Musial Elements Project
Evan Willie
Music 1000
Intro
The songs I hose to analyze for the Musial Elements project reflect my broad taste in music. I've always had an appreciation for many genres of music and these reflect some of my favorite artists that I've admired for years. I learned a lot about elements and certain aspects of music which has enhanced my understanding and appreciation of these songs. It also gives me the ability to appreciate other artist's work and such.
Each song highlights a certain musical element and each element contains 2 different songs to explain a different aspect of the element. There are 6 musical elements (Rhythm, Melody, Texture, Harmony, Form, Word Painting/Extra Musical Ideas) for a total of 12 musical examples.
Time markers are included in each example to point out where the aspect of the music element occurs or is most prominent. Videos are included for each song.
Rhythm
The Less I Know The Better - Tame Impala
Kevin Parker. "The Less I Know the Better". Tame Impala. Currents. Modular/Interscope. 2015. Digital Download.
0:01-0:24
This is an example of duple meter. It is very easy to follow and uses one of the most simple beats that can be made in duple meter, it goes back and forth each pulse between the kick and the snare, which is usually common in dance music.
You an really hear the duple meter throughout the entire song but to help identify it further the first verse right away starts with the 4/4 time signature.
Another Day - Paul McCartney & Wings
Paul MCcartney, Linda McCartney. "Another Day". Paul McCartney. Another Day (Single). Apple. 1971. 7".
0:59-1:44
This is an example of triple meter. The verses of the song are in duple meter, but during the chorus the meter changes to triple meter. I find the change in time very interesting and creative and Paul McCartney and Wings did a fantastic job in executing the transition.
If you listen to the whole song you can hear the time change very clearly initiated by a brief pause, it's executed flawlessly.
Texture:
These Words - The Lemon Twigs
Brian and Michael D'Adarrio. "These Words". The Lemon Twigs. Do Hollywood. 4AD. 2016. Digital Format
2:36- 3:15
This is an example of polyphonic texture. I put the time markers at the towards the end of the song because that’s the part of the song where all the textures and instruments of the song are present. This part of the song features a unique bass line as well as a xylophone solo, a guitar solo, and piano and drums accompanying them. There are multiple instruments playing unique melodies making this texture polyphony.
Between the Bars - Elliot Smith
Elliott Smith. "Between the Bars". Elliott Smith. Either/Or. 1997. Kill Rock Stars. CD.
0:11-2:17
This is an example of homophonic texture. Like most Elliott Smith songs, Between the Bars features Elliott accompanying himself with a guitar. This homophonic texture remains for the entirety of the song. It’s quiet and intimate which is usually how his music is. Homophonic texture works well for an artist like Elliott Smith who is a singer-songwriter so it's common for someone like that to use guitar and voice only.
Melody:
Twist and Shout - The Beatles
Phil Medley and Burt Berns. "Twist and Shout". The Beatles. Please Please Me. Parlaphone. 1963. LP.
0:07-1:10
This Beatles’ song is an easily singable song. You don’t even have to know the words because the call and response style of this song makes it easy to follow along. John Lennon calls out and the rest of the band responds with variations of what he just sang, which the listeners can follow and sing along. The pitch is always easily singable for everyone because it's not too high in notes. Also, the lyrics are repeated often so the listeners will be able to understand by the end of the song. Another reason why this song is a good example of its singability is the last sense in Ferris Bueller's Day off when he lip-syncs the whole song. This is a very well known and popular song that it might be common for someone to be able to sing the whole song like that.
Echoes - Pink Floyd
Roger Waters, Richard Wright, David Gilmour, Nick Mason. "Echoes". Pink Floyd. Meddle. Harvest. 1971. LP.
11:25-14:50
This is an example of angular contour. The way it angular is because the pitch is always changing constantly through the use of guitars and keyboards. There really is nothing like this song, especially during the experimental section of this song that has ambient sounds and seagull-like noises for about 3 minutes of this epic piece. There is no set time signature during this song and no structure, it’s all pretty open. It's interesting to note that the guitar provides the seagull like sound in this section which is an incredibly unique and creative sound that David Gilmour applies.
Harmony:
Two Weeks - Grizzly Bear
Ed Droste, Daniel Rossen, Christopher Bear, Chris Taylor. "Two Weeks". Grizzly Bear. Veckatimest. Warp. 2009, Digital Format.
3:13-3:37
This is an example of simple harmonies. Every member of the band is harmonizing on the words in the last part of the song in a pretty simple way. These harmonies are present throughout the majority of the song. Not only are their simple harmonies of the voices but the keyboards and piano also provide simple harmonies. Grizzly Bear is a band that often uses their talented voices to create nice harmonies.
Great Gig in the Sky - Pink Floyd
Richard Wright, Clare Torry. "Great Gig in the Sky". Dark Side of the Moon. Harvest. 1973. LP.
1:07-2:30
This is an examples of a harmonic accompaniment. There are organs and pianos that are accompanying the singer using mostly block chords. The singer is improvising and harmonizing over her accompaniment. It should be noted that although the pianist is mostly playing block chords he also uses some broken chords to add a little zest to the texture of this song.
Form:
Way it Goes - Hippo Campus
Whistler Allen, Jake Luppen, Nathan Stocker, Zach Sutton. "Way it Goes:. Hippo Campus. Landmark. Transgressive. 2017. Digital Format.
0:00 - 4:04
This is a pop form song.
Intro: 0:00-0:01
Verse 1: 0:01-0:33
Chorus 1: 0:33-0:48
Verse 2: 0:48-1:20
Chorus 2: 1:21-1:52
Verse 3: 1:53-2:25 (no lyrics)
Bridge: 2:25-2:57
(extended) Chorus 3: 2:58-3:30
Outro: 3:30-4:04
Red House - Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix. "Red House". The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Are You Experienced. Track. 1967. LP.
1:41 - 7:34
This is a 12-bar blues song. It has the basic blues structure of the I-IV-V in 12 bars. I made the time markers show the form being repeated with both Jimi Hendrix soloing over the form and singing the lyrics over it as well. In this song it's typical that Jimi Hendrix will play long blues solos over the form multiple times and begin singing the lyrics at any given section of the song. The structure is a bit loose.
Word Painting:
Rise - Sugar Plant
Sugar Plant. "Rise". Sugar Plant. Happy. Gok Sound. 1998. CD.
2:41-3:25
During the chorus of the song, the singer uses word painting in her lyrics. Mostly dealing with the word rise, every time she sings "rise" the notes get higher and higher, it's also being used when she is singing "rise to the sun" she has a rise in her voice.
Extra musical Ideas:
Stan - Eminem
Eminem, Dido, Paul Harmon. "Stan". Eminem. The Marshall Mathers LP. 2000. LP.
0:52-6:46
Stan uses text painting through the use of non-melodic texturing. There are quite a few examples of this throughout the song. One of the most notable ones is the sound of writing whenever the character in the song "Stan" is writing a letter to Slim. There is also the sound of rain and thunder, car crashes, and screaming. All examples add to the non-melodic way of adding texture to the song.
