Repetitive songs are songs containing a large proportion of repeated words or phrases. Simple repetitive songs are common in many cultures as widely spread as the Caribbean,[1] Southern India[2] and Finland.[3] The best-known examples of such songs are probably children's songs. Other repetitive songs are found, for instance, in African-American culture from the time of American slavery.[4]
Repetitive songs can and is used by advertisers in order to familiarize potential customers with a product. Using the principle of repetition, people use repetitive songs in order to retain information. In music, the use of repetition helps the audience learn, or familiarize, themselves with a particular melody. With the use of repetitive song, a musician or composer can instil ideas into their audiences more effectively. With most songs, the use of repetition, along with contrasts, creates a unique melody.Repetition and repetitive songs also helps people to understand what a composer and lyricist are trying to say. The use of the familiar keeps people grounded and attentive to the meaning behind the song. Repetition also makes it more accessible to children to learning.[5][6][7]
[edit] Repetition in children's songs
In children's songs, repetition serves various educational purposes: repetition aids memory,[8] can aid in learning punctuation and reading skills,[9] and is very valuable in learning (foreign) languages.[10]
In popular culture the use of repetition in songs, helps solidifies it in a person’s memory, allowing it to become more easily recognized. With repetitive songs, the use of repetition helps in order to help build neural pathways. Age also affects how a person can learn from repetitive songs.[11]
[edit] Repetition in work songs
Repetitive songs are also found in traditional work songs. Examples abound in African-American culture,[12] in political groups,[13] and among traveler, marchers, and walkers.[14]
The use of repetitive songs throughout history, in the chants and work songs, help convey a person's meaning more thoroughly. The repetition of the melody, solidifies the slight changes in text and becomes easier to remember. The use of a simple, repeated melody helps the listener pay attention to the lyrics and understand the hidden meaning of the song, if there is one.[15]
[edit] Examples of repetitive songs
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Abrahams, R.D. (1985). "A Note on Neck-Riddles in the West Indies as They Comment on Emergent Genre Theory". Journal of American Folklore: 85–94. http://www.jstor.org/view/00218715/ap020394/02a00040/3?frame=noframe&userID=8162d6c5@yu.edu/01cce4405f00501b8f6b2&dpi=3&config=jstor. p. 88.
- ^ Jackson, William (1992). "Features of the Kriti: A Song Form Developed by Tyāgarāja". Asian Music: 19–66. http://www.jstor.org/view/00449202/ap030046/03a00030/0?frame=noframe&userID=8162d6c5@yu.edu/01cce4405f00501b8f6b2&dpi=3&config=jstor. esp. p. 20-21.
- ^ Rank, Inkeri (1981). "The Foreigner and the Finnish Maiden: A Theme in the Finnish Medieval Ballad". Western Folklore (Western States Folklore Society) 40 (4): 299–314.
- ^ Floyd, Samuel A. (1996). The Power of Black Music: Interpreting its History from Africa to the United States. Oxford UP. p. 52. ISBN 9780195109757. http://books.google.com/books?id=UaodId2CFDUC&pg=PA52&dq=%22repetitive+songs%22&client=firefox-a.
- ^ http://cnx.org/content/m12953/latest/
- ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=VndaAAAACAAJ&dq=experience+music+charlton
- ^ http://changingminds.org/principles/repetition.htm
- ^ Agin, Marilyn C.; Lisa F. Geng, Malcolm J. Nicholl (2004). The Late Talker: What to Do If Your Child Isn't Talking Yet. Macmillan. p. 104. ISBN 9780312309244. http://books.google.com/books?id=qtNnmcDK5hwC&pg=PA104&dq=%22repetitive+songs%22&lr=&client=firefox-a.
- ^ John A. Smith, "Singing and Songwriting Support Early Literacy Instruction", in National Reading Panel (2002). Evidence-based reading instruction: putting the National Reading Panel report into practice. International Reading Association. ISBN 9780872074606. http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=imvg4rfAsOgC&oi=fnd&pg=PA189&dq=%22repetitive+songs%22&ots=NwDMCGW7sb&sig=4YrxMq4qzx3YD8ZGPhAGByxSyx0. p. 189
- ^ "The use of song is an excellent way to practice Spanish phonetics, and songs can be found using the most troublesome sounds. Repetitive songs using all vowels are good for beginners." Garcia-Saez, Santiago (March 1984). "The Use of Song in Class as an Important Stimulus in the Learning of a Language". Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southwest Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. Colorado Springs. http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED240872&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED240872. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
- ^ http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T24-4VYMP4M-2&_user=1528469&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000053246&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=1528469&md5=0c1ff35d385ab8c16322f6a9fbfbda14
- ^ Epstein, Dena J. (2003). Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music to the Civil War. U of Illinois P. p. 187. ISBN 9780252071508. http://books.google.com/books?id=OvQLVneUgHkC&pg=PA187&dq=%22repetitive+songs%22&lr=&client=firefox-a.
- ^ Lieberman, Robbie (2003). My Song Is My Weapon: People's Songs, American Communism, and the Politics of Culture, 1930-50. U of Illinois P. p. 120. ISBN 9780252065255. http://books.google.com/books?id=iTYLfJ7AA3YC&pg=PA120&dq=%22repetitive+songs%22&lr=&client=firefox-a.
- ^ Podruchny, Carolyn (2006). Making the Voyageur World: Travelers and Traders in the North American Fur Trade. U of Nebraska P. p. 93. ISBN 9780803287907. http://books.google.com/books?id=GuTKx4FGy0IC&pg=PA93&dq=%22repetitive+songs%22&lr=&client=firefox-a.
- ^ http://cnx.org/content/m12953/latest/
