Pre Thesis IV

思敏曾
Feb 20, 2018
3 min read

Step 1: Extract Themes from Pinterest

1. Breaking Stereotypes - edge, ugly dog, short hair, tattoos, oversize clothes, colored socks, lady gaga

2. Atmosphere - windows, concerts, coffee, surfing, baseball, light bulbs, grid, plants

3. Spirit - temples, surfing, stars, sky, water, patch, socks, colored hair, short hair

Step 2: Writing your way into Depth + Focus

1. Area of Interest Music

2. Topic or Topics that are most illuminated in your research Birth of Pop Song(World of pop song defined by Atmosphere, breaking stereotype and spirit)

3. Significant Questions related to your topic Q: The history of pop music(how does it evolve)? Q: How does pop music effect the world(society)? Q: The definition of pop music? Q: What are the main elements in pop music? A:Beats, chords, lyrics and concert or earphone experience. Pop music competed terminologically with beat music. Q: Which generation, culture, time, and space of pop music that I want to focus on? Q: What’s the difference between concert experience, music video and earphone experience? Q: What are the main subjects in pop music? Q: The main pattern in pop music? Q: What’s the different emotion cause by different chords(progressions)?

4. Themes and Methodologies related to your topic (emerging from your research or pinterest board such as absurdities in architecture, occupying border spaces between worlds, going against the grain, irony in objects, nature taking over the man made, nature vs. society, order in nature, etc.) Discuss and support how these themes emerged from your research. Pop songs a. Breaking stereotype Pop music was more commercial, ephemeral and accessible. Pop music is produced "as a matter of enterprise not art", is "designed to appeal to everyone" and "doesn't come from any particular place or mark off any particular taste. The main medium of pop music is the song, often between two and a half and three and a half minutes in length, generally marked by a consistent and noticeable rhythmic element, a mainstream style and a simple traditional structure. Common variants include the verse-chorus form and the thirty-two-bar form, with a focus on melodies and catchy hooks, and a chorus that contrasts melodically, rhythmically and harmonically with the verse. The beat and the melodies tend to be simple, with limited harmonic accompaniment. The lyrics of modern pop songs typically focus on simple themes – often love and romantic relationships – although there are notable exceptions.As of 2011, "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" ranks as the most frequently played song in US radio history, described by music writers Nick Logan and Bob Woffinden as "the ultimate pop record".Harmony and chord progressions in pop music are often "that of classical European tonality, only more simple- minded.” Clichés include the barbershop quartet-style harmony (i.e. ii – V – I) and blues scale-influenced harmony. There was a lessening of the influence of traditional views of the circle of fifths between the mid-1950s and the late 1970s, including less predominance for the dominant function.

b. Atmosphere The promotion of pop music had been greatly affected by the rise of music television channels like MTV, which "favoured those artists such as Michael Jackson and Madonna who had a strong visual appeal

c. Spirit

Step 3: Information for Analysis

The most used lyrics in the top ten songs.