47-451: " 42nd Street " is the title song from the 1933 Warner Bros. backstage musical film 42nd Street , with music by Harry Warren and lyrics by Al Dubin . The song was published in 1932 . It is the finale of the film, where it was sung by Ruby Keeler , Dick Powell and ensemble. It was used again in 1980 when the film was adapted as a long-running Broadway musical . In 2004 the song placed #97 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of
94-610: A cappella ) or accompanied by instruments. In popular music, a singer may perform with an acoustic guitarist, pianist, organist, accordionist, or a backing band . In jazz, a singer may perform with a single pianist, a small combo (such as a trio or quartet), or with a big band . A Classical singer may perform with a single pianist, a small ensemble, or an orchestra. In jazz and blues, singers often learn songs by ear and they may improvise some melody lines. In Classical music, melodies are written by composers in sheet music format, so singers learn to read music. Songs with more than one voice to
141-540: A composer. Art songs may be more formally complicated than popular or folk songs, though many early Lieder by the likes of Franz Schubert are in simple strophic form . The accompaniment of European art songs is considered as an important part of the composition. Some art songs are so revered that they take on characteristics of national identification. Art songs emerge from the tradition of singing romantic love songs , often to an ideal or imaginary person and from religious songs. The troubadours and bards of Europe began
188-474: A major aspect of national or cultural identity . Art songs often approach the status of folk songs when people forget who the author was. Folk songs are also frequently transmitted non-orally (that is, as sheet music ), especially in the modern era. Folk songs exist in almost every culture. The German term Volkslied was coined in the late 18th century, in the process of collecting older songs and writing new ones. Popular songs may eventually become folk songs by
235-459: A male falsetto singer. Some of these songs are linked to the cult of the grapevine and many date back to the eighth century. The songs traditionally pervaded all areas of everyday life, ranging from work in the fields (the Naduri, which incorporates the sounds of physical effort into the music) to songs to curing of illnesses and to Christmas Carols (Alilo). Byzantine liturgical hymns also incorporated
282-428: A musical number set inside a giant refrigerator. Song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice . The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure to them, such as the common ABA form , and are usually made of sections that are repeated or performed with variation later. A song without instruments
329-712: A part singing in polyphony or harmony are considered choral works. Songs can be broadly divided into many different forms and types, depending on the criteria used. Through semantic widening , a broader sense of the word "song" may refer to instrumentals , such as the 19th century Songs Without Words pieces for solo piano. Art songs are songs created for performance by classical artists, often with piano or other instrumental accompaniment, although they can be sung solo. Art songs require strong vocal technique, an understanding of language, diction, and poetry for interpretation. Though such singers may also perform popular or folk songs on their programs, these characteristics and
376-406: A romance generally has a simple accompaniment, art songs tend to have complicated, sophisticated accompaniments that underpin, embellish, illustrate or provide contrast to the voice. Sometimes the accompaniment performer has the melody, while the voice sings a more dramatic part. Folk songs are songs of often anonymous origin (or are public domain ) that are transmitted orally . They are frequently
423-481: A small group of instruments. A part song, part-song or partsong is a form of choral music that consists of a secular (vs. ecclesiastical) song written or arranged for several vocal parts . Part songs are commonly sung by an SATB choir, but sometimes for an all-male or all-female ensemble. The patter song is characterized by a moderately fast to very fast tempo with a rapid succession of rhythmic patterns in which each syllable of text corresponds to one note. It
470-526: A song may be performed live and simultaneously recorded.) Songs may also appear in theatre (e.g., opera ), films and TV shows. A song may be for a solo singer, a lead singer supported by background singers , a duet , trio , or larger ensemble involving more voices singing in harmony , although the term is generally not used for large classical music vocal forms including opera and oratorio , which use terms such as aria and recitative instead. A song can be sung without accompaniment by instrumentalists (
517-485: Is a folk song that celebrates fox hunting , horse racing , gambling and other recreations. Although songs about boxers and successful racehorses were common in the nineteenth century, few are performed by current singers. In particular, fox-hunting is considered politically incorrect . The most famous song about a foxhunter, " D'ye ken John Peel " was included in The National Song Book in 1906 and
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#1732780834544564-472: Is a staple of comic opera , especially Gilbert and Sullivan , but it has also been used in musicals and elsewhere. Polyphony Polyphony ( / p ə ˈ l ɪ f ə n i / pə- LIF -ə-nee ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody , as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice ( monophony ) or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ( homophony ). Within
611-567: Is also found in North Macedonia and Bulgaria . Albanian polyphonic singing can be divided into two major stylistic groups as performed by the Tosks and Labs of southern Albania. The drone is performed in two ways: among the Tosks, it is always continuous and sung on the syllable 'e', using staggered breathing; while among the Labs, the drone is sometimes sung as a rhythmic tone, performed to
658-439: Is also sometimes used more broadly, to describe any musical texture that is not monophonic. Such a perspective considers homophony as a sub-type of polyphony. Traditional (non-professional) polyphony has a wide, if uneven, distribution among the peoples of the world. Most polyphonic regions of the world are in sub-Saharan Africa , Europe and Oceania. It is believed that the origins of polyphony in traditional music vastly predate
705-601: Is common in Svaneti; polyphonic dialogue over a bass background, prevalent in the Kakheti region in Eastern Georgia; and contrasted polyphony with three partially improvised sung parts, characteristic of western Georgia. The Chakrulo song, which is sung at ceremonies and festivals and belongs to the first category, is distinguished by its use of metaphor and its yodel, the krimanchuli and a "cockerel’s crow", performed by
752-580: Is described as polyphonic due to Balkan musicians using a literal translation of the Greek polyphōnos ('many voices'). In terms of Western classical music, it is not strictly polyphonic, due to the drone parts having no melodic role, and can better be described as multipart . The polyphonic singing tradition of Epirus is a form of traditional folk polyphony practiced among Aromanians , Albanians, Greeks, and ethnic Macedonians in southern Albania and northwestern Greece. This type of folk vocal tradition
799-585: Is given to a music style from the late 16th century to early 17th century, late Renaissance to early Baroque, that was predominantly in England and France. Lute songs were generally in strophic form or verse repeating with a homophonic texture. The composition was written for a solo voice with an accompaniment, usually the lute. It was not uncommon for other forms of accompaniments such as bass viol or other string instruments, and could also be written for more voices. The composition could be performed either solo or with
846-604: Is now often heard as a marching tune. A. L. Lloyd recorded two EPs of sporting ballads; "Bold Sportsmen All" (1958) and "Gamblers and Sporting Blades (Songs of the Ring and the Racecourse)" (1962). The High Level Ranters and Martin Wyndham-Read recorded an album called "English Sporting Ballads" in 1977. The Prospect Before Us (1976) by The Albion Dance Band contains two rarely heard hunting songs. The term lute song
893-474: Is said to be a cappella . Written words created specifically for music, or for which music is specifically created, are called lyrics . If a pre-existing poem is set to composed music in classical music, it is an art song . Songs that are sung on repeated pitches without distinct contours and patterns that rise and fall are called chants . Songs composed in a simple style that are learned informally by ear are often referred to as folk songs . Songs composed for
940-420: Is sung in a nasal temperament. Additionally, many paghjella songs contain a picardy third . After paghjella's revival in the 1970s, it mutated. In the 1980s it had moved away from some of its more traditional features as it became much more heavily produced and tailored towards western tastes. There were now four singers, significantly less melisma, it was much more structured, and it exemplified more homophony. To
987-411: The organum that had been introduced centuries earlier, and also added a third and fourth voice to the now homophonic chant. In the 13th century, the chant-based tenor was becoming altered, fragmented, and hidden beneath secular tunes, obscuring the sacred texts as composers continued to develop polyphonic techniques. The lyrics of love poems might be sung above sacred texts in the form of a trope , or
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#17327808345441034-697: The Republic of Georgia is arguably the oldest polyphony in the Christian world. Georgian polyphony is traditionally sung in three parts with strong dissonances, parallel fifths, and a unique tuning system based on perfect fifths. Georgian polyphonic singing has been proclaimed by UNESCO an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Popular singing has a highly valued place in Georgian culture. There are three types of polyphony in Georgia: complex polyphony, which
1081-657: The Wagogo use counterpoint. The music of African Pygmies (e.g. that of the Aka people ) is typically ostinato and contrapuntal, featuring yodeling . Other Central African peoples tend to sing with parallel lines rather than counterpoint. In Burundi, rural women greet each other with akazehe , a two-part interlocking vocal rhythm. The singing of the San people , like that of the pygmies, features melodic repetition, yodeling, and counterpoint. The singing of neighboring Bantu peoples , like
1128-426: The mass attributable to one composer is Guillaume de Machaut 's Messe de Nostre Dame , dated to 1364, during the pontificate of Pope Urban V . The Second Vatican Council said Gregorian chant should be the focus of liturgical services, without excluding other forms of sacred music, including polyphony. English Protestant west gallery music included polyphonic multi-melodic harmony, including fuguing tunes , by
1175-457: The mass market , designed to be sung by professional singers who sell their recordings or live shows, are called popular songs . These songs, which have broad appeal, are often composed by professional songwriters, composers, and lyricists; art songs are composed by trained classical composers for concert or recital performances. Songs are performed in studios and an audio recording is made, or they are performed live for audience. (In some cases
1222-608: The Evolutionary Model, the origins of polyphonic singing are much deeper, and are connected to the earlier stages of human evolution; polyphony was an important part of a defence system of the hominids, and traditions of polyphony are gradually disappearing all over the world. Although the exact origins of polyphony in the Western church traditions are unknown, the treatises Musica enchiriadis and Scolica enchiriadis , both dating from c . 900, are usually considered
1269-414: The Georgian polyphonic tradition to such an extent that they became a significant expression of it. Chechen and Ingush traditional music can be defined by their tradition of vocal polyphony. Chechen and Ingush polyphony is based on a drone and is mostly three-part, unlike most other north Caucasian traditions' two-part polyphony. The middle part carries the main melody accompanied by a double drone, holding
1316-546: The United States and even in places such as the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, and Australia, among others. Polyphonic singing is traditional folk singing of this part of southern Europe. It is also called ancient , archaic or old-style singing. Incipient polyphony (previously primitive polyphony) includes antiphony and call and response , drones , and parallel intervals . Balkan drone music
1363-496: The audibility of the words. Instruments, as well as certain modes, were actually forbidden in the church because of their association with secular music and pagan rites. After banishing polyphony from the Liturgy in 1322, Pope John XXII warned against the unbecoming elements of this musical innovation in his 1324 bull Docta Sanctorum Patrum . In contrast Pope Clement VI indulged in it. The oldest extant polyphonic setting of
1410-423: The conception was probably what Margaret Bent (1999) calls "dyadic counterpoint", with each part being written generally against one other part, with all parts modified if needed in the end. This point-against-point conception is opposed to "successive composition", where voices were written in an order with each new voice fitting into the whole so far constructed, which was previously assumed. The term polyphony
1457-498: The context of the Western musical tradition, the term polyphony is usually used to refer to music of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance . Baroque forms such as fugue , which might be called polyphonic, are usually described instead as contrapuntal . Also, as opposed to the species terminology of counterpoint, polyphony was generally either "pitch-against-pitch" / "point-against-point" or "sustained-pitch" in one part with melismas of varying lengths in another. In all cases
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1504-480: The documented tradition of romantic songs, continued by the Elizabethan lutenists. Some of the earliest art songs are found in the music of Henry Purcell . The tradition of the romance, a love song with a flowing accompaniment, often in triple meter, entered opera in the 19th century and spread from there throughout Europe. It expanded into popular music and became one of the underpinnings of popular songs. While
1551-623: The emergence of polyphony in European professional music. Currently there are two contradictory approaches to the problem of the origins of vocal polyphony: the Cultural Model, and the Evolutionary Model. According to the Cultural Model, the origins of polyphony are connected to the development of human musical culture; polyphony came as the natural development of the primordial monophonic singing; therefore polyphonic traditions are bound to gradually replace monophonic traditions. According to
1598-692: The form of bamboo panpipe ensembles. Europeans were surprised to find drone-based and dissonant polyphonic singing in Polynesia. Polynesian traditions were then influenced by Western choral church music, which brought counterpoint into Polynesian musical practice. Numerous Sub-Saharan African music traditions host polyphonic singing, typically moving in parallel motion . While the Maasai people traditionally sing with drone polyphony, other East African groups use more elaborate techniques. The Dorze people , for example, sing with as many as six parts, and
1645-400: The interval of a fifth around the melody. Intervals and chords are often dissonances (sevenths, seconds, fourths), and traditional Chechen and Ingush songs use sharper dissonances than other North Caucasian traditions. The specific cadence of a final, dissonant three-part chord, consisting of fourth and the second on top (c-f-g), is almost unique. (Only in western Georgia do a few songs finish on
1692-411: The iso-polyphonic singing and is related to the ison of Byzantine church music, where the drone group accompanies the song. The French island of Corsica has a unique style of music called Paghjella that is known for its polyphony. Traditionally, Paghjella contains a staggered entrance and continues with the three singers carrying independent melodies. This music tends to contain much melisma and
1739-401: The mid-18th century. This tradition passed with emigrants to North America, where it was proliferated in tunebooks, including shape-note books like The Southern Harmony and The Sacred Harp . While this style of singing has largely disappeared from British and North American sacred music, it survived in the rural Southern United States , until it again began to grow a following throughout
1786-518: The notation does not indicate precise pitch levels or durations. However, a two-part antiphon to Saint Boniface recently discovered in the British Library , is thought to have originated in a monastery in north-west Germany and has been dated to the early tenth century. European polyphony rose out of melismatic organum , the earliest harmonization of the chant. During the 12th century, composers such as Léonin and Pérotin developed
1833-431: The oldest extant written examples of polyphony. These treatises provided examples of two-voice note-against-note embellishments of chants using parallel octaves, fifths, and fourths. Rather than being fixed works, they indicated ways of improvising polyphony during performance. The Winchester Troper , from c . 1000, is generally considered to be the oldest extant example of notated polyphony for chant performance, although
1880-466: The papal court also offended some medieval ears. It gave church music more of a jocular performance quality supplanting the solemnity of worship they were accustomed to. The use of and attitude toward polyphony varied widely in the Avignon court from the beginning to the end of its religious importance in the fourteenth century. Harmony was considered frivolous, impious, lascivious, and an obstruction to
1927-563: The people of Corsica, the polyphony of paghjella represented freedom; it had been a source of cultural pride in Corsica and many felt that this movement away from the polyphonic style meant a movement away from paghjella's cultural ties. This resulted in a transition in the 1990s. Paghjella again had a strong polyphonic style and a less structured meter. Cantu a tenore is a traditional style of polyphonic singing in Sardinia . Polyphony in
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1974-577: The sacred text might be placed within a familiar secular melody. The oldest surviving piece of six-part music is the English rota Sumer is icumen in ( c. 1240 ). European polyphony rose prior to, and during the period of the Western Schism . Avignon , the seat of popes and then antipopes , was a vigorous center of secular music-making, much of which influenced sacred polyphony. The notion of secular and sacred music merging in
2021-524: The same dissonant c-f-g chord.) Parts of Oceania maintain rich polyphonic traditions. The peoples of New Guinea Highlands including the Moni , Dani , and Yali use vocal polyphony, as do the people of Manus Island . Many of these styles are drone -based or feature close, secondal harmonies dissonant to western ears. Guadalcanal and the Solomon Islands are host to instrumental polyphony, in
2068-768: The same process of detachment from their source. Folk songs are more or less in the public domain by definition, though there are many folk song entertainers who publish and record copyrighted original material. This tradition led also to the singer-songwriter style of performing, where an artist has written confessional poetry or personal statements and sings them set to music, most often with guitar accompaniment. There are many genres of popular songs, including torch songs , ballads , novelty songs , anthems , rock, blues and soul songs as well as indie music. Other commercial genres include rapping . Folk songs include ballads, lullabies , love songs , mourning songs, dance songs, work songs , ritual songs and many more. A sporting song
2115-468: The text of the song. It can be differentiated between two-, three- and four-voice polyphony. In Aromanian music , polyphony is common, and polyphonic music follows a set of common rules. The phenomenon of Albanian folk iso-polyphony ( Albanian iso-polyphony ) has been proclaimed by UNESCO a " Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity ". The term iso refers to the drone, which accompanies
2162-563: The top tunes in American cinema. Warner Bros. musical director Carl Stalling frequently used the song in urban cartoon settings. The music inspired the title song to the Indian Hindi language film Sabse Bada Rupaiya . The song "Sabse Bada Rupaiya" would be used again in another Indian " Bollywood " film Bluffmaster (2005). The song was parodied as "40 Cubic Feet" in the television series The Drew Carey Show as part of
2209-407: The use of poetry are what distinguish art songs from popular songs. Art songs are a tradition from most European countries, and now other countries with classical music traditions. German-speaking communities use the term art song ("Kunstlied") to distinguish so-called serious compositions from folk songs ( Volkslied ). The lyrics are often written by a poet or lyricist and the music separately by
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