Perspectives on popular music analysis: Towards a standarized approach.

Abstract

This thesis investigates the potential for a standardized methodology for the study of popular music. It examines recent applications of voice-leading analysis and harmonic analysis to pop/rock songs and highlights common ground among them---commonalities that could contribute to a standardized methodology. In particular, the thesis focuses on the analytical approaches of Allan Moore, Walter Everett, and Lori Burns---leading scholars in the field. The underlying principles of each approach are illuminated through case studies of pop/rock songs by 1990s North American female singer-songwriters. After examining how scholars analyse the musical structure of pop/rock songs, the thesis considers the analysis of musical structure in association with text and vocality.