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Word Painting

Word Painting: Somebody To Love, Queen

“Lord” is said six times in this song, each time the pitch is slightly modulated, higher and higher. The last time “Lord” is sung, it’s reached the highest point in the song. At (2:50 - 3:03) you can hear this. The idea of raising the pitch of the phrase higher and higher is an example of word painting because it emulates the idea of getting closer and closer to God above. God is often used in word paintings in Gospel music, and while Queen isn’t really Gospel, this song definitely pays homage to the genre and models itself after it.

Mercury, Freddie. “Somebody To Love.” Queen. EMI. 1976, LP.

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Word Painting

Atmospheric Text Painting: Wildfire, John Mayer

This song is very upbeat and bright, and it achieves this through the use of instruments, other sounds, and additionally, lyrics. The song begins with the sounds of people laughing and conversing with each other from (0:00 - 0:20), these sounds are easier to hear with headphones, or the music louder. These non-music sounds create an atmospheric painting that reminds the listener of an evening with friends. The mood overall is very bright due to the percussion, which is a focal point. The clapping that is used as percussion is also very important to the overall happy and bright feeling. The lyrics and sounds combined with lively percussion evoke a warm feeling, almost as though you are experiencing the evening described.

Mayer, John. “Wildfire.” John Mayer. Columbia. 2013, digital download.

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Word Painting

“Musical In-Joke”: Hum Hallelujah, Fall Out Boy

I’ve been a fan of this band since I was 13, but it wasn’t until I started playing guitar that I caught the musical joke/pun in the song. This song has a word painting that is a “musical in-joke”, the song is played in D sharp, but Leonard Cohen’s very famous song Hallelujah is in C major. Hum Hallelujah references the older song and the fact Hum Hallelujah is just off key of the older song with the lyrics “hum hallelujah, just off the key of reason”. At (1:01) you can hear this lyric.

Wentz, Pete. “Hum Hallelujah.” Fall Out Boy. Island. 2007, CD.

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Form

AABA form: Strictly Instrumental, Harry James

This song may be more challenging to decipher because of its absence of lyrics, but when you listen closely you can clearly hear each phrase. You first hear two similar phrases, A & A, then there’s a phrase that varies from the first two, B. Finally, the song returns to the original theme, closing with A.

“Strictly Instrumental.” Harry James and His Orchestra. Columbia. 1939, LP.

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Form

Pop Song Form: Make Me A Bird, Elektrik People

This is a really catchy song and when we learned about pop song form in class I immediately thought of it. I created a chart (below) that is structured with the pattern of Intro/Verse/Chorus/Verse/Chorus/Bridge/Chorus/Outro and this song fits nearly perfectly. The bridge doesn’t contrast drastically with the rest of the song, but still varies enough for listeners to understand it as a bridge. This similarity can perhaps be attributed to the consistent use of percussion and electronic instruments, like a synthesizer which is used heavily throughout the song. Also, the bridge recycles a lyric from verse two, as a sort of call back as the song wraps up. The chart I created has time markers for every section of the song, but if you’d like to jump to the chorus go to (0:55) from there you can hear the chorus and the second verse.

“Make Me A Bird.” Elektrik People. Elektrik People Music. 2014, digital download.

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Form

Verse/Chorus: Work Song, Hozier

As with pop song form, I created a chart (below) for my example of verse/chorus. At first, I had a hard time deciphering the difference between pop song form and verse/chorus form, but I went through my music library and quickly realized this song has no bridge. This piece just alternates between verse and chorus, each verse has different lyrics but is sung to the same music. The chorus has the same lyrics and music every time it’s repeated, however, the music of the chorus contrasts with the music of the verses. There are some variations in the song, he repeats the chorus twice in certain parts, but overall it adheres to the verse/chorus form very well. Again I have a chart below with time markers for each verse so you can skip to (0:32) to immediately hear Hozier sing the first verse.

Hozier-Byrne, Andrew. “Work Song.” Hozier. 2014, digital download.

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Harmony

Drone: Devil’s Backbone, The Civil Wars

From (0:00 - 0:43) you can hear a low sustained pitch that is held. With the texture being homophonic, in this case, the drone is a harmonic accompaniment.

Peacock, Charlie, John Paul White, Joy Elizabeth Williams. “Devil’s Backbone.” The Civil Wars. Columbia. 2013, digital download.

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Harmony

Harmonic Palette: Lifted Away, Joseph

This song has a very small harmonic palette, just a simple E chord in the beginning (0:00 - 0:45) and some bar chords as the song progresses. Although it may sound as though there are multiple chords being used in the beginning, it’s just strumming embellishment that alters the sound of the constant E chord. In fact, the chords do not change until (0:45) when the chorus begins. This infrequent chord change makes the harmonic rhythm very simple and lets Natalie (the lead vocalist in this song) carry the melody, while her sisters and the guitar provide harmony.

Closner, Allison, Meegan Closner, and Natalie Schepman. “Lifted Away.” Joseph. YouTube upload. 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfsZzOSCGlQ

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Harmony

Twelve Bar Blues: Something Like Olivia, John Mayer

This song is written in twelve bar blues form, with the most frequent chords being C, D and G in the key of G. The song follows this format pretty closes, although Mayer embellishes with a guitar solo. This is a typical homophonic song, with Mayer’s voice carrying the melody and the guitar harmonizing. You can hear this harmonization when Mayer begins singing at (0:10).

Mayer, John. “Something Like Olivia.” John Mayer. Columbia. 2012, digital download.

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Texture

Homophonic: Scars, James Bay

This song is not only a great example of harmonic accompaniment, but also homophonic texture. Bay’s voice has the melody and the guitar provides harmony (0:19 - 1:05). The band is giving Bay the focus, not competing for the listener’s attention. There’s a guitar in his band that’s providing harmony, but he is also playing guitar, you can see him strumming his guitar to fill in the gaps, indicative of homophonic texture (2:16 - 2:45).  

Bay, James. “Scars.” James Bay. Virgin. 2015, digital download.

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Texture

Monophonic: Hospital Beds, written by Cold War Kids, performed by Florence + The Machine

As a fan of both bands, I’m well acquainted with both performances. Florence Welch adds her own flair with melodic techniques like ornamentation, but the clearest difference is texture. The Cold War Kids’ performance has a very thick texture launching into the song with a piano. However, Welch strips the texture of the song, so much so that the beginning of her performance is entirely monophonic, just her voice alone carrying the melody, from (0:00 - 0:20). After 0:20 her band begins playing, but her voice remains the focal point.

Cold War Kids. “Hospital Beds.” Florence + The Machine. Island. 2009, digital download.

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Texture

Polyphonic: Fugue No. 18 in E Minor, BWV 548, written by Johann Sebastian Bach, performed by Yo-Yo Ma, Chris Thile & Edgar Meyer

Generally, any song with “fugue” in the title is polyphonic, and this piece is no exception. The mandolin and cello play contrasting melodies, making it polyphonic. Although the piece almost doesn’t sound so, because of the mandolins delicate sound, it might be easier, like it was for me, to focus on a cello in some parts. (5:25 - 6:00) is a good example of the two instruments playing their respective melodies, creating the polyphonic texture that is pretty easy to identify.

Bach, Johann Sebastian. “Fugue No. 18 in E Minor, BWV 548.” Yo-Yo Ma, Chris Thile, Edgar Meyer. Nonesuch Records Inc. 2017, digital download.

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Melody

Range: Sing For Me, Christina Aguilera

This song, like many songs by Aguilera, has a very wide range. This range can be most attributed to her very powerful voice, her ability to leap several pitches very quickly, gives the song a disjunct melody. From (2:26 - 3:30) you can really hear the contrast in pitches and wide range in this song.

Aguilera, Christina, Aeon Manahan, Virginia Blackmore. “Sing For Me.” Christina Aguilera. RCA Records. 2012, digital download.

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Part 2 of 2 (Movie Clip)

Melody

Character/Mood: Collapsing Inward, composed by Jóhann Jóhannsson

The mood in a piece can be subjective, but it is much easier to tell a composer’s intentions when the piece coincides with a visual, especially a movie. This song was composed for the Theory of Everything, a movie that details the relationship between Jane and Stephen Hawking. The movies addresses a lot of the emotion surrounding Hawking’s declining physical health and the soundtrack reflects that. This song is featured in a scene where Hawking is diagnosed with motor neuron disease, a point that his declining health has been building to, and a sharp blow. The dynamic of the piece increases, almost to a painful point, offering a sense of pressure that Hawking must feel with this diagnosis. From (2:04 - 2:16) the ominous feeling of dread, and anticipation of some dreadful news, builds and builds, until cutting out abruptly. The character of the melody and the gradual build of dynamic seem to represent the mounting intensity of Hawking’s disease.

Marsh, James, director. The Theory of Everything. Universal Pictures, 2014.

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Part 1 of 2 (Youtube Audio)

Melody

Character/Mood: Collapsing Inward, composed by Jóhann Jóhannsson

The mood in a piece can be subjective, but it is much easier to tell a composer’s intentions when the piece coincides with a visual, especially a movie. This song was composed for the Theory of Everything, a movie that details the relationship between Jane and Stephen Hawking. The movies addresses a lot of the emotion surrounding Hawking’s declining physical health and the soundtrack reflects that. This song is featured in a scene where Hawking is diagnosed with motor neuron disease, a point that his declining health has been building to, and a sharp blow. The dynamic of the piece increases, almost to a painful point, offering a sense of pressure that Hawking must feel with this diagnosis. From (2:04 - 2:16) the ominous feeling of dread, and anticipation of some dreadful news, builds and builds, until cutting out abruptly. The character of the melody and the gradual build of dynamic seem to represent the mounting intensity of Hawking’s disease.

Jóhannsson, Jóhann. “Collapsing Inward.” Jóhann Jóhannsson. Back Lot Music. 2014, digital download.

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Melody

Energy: Stairway To Heaven, Led Zeppelin

The energy of this very famous song begins very low, with a slow tempo and soft dynamic. As the song progresses, so does the energy. The energy builds higher, the tempo speeds, instruments are added, and the dynamic becomes louder and louder. All these components build very gradually over the nearly ten-minute song, but if you were to compare the height of the song to the beginning it’s very apparent. It’s easiest to hear this drastic contrast and very strong sense of forward energy at the end (7:30 - 7:59) when the piece abruptly slows and softens again.

Page, Jimmy, Robert Plant. “Stairway to Heaven.” Led Zeppelin. Atlantic. 1971, LP.

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Rhythm

Mixed Meter: Black Dog, Led Zeppelin

This song has a very unique and interesting meter, and it can be tricky to decipher the meter when you rely only on the drums to determine it. I am nowhere near skilled enough to play this song, but my guitar teacher is, and Led Zeppelin comes up quite a bit in our discussion of music and music concepts. Yes, the drums are in duple meter or 4/4 time, however, the guitar and bass are not. The guitar and bass are playing in quintuple meter or 5/4 time, this makes for an interesting sound when they play separately and when they intersect. You can hear this best at (0:28 - 0:51), and if you listen closely you almost get the sense there’s something wrong, it doesn’t make sense to your ears, particularly at about (0:45). Although Led Zeppelin certainly didn’t invent manipulating meter, they utilized it to create a fascinating example, not only for guitar players but everyone.

Jones, John Paul, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant. “Black Dog.” Led Zeppelin. Atlantic. 1971, LP.