Presentation Type
Oral/Paper Presentation
Abstract
While commercially released songs today sound very different from those of the Middle Ages, the 1500s, the 1800s, or even the 20th century, popular and traditional songs do have common traits across time. My research explores common elements that have been used by songwriters for centuries—recurring text themes and durable melodic and lyric forms based on repetition and contrast. I will use audio, score, and text examples to demonstrate close similarities among selected songs that at first may appear very different.
Faculty Mentor
Dr. Donna King
Recommended Citation
Kerr, Hannah Grace, "I Know That Song! Ten Centuries of Songwriting" (2025). Student Scholar Symposium. 19.
https://digitalcollections.lipscomb.edu/student_scholars_symposium/2025/Full_schedule/19
Included in
I Know That Song! Ten Centuries of Songwriting
While commercially released songs today sound very different from those of the Middle Ages, the 1500s, the 1800s, or even the 20th century, popular and traditional songs do have common traits across time. My research explores common elements that have been used by songwriters for centuries—recurring text themes and durable melodic and lyric forms based on repetition and contrast. I will use audio, score, and text examples to demonstrate close similarities among selected songs that at first may appear very different.