Area of Study 4: Popular Music
What's covered
Key facts
Bhangra and fusion
The chaal is the characteristic bhangra rhythm.
Pop and rock conventions
Pop and rock rely on amplification and electric instruments.
Set work: Africa (Toto)
It comes from the album Toto IV.
Song structures and features
The 12-bar blues underpins much early rock and roll.
Bhangra and fusion
Bhangra is driven by the dhol drum.
Pop and rock conventions
A hook is the most memorable part of a song, often in the chorus.
Set work: Africa (Toto)
'Africa' is by the American band Toto.
Song structures and features
32-bar song form (AABA) has four 8-bar sections, common in older pop and jazz standards.
Bhangra and fusion
Bhangra fusion mixes traditional bhangra with Western pop, dance or hip-hop.
Pop and rock conventions
A pop/rock band typically uses vocals, electric guitar, bass guitar, keyboards and drums.
Practice questions with answers
A taste of the 46 questions in this topic, answers marked. Sign up to practise the full set with spaced repetition.
Where does bhangra music originate?
- •Brazil
- •The Caribbean
- ✓The Punjab
- •West Africa
Which line-up is typical of a pop or rock band?
- •Harpsichord and viol
- •Only tabla and sitar
- •Strings, woodwind and brass
- ✓Vocals, guitars, keys and drums
Which band recorded the set work 'Africa'?
- •Abba
- •Queen
- ✓Toto
- •Wham
What is an instrumental break?
- •A held final chord
- ✓A section with no vocals
- •The opening lyric line
- •The quietest verse
Which drum drives bhangra music?
- •The bongos
- ✓The dhol
- •The snare drum
- •The timpani
What is a riff?
- ✓A short, catchy repeated pattern
- •A single sustained chord
- •A slow free-time section
- •A sudden change of key
Three minutes a day. Knowledge that sticks.
Practise all 46 Area of Study 4: Popular Music questions with spaced repetition, so what you revise today is still there in the exam. Free to use, no card needed.