What are the main features of disco music?

Answer 1

The heavy kickdrum in simple quadruple time gives a constant rhythm of quarter notes, making it extremely easy for people to catch onto the beat. The usually high vocal and horn parts are very exciting both musically and lyrically and have all the surprises that make music interesting. The thunderous bassline is treated as priority in disco and unlike most music today, lead guitar isn't used because it would compromise the seniority of the bass. Rhythm guitar is used to complicate the musical sound but not keep attention from the simple, steady kickdrum. Rhythm guitar can be thought of as the inner workings of the sound because if it was heard alone it wouldn't make much sense, but hearing it churning with the rest of the parts helps to make sense of the music. Keyboard or fingered Electric Guitar is often used, but again, always keeps in line with the bass. It adds an interesting, synthesized sound that led to the synthesizer obsession of the 80s.

These are generalities and obviously all of disco cannot have a single answer. But disco mainly keeps priority to the heavy downbeat in 4/4, which nicknamed the meter "four-on-the-floor". Think of it as the dancefloor, if you like.

This is a good example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Chic_-_Good_Times.ogg

Answer 2

The "disco sound", while unique, almost defies a unified description, as it is an ultra-inclusive art form that draws on as many influences as it produces interpretations. Jazz, classical, calypso, rock, Latin, soul, funk, and new technologies - just to name a few of the obvious - were all mingled with aplomb. Vocals can be frivolous or serious love intrigues - all the way to extremely serious socially-conscious commentary. The music tended to layer soaring, often-reverberated vocals, which are often doubled by horns, over a background "pad" of electric pianos and wah-pedaled "chicken-scratch" (palm muted) guitars. Other backing keyboard instruments include the piano, string synth, and electroacoustic keyboards such as the Fender Rhodes piano, Wurlitzer electric piano, and Hohner Clavinet. Synthesizers are also fairly common in disco, especially in the late 1970s. The rhythm is laid down by prominent, syncopated basslines (with heavy use of octaves) played on the Bass Guitar and by drummers using a drum kit, African/Latin percussion, and electronic drums such as Simmons and Roland drum modules). The sound is enriched with solo lines and harmony parts played by a variety of orchestral instruments, such as harp, violin, viola, cello, trumpet, Saxophone, trombone, clarinet, flugelhorn, French horn, tuba, English horn, oboe, flute, and piccolo. Most disco songs have a steady four-on-the-floor beat, a quaver or semi-quaver hi-hat pattern with an open hi-hat on the off-beat, and a heavy, syncopated bass line. This basic beat would appear to be related to the Dominican merengue rhythm. Other Latin rhythms such as the rhumba, the samba and the cha-cha-cha are also found in disco recordings, and Latin polyrhythms, such as a rhumba beat layered over a merengue, are commonplace. The quaver pattern is often supported by other instruments such as the rhythm guitar and may be implied rather than explicitly present. It often involves syncopation, rarely occurring on the beat unless a synthesizer is used to replace the bass guitar. In 1977, Giorgio Moroder again became responsible for a development in disco. Alongside Donna Summer and Pete Bellotte he wrote the song "I Feel Love" for Summer to perform. It became the first well-known disco hit to have a completely synthesised backing track. The song is still considered to have been well ahead of its time. Other disco producers, most famously Tom Moulton, grabbed ideas and techniques from dub music (which came with the increased Jamaican migration to New York City in the seventies) to provide alternatives to the four on the floor style that dominated. Larry Levan utilized style keys from dub and jazz and more as one of the most successful remixers of all time to create early versions of house music that sparked the genre[28].

Answer 3

they have different dances and lights