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-All right, so we're going to talk a little bit.
I'm going to use an example of contemporary song structure
from a contemporary recording artist, the
pop princess, Rihanna.
So we're going to take it from Good Girl Gone Bad.
-This song's pretty popular.
"Take a Bow."
-"Take a Bow."
-"Take a Bow." So I think you may not hear all of it, but if
you go through and listen to the song-- you can find it on
YouTube if you don't have the CD--
take a listen to the song completely through, and then
you can hear what we're talking about with different
parts.
-This is a good example of principles of song structure.
So--
[MUSIC PLAYING]
-He's kind of presented a bit of a hook before we get to it.
-Melodically.
-The idea-- yeah.
We know what we're going to say, which I like, because I
hate when people just moan on a track to moan on a track.
The intro.
So verse one--
-You look so dumb right now.
-Sharing his feelings from the very beginning.
-Standing outside my house trying to apologize.
You're so ugly when you cry.
Please, just cut it out.
-So by this point we have a very clear idea--
-Of what's going on.
-That this is not a happy song.
We should have also heard that harmonically from the key.
But we know she's not happy.
Here's the hook.
-But you put on quite a show.
You really had me going.
And now it's time to go.
The curtain's finally closing.
That was quite a show.
Very entertaining.
But it's over now.
Go on and take a bow.
-So we pause it there.
We've kind of gotten from that verse-hook--
it's kind of like the pre-argument.
She's making a first stand, basically, in our story, and
confronting him for whatever reason.
-And introduces the thesis, because it's over.
This is what we're going to come to.
It's a breakup song.
The song's called "Take a Bow." You're out.
And it's kind of theatrical.
-It is theatrical.
-Take a bow, like in theater.
The curtain drops or lights fade to black.
It's done.
-It's a very interesting metaphor.
I don't want you in my life anymore so take a bow and get
off my stage.
-Blackout.
-So that's very interesting.
But we were going through the first part of it.
She's entering and confronting him.
And this is what I have to say.
You can take a bow and get out of my life.
I've said it now, in this way, in this confrontation.
So now we have to go to the next part of the story.
How else are you going to shade that hook in verse two?
-Grab your clothes and get gone.
-So it's more urgent.
-She's pushed him out.
-Hurry up before the sprinklers come on.
-Pause that.
See, because what's interesting is somebody could
think-- because we've had confrontation, and you could
think that this is further confrontation.
But what I like--
I think Ne-Yo wrote this song.
-Yeah, he did.
What I like about it, lyrically, what it is--
it's not grab your clothes and get gone from my closet.
It's grab your clothes and get gone from this front yard
before my sprinklers come on and they get all wet.
So the story-- it's a very interesting lyric that he used
to tell that we've gone from just confronting to now--
-Now it's progressing.
You're outside.
-You're outside the house.
-It's cemented.
You're gone.
-Before my sprinklers come on.
It's going to be wet.
It's that over.
-Yeah, done-done.
-Done-done.
-Done-done it out.
-Go ahead.
-OK, sorry.
-Talking about "Girl, I love you," "You're the one."
-He's trying to come back.
-This just looks like a rerun.
-So they keep the metaphor going.
A rerun.
-Please what else is on?
-In the second verse, we introduce more harmony.
So it's developed a little bit more.
-And she's getting more power to her.
It's easier for her to say it.
-Back to the hook.
-Where's the high harmony?
Don't you ever wonder why sometimes they don't- "You
know." Like they have a little [INAUDIBLE]
-She didn't want nothing over her.
-Is that what it was?
-Artistically.
It's a support--
-An ego.
OK, I got you.
-It's just a background, like a Greek chorus, just to
support--
-Now here comes the bridge.
This is important.
-OK.
Bridge.
-And the award for the best liar goes to you for making me
believe that you could be faithful to me.
Let's hear your speech out.
-All right.
So the thing about the bridge is you're supposed to--
there's no return from a bridge.
The bridge, we know this is the final, of a bridge.
Either we're finally together, or we're finally apart.
I'm finally happy with you, I'm finally not.
It's final.
And in this bridge, she lets us know why all of this
happened, because we don't really know why.
We know something's wrong from the first verse.
-Lying.
-The bridge lets him know, you lied to me for
the good last time.
I can't take it no more.
-The best award--
and he does this repeatedly, because she says, you've done
it over and over again.
The best award goes to you.
-For making me believe that you could be faithful.
-So he was unfaithful.
-And there's no turning back now.
We hear that harmonically.
We have changed.
And we have we also hear that in her lyric, that
you cannot go back.
And one of the things about a bridge is
that it changes melod--
it lets us know we're out of-- that's why a bridge takes us
to the end.
The bridge changes from harmonically where we've been
in the verses.
-And the hook.
-And it changes melodically.
So it has to do something with the way she's singing and with
what's going on under her with the music.
And this song does a good job of doing that in contemporary
music, whereas we have progressed.
It is final.
And so now when we get back to the hook, to "take a bow."
-It's cemented.
he's out.
-You are getting off my lawn and out of my life.
-Two fingers.
Kick rocks with an open-toed shoe.
-Mm, that's got to hurt.
-So that's just a little example of contemporary music
structure with the pop princess, Rihanna.