Song Character Analysis Worksheet - The University of North ...
Song Character Analysis Worksheet - The University of North ...
Song Character Analysis Worksheet - The University of North ...
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Finally, the process includes a musical analysis <strong>of</strong> the song. After the singer has<br />
determined the formal (objective) characteristics, she may then impose her textual and<br />
expressive decisions upon the composer’s template <strong>of</strong> melodic shape and rhythm. <strong>The</strong>re<br />
are a dozen or so different song types but the most common are the up-tempo and the<br />
ballad, each with traditional performance practices. 36 <strong>The</strong> formal sections <strong>of</strong> popular<br />
song include a short instrumental introduction, an expositional Verse, a “32-bar” Refrain<br />
(or Chorus), a possible bridge section followed by a repeat <strong>of</strong> the Refrain, and a “rideout”<br />
ending. 37 <strong>The</strong>se sectional divisions are important guideposts for acting choices such as a<br />
change <strong>of</strong> focus or emotional reaction. <strong>The</strong> singer should be aware that the function <strong>of</strong><br />
the Verse is to explain the character’s viewpoint or the situation. Performance practice<br />
dictates a free, ad lib singing style (similar to recitative). <strong>The</strong> Refrain is more formal<br />
regarding rhythm and phrase structure as it expresses the character’s overwhelming<br />
emotion; her need to sing what she cannot speak. Some flexibility is allowed for inter-<br />
pretation in musical theatre performance tradition, however, when the spoken phrasing <strong>of</strong><br />
the lyric is imposed intentionally upon the musical phrasing. “A performer in character is<br />
perceived as generating musical time, not subject to it,” according to Burgess and<br />
Skilbeck. 38 Other considerations for analysis include key relationships and harmonic<br />
36 In A Performer Prepares, Craig provides an outline <strong>of</strong> thirteen song types with practical advice<br />
for the preparation <strong>of</strong> specific songs within each type.<br />
37 A “rideout” is the continued emotional thought under a sustained final pitch <strong>of</strong> the singer, or the<br />
subtextual demeanor sustained during the instrumental postlude. <strong>The</strong> most common form structures for the<br />
Refrain are AABA, ABABA, and ABAC.<br />
38 Singing and Acting Handbook, 6.<br />
94