We have decided to perform a Soul piece. Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of funky, secular testifying". Soul music has its roots in gospel music and rhythm and blues. The hard gospel vocal quartets of the 1940's and 1950's were big influences on major soul singers of the 1970's. Different states each had a different 'sound' when it came to soul, these key subgenres included Detroit soul which was more rhythmic. Memphis soul, which involved a shimmering, sultry style. New Orleans soul which came out of the rhythm and blues style. My personal favourite however is Philadelphia soul. a more orchestral sound with doo-wop inspired vocals. I think Philadelphia Soul will be the most beneficial for my group to re-create as a group of three girls as we can explore the doo-wop inspired sounds with three-part harmony. Typical instruments in a soul piece include an electric guitar, a bass guitar, piano, vocals and drums. At present, my aim is to record the electric guitar backing track and attempt to play bass guitar onstage whilst Chloe plays piano/keyboard. The three of us will also provide the vocals.
Soul lyrics are inspired by the social and political times. Record labels such as Motown, Atlantic and Stax were influential in the civil rights era. "Soul is traditional gospel music with secular lyrics" - Ray Charles. "Soul came to symbolise certain radical dimensions in what became known as the civil rights movement, particularly for members of the African-American community within mainstream society" Borthwick, S & Moy, R (2004). The lyrics of soul music are about important issues, something essential to the genre which we need to replicate.
We decided that instead of creating a song we would re-invent a modern song with a modern issue in the style of a 70's soul piece. We've chosen Sara Bareilles' 'Brave'. The song was nominated for several awards, including the World Music Award for World's Best Song. The song was written by Sara Bareilles and Jack Antonoff. It was inspired from the struggles that a close friend of Sara's dealt with in regard to coming out as gay. The lyrics of the song are poignant and can be related to not just coming out but also bullying which is a modern day concern. Antonoff described the song "as a real civil rights anthem at a time when there are no civil rights anthems and there's a giant need for civil rights anthems." (2012)
We decided that instead of creating a song we would re-invent a modern song with a modern issue in the style of a 70's soul piece. We've chosen Sara Bareilles' 'Brave'. The song was nominated for several awards, including the World Music Award for World's Best Song. The song was written by Sara Bareilles and Jack Antonoff. It was inspired from the struggles that a close friend of Sara's dealt with in regard to coming out as gay. The lyrics of the song are poignant and can be related to not just coming out but also bullying which is a modern day concern. Antonoff described the song "as a real civil rights anthem at a time when there are no civil rights anthems and there's a giant need for civil rights anthems." (2012)
The orginal song is an upbeat pop song. It is in 4/4 timing and is written in the key of B♭ major with a moderate tempo of 92 beats per minute. In order to make the piece more soul-esque I plan to transpose it and reduce the tempo to 70bpm so that the song is more of a ballad. I then plan to add harmonies over the main vocals, for example when one of us is singing a lead solo piece the other two provide backing vocals.
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