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Analyzing My Girl From The Temptations

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The Temptations, as the name would suggest, is a band composed of five African Americans. The Temptations rose to fame in the 1960s, and still to this day, their classic hits can be heard. In 1964, The Temptations released one of their most popular songs to this day, My Girl; which rose to fame and hit number one on the pop charts in 1965. In this essay, I will analyze My Girl from The Temptations, consider the sociohistorical setting in which the song was produced, discuss the genre of music with regards to the elements conveyed, as well as go into depth describing their cohesion of vocal techniques and use of instruments in their performance. Analyzing these aspects of the song will help us better understand the time frame in which the song was produced. It will also help us comprehend the genre of music as well as the specific vocal techniques, which both relate back to African-style music.

"My Girl" by The Temptations was …show more content…

Focusing on "My Girl", their use of the snare drum was common for Motown artists and even other artists. They use the snare drum to set the beat; it is constant and precise, but unlike in African-style music, which is more polyrhythmic, in terms of drum usage, the snare drum in "My Girl" by The Temptations is clear and non-polyrhythmic. This was a more European style or element incorporated into many genres and bands, which helped with exposure to white audiences and the crossing over of black musicians. And as talked about before, their voices were very much the same: clear and clean, just like the snare. There was no grunting or growling, but there was an elongation of the lyrics as well as vocal timber. These changes of vocal and instrumental elements were precisely done for the introduction of black musicians to white audiences, for more exposure, which is exactly what some of the radio and production companies

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