[Smt-talk] Climax in Pop-Rock Music

[Brad T Osborn]

Dear list,

I am having trouble tracking down scholarly sources on climax in pop-rock songs.  There seems to be a wealth of information on 18th- and 19th-century notions of climax (see esp. Meyer 1980 and Agawu 1984).  While it could be very worthwhile to adapt pre-existing studies to a modern idiom, I am wondering if there are any sources already out there on the topic.

I know there are passing references to the chorus-as-focal-point in many recent publications on pop-rock music, but I am specifically looking for sustained discussion on the topic.

Best Regards,

Brad Osborn
Ph.D. Candidate
University of Washington
brad06 at u.washington.edu