Hey there everyone, my favorite song often changes, so I decided to use a song off of my favorite album that I listen to all the time. It’s incredibly long, do forgive me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAZXGjoQTzw
This song is in duple meter, and the rhythm, which is led by an electric guitar, is fairly easy to follow. The song starts off with a slow tempo, and then picks up, and throughout the song the tempo tends to fluxuate, at times being very fast, and at others slowing to a steady crawl.
There are only three members in this band, but there are five instruments. There is one guitarist (Alex Lifeson); a vocalist (Geddy Lee), who also plays the bass guitar, and the synthesizer; and a percussionist (Neil Peart).
The melodies of the song change often, but there is a general feel to the music. The band creates many harmonies throughout the song, one of my favorites being when the guitar is playing harmonics (2:01), and the bass plays a different rhythm for that section until a certain point where it begins playing the same notes as the guitar (2:32). This section builds into the main riff of the song, in which the vocalist and the guitar pair up, Geddy matching his voice to the key the guitar is playing in. (What amazes me is that he also is playing the bass while doing this!)
Another thing I can point out is that the part in the introduction of the song (1:05) where the guitarist alternates between those two chords (and then does a little lick, going down a scale), he also then arpeggiates those two chords (1:21). This becomes a recurring theme in the song, setting a somber sort of tone, backing the negative tone of the lyrical content. The music also gets more “epic”, so to speak, as the lyrics tell a story of a battle, and the energy is kicked up a notch (9:04).
For those of you who cannot hear the synth, a point where sort of takes the lead is at 11:29.
As for the form of the song, Rush is kind enough to divide their lengthy songs into sections, and even name them, and they are as follows:
I. Prelude (0:00) II. Apollo: Bringer Of Wisdom (4:29) III. Dionysus: Bringer Of Love (6:59) IV. Armageddon: The Battle Of Heart and Mind (9:04) V. Cygnus: Bringer Of Balance (12:00) VI. The Sphere: A Kind Of Dream (17:00)
This is a two part song, this being the second part, and if you enjoyed it, you should give the first part a listen in order to get a better grasp of the story. But long story short, the lyrics/song is about a man who gets lost on his spaceship, and somehow travels to a parallel universe, and is immersed in a war between two sides, one side believing in wisdom, the other believing in love, and he breaks up the war by saying the two sides can cooperate, thus becoming the god of balance “Cygnus”.
That’s all. phew.
Your analysis on the song was thoroughly enjoyable in the sense that it was very informative. Your use of providing examples by listing the time in the music was very helpful and showed a level of analysis that showed your expertise. Your use of certain musical elements were also noted and explained with much detail. There isn’t much room left for me to critique for the fact that this analysis is really solid and fulfills its purpose. Not only did you mention the elements with an example listed, you also explained its effect on the music. Your interpretation and analysis of the song showed be a clear example of what to do for this assignment because there is not a single mistake or detail left out that I could mention. It was very well done and much thought was put into it, sensational job.