II.

Common Musical Elements

Despite vast differences between genres, such as rap and jump blues, there are common musical and social elements that link the many styles of R&B. The approach to musical rhythm is the most important distinguishing characteristic of R&B music and its substyles. While all genres of R&B typically depend upon four-beat building blocks (measures or bars), prominent use of syncopation, and a backbeat (beats two and four accented in each measure), the specific approach to the expression of musical time (the so-called groove) is one of the primary means of differentiating one genre from another, and even one player or band from another.

Timbre is another important distinguishing characteristic of R&B. Timbre refers to the quality or color of a sound—for example, a listener may tell a saxophone and a guitar apart, or distinguish one vocalist from another, by the differences in their timbre. Most styles of R&B rely extensively on timbre variation over the course of a performance to achieve interest. R&B singers and instrumentalists often alternate between gentle, smooth timbres and harsh, raspy timbres, giving the music a wide range of emotional expression.

In addition to rhythm and timbre, other common elements of R&B music include the use of: (1) the twelve-bar form, a three-lyric line structure originating in earlier styles of blues; (2) call and response, whereby a singer or instrumentalist will sing or play a phrase and another vocalist or instrumentalist will answer with another phrase; (3) incessant repetition of musical notes, rhythms, phrases, or verses; (4) the use of blue notes (notes that bridge the musical relationship between the minor and major modes; see Mode); and (5) a tightly integrated and complex blending of instruments, in which it is often difficult to differentiate the separate sounds or instruments being played at a given moment.

Finally, with the exception of rap, most R&B performances share a common instrumentation, with the performing ensemble divided into a rhythm section and a horn section. Typically, the rhythm section consists of a drum set, bass, piano (sometimes organ instead of or in addition to piano), and guitar, while the horn section features saxophones, trumpets, and occasionally trombones. The emphasis on horns in most styles of R&B has been one of the ways in which the music has historically been differentiated from white rock music.