#1 ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ by Bob Dylan
Track: Mr. Tambourine Man
Composer/ Artist: Bob Dylan
Background: Folk music is commonly known as the music of the people. It describes a long lineage which includes both traditional folk music and the contemporary folk music genre spurred by the 20th-century folk revival. In general, all folk music represents community and favours authenticity over musical verciousity. In terms of contemporary folk music, the work of Woodie Guthrie in the early 1900s, the Kingston Trio in the 1950s, Bob Dylan and the protest music of the 1960s, and current artists such as Bon Iver and Iron & Wine, all draw on common features inherent in folk music. Heavy emphasis on lyrical content, the use of acoustic instruments (particularly acoustic guitar) and liberal ideologies are some of the broad characteristics at play in folk music. However, over the past number of decades the genre has given rise to many others such as anti folk, folk rock, bluegrass and folktronica.
Themes: Wistful, Nostalgic.
Texture: Broadly, the song is comprised of a simple but animate trio of vocals, acoustic guitar and accompanying electric guitar, with the occasional addition of harmonica. The song begins with an upbeat strummed acoustic guitar pattern. Expansive vocals enter and work in homophonic fashion with the acoustic guitar. Furthermore, an electric guitar accompaniment works in free polyphony against the vocals. These three elements remain throughout the song giving it a hypnotic, incantatory feel. During the break and outro sections Dylan’s harmonica replaces the vocals as the main melody line.
Dynamics: Both the strummed acoustic guitar and electric guitar accompaniment remain consistent throughout the song in terms of their dynamicness. The vocals are the major source of dynamic variance in this song. While overall the delivery becomes more intense as the song progresses, there is also variance from line to line and in some cases between words which gives a soaring and exultant effect. The harmonic also effects the dynamicness of the track, lifting the song when introduced.
Timbre: Mr. Tambourine Man is relatively sparse in terms of timbre. The jangly acoustic guitar has a worn and muted, yet playful character. Dylan’s vocals are upfront, gritty and biting with a hint of reverb which adds depth to the song and supports the dreamy quality of the melody. The electric guitar floats in a subtle manor just out of shot while in comparison the harmonica is sharp and brittle, demanding attention.
Instrumentation/use of Technology: Acoustic guitar, electric guitar and harmonica make up the instrumentation section of the song. The use of electric guitar on this song as an accompaniment is quite novel given the era in which it was recorded (1960s). The reverb used on the vocals, judging by the time period and studio (Columbia Studios) was either a dedicated echo chamber or an EMT 140 plate reverb.
Melody: The main melody of this song is provided by the vocals in the choruses and verses in the key of F major and the harmonica in the break section and the outro. The electric guitar accompaniment provides a countermelody to the vocals and harmonica throughout the song.
Time Signature: This song is in 4/4 time with four quarter note/crotchet beats in every bar.
Tonality: This song is in F Major. The acoustic guitar starts in the middle of a cycle of tension and resolution on the subdominant (B♭ major) rather than the keynote (subdominant > dominant > tonic). This happens throughout the song and adds to the trance like quality of the song.
Structure: The structure of this song is quite complex. There is a short 4 bar introduction on acoustic guitar (playing the tonic). This gives way to the first chorus which lasts for 16 bars. The chorus occurs 5 times in the song after which there is a 6 bar break before each new verse. There are 4 verses, which get longer as the song progresses and each use different chord sequences.
Intro > Chorus > Pre-verse > Verse 1 >Chorus > Pre-verse > Verse 2 > Chorus > Pre-verse > Verse 3 > Chorus > Pre-verse > Break > Pre-verse > Verse 4 > Chorus > Outro (fade)
