Theory I (Rudiments, The Elements of Music, Species Counterpoint)

“For Free (Interlude)”

The musical score: Explore different types of musical score by asking students to transcribe the line “You lookin’ at me like it ain’t a receipt/Like I never made ends meet/Eatin’ your leftovers and raw meat.” See Example 2 for a full lesson plan that incorporates this suggestion.

“King Kunta”

Compound melody: Discuss whether Lamar’s alternation between a higher register rapped flow and the lower register “King Kunta” interjections could be seen as a version of compound melody.

Interval singing and recognition: Have students sing and compare the descending P5 and m6 at (1:15).

AUDIO 1.1

“Alright”

Rhythmic density: Ask students to compare the beginning to the section beginning around (2:00).

AUDIO 1.2

Musical texture and musical form: Discuss the importance of musical texture as a compositional strategy (e.g., consider the abrupt change at 3:14).

AUDIO 1.3

“Momma”

Rhythmic transcription: Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of Western rhythmic notation by asking students to individually transcribe the rhythm of a short excerpt (ca. 20 seconds) and then comparing their transcriptions.

Theory II (Diatonic Harmony and Voice Leading, Small Forms)

“For Free (Interlude)”

Form: What musical elements create form, sections, or climax? In this song, instrumentation and rhythmic density play a stronger role than harmony.

“King Kunta”

Multi-layered melodic dictation: Ask students to transcribe the Auto-tuned “Oh why” line at (1:56): simple in terms of pitch, but difficult to pick out of the surrounding texture.

AUDIO 1.4

“Alright”

Harmonic rhythm: Consider how the section at (0:25) with the “dah” vocal harmonies creates harmonic rhythm.

Cadences: Discuss cadences as more than just harmonic strategies by exploring what makes phrase endings in this song (e.g., compare the endings at 0:06, 0:19, and 0:40) See Example 3 for a full lesson plan that incorporates this suggestion.

“Momma”

Tendency/Resolution tones: Transcribe the harmonies in the groove, and discuss whether or not they have tendency tones that need resolving.

Tonic and dominant function: At (2:06) there is an oscillation between two chords where the hierarchical relationship between the two chords is ambiguous. Discuss the ways in which each harmony might be heard as more important (structural), or whether such determination is even relevant. How does the relationship between these harmonies compare with the relationship between tonic and dominant? Between a tonic harmony and a neighbor 6/4 chord?

AUDIO 1.5

Theory III (Chromatic Harmony and Voice Leading, Large Forms)

All songs

Music-text interaction: Compare the interaction of voice and accompaniment in any of these songs to compositional strategies in German Lieder. However, note that, just as in German Lieder, a thorough discussion of music-text interaction in Lamar’s music requires a deep knowledge of that text and its possible meanings, which might be beyond an instructor’s abilities and could lead to complicated classroom discussions.

“For Free (Interlude)”

Motivic analysis: Are there recurring lines in the track that might be heard as similar to and different from a motive? More broadly, is a hook in pop music the same thing as a motive in Classical music?

Form: How is our determination of formal sections influenced by temporal placement (the opening “gospel chord” could potentially be the end of a gospel piece, but is the beginning of this song)?

“King Kunta”

Form: How does the break at (2:05) connect to formal strategies in sonata form (e.g., medial caesura, standing on the dominant, beginning of the recapitulation) See Example 4 for a full lesson plan that incorporates this suggestion.

“Alright”

Form: Compare the buildup/accumulative form in this song to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

“Momma”

Motivic analysis: Does Lamar use the accompaniment’s persistent three-sixteenth motive [one instance from (0:08) is below] in a way similar to or different from the motivic transformations typical of common practice art music?

AUDIO 1.6

Theory IV (Post-Tonal Theory and Analysis)

“For Free (Interlude)”

Vocal strategies: How does Lamar’s use of different vocal pitches in his rap share similarities with, or differ from, Schoenberg’s Sprechstimme? From Steve Reich’s use of source interviews in Different Trains?

“King Kunta”

Compositional processes: How does the accumulative form (Spicer 2004) in this song create a process of rhythmic saturation? How might that compare to minimalist processes?

“Alright”

Form in popular music: Discuss chorus features in a range of pop examples, including this one.

“Momma”

Tempo and metric modulation: Compare the tempo shift at (3:39) to Carter’s metric modulation in terms of both compositional technique and musical effect. See Example 5 for a full lesson plan that incorporates this suggestion.