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.

Functions of a keyboard (2)

Q1: Briefly describe the functions of the three pedals you would find on a grand piano.

There are three pedals on a grand piano. One of the pedals is called 'Una corda' which is the one on the right side then we have the 'Sostenuto pedal' which is the one in the middle and the 'Sustaining pedal' which is the on the left.

• Una Corda: It makes the sound quitter, it dampens the sound.
• Sostenuto Pedal: It hits one note, letting the others strings vibrate and resonate.
• Sustaining Pedal: it makes the notes vibrate and resonate. It brings the hammers up.

Q2: Give three differences between a grand piano and an upright piano.

One of the differences between the grand piano and the upright piano is that the Grand piano is more expensive than the upright piano and the grand piano is more resonate, bigger sounding. The way you press the keys on the upright piano it doesn't give you a full range of characteristics of dynamics than a grand piano.

Q3: What parameters can you control with the keys of a midi keyboard?

The parameters you can control if you are on a Midi keyboard is that you can be able to change the volume of it because all Midi keyboard has a botton when you can change th volume up and down, you can also control the modulation and bending the pitch of it. 

Q4: If you use a sustaining pedal on an electric keyboard or with a midi controller keyboard, what does it do? What does it not do which a real sustaing pedal does?

Q5: What are the advantages/disadvantages of shaping midi data using a keyboard? Give some examples of when using the software interface may be better.

Landmark Songwriter Analysis

Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson style of music was Pop, R&B and soul. One interesting thing about Michael is that instead of writing his songs on a piece of paper like most artist do, he used to record the words/lyrics in a voice recorder then record them in the studio just by memory.

He was not limited to just doing Pop, R&B and soul, he often explore different genres of music, for example, Rock, Funk, Dance, Motown, etc...

Michael Jackson is noted songwriter in the music industry, this is proven as he as actually won a Grammy Award for 'Song Of The Year' and that Award can only be won for songwriters for the song, and the song he won this award was the song 'Beat It'. Michael Jackson's songs have wide range of topics for instance his world wide called 'Thriller' which was based on the concept horror films because in the video clip you can see zombies and abandoned house. There's another song called 'Heal the World' which is a song that he wrote, it was the hit album and the song talks about helping people and generosity. One of the things Michael Jackson said about the song 'Heal the world' is that it was the song he was more to have created and also because of that song Jackson created a charitable organisation which it is a place for children to improve their lives and the name of that charity is called 'Heal the World Foundation'. There's also another example of Jackson's song and it is called 'Dirty Diana' which is about a provocative and sensual woman who go after 'Boys in the band.

The way he writes his music:

Michael Jackson best known as 'King of pop' was one of the best songwriters we had in the music industry followed by Amy Winehouse, Bob Marley and David Bowie but they are all different because their style of music.
Michael began his music career at the age of five with the vocal group called 'Jackson family' and because of that Jackson got loads of experience with music and learnt loads of things but with all these things he had to work really hard to become one of the most important people in the music industry and the king of pop.
Michael has loads of song that are famous for example: 

• Thriller
• Billie Jean
• Human nature 
• Beat it
• ABC
• Dirty Diana and many others.

The song 'Thriller' talks about demonstrates that nobody can resist the temptation of evil. Thriller is a thrill song and in the video clip you can see Michael dancing with the living dead and there are werewolf, zombies, were cat and all this scary things/Halloween stuff.
The Key of the song is in 'C sharp major' and the structure of the song is Intro, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, then verse again, pre-chorus, chorus, then there's a middle 8 and then another chorus which is repeated twice and the breakdown. The tempo of the song is moderately and the instruments you will find in the song are the guitar, piano, synths and some effects. The style of that song is a dance pop song.

Amy Winehouse

Amy Winehouse style of music was Jazz, R&B, blue and soul. Amy was an English singer, songwriter and composer.

Amy's parents influenced her that's why most of her songs are Jazz because of her parents influencing her with that style because many of her family members were professional musicians and their style were Jazz.

All of her songs were about what she was feeling, about her life, what she was going through and many of Amy's song were about her feeling depressed. The people who inspired Amy Winehouse were the American Jazz singer 'Sarah Vaughan' and the American Jazz, blues, gospel, etc singer called 'Dinah Washington'. One of the things that Amy had different from the other singers was her unusual deep voice and that made people listen to her once and don't forget that the way she sings and her deep voice. The album the opened the door  of fame for Amy Winehouse is the album called 'Back to Black' that album is the one that set off her music career and listening to that album and the lyrics you can imagine what she went through because it talks about  Amy's experience with drinking, drugs and sex because she through a period where she started drinking a lot, and started using heavy drug and started loosing weight.
Unfortunately at the end of Amy's career as a musician she suffered drug abuse and alcohol abuse and at some of her concerts she drank alcohol and used drugs before she goes on stage and that really affected her performances. Amy is musically and specially lyrically good, she tells her story and the things she went through when she started using drugs, drinking alcohol etc through her songs.

The way she writes her music:
Amy was an amazing songwriter, she was young and didn't take long for her to become one of the best songwriters in the music industry. Because of her lyrics which are very strong and the meaning that it gives to the people who listen to her music.
Instruments you will find in her songs are guitar, piano, backing vocals, percussion, etc.
The songs by Amy Winehouse that are very famous in the music industry are:

• Valerie
• Back to black
• Rehab and many others

The song 'Back to black' talks about how her falling in love with this guy and her love for him, and being together. The song is sad and the lyrics gives a feeling of her losing someone because he goes back to his other girlfriend and leave her behind, and she goes back to black which means nothing and she just wishing to have what she wants but she can't because the person she wants left her to be with someone else.

The key of the song is in 'D minor' and the structure of the song is Intro, verse, chorus, verse, chorus then chorus again, then middle 8 which is just instrumental and then she repeats the chorus twice before the songs end. Tempo of the song is moderately and the instruments you will hear in this track are the guitar, piano, percussion, tambourine and bells.

The feel you have when you listen to this song is sad, because of the way Amy is singing the song, specially after the second part of the song which is the second verse and chorus, the song goes emotional and it affects the people who listens to it because it show how sad she is. 

Bob Marley

Bob Marley style of music was Reggae, Ska and rock steady. Bob was an Jamaican singer, guitarist and composer. Bob is the most famous Reggae singer of all time and he is also known as 'The king of Reggae' because he was the one who created the Reggae style. The instruments that Bob knew how to play were:
Vocals, guitar, piano, saxophone, harmonica, percussion and horn, and these are some of the instruments you can hear in a Reggae song and most of his song you can hear the guitar being played on off beat which is beats 2 and 4 and the name used for that action is called is 'Skank'.
Bob Marley took inspiration from 'Ricky Nelson' which is a American singer songwriter, a band called 'The Moonglows' which were a American R&B group and also the American Rock n roll and R&B pianist called 'Fats Domino' who were also a singer songwriter.
Bob also had a band called 'The Wailers' which was formed in 1963 which were a Reggae band created by Bob Marley, he was the lead singer and the guitarist of the band and during his time in the band they had success and fame. Bob Marley was born in 1945, in the late 1960s he created the Reggae and in died in 1981 because he had cancer, and just because he died that didn't make him less famous because after Bob's death he became more famous than when he was alive.

The way he writes his music:
Bob Marley is a great singer songwriter and very famous because he created the style of music Reggae and because of his lyrics which has strong messages in it and the people who listen to it can feel it.The songs by Bob Marley that are very famous in the music industry are:

• One Love
• No woman no cry
• Could you be loved
• Three little birds and many others. 

The song 'One love' is one of the most famous song in the music history, the song talks about Bob's love for the world, for other people, for God and to make people realise that we are all one (we are all the same). 

'One love, one heart
Let's get together and feel all right' 

The key of the song is in 'Bb major' and the structure of the it is  Intro, verse, chorus, verse, 
chorus and then repeats the chorus again. The tempo of the song is a bit slow and the instruments you will find in that song are the guitar, piano, backing vocals, percussion which is a reggae one and the strum.

The feeling you have when you listen to this song is relaxed, because the tempo of the song is not fast and the instruments. There are harmonies in the chorus and the backing vocals comes in the first and second line of each verse.

If you don't know what reggae is, then that song is the best example of a reggae song and I'm not saying that just because it was created by the 'King of Reggae' but because of the instruments, the off beat, the guitar, repetition of chords, the song being played in a slow tempo, the strum, etc. These are the things you will find in a Reggae song.

David Bowie

David Bowie style of music is Rock, Pop and rock. David is an English musician, record producer and arranger. David Bowie took his inspiration from the artists 'Elvis Presley' which is an American singer and also the singer called 'Little Richard' which is an American pianist singer and songwriter and that is some of the artists that David Bowie used inspirational ideas from and David also took a similar style to 'Anthony Newley' who was an English singer and songwriter. Bowie didn't listening to other people's music to have a ideas of something, he just listened to his owns. One of the remarkable things about Bowie is his distinctive voice, and some people call Bowie 'a vocalist of extraordinary technical ability' because Bowie is able to pitch his singing to particular effect. In the late 1960s, that is when people started to get more interested about Bowie's music, because one he wrote which is called 'Space Oddity' was the song that reached the top five of the UK singles Chart.

The way he writes his music:

In some of his lyrics David bowie used a technique called cut-up which is influenced by another songwriter called Kurt Cobains. As I've said before, Bowie's inspiration came from the artists Elvis Presley and Little Richard.
David wrote a song  and has a album called 'Space Oddity' and in this album you will understand his ability of writing songs. The song 'Space Space Oddity' which is one of the most famous songs by him and what inspired him to write this song was the movie called 'Space Odyssey' which is a song that tells the story of an astronaut who cuts off his communication with Earth. One of he greatest ability he has is using his voice to make any sounds in a song.