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FACT FILES
GENRES
HISTORY
THEORY
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Fact File:
Call and Response
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A call and response is a succession of two distinct phrases
usually played by different musicians, where the second phrase
is heard as a direct commentary on or response to the first.
It corresponds to the call-and-response pattern in human communication.
This structure is rooted in folk traditions of choral singing of many
peoples and in the classical European music it is known as antiphony.
In West African cultures, call and response is a pervasive pattern
of democratic participation -- in public gatherings in the discussion
of civic affairs, in religious rituals, as well as in vocal and
instrumental musical expression. It is this tradition that African
bondsmen and women brought with them to the New World and which has
been transmitted over the centuries in various forms of cultural
expression -- in religious observance; public gatherings; even in
children's rhymes; and, most notably, in African-American music
in its myriad forms: gospel, blues, rhythm and blues, jazz and
jazz extensions.
Call and response is likewise widely present in other parts of the
Americas touched by the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Known under the
Spanish term coro-pregon, it can be found in Afro-Latin music
based on religious chants.
The phenomenon of call and response is pervasive in modern
Western popular music, as well, largely because Western music has
been so heavily shaped by African-American contributions. Cross-over
rhythm & blues, or rock 'n' roll, and rock exhibit call-and-response
characteristics, as well.
Where call and response is most apparent in the secular music arena
is in traditional and electric blues, where the most common 12-bar
form is an AA'B pattern where the AA' is the call (repeated once
with slight variation), and B is the response. But, each A and B part
may itself consist of a short call and a short response, and those
2-bar calls and response may also be divided into 1-bar-each
call-response pairs!
To make an attempt at diagraming it:
- A: 4-bar CALL
- (2-bar vocal CALL
- [1-bar CALL, 1-bar RESPONSE]
- 2-bar instrumental RESPONSE
- [1-bar CALL, 1-bar RESPONSE])
- A': 4-bar CALL (repeated with slight variation)
- (2-bar vocal CALL
- [1-bar CALL, 1-bar RESPONSE]
- 2-bar instrumental RESPONSE
- [1-bar CALL, 1-bar RESPONSE])
- B: 4-bar RESPONSE (repeated)
- (2-bar vocal CALL
- [1-bar CALL, 1-bar RESPONSE]
- 2-bar instrumental RESPONSE/turnaround
- [1-bar CALL, 1-bar RESPONSE])
Note that each turnaround can be considered a call which
the next A section is the response to.
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Leader/Chorus call and response
A single leader makes a musical statement, and then the chorus
responds together. African-American bluesman Bo Diddley utilizes
call and response in his "I'm A Man," which is almost entirely
Leader/Chorus call and response:
CALL: Bo's vocals: "Now when I was a little boy"
RESPONSE: (Harmonica/rhythm section riff)
CALL: Bo: "At the age of 5"
RESPONSE: (Harmonica/rhythm section riff)
Question/Answer call and response
Part of the band poses a musical "question", or a phrase that
feels unfinished, and another part of the band "answers" (finishes)
it. In the blues, the B section often has a question-and-answer
pattern (dominant-to-tonic).
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