Works Cited/Discography

Works Cited

Adams, Courtney S. Organization in the Two-Part Inventions of Johann Sebastian Bach, Part II. 3rd              ed. Vol. 13. N.p.: Riemenschneider Bach Institute, n.d. Print.

Cantwell, Robert. Bluegrass Breakdown: The Making of the Old Southern Sound. Urbana: U of                     Illinois, 1984. Print.

Dreyfus, Laurence. Bach and the Patterns of Invention. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1996. Print.

            "Dueling Banjos by Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandell Songfacts." Dueling Banjos by Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandell Songfacts. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.

             Grove, George. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. 2nd ed. N.p.: Oxford UP, 2004. Prinstory of Bluegrass Music." International Bluegrass Music Association. N.p., n.d. Web.               02 Nov. 2014.

"How to Study the Two-Voiced Inventions of Bach." - Music Of Yesterday. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct.                 2014.

"The Inventions and Sinfonias." J. S. Bach: Inventions and Sinfonia. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.

Rosenberg, Neil V. Bluegrass: A History. Urbana: U of Illinois, 1985. Print.

Sherman, Bernard D. "Bach and the Patterns of Invention, Reviewed by Bernard D. Sherman in                         Fanfare." Bach and the Patterns of Invention, Reviewed by Bernard D. Sherman in Fanfare.                 N.p., n.d. Web. 25 July 2015.

Discography

"Dueling Banjos Deliverance." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2014.

"Invention in F Major (BWV 779)." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2014.

Conclusion

Both Dueling Banjos and Invention No. 8 are connected through their use of polyphony and homorhythm. While Smith uses polyphony in Dueling Banjos to outline the battle between two instruments and Bach uses polyphony in Invention No. 8 as a means to challenge piano students, both pieces develop polyphonic textures through imitation and sequences. Smith uses homorhythm to bring two melodic lines together while homorhythm in Invention No. 8 is a result of sequencing and imitation throughout the piece. However, both pieces are alike in their use of homorhythm to emphasize certain motifs. While differences exist in the pieces, such as instrumentation, genre, and notation, the two connecting links, polyphonic and homorhythmic textures, show the similarities between the genres of blue-grass and classical music. 

Musical Link 2: Homorhythm

While Dueling Banjos is about the musical battle between a guitar and banjo, the piece uses homorhythmic textures in order to provide more support to various motifs found in the piece. The two melodic lines are tied together through these sections of homorhthym for it allows them to have basic motifs which they can then develop upon to form separate musical arguments.

An example of this is found at measure 57 of Dueling Banjos where the guitar and banjo parts find have a moment of homorhythm in order to bring back and emphasize a recurring motif in the piece (Figure 7). This motif is repeated throughout the piece as the guitar plays a simple version of it, just as in measures 57 and 58, while the banjo embellishes the original motif with ornamentation.

Homorhythm is used in order to stress an area of a piece. It enables a phrase to have more emphasis. In measures 91 and 92, the banjo and guitar parts come together in a homorhythmic repetition of sixteenth notes as the banjo line carries the melodic line. This homorhythmic section acts as an indicator of a turning point coming up in the song (Figure 8).

The instruments share one final chord together as the song ends in a unison tonic chord. (Figure 9).

The use of homorhythm in Dueling Banjos allows both instruments to develop a sound argument to battle the other while maintaining control as the homorhythmic sections reign in the chaos of the duel. These homorhythmic sections seem to pause the song in mid stride as the instruments come together for a short period, only to resume with their independent melodies.

            While Smith uses homorhythm to emphasize motifs and allow for solid ground between two independent melodies, the appearance of homorhythm in Bach’s Invention No. 8 is a result of imitation and sequencing that adds emphasis to a repeated motif. The homorhythmic sections occur where multiple sequences are played in both clefs.

For example, in measures 5 through 6 of this piece, Bach reiterates a motif introduced in measure 4 by using it in a sequence in both the treble and bass clef. This creates homorhythm in measures 5 and 6. In measure 9, a phrase previously introduced in the treble clef is imitated in the bass clef, causing the measures to contain sets of homorhythmic sixteenth notes (Figure 10).

The treble clef pattern played in measure 26 is imitative of measure 4. The interval relationships in these measures are different, thus measure 26 is imitative of measure 4 while measures 27 and 28 are sequences of measure 26. The bass clef at measures 27 to 29 shows evidence of sequencing in addition to being imitative of the treble clef at measure 26. The sequencing of this sixteenth note motif in both clefs establishes homorhythm in measures 27 and 28 as the sixteenth note motifs overlap (Figure 11).

Musical Link 1: Polyphony

            Arthur Smith's Dueling Banjos received its name because the piece is a musical duel between a banjo and a guitar player. The evidence of this duel lies in the polyphonic texture of the song. This polyphonic texture is developed through the use of imitation and sequences. At measure 7 and continuing through the third beat of measure 14, the guitar (top staff bracket) and banjo (bottom staff bracket) exchange chords. The guitar begins at measure 7 with a set of G major triads in first inversion that start the I-IV-I chord progression using both the first and second inversions of the chords. The banjo imitates the guitar with another I-IV-I progression (Figure 1).

           The two instruments imitate each other which provides a solid foundation to the polyphonic textures of the melodic lines. The use of the same chords in this system further emphasizes the dueling aspect of the song as it paints the scene of one instrumentalist trying to out-play the other.

           

            From beat 4 of measure 34 to beat 3 of measure 38, a motif is sequenced and is brought out through the independent melodic lines of both instruments. This is an example of sequencing because the musical motif is repeated with a different starting pitch while maintaining the exact interval relationships of the original motif. 

            The dueling theme of polyphony is brought to life as the music picks up speed at measure 49. It is at this point that the instruments are taking the duel to the next level. The guitar and banjo play the same chord progressions as the two polyphonic line partake in imitation. (Figure 3).

            While Johann Sebastian Bach’s Invention No. 8 is not nearly as long as Smith’s Dueling Banjos, it is just as complicated, if not more so. Both the treble clef and bass clef notations can be played separately, while still maintaining a melody. This is achieved through imitation and sequencing which keeps characteristics of the melodic line separate from one another while still enabling them to be played together. The invention has “all the effectiveness of a canon without the stiffness almost inseparable from an extended strict adherence to that form” (How to Study the Two-Voices Inventions of Bach).

            From the first two measures of Invention No. 8, a polyphonic texture can be identified through the use of imitation. At measure 1, the treble clef begins by playing a steady eighth note rhythm that the left hand begins to play at measure 2. From measures 1-12, the bass clef part is one measure behind the treble clef (Figure 4). 

In the treble clef at measure 4 is where the first signs of sequencing come in. The treble clef plays three groupings of a sixteenth-note motif that is shifted down a major third in measure 5. The same motif in measure 5 is then shifted down a minor third in measure 6. The measures are homorhythmic and keep the same interval relationships which can be seen in measures 5 and 6. This use of sequencing is also notated in the bass clef as the sixteenth-note motif begins at measure 5 beginning one octave lower than the original sequence in measure 4 in the treble clef. The sixteenth-note motif is shifted down a major third in the bass clef in measure 6 followed by shifting an additional minor third down in measure 7. The treble clef notation at measure 7 uses sequencing as yet another sixteenth-note section is shifted down throughout the measure (Figure 5).

In measure 19 of the Invention, the treble clef uses a sequence of the diminished seventh interval pattern previously found in the bass clef at measure 15. Measure 20 in the bass clef is a sequence of measure 19 as the pattern is shifted down a second (Figure 6).

Introduction

            Arthur Smith’s Dueling Banjos “musical inspiration” for this piece “was the Bluegrass sound of Appalachia” (Dueling Banjos by Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandell Songfacts). Dueling Banjos is “a musical piece which emphasizes conflict and confrontation” as the two instruments in the piece, a guitar and banjo, challenge each other throughout the piece (Rosenberg).

            Johann Sebastian Bach’s Invention No. 8 is a classical piece that was originally composed for “the musical education of [Bach’s] young pupils” (The Inventions and Sinfonias). This exercise written in F major showcases the ability of a pianist to maintain two separate melodies that mirror one another. Bach achieves this by using motifs “for development and elaboration” of the piece (Sherman).

Abstract

            The two musical cultures that will be compared in the Music Links Investigation are blue grass and classical genres of music. The two works are Dueling Banjos composed by Arthur “Guitar Boogie” Smith and Invention Number 8 composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. I have chosen these two works because present musical traits that link them to one another. One of these links is the use of homorhythm. Homorhythm is the use of the same rhythm between two or more melodic lines. In Bach’s Invention Number 8, this is apparent throughout the piece as the treble and bass clef notes vary in a pattern of simultaneously playing eighth and sixteenth notes. In Smith’s Dueling Banjos, homorhythms occur in areas where change or emphasis is apparent. The second musical link in this investigation is the use of polyphony in both Bach’s Invention and Smith’s Dueling Banjos. The polyphonic textures of these two pieces are created through the use of imitation and sequences. Invention Number 8, the melodic line of one of the piano clefs is always one measure behind the other clef at any given point in the song. This is a noticeable change in the music as the rhythms and intervals between the two hands are repeated one after another through the use of sequences and imitation. In Dueling Banjos, the banjos (or guitars, based on the recording used) mimic the melody of one another throughout some parts of the song in the same way. However, as the song progresses, the two banjos develop their own melodies that are played with one another but could still be independent melodic lines if they were separated. These two musical links connect the genre of blue-grass to the classical music genre.