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Heavy Metal

Musical Characteristics

ORIGIN & INFLUENCES

- Heavy Metal was born in the late 1960s in the UK and USA.

- Roots in Hard Rock and Psychedelic Rock among other influences such as classical music.

- Developed many subgenres: glam rock, hard rock, progressive rock, psychedelic rock, alternative rock, grunge, indie rock ...

- Subgenres: Glam metal, black metal, thrash metal ...

- Created a subculture around this musical style

INSTRUMENTS

- High Voice

- 2 Electric Guitars (rhythmic & soloist), strong & distortion sound

- Bass guitar

- Keyboards

- Strong drumkit

- High volume

FORM

- Riff: musical idea that is repeated along the song and identified it.

- Basic structure: Verse-chorus-verse-chorus-verse

- Complete Structure: Intro-verse-chorus-bridge-verse-chorus-coda

MELODY & LYRICS

- Lyrics: dark and depressing topics

- Solos: guitars & drumkit

- Melodies use mode scales:

Aeolian mode: eolico

Phrygian mode: frixio

RHYTHM

- Fast & strong rhythm

- Time Signature: 4/4

- Complex rhythmic patterns: quavers & semiquavers

heavy

HARMONY

- Harmonic progressions in mode scales: I-VI-VII

- Chromatic progressions

- Power chord (1º and 5ª): triton

- Bass pedal note: pedal

- Harmonic progression:

heavy

Listen to a Heavy base

Musical base

Here we have a rhythmic & harmonic pattern with which we can compose a blues melody.

We have to open the file with MuseScore.

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