Tim Hughes
Tim Hughes is a Senior Lecturer in Music at the London College of Music (University of West London) and Course Leader for the BArts (Hons) course in Hip Hop Production and the BMus (Hons) in Songwriting and Recording. He has teaching and research interests in the analysis of popular music, the study of repetition, R&B, soul, funk, punk, hip-hop, and blues rock. He has focused in particular on the music of Stevie Wonder, as well as Jimi Hendrix, Prince, Todd Rundgren, Nirvana, and Sleater-Kinney, and the subjects of quotation and cultural memory in hip-hop, how repeated musical elements combine to make grooves (which then combine to make tracks), and developing new ways to study and teach popular music.
Tim was a songwriter and guitarist in Nashville and Austin in the 1980s before studying composition and theory at North Texas and writing his PhD on the music of Stevie Wonder at the University of Washington. He also worked at Experience Music Project in Seattle, where he developed numerous audio and multimedia exhibits for the Jimi Hendrix Gallery, as well as on the history of recorded sound and the music of Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, and Eric Clapton.
Tim has taught in the United States at the University of Washington, the University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio College, and St. Mary's University and previously in England at the University of Surrey, where he was Programme Director for the three-year and four-year BMus (Hons) programmes in Music. He lives in Chichester, West Sussex.
Supervisors: Jonathan Bernard, University of Washington and John Covach, University of North Texas
Phone: (01243)-931183
Address: 79 Willowbed Drive
Chichester, West Sussex
PO19 8HY
United Kingdom
Tim was a songwriter and guitarist in Nashville and Austin in the 1980s before studying composition and theory at North Texas and writing his PhD on the music of Stevie Wonder at the University of Washington. He also worked at Experience Music Project in Seattle, where he developed numerous audio and multimedia exhibits for the Jimi Hendrix Gallery, as well as on the history of recorded sound and the music of Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, and Eric Clapton.
Tim has taught in the United States at the University of Washington, the University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio College, and St. Mary's University and previously in England at the University of Surrey, where he was Programme Director for the three-year and four-year BMus (Hons) programmes in Music. He lives in Chichester, West Sussex.
Supervisors: Jonathan Bernard, University of Washington and John Covach, University of North Texas
Phone: (01243)-931183
Address: 79 Willowbed Drive
Chichester, West Sussex
PO19 8HY
United Kingdom
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University of Washington PhD Dissertation by Tim Hughes
I begin by introducing the primarily African-American musical paradox of collective individuality and the musical concepts of groove and flow that are central to soul and funk. Chapter 1 is a general analysis of “Living for the City” that is primarily concerned with form—the shape of the song over time—and the way in which that form interacts with the text and generates meaning(s). It also demonstrates for the first time how Wonder uses repetition of musical elements to create a sense of flow—simultaneously on several different structural levels and in many different ways—and then manipulates that flow throughout the course of the song. Chapter 2 is an analysis of “Golden Lady” that demonstrates groove and flow operating in areas other than rhythm and meter, in scales beyond the merely local, and in a compound, multi-dimensional manner. Chapters 3 through 6 constitute a single, in-depth discussion of Wonder’s distinctive brand of clavinet-based funk music, divided into four parts. Chapter 3 outlines the primary musical characteristics of funk and how Wonder’s style grew out the specific approach to funk developed by the house band and producers at Motown Records. I then analyze “Superstition,” “Higher Ground,” and “You Haven’t Done Nothin’,” focusing on the interactions of rhythm and meter. Each song is analyzed separately but in a similar fashion, allowing for depth of analysis without sacrificing detail. Based on the concepts of groove and flow established earlier, this four-chapter discussion explores Wonder’s particular version of the “robustly collective” grooves that are essential to funk, demonstrating vital musical processes and accounting for some of the unusual power and life of this music.
Book Reviews by Tim Hughes
Essays by Tim Hughes
A Wonderous Journey... features 26 essays on different Wonder albums, along with nine additional essays on subjects such as his biography, his numerous collaborations, his work Syreeta, and so on. It was assembled by members of the long-time Universal Stevie Wonder fan group on Yahoo!, of which I’ve been a member since 1996. Different members wrote essays on each of Wonder's major albums and the results were assembled and edited by Vaid and Brent. The authors are extremely knowledgeable and provide the kind of passion, insight, comprehensive awareness, and contextual understanding that can only from many years of collecting, seeing live shows, and networking with other fans.
The book is self-published and available in three formats (Kindle, paperback, and colour paperback) at a very reasonable price through Amazon. 100% of the proceeds go to The National Federation of the Blind of Michigan, based in Lansing (www.nfbmi.org). Copies of the book are available here:
https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Wonderous-Journey-Through-Musical-Stevie/dp/B093RMYFK1/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=A+Wonderous+Journey...&qid=1623344762&s=books&sr=1-1
I begin by introducing the primarily African-American musical paradox of collective individuality and the musical concepts of groove and flow that are central to soul and funk. Chapter 1 is a general analysis of “Living for the City” that is primarily concerned with form—the shape of the song over time—and the way in which that form interacts with the text and generates meaning(s). It also demonstrates for the first time how Wonder uses repetition of musical elements to create a sense of flow—simultaneously on several different structural levels and in many different ways—and then manipulates that flow throughout the course of the song. Chapter 2 is an analysis of “Golden Lady” that demonstrates groove and flow operating in areas other than rhythm and meter, in scales beyond the merely local, and in a compound, multi-dimensional manner. Chapters 3 through 6 constitute a single, in-depth discussion of Wonder’s distinctive brand of clavinet-based funk music, divided into four parts. Chapter 3 outlines the primary musical characteristics of funk and how Wonder’s style grew out the specific approach to funk developed by the house band and producers at Motown Records. I then analyze “Superstition,” “Higher Ground,” and “You Haven’t Done Nothin’,” focusing on the interactions of rhythm and meter. Each song is analyzed separately but in a similar fashion, allowing for depth of analysis without sacrificing detail. Based on the concepts of groove and flow established earlier, this four-chapter discussion explores Wonder’s particular version of the “robustly collective” grooves that are essential to funk, demonstrating vital musical processes and accounting for some of the unusual power and life of this music.
A Wonderous Journey... features 26 essays on different Wonder albums, along with nine additional essays on subjects such as his biography, his numerous collaborations, his work Syreeta, and so on. It was assembled by members of the long-time Universal Stevie Wonder fan group on Yahoo!, of which I’ve been a member since 1996. Different members wrote essays on each of Wonder's major albums and the results were assembled and edited by Vaid and Brent. The authors are extremely knowledgeable and provide the kind of passion, insight, comprehensive awareness, and contextual understanding that can only from many years of collecting, seeing live shows, and networking with other fans.
The book is self-published and available in three formats (Kindle, paperback, and colour paperback) at a very reasonable price through Amazon. 100% of the proceeds go to The National Federation of the Blind of Michigan, based in Lansing (www.nfbmi.org). Copies of the book are available here:
https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Wonderous-Journey-Through-Musical-Stevie/dp/B093RMYFK1/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=A+Wonderous+Journey...&qid=1623344762&s=books&sr=1-1