DISCO

Disco was the dance music of the 1970s Up until the 1960s speakers weren’t that great People couldn’t play a recording loud enough to dance to, so most places had live bands In the 1970s that all changed..

Disco tunes are almost always in 4/4 at around 120 beats per minute The simple beat makes disco really easy to dance to. People danced on their own and made up their own moves. Disco music has catchy tunes. Each song aimed to have a HOOK HOOK – a bit of the tune, a word or a phrase that sticks in people’s minds Music

STRUCTURE Disco songs have a VERSE-CHORUS structure A disco tune will start with an intro this grabs people’s attention and sets the mood – This also gives everyone the chance to get to the dance floor before the main part of the song Then the sections follow VERSE-CHORUS- VERSE-CHORUS….

STRUCTURE The verses usually have the same tune, but the lyrics change The chorus will have a different tune to the verse (normally quite catchy). The lyrics of the chorus stay the same throughout the song.

The verse-chorus repetition sometimes drags a bit, so they’d often add in a MIDDLE 8. This is an 8-bar section in the middle of the song (the clue’s in the name!) It has new chords, new lyrics, a new melody and often a new feel STRUCTURE

Electric Guitars play lead and rhythm parts – Lead – Solo tunes – Rhythm – chords (sometimes players would mute the strings to add a percussive effect) Bass Guitars play short riffs – The bass lines of Disco music were often described as ‘funky’ INSTRUMENTATION

Brass and Strings beef up the sound – Strings filled out the songs to make them sound ‘big – Brass would often add ‘stabs’ which are short, loud notes Disco uses Drum Kits, Drum Machines and Sequencers – The rhythm was often referred to as “Four on the floor” Bass drum on every beat. Snare drum on beats 2 and 4. INSTRUMENTATION

Dance music of the 1970s Strong beat and catchy tunes Verse-Chorus structure DISCO GLOSSARY