Music- Africa

• release year

  1981
• features african music
• is a soft rock love song
• written by jeff picaro and david paich
• Instrumentation

  drums and additional percussion

  lead guitar

  bass guitar

  male leading vocals

  male backing vocals

  sythesizers
• tempo

  moderately fast
• dynamics

  choruses- forte

  rest of song- mezzo forte
• tonality

  mostly- E major (eggs)

  choruses- A major (and)

  instrumental- B major (bacon)
• harmony

  diatonic
• texture

  homophonic
• time signature

  2/2
• melody

  conjunct
• uses pentatonic scale.

  constant use of syncopation and ostinato rhythms
• form and structure

  intro

  verse 1

  chorus 1

  link 1

  verse 2

  chorus 2

  link 2

  instrumental

  chorus 3

  outro
• intro

  • 4 bars
  • E major
  • two riffs- A and B
  • riff A- syncopated rhythms, appears in every section
  • riff B- starts with an anacrusis, developed in the instrumental
• verse 1

  • 4 phrases (9998)
  • fairly low
  • moves conjunct
  • syncopation
• chorus 1

  • 4 phrases (4446)
  • A major
  • ends in a melisma (more than one note on a word)
  • 1st phrase- solo
  • 2nd phrase- duet
  • 3rd+4th phrase- trio
• link 1

  • 8 bars
  • E major
  • repeat of intro but shorter
• verse 2

  • 26 bars
  • 3 phrases (998)
  • same music as verse 1 just with different words
  • more backing vocals/harmonies
• chorus 2

  same as chorus 1
• link 2

  same as link 1
• instrumental

  • 17 bars
  • develops riff B
  • 2 phrases (9,8)
• instrumental- 9 bar phrase

  • starts with a descending melody in B major
  • pentatonic scale
  • ends in a triplet
  • then an ascending and descending melody in E major
  • rhythmic variety
• instrumental- 8 bar phrase

  • ascending melody in B major
  • pentatonic scale
  • ends in grace notes
  • vocals resume at the end
• chorus 3

  same as chorus 1 and 2 but with 3 changes:

  • electric guitar riff
  • "bless the rains down in africa" is repeated 5 times
  • vocal improvisation on at the end of the 2nd, 3rd and 5th repeat
• outro

  same as introduction
• grace notes definition

  notes added for decoration