Area of Study 3 Dance Music

1. Disco

2. Background
• The first discotheques originated in France during
world war one
• It is a place where recorded music is played
rather than a live band or orchestra
• The idea of a DJ or Disc-jockey emerged
• Discotheque was introduced in America in the
1960

3. Background
• It was cheaper for a club owner to hire a DJ than
it was to book a live band
• In the 1960s the Djs threw together different
types of dance music, such as rock, Jazz, soul and
blues.
• In the 70s music started to appear that was
specifically written for the discotheques in New
York. This became Disco.

4. One of the firs disco records!
• Soul Makossa by Manu Dibango
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWK_Josc0Og

5. Tom Moulton
• An important figure in the
development of Disco
• He is a record producer
• To keep people on the dance
floor he extended the length of
songs.
• This technique is called Remixing
A Remix is a new version of the
original song.

6. Tom Moulton
• In Tom Moultons case, he
extended songs by looping
sections of them.
• He was also partly
responsible for the
12-inch single
Looping is when you take a
section of a song and keep
repeating it.

7. Musical Features
• 4/4 Time with a steady crotchet beat this is
often emphasised by the bass drum.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vI9g0U1mxzY
• Accented second and fourth beat in each
bar, usually on the snare drum.
• Constant quaver or semiquaver rhythm
played on the hi-hat.
• Same semiquaver rhythm in the guitar, its
sound distorted by the use of the wah-wah
pedal

9. Musical Features
• An electric piano to fill out the harmony
• A steady tempo 120 beats per minute.
• A catchy melody, Reverb is often added.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHU_USkX0vo
• Backing vocals especially in the chorus
• Regular 4 bar phrases
• Use of synthesised sounds