We are proud to announce the publication of SMT-V 12.5, “Tori Amos’s Stretched Compound Grooves” by Scott Hanenberg. Hanenberg shows how he interprets Amos’s manipulation of musical time as stretched meters, usually 6/8 meters that appear to be stretched to 7/8, 8/8, or even further. The demanding metric coordination in Amos’s stretched grooves is surprising in the radio-friendly genres that she is known for—one way among many that Amos plays with the line between pop and progressive. This video is available now through http://smt-v.org/ and on YouTube. Please share it with your colleagues, students, and friends, and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Abstract:
Tori Amos has her own way of manipulating musical time. In this video essay, I show how Amos often stretches the meter of her songs by strategically adding subdivisions. My focus is on grooves that I hear in 6/8 time (compound grooves), with stretched measures of 7/8, 8/8, or further expansions. The demanding metric coordination in Amos’s stretched grooves is surprising in the radio-friendly genres that she is known for—one way among many that Amos plays with the line between pop and progressive.