The Type of Music I will be studying today will be Modern R&B. One Area in which this genre has its own identity is the audio sound of the music. R&B has a very distinct sound, the chord structures and progressions are mainly derrived from soul music. Most of these soul chords are played in the key of E flat major. Examples of famous artists who used these chords are Erykah Badu and D'angelo.
Modern R&B has a mix of these groovy jazzy soul/Neo soul chords alongside modern electronic drum kits. Examples of these modern R&B artists would be artists such as Bryson Tiller, Tory Lanez, Post Malone. Another main different in the sound of modern R&B is the use of samples in music. This is a modern technique used for a number of different reasons. i.e. to implicate complexity into the music or for atmosphere, or contrast perhaps.
Another area which Modern R&B has its own identity is the visuals used. For example the visuals for music videos. Music Videos for Modern R&B usually consist of a story being told, beautiful women an ideal location in the sun. This is because the song is being made to be as appealing as possible. An example of this is shown here in DJ Khaled's-"Wild thoughts"
The Use of equipment in Modern R&B play a key part to the identity of the genre because without the specific equipment, the so famous and loved sound wouldn't be achieved. key equipment that is used includes the DAW that was used to compose the track. Usually either FL studio's or Pro Tools or Ableton Live. these Daw's are typically used because they are able to produce the right level of clarity and complexity for sounds within Modern R&B for the professional industry. Many famous Modern R&B producers have also revealed that this is some of the technology that they use when they are producing. some examples of this are from producers such as "Teddy Walton" and "wondagurl".
There are many diferent ways that you can encounter Modern R&B. A few ways to consume this music include, Through Radio, TV streaming services such as spotify, soundcloud, apple music and you can also purchase modern R&B music from Itunes or even download it illegally from the internet. I believe that the increase of technology in terms of consuming has had a direct impact with the popularity of the Genre. I believe this because the advancement of technology and the internet has made it almost effortless to, not only find and stream songs of youre choice, but to also upload aswell. I also believe that this increase in technology has had a direct impact on the Way that Modern R&B sounds.
There are human elements incorporated into R&B as well, one of these human elements is the use of live sounds and instruments, the use of live instruments is effective because it adds more complexity to the music. In the video above, there is an example of the producer "Teddy Walton" adding lives sounds and successfully blending them in with his midi sounds on fl. He uses a sample that he recored of the forrest with birds singing and chirping in order to create a sense of ambience in his track.
R&B is a genre that allows artists to express themselves fully, the atmosphere is often focused on the emotion of love, however that does not mean that artists are restricted to making love songs, for example Bryson tiller has a song called 'Sorry not Sorry' which is a song about heartbreak, its important to make songs which can relate to your listeners everyday lives so they able to connect with you on a deeper more personal level.
I believe that modern R&B is a genre that will exist in time for a while. The birthchild of hip/hop and neo/soul, R&B is a genre that has managed to keep elements from its predecessors for example chord progression and instrumentation but has managed to incorporate lots of technology as well in order to achieve the best, complex and most developed sound. Not many genre's can offer the listener this unique listening experience which is why i believe R&B is a very versatile and successful genre.
Bibliography for Ethnography:
https://spinditty.com/learning/Cool-RB-chord-progressions
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