MUS 

100 Introduction to Music

MUS 100
Introduction to Music
Whitehall Classroom Building Room 231
Yingchao Han (韩应潮)

What is Rock?
• The genre Rock and Roll firstly appeared in
1950s America.
• It grew out of a mixture of different genres
and styles: the African American rhythm and
blues, the white country music, and pop
music.
• The early rock is vocal music with a 4/4
driving rhythm and electric guitar
accompaniment. It soon evolved to a highly
varied style.

Chuck Berry （1926- ）

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MUS 100 Introduction to Music

School Day
• In this early rock and roll song (1957), Chuck
Berry developed the rhythm and blues into a
new genre that features the life of American
youth.
• The text is about school life, and the music
imitates the ringing of a school bell.
• This song is in 4/4, while each beat is divided
into three pulses, giving it a 12/8 like nature.
• The music enhances the timbre of electric
guitar (played by Berry himself ).

Elvis Presley (1935-1977)

Heartbreak Hotel
• This is Elvis’s first hit song released in 1956.
• The text is about the sorrow of a lonely man.
• The music is in minor, and the
instrumentation emphasizes Elvis’s special
voice.
• The piano motif in a very high range imitates
the sound of rain.

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MUS 100 Introduction to Music

The Beatles

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts

Club Band
• This is a concept album released in 1967.
• A concept album is an album unified by an
overall purpose or meaning. Like a song cycle
of Western art music, there could be a central
narrative or not.
• In this album, the Beatles uses different
techniques to unify the tracks, including the
reprise of the first song towards the ending.

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts

Club Band

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MUS 100 Introduction to Music

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

• This is the third song from the album Sgt.
Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The singer
is John Lennon.
• The song evokes a world of daydream and
fantasy.
• Unlike many rock songs, the major part of
the song is in triple rhythm. It is alternated
with a refrain in quadruple rhythm.
• The music features heavy use of synthesized
sound.

Bob Dylan (1941- )

Like a Rolling Stone

• This song marks Bob Dylan’s convert from
folk to folk rock.
• The text expresses resentment: a woman
“Miss Lonely” finds herself is in a hostile
world.
• The music integrates the styles of folk
(melodies and instrumentation) and rock
(rhythm).

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MUS 100 Introduction to Music

Pink Floyd

Dark Side of the Moon

• This 1973 concept album is a classic of
progressive rock and psychedelic rock.
• The music explores several “dark sides” of
modern life including money, conflict, and
mental illness.
• The fourth song “Time” is noted for its use of
sounds from daily life and backing vocalists.