move. The upbeat, dance tempo of Rhythm and Blues reflects the quick pace of city life and the new positivity of African Americans. The lyrics changed from melancholy to optimistic - songa were normally about love and sex. This can be seen in the positive lyrics of THR as well as the fast tempo.

THR was performed by Roy Head, a blue eyed soul singer. The fact that a white American was singing the music of the African Americans reflected an improvement in race relations. This is reflected in the combination of some rock elements, typically music of the white Americans, for example the tempo marked 'fast rock' and the strong backbeat, with the soul style. This showed the culmination of ideas from both cultures and hence an improvement in relations between them.

Question 2: In Semester one you studied an Australian work. This question refers to the other work you studied. Identify that work.

Title: Treat Her Right

Section of work studied (if applicable)

Composer:

a. Describe two important characteristics of the style of this selected work. ** A word from the editor... **

// These responses were completed after classroom ‘discussions’. They should be more accurate than previous responses and are more suited to the end of year exam format. // // ‘Treat Her Right’ has been abbreviated to ‘THR’ in this response. //

Treat her Right (THR) is a song that has been written in the style of Soul music. The creation of soul eventuated and was developed from the styles of Gospel and Rhythm and Blues (R&B). Both of these stylistic influences can be seen in THR. There are several main characteristics of Gospel music that can be seen in THR. The Gospel style is known for call and response. In THR, call and response occurs between the main vocalist and the backing vocals during the verse sections. Here, the lead vocalist sings a line which is then repeated by the female backing singers. Within the chorus, the horn section consisting of saxophones and trumpets respond to the “hey hey hey” ‘calls’ from the backing vocalists. The Gospel style is noted for passionate vocal delivery. The singer in THR achieves this by singing consistently with a narrative-like quality, as if telling a story. As the song progresses, the vocalists become increasingly energised and embellish the melodic line with screams and shouts. A further characteristic of Gospel is having the backing vocalists in tight harmonies. In THR, the vocalists feature in the verse and chorus. They are always either in a tight unison or perfect octaves. The influence of Rhythm and Blues or ‘R&B’ can be seen in the soul piece THR. A characteristic of R&B is using the 12-bar blues structure. In THR, the entire piece is based around a repeating 12-bar blues structure in G. The typical R&B band setup of rhythm, horns and lead sections are used in THR. In this piece, the rhythm section consists of piano drums and electric guitar, the horns are comprised of saxophones and trumpets, and the lead section is vocally dominated. The fast, driving tempo in the R&B style can be seen in THR. Here, rhythmic drive is sustained by a repeating bass line that plays (crotchet quaver quaver quaver quaver quaver quaver) continuously and there is a strongly accented bass line. The driving feel is governed by a fast tempo of (crotchet = 160). The optimistic lyrics, a characteristic of R&B can be seen in THR. Here, they are about love and contribute to the overall energetic, dance-like music. ** Question 3: ** In Semester one you studied an Australian work. This question refers to the other work you studied. Identify that work.
 * Characteristic of the Style 1: Influence of Gospel music**
 * Characteristic of the Style 2: Influence of Rhythm and Blues**

Title:

Section of work studied (if applicable)

Composer: Describe how **contrast** is achieved in this work. In your answer, refer to **two** elements of music.

Grace

Contrast is mainly achieved between the verse and chorus.


 * || Chorus || Verse ||
 * Melody || - Very small range: only one note in vocals, two notes in horn section

- Uses a very simple rhythm (crotchets only in vocals) to complement the static contour.

- Relatively high register (a 4th higher than the verse)

- Melody acts as a rhythmic device through the use of vocal stab notes

- Call and response is used between horns and vocalist

- Later choruses include improvisatory vocal lines with slides and melisma in a comparatively high register || - Relatively small range

- Low register in vocals creates spoken tone colour

- Melody is simple to place the emphasis on lyrics

- Based around a G blues scale

- Call and response is between male vocalist and backing singers (instead of horns)

- Melody is clearly prominent within the texture ||
 * Tone Colour || - High registers used and amplified electronic rhythm section creates a brash, harsh sound.

- Inclusion of hors adds to the brightness || - Vocals have an almost spoken quality due to the low register. This reflects the lyric “I wanna tell you a story.”

- Tone colour is retrained and airy due to the muffled sound of the turned down rhythm section. || Contrasting treatment of the elements is used to create the two different moods of the sections. The chorus is raucous and wild compared to the intimacy and restraint of the verses.