Popular Music
The phenomenon of call and response is pervasive in modern Western popular music, as well, largely because Western music has been so heavily shaped by African contributions. Cross-over rhythm and blues, rock 'n' roll and rock music exhibit call-and-response characteristics, as well. Three examples are The Who's song "My Generation", "Black Dog" by Led Zeppelin, and The Pogues' "Fairytale of New York":
Where call and response is most apparent in the secular music arena is in traditional and electric blues, where the most common 12-bar form is an AA'B pattern where the AA' is the call (repeated once with slight variation), and B is the response. But, each A and B part may itself consist of a short call and a short response, and those 2-bar calls and response may also be divided into 1-bar-each call-response pairs.
To make an attempt at diagramming it:
- Twelve bars:
- A: 4-bar CALL
- (2-bar vocal CALL
- 2-bar instrumental RESPONSE
- )
- (2-bar vocal CALL
- A: 4-bar CALL
-
- A': 4-bar CALL (repeated with slight variation)
- (2-bar vocal CALL
- 2-bar instrumental RESPONSE
- )
- (2-bar vocal CALL
- A': 4-bar CALL (repeated with slight variation)
-
- B: 4-bar RESPONSE (repeated)
- (2-bar vocal CALL
- 2-bar instrumental RESPONSE/turnaround
- )
- (2-bar vocal CALL
- B: 4-bar RESPONSE (repeated)
Note that each turnaround can be considered a call which the next A section is the response to.
Read more about this topic: Call And Response (music)
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