form: harmonic rhythm
The first three forms are from Philip Tagg, the second three I made up. Then there are blues harmonic forms. "Partial" means one section or multiple phrases of the song. shuttle — back and forth at least twice between two chords, with equal time spent on each chord. • arrepentido • big mistake (partial) • can i kick it • clementine/found a peanut (partial) • feel like jumping • fire on the mountain • good times • here's where the story ends • las vegas tango (partial) • mundian to bach ke (partial) • nonesuch (partial) • oye como va (partial) • river come down (partial) • tenement yard • the magnificent seven • therefore i am • use me counterpoise sandwich — a helping of counterpoise between two slices of tonic. • drunken sailor • everyday people • jambalaya • let's get together (partial) • los chucos suaves (partial) • start wearing purple (partial) counterpoise kickback — starts like a shuttle, but doubles the pace of switching in the last phrase of the section so that the section ends on the tonic. • day-o (partial) • drunken sailor (ends with a sandwich) • omie wise • the house carpenter • skip to my lou counterpoise inversion — two phrases: tonic-tonic-tonic-counterpoise, cp-cp-cp-tonic • achy breaky heart • eh, la bas (partial) • fidel castro • hell • los chucos suaves (partial) • start wearing purple (partial) • you never can tell four-two-two [1-½-½] — tonic for four measures, counterpoise for two, tonic for two • big mistake (partial) • eh, la bas (partial) • rockin' pneumonia • santoki [1-½-½] • tomorrow never knows punctuation — mostly tonic, with a moment of counterpoise in the penultimate measure of the section • bling blang • ceniv se u popa • day-o (partial) • electric avenue • gusta mi magla padnala • ohridska devetorka oro (partial) blues forms Some might think this is a stretch (or worse, heresy), as the 12-bar blues is usually taught as something quite specific, that definitely has more than two chords. I'd like to argue here, that there are a variety of elements that make the blues what it is, and that formally, harmonically, and stylistically, these songs qualify. 8-bar blues • rockin' pneumonia 12-bar blues • las vegas tango