Finding Faults

The Beatles - Yer Blues

 

• At 2:21 the vocalist sings 'Oh girl you know the reason why' he doesn't come in time.

 

• When listening to this song with a headphones you can notice that the sound of the drums go more to the left ear than the right one.

• The guitar solo at the end is off beat, not playing in time with the drums.

• From 2:29 till the end of the song, the sound of the drums still on the left ear and the guitar solo sound goes more to the right ear while the bass stays in the middle.

• In my opinion the instruments are a bit louder than the vocals.

 

Love - You Set The Scene

 

• You will notice that you can only hear the guitar in one ear which is on the right ear and the sound of the bass and drums goes to the left ear.

• The vocals can be heard in both ears so the sound it is in the middle.

• At 1:56 when the guitar is doing semi quavers there is part of it that sounds like the guitarist forgot to play the last note.

•  In my opinion the vocals are low for this song.

• The drums and bass are a bit loud and it seems tlike they are the main instruments in this piece.

• When listening to this song using the earphones/headphones there is a distortion on the right ear.

I Live In A Dream - Weird War

• In this pieces the vocals harmonies are not in tune.

• The instruments are louder than the vocals and because of that it's a bit hard to hear the vocals.

 



Textures and Acoustic Environment

Textures and Acoustic Environment

 

 

(Track 1)

Pitt State Marching Band - Gangnam Style

 

1. Are the stands having any impact on the music/sound? If so, what?

Yes, the stands are having an impact on the music/sound because if there weren't any stands in the stadium the sound coming from the brass instruments wouldn't hit the stands and then bounce back and people wouldn't hear properly what is being played.

There are some reverb/echo on this track and that is because of the place where they are performing which is big and outdoor, the sound can travels everywhere in this atmosphere but because of the stands in both sides of the stadium the sound waves is bouncing off the walls to the other side which is making the slight hearing of reverb/echo.

2. Why do marching bands have so many instruments, and loud ones!

The reason why Marching bands have so many loud instruments is because the places where they usually perform are open air places, stadiums, big environments and for people to hear clearly what they are playing they need instruments where you don't need to use an amp to make it louder, for example, there's no electric guitar in a marching bands because the only way for you to hear an electric guitar in open place is if you use the amp to plug it in, so that's why they have loud instruments, so that's why they have a lot of loud instruments because if not then people would struggle to hear what is being played.

3. Is this music suitable for the acoustic environment? Why?

Yes, the music is suitable for the acoustic environment and the reason why is because in marching bands there aren't only 5 people or less, there are loads of people and they need big places to fit them all together.

The music they are playing is 'Gangnam Style' and it is up lifting which means that people when listen to it they feel like singing along, happy, want to dance and is good for marching bands to play in stadium because the energy and the mood of the people who are watching are happy and energetic and will support them.

 

 

(Track 2)

Phoenix - Lisztomania (Live at 89.3 The Current)

 

4. Can you hear any reverberation. Do you think that comes from the room or might there be some digital reverb? Give reasons for your answer.

Yes, there is reverberation,it is not digital it is naturally coming from the room and what is causing the reverb is the vocals because the studio where they are has a lot of room, the distance from one wall to another is long and also the ceiling and because of that the sound of the vocals is going around the room and bounces off the surfaces around and you can hear it when the guitars stop playing for a bit and only the piano and vocals are playing.

5. Do you think the guitars are recorded through a mic or down a line?

The guitar is being recorded through a mic, but in my opinion because there are not much things going on and there are no drums or bass on this track and they don't necessarily need to use the mics to catch the sound of the acoustic guitar because the guitar itself has your natural acoustic sound witch comes from the sound hole of it.

6. Describe the texture of the music. Does the acoustic environment suit the music?

The acoustic environment suits the music because the music itself doesn't have much things going on and the only instruments are acoustic guitar, keyboard and vocals and because the environment where they are is quite well for them and don't have that much thing in it the sound coming from the instruments and the vocals are clean, maybe because of the quality of the mics they are using and because the acoustic guitar and keyboard are not too loud or to quite, they are all with the right volume where you can hear all clearly and what they are doing.

 

 

(Track 3)

Allegri: Miserere - Choir of St Paul's Cathedral - Jeremy Budd, Soprano

Describe the texture of the music (it is not the same throughout so mention where it changes.

Is the music suitable for the space / is the space suitable for the music?

The are a lot of things going on in this track , the beginning of it is homophonic because there are loads of people singing the same lines but in different pitch and the different harmonies, then the texture of this piece changes because in the middle of it there are only two people singing it which is called polyphonic and then it goes back to all the people singing together.

Because the place where they are is a church which is a place where there are loads of spaces between the walls and the ceiling to the floor there will be reverberation.

The harmony of the choirs singing are very rich and very together. the way they sing is almost very slurred and in unison among each other voices and i think the slurring gives the whole song life and full of contrast. There are a lot of dynamics that go on in this song, during the middle of the piece there is a slight change of singing where the male voices sing in unison while the female vocals come in slowly (crescendo in - quiet to loud)

Listening style (Lesson 5 (Electro)

Q1: Give as clear as possible an account of all the different sounds and instruments in the first 3 minutes and 35 seconds. You probably won't know exactly how each sound is made but you should be able to make an educated guess whether something is sampled, synthesized or actually recorded in.

• The first thing you can hear you will hear in the song will be the drums which is recorded/programmed by a Drum machine.
• After the drums what comes next is the synthesized baseline and this two instruments keep playing for about a minute.
• The next thing you will hear in the track is the breakdown and there is only one instrument playing which is the drumbeat and then the synthesized baseline.
• then there's a guitar added in the song but it doesn't sound synthesized and after the guitar being added the vocals comes in.

Q2: What is this song about? How do the electronic instruments / sounds help to create the mood?

I don’t know really know what this song is about because there isn’t a specific theme for it but I know that this type of song are created to be played in clubs. As you can see, in the song the instruments are stronger than the vocals and the tempo of the song is moderately and the song has a sci-fi type of feel.

The name of this track is called ‘Blue Monday’ and because of the title of this song the first thing people will think when they start listening to it, is that the song is sad because that’s what most of the blue songs are about.

Listening style (Lesson 4 (Blues)

Q1: Describe the harmony in this song. (Try and describe the pattern even if you cannot pick the chords - eg. the first chord lasts for two beats then it changes to a chord that last for 8 bars). Is the pattern familiar at all?

The first part of the song which is the introduction lasts for 2 bars and then then they add the instruments (Guitar, bass, drums, piano. The chords being played in the song don't change much, because they just keep playing the same chords for another 12 bars and then they change to a different chords for 2 bars.

Q2: This song has "Blues" in the title. Is it a blues song?

This song is a blue rock song and there are things in this track that tells you if it is blue or not, for example:

• In the song there's a element of the 12 bar blues.
• The blue rock sound of the song is coming from the electric guitar, the drums and the bass.
• The fast tempo in the song distinguishes it to be a blue rock song.
• The song also go through the blues scale.

Listening style (Lesson 1 (Reggae)

Question 1: In the first song, describe the melody (especially saying what notes it uses - feel free to use a keyboard to help you with this).  

• The chords used in this song are I, IV and V.
• The melody of the song is what the singer is singing.
• In the song you can hear the pentatonic scale in the key of E flat.
• In the first songs the instruments play for a few seconds and then the singer comes in and sing a phrase and keep repeating it for 3 times singing a minor 3rd. 

Question 2: For each song, name the style/genre of the song and list three things (musical and/or sonic) that support your assertion.

The first song:

• The genre of it is Reggae.
• They use a rhythm on the guitar called 'Skank'. It is a off beat guitar and it plays on the beat of 2 and 4.
• The tempo of the song is slow.
• Use of the syncopated rhythm.
  

The second song:

• The genre of the second song is also Reggae but it is a different reggae called dub.
• Just like the first song, the second one uses the same chord sequence which are I, V and IV but there are some changes that make it sound different from the first song.
• Different from the first song, the second song has the instruments playing for about a minute and then the vocals come in.
• Use of the syncopated rhythm.
• Use of shifts.

Listening style (Lesson 3 (Latin)

Question 1: Give an account of the vocals in this track. Things to consider: effects, timing, style, articulation/phrasing, improvisation etc.

• She sings wide variety of notes.
• She pronounces her words differently from the original version, giving the song a more jazzy feel.
• She does a lot of  improvisation in the song such as scatting.
• She sings the song in a swayed and free way.

Question 2: Compare this track with the other version above. Does the track feel different? If so, why?

When you hear the original track which is in Portuguese you can recognise the genre of the song which is Latin because of the instruments and what they are doing, the tempo of song is slow which gives for the people who are listening to it a calm feeling, because of the way the vocalist is singing the song which is very calm, gently and quietly. Also what helps the song sound so calm are the instruments in it, because they are not that loud so what you can hear more is the vocals which is ahead of the instruments, but you can still hear what each of the instruments are doing, for example, there's a acoustic guitar and it is not playing chords it is just playing notes and the way the guitarist is playing the guitar is the same way a bassist play a bass which is just using the fingers and thumb to pluck the strings.

On the second track which is in English by 'Amy winehouse', you can see that the track doesn't sound Latin like the first one. The second version sounds more Jazzy and one of the reason for that track to sound like that is because that is Amy's style of music, so she made the song sound different and unique because of what they she sings because every word she says she improves it and make it sound different. The tempo of the second version is faster than the first one which makes the song sound jazzy and dancing.

Listening style (Lesson 2 (Funk)

Question 1: Describe the mixing and panning in this track. (Which instruments are prominent and which are in the background; which are central, which are left and which are right?) Make some suggestions about why the track has been mixed and panned in this manner. 

The instruments used in that track are:

1. Bass

1. Keyboard

1. Vocals

1. Trumpet

1. Saxophone

1. Drums

1. Horns

1. 
   

The bass is the strongest instrument in this track, it's the instrument opening the intro and it is also the main groove of this track.

As you can see while you listen to the music is that the vocals are behind the bass and the piano  is on the left and the trumpet is on the right, and about the horn and the drums they are panned to the centre.

Question 2: Is this track a funk track? What musical / sonic components of the track suggest that it is and which suggest that it is not?

When you listen to this track you will recognize the genre of it which is 'funk' and the reasons why are:

• The instruments in this track (Bass, Drums, piano, trumpet, saxophone) and these are The instruments you will find in funk songs.
• The bass being in the front and maybe being the main instrument in the song, because as you can hear in this track the bass is the main groove and that's what many funk songs have the bass doing in it.

The functions of a keyboard

The functions of a keyboard

The keyboard is one the most popular instruments in the world and it can be used in any type of music, for example, pop, R&B, classical and even rock. you can do many things with it, for example, the melody of a song, the chords and it even do a solo and the keyboard is also very popular for composing or when you are going rehearse.

Solo keyboard performance 

As it says in the title, the solo keyboard performance is when someone is performing by yourself and is just playing the keyboard and no one else is there to play with him/her, so that is a solo keyboard performance. When the keyboard is doing a solo performance it has to play the whole song by itself, for example, it has to play the chords of the song and also play the melody so the song sounds more interesting or how some people like to say it 'Make the keyboard sing the song'. Some people when there are doing a solo keyboard performance they like to add some things to it, riffs, arpeggios or you can try some different inversions of the chords or just try to add some notes in and by doing those things you will make the song sound much more entertaining and less boring. 

Live performance of a keyboard as part of a band

Another point of the functions of a keyboard is when there's a keyboard player in a band, cause a band usually consists of singer or more than one singer, guitarist, drummer, bass player and a pianist. When there is a keyboard in the band, the keyboard doesn't need to do loads of things, because there are more instruments and they all can do different things, for example, the drummer provides a beat and it also emphises the other instruments and vocals, the guitarist can do the rhythm, play notes or do some solos in the song,but if you are in a band and you are not a very good guitarist then you can just play the chords and don't worry
because the keyboard or the bass can add something or improvise and play something more interesting and the bass just do the bass line and it can also do some solos.

Keyboard used for inputting midi data in the studio

The last point of the functions of a keyboard is the Keyboard used for inputting midi data in the studio.

You don't only use the keyboard when you are going to perform or practise/compose because there are different types of keyboards and there's one that you can connect on your computer, it is called MIDI controller and the only way to use it you need to connect it to a computer, for example, there's a program called Logic pro where you can create your own track and also record vocals, but to create a new track you really need a MIDI controller connected to the computer.

 The MIDI controller transfers all the information from the MIDI controller to the computer, so there’s how you can use it. There is also some differences between a normal keyboard and a MIDI controller, for example, the MIDI controller keys are lighter than a normal keyboard.