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Paper Abstract:

The prototypical modern pop/rock song has grown out of a long tradition of verse/chorus form that often features delineated sections where verses and pre-chorus/choruses are juxtaposed in a schematic way to aid in the narrative of the song. The sections are contrasting, with the verses exhibiting a sparse texture and timbre that makes the listener feel privy to a deep thought or private conversation, while a chorus generally has a thickening of the texture and more reverberant timbres to feel the openness of the “sing-a-long” moment of the chorus. But while we as listeners have come to expect this prototypical back and forth of juxtaposed sections, through comparisons with rhetorical devices in storytelling, this paper explores other subsets of the ways that texture and timbral narratives can play out over the course of the song, ones that encompass and enhance the entire story, not just narrated verses interspersed with a catchy chorus, but ones that follow the narrative arc of the whole song. 

Presenter: 

Dr. Kati Meyer is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the School of Music’s Theory Area, where her diverse teaching strategies and individualized relationship-building cultivate a unique learning experience for UI’s music students. Meyer’s extensive research on popular music and music theory pedagogy has led to multiple opportunities to present throughout the area. Most recently, she presented “On Teaching Music Theory Like A (Pro)fessor” at the Iowa Music Educators Association’s 2022 conference.