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- Why do punk rock songs all have tempo changes during the song? This is something I’be ben wondering about for a while now: I bought an MP3 player, and it came with a CD with a bunch of samples of many different styles of music with accompanying web links. I notice that every punk song has (usually at least) three tempo changes in it. - MC
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'cause it’s punk!
And you think all punk rock is like your little sample?
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- I think of the dozen or so, every single one of them does it. Seems an unlikely coincidence. - MC
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Are you saying that tempo changes are a bad thing?
I could name a dozen punk bands, all of whom would be quite different in terms of a lot of criteria, but certainly the amount of tempo changes.
Yer pal,
Satan - Commissioner, The Teeming Minions
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*“I’m a big Genesis fan.”-David B. (Amen, brother!) **
I’m thinking back to the Sex Pistols, the old Clash, the Ramones, etc., and I’m not sure I understand the question.
Off the top of my head, I can’t think of a lot of the old punk songs with those kinds of tempo changes. Is this mostly with the new punk, or is my memory just playing tricks on me?
Most of the punk bands I was in or had listened to simpy did not have the talent to play at a single tempo all through the song. They typically slowed down through the hard parts and sped up through the easy parts. I have not listened to punk music with a critical ear in a really long time. As the musicians became better they may have eventually thought it was stylistically correct to change the tempo. So you know the ones that I can think of off hand didn’t change the tempo just the emphasis of the beat so instead of playing 8 eighth notes they played 4 quarter notes. The tempo stayed the same it just sounded slower because it was a slower emphasis. I can’t think of any syncopated punk bands but a similar idea comes from the America song from West Side story in the chorus part.
HUGS!
Sqrl
I find that having a hundred mile an hour tempo all the way through a song just becomes boring, the speed eventually loses its effect, if the tempo changes it emphasises the agression better.
Same thing applies to sound levels too IMHO. If the music is unrelentingly loud it seems to become flat and one-dimensional but space out the huge sound impacts and it’s a differant story, which is where I think that metal bands get it wrong and why Black Sabbath, Led Zepp et al have yet to be bettered in the genre.
Dynamics boys, that’s what you need.
Can you name some of the bands and songs on your compilation? I’m sitting here going through some punk stuff in my head, and can’t think of any bands or songs that had many tempo changes. I don’t even think the Sex Pistols, for example, had the capability to handle tempo changes. Ditto X or Green Day. Maybe the Clash, maybe Bad Brains . . . if anything, too many punk bands are/were relentlessly 4/4, with no tempo changes at all.
Is half time or cut time really categorized as a tempo change? A lot of bands do that, I suppose.
Phil, changing the time signature or the emphasis of the beat (like going from Common time to Cut time ie, 4/4 vs 2/2) is not really a tempo change as the beat stays the same. It is a time change which means that a different beat is accented. It may sound slower as is the case of going to 2/2 from 4/4 (2 half notes versus 4 quarter notes) but if you used the quarter note as the measuring beat in the first one then you still end up with the same tempo. An example of that is in the piece I gave you to look at with the 4/4 bar thrown in all the 3/4 bars. The beat is the same but there are more notes in the 4/4 bar which in that case makes it seem a little longer.
HUGS!
Sqrl
I think it applies more to hardcore music than early punk. People who are not in the know will see kids in leather jackets and boots listening to unconventional and aggressive songs and assume they are the same thing. It’s not really true but they are related… I mean this scene has been evolving for over two decades now. Growing up in these circles I think it’s all about intensity. The best hardcore music is meant to be fast and driving. I think that a lot of bands used to have slower bits just so they could build the pace back up again and accentuate their sound. Bands that are around now will have presumably been influenced by previouse bands and borrowed from their style. What was once more of a bridge with a bass or guitar has evolved into a whole section of the song. That’s what I think anyway.
IMHO, tempo changes are used ad nauseum by unimaginative and limited songwriters. They think they’re being clever when they’re just being annoying. (this statement applies to those crappy thrash/punk bands who change tempo repeatedly in nearly every song) The punk equalivent to the 3-chord lousy metal song.
You want to hear some cool punk bands? Check out:
NOFX, Lagwagon, Bad Religion, the Dickies, the Descendents, and of course,** the Ramones**.
Whatayatalkinabout !! Tempo changes were the height of sophistication. Either that or they lost the plot a couple of times and needed to reconverge (relatively speaking).
You might also be listening to more ska influenced music, which tends to have a helluva lot of changes. Think Sublime, Madness, etc.
Alls I can say is that PUNK RULES:)
Who cares about the tempo change it’s PUNK.
A motto to live by: "In Punx we trust:)
I always assumed they just slowed down at certain parts in order to get enough time a take drag off their cig, and a gulp of beer.
I know that in fast songs my arm gets tired playing the same tempo for a long period of time, I look forward to tempo changes - Master of Puppets by Metallica is one of those songs that tires me out. Definitely not punk, but certainly punk-influenced. Maybe they changed tempos a lot because they couldn’t keep playing the same speed without getting tired.