Dr. Boud

Would you please state your name for the court?

BOUD: My name is Dr. Jan Boud

Tell us about yourself, Dr. Boud.

BOUD: Well, I’m Scandinavian, born and raised in Flekkefjord. Early in my childhood, my parents began to instill in me a love of and appreciation for the classical arts. Since then I have studied music all throughout my education, and am quite good at the bassoon.

Why have you been asked to testify here today?

Well, I guess it all started on a research trip to Colorado when I came to appreciate quality cowboy boots. That’s what originally brought me to Tennessee. You see, some guy from the Chuckwagon Gang has reinvented himself as a cobbler, and there’s a 2 year waiting list for his boots. While I was in Tennessee, I met some lawyers who also enjoyed fine footwear, and I guess word travels fast, because here I am today. [[they may want to call you out on this during cross, so it’s important that we get it out of the way now]].

And what qualifies you to testify here today?

Well, after finishing high school a year early, I studied Music Theory and Composition at the University of Bergen. Then I moved to Los Angeles and attended the University of Southern California, where I wrote my dissertation on “Early Baroque Keyboard Improvisation” and received a Doctorate of Musical Arts. While I was at USC I worked for the Department of Music as a graduate assistant. I continued my post-doctoral studies at the Franz Schubert Institute, where my focus became musicology. I have also spent the last 34 years as a both an Associate and Full Professor of Music Theory and Composition at the Juilliard School—which is a prestigious performing arts school located in the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

And besides your extensive schooling, what else qualifies you to testify on this case?

I am also a Certified Musicologist, and a member of the American Chamber of Expert Witnesses. In addition to testifying as an expert witness in over 50 cases, I have also published several articles in

scholarly journals that are of relevance to this case, namely the role of chord substitution in music individuality and an article about chord patterns called “One, Four, Five: Why All Country Music Sounds the Same.”

So how did you prepare for this case?

I began by requesting audio versions of both songs. I also received the lyrics sheets. And as is my standard practice for musical analysis, I looked at both the lyrics and the musical content.

And as far as lyrical content, what did you find?

From my analysis I was able to conclude that, despite faint similarity, there was no absolutely no evidence that “He’s My Still Loving You” was copied from “June to July Girl.” For example, “June to July Girl” recounts the story of lost love to a 3rd party, while “He’s My Still Loving You” addresses the former lover. {an easy way to remember this, is that “He’s My Still Loving You” is written specifically to the lost lover, who is the “you” in the title.}

And what did your expert analysis reveal in the musical content?

Well both songs were written around a similar chord structure. But regardless of what key, most Western music uses three major chords from the same key, and occasionally a minor chord as well. A key only contains three major chords, three minor chords, and a diminished chord, so it’s easy for even a non-expert to see that there is not much variety in the chord structures of popular music. An example would be Max Martin’s “Hit Me Baby One More Time” and “Oops…I Did It Again,” which contain the same chords and beats of music, but are completely different songs.

So if the chords don’t work as a comparison in popular music, what does?

Well another element of comparison would be the rhythm of the pieces. The time signature relates the number of beats per measure and how long each beat lasts. But even here it is hard to compare one directly to the other. Many genres have a characteristic time signature; most waltzes are written in ¾ time. Likewise, most popular music is written in 4/4 time, as is the case for both “June to July Girl” and “He’s My Still Loving You.” But when we examine the differences in how each is expressed, we come to realize that “June to July Girl” is written

with a swing feel, where as “He’s My Still Loving You” is written with a straight feel. More specifically, a basic unit of time contains 3 beats in “June to July Girl” and 4 in “He’s My Still Loving You.”

Could you perhaps provide an example of this difference to the jury?

Sure! It would be equivalent to hearing “Jingle Bells” played by a marching band and then by a jazz trio. The band would sound crisp with rhythmic precision, while the trio would play with a smooth swing. Same chords, but a completely different song.