Jimmy Cliff - You Can Get It If You Really Want

Jimmy Cliff - You Can Get It If You Really Want

1. Period & Genre

   • Transcripted
   • Orally passed down
   • Rare for anything other than British or American music to appear in the charts in the 1960s
   • Rock Steady
     • Early version of Reggae
   • Lyrics allude to a struggle against poverty but set to irresistably tuneful dance music

2. Instrumentation

   • Lead Vocal
   • Backing Vocals
   • Reeds/Brass (Trumpets)
   • Guitar 1
   • Guitar 2
   • Electric Organ
     • Typical of Jamacian Ska, Rock Steady and Reggae
   • Bass
   • Drums
   • Percussion

3. Harmony

   • Close harmony between all vocal parts
     • 1950s doo-wop styler
   • Mainly chords I & IV
     • Harmonic surprise
       • E Major
         • 37
   • Occassionally supplemented with other closely-related chords near the ends of verses and refrains
     • Dominant 7th - Ab7
   • Whole tone scale descending
     • 39

4. Tonality

   • Db Major
   • Chords I & IV
   • Whole tone scale
     • 39
   • No modulations
   • One unrelated chord
     • E Major
     • 37

5. Rhythm & Metre

   • Tight rhythms
     • Latin American feel
   • Picked semiquaver patterns
     • Calypso feel
   • Prominant backbeat on drums
   • Cross-stick creates 'click' on drum kit

6. Structure

   • Rock Steady
   • Verse-chorus
     • Intro Refrain Verse Refrain Instrumental Refrain Outtro Fade

7. Melody & Wordsetting

   • Lyrics about poverty set to irresistably tuneful dance music
   • Mainly syllabic
     • A few moments of melisma
   • Melody based on a pentatonic scale
   • High trumpet riffs - Cuba
   • Lead vocal opens on a title hook
   • Falsetto
     • 25, 43 & 56
   • Backing vocals have a narrow range

8. Texture

   • Heterophonic
   • Moments of homophony