The Vernacular Song Aural Analysis Project is a collection of songs with analytical information about their musical structure, intended to help music theory students develop their skills in aurally recognizing harmony, meter, and form. The scope is limited to music with which students may already be familiar via western popular culture since (about) the 1950s: rock, pop, folk, musical theater/film, dance, and any of the subgenres thereof.
Each record shows the harmonies featured in a song using roman numerals and bass-position symbols, but leaves it to the student to identify when the changes occur. A useful question to ask is “what word in the text corresponds (for example) to the IV chord, or to the V chord” etc. Note that the featured harmonies are listed in the order in which they appear.
Filter and sort the data in the chart below to discover different views and narrow down your study. Also, follow the links below to see focused song lists. Music educators will be familiar with the terminology and analytical symbols included herein. Students should therefore use this chart under the guidance of a teacher who can explain them when necessary.
