Form as Process: The Buildup Introduction in Popular Music

Abstract

In buildup introductions, the groove is elaborated through the addition of new riffs, the intensification of numerous musical elements, and the creation of expectations for the arrival of the main body of the song. This article considers the buildup introduction as an in-time musical process, using an analytical method that adapts Christopher Hasty's metric theory. In a range of musical examples, typical metric features of the buildup introduction are discussed, including metric polyphony, anacrusis development and cueing, projection shift, and the use of underdetermined meter and metric ambiguity. The result is a music theory that privileges a particular mode of hearing reflecting listener and performer experience.

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