Where does it come from?
Musical features of the pop ballad
- Usually in 4/4 time signature
- Slow tempo
- Verse - chorus structure
- Often includes piano or electric piano
- Sustained "lush" chords in the instrumental accompaniment
- Drum pattern usually accents beats 2 and 4 on the snare drum
- Opportunities for the vocalist to express emotion through rubato, ornamentation and melisma
- The lead singer often provides ornamentation and melisma at the climax of the song
- Harmonic language strays a little beyond the primary chords but it remains firmly in the key. Inversions of chords are popular, which often create descending and rising bass lines (by step)
- A typical ballad usually increases in instrumentation and dynamics, arriving at a climax during a "big" chorus or an instrumental section
- Sentimental/romantic lyrics
- There is often a lot of reverb added to the lead vocals and backing vocals, especially in ballads from the 1980s
Famous Artists
- Bette Midler - Wind Beneath My Wings
- Elton John - Candle In The Wind
- Take That - Back For Good
- Simon and Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water
- Lionel Richie and Diana Ross - My Endless Love
- Billy Joel - And So It Goes
- Richard Marx - Right Here Waiting
- Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven
- Bob Dylan - Make You Feel My Love
- Celine Dion - My Heart Will Go On