#amajor

Better Must Come (1971) Delroy Wilson key: A major blues

Euroclassical function names:   tonic   dominantTagg: tonic   counterpoiseRiemann: T Sscale degrees: I IVchord names: A D

slow two—   A        D |:/   /   |/   /   :|

or fast four —   A        D |:/ / / / |/ / / / :| loop

mode: A blues — A B C D D# E G A melody: S L d r me m f se form: intro-verse-chorus-verse-chorus-interlude-verse-chorus meter: duple suggested time signature: 2|2, 4|4

other recordings: Don Carlos, G

Roadrunner (1972) Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers Rock/Proto-Punk, USA key: A major/mixolydian

Euroclassical function names:   tonic   subdominantTagg: tonic   counterpoiseRiemann: T Sscale degrees: I IVchord names: A D

  A            D |:/ / / / |/ / / / :| loop (except for two tiny bits, see below)

mode: A mixolydian — A B C# D E F# G A melody: RMsltr form: hmmm… meter: duple suggested time signature: 4|4

other recordings: The Greg Kihn Band, A The Jazz Butcher, A Joan Jett, B

Another 99 percenter: there are two V chords (E) in here, one at the end of the “third verse” (if we can call it that… the line “I’m in love with rock and roll and I’ll be out all night”), and the other at the very end, right after he says “Bye bye.” So, not 100% purely two chords, but not a dealbreaker.

San Toki (????) folk, Korea Elizabeth Mitchell key: A major

Euroclassical function names:   tonic   dominantTagg: tonic   counterpoiseRiemann: T D or D7scale degrees: I V or V7chord names: A E or E7

*Ukulele does not have E in open position. It only has E7.

  A         E    A |:////|////|////|////:|

mode: A major/ionian — A B C# D E F# G# A melody: drmfsd’ form: AB meter: duple suggested time signature: 4|4

other recordings: The Chinkees, E Kyung Hun, G (performed with a drone) Elena Moon Park, A

Tenement Yard (1976) Jacob Miller Reggae, Jamaica key: A major

Euroclassical function names:   tonic   dominantTagg: tonic   counterpoiseRiemann: T D or D7scale degrees: I V or V7chord names: A E or E7

*Ukulele does not have E in open position. It only has E7.

 A    E |:////|////:| loop

mode: A major/ionian — A B C# D E F# G# A melody: Sdrmfs form: call-and-response; AA’ meter: duple suggested time signature: 4|4

other recordings: The Jolly Boys, F

Here’s another controversial one. Unfortunately, the only reason I wouldn’t use this with children is “smoke him pipe in peace.” It’s easy to say, “Relax! It just references a pipe!” But I fear too many parents would make the very obvious connection between reggae, pipes, and weed and not be happy about condoning such things.

There is another fear, and perhaps this one is worse. The vocal delivery and slang that makes this song so enjoyable to sing would probably just be perceived as ridiculous nonsense by most kids, thereby missing the really important part of the song: the message. The police, and therefore, the government won’t leave a regular joe in peace (i.e., there are worse things than smoking a pipe, weed or no…). This is always a problem to be vigilant for. And that’s why I keep going back and forth about whether I green-list this song for teaching.

In somewhat less controversial areas, this is one of our few examples in which the whole song is a tonic-dominant shuttle. In fact, it’s our first whole-song shuttle! I hinted at them in the very first post, but did not go into detail. As we shall see in future posts, reggae is chock full of shuttles, but usually tonic-subdominant and occasionally tonic-supertonic. Let’s see what Mr. Tagg has to say about shuttles, since he made up the term. Shuttles are made of:

two chords, which have

equal duration (and therefore importance), but

neither is longer than what is perceived as “the extended present” — meaning, in musical terms, no longer than a phrase, and

repeated in this way at least twice