Metallica Form/Analysis | The Call Of Ktulu (Patreon)

Are you interested in studying musical forms?

I remember being fascinated by my Form and Analysis class in college. Organizing music into structures helps you categorize and repeat something you like

Metallica's "The Call Of Ktulu" is an A-B-A format. The A section is the main theme, followed by a contrasting B section. The whole song just goes back and forth between these two ideas

The hardest part about composition isn't coming up with a good idea...it's developing the idea. This is called "R + D" or Repetition and Development. A good song needs to take the listener somewhere. You can hear the band doing this when papa het starts playing the A section as a riff instead of arpeggios midway through the track. This takes us to a new level of excitement while building on the familiar context of previous material. This is the essence of music composition

You can't just repeatedly state new ideas and expect the listener to follow along. You MUST figure out how to reinvent melodies, harmonies, rhythms and riffs in different ways. Similar to a THEME AND VARIATIONS style

Full tabs for this lesson below. Post your cover on discord!