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Oasis – Wonderwall

Rhythm

This song presents a duple meter and it has 8 beat per measure. We can easily recognize the downbeat in this song because the strumming pattern of the acoustic guitar (the rhythm of the song) during the entire song. I can say that this song has an andante tempo.

Melody

The song is in a minor scale. The melody of the song is lead by Liam Gallagher’s raspy voice, and the strumming of the acoustic guitar play by Noel Gallagher.  Liam Gallagher cant reach high pitches, therefore, this song is sung using low pitches.

Instrumentation and timbre

At the begging of the song, there is only an acoustic guitar playing follow by Liam’s vocals. As the song progress, a cello and the drums are introduced at 1:02. The cello comes in and out of the melody from time to time. The drums seams to have a different beat speed. There is also an electric guitar playing in the background. At Later, at 1:43 a tambourine is also added to the song as an accompaniment. Finally, a piano is introduced at 4:01.In this song, the piano was meant to tell the listener that song is about to end.

Harmony

We can hear harmony throughout the whole song. Consonance prevails during the whole song. In other words, the instruments and the vocals go together during the entire song. The key is minor.

Dynamics

The dynamic of the song is moderate soft.

Texture

The song has one main melody and accompaniments so this song is homophonic.

Form

This song has a ternary form.

 

Lupe Fiasco – “Hip-Hop Saved My Life”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBFfIdknRxE

Rhythm :

The song is in duple meter. The song has a syncopated clapping sound and chords playing in between the beat.

Melody:

The main melody is carried by the vocals during the verse and chorus. The accompaniment, played by piano, strings, and percussion instruments is in a minor key.

Timbre:

The tone of the music is this song sounds striking.The melody from the piano keys pounds into your head.

Texture:

The song has only one main melody playing at a time, so it is homophonic.

Dynamics:

The song is moderately loud.

Form:

The song is in ternary (ABA) form. The song starts with the chorus for the A part, the verse is the B part, then ends with the chorus.

 

Shakira- “Waka Waka”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsjFQMMU5Vg

This song has a very upbeat style, and the main phrase “waka waka” has been repeated a significant number of times to emphasize its importance (“waka waka” means “do it” in African language). The music has a duple meter, with an allegro tempo. Since it incorporates the use of drums to produce a very strong accompaniment, its texture is homophonic. There is a major change at 1’04, as a cymbal-like instrument is introduced to add more variation to the melody. Furthermore, the new vocalist at 2’12 generates a unique kind of exotic sensation to its listeners.

Rush – Tom Sawyer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANiaZvdGO8U

This song is in duple meter. 4/4 to be exact. You can tell that the beat and the tempo is pretty consistent throughout the song. Them tempo is rather Moderate not too fast. Although Neil peart gives it the feeling that its moving much faster because of his amazing drumming skills.

The Vocal melodies which are sung by Geddy Lee vary into 3 main sections. His range is pretty wide as he hits very high notes at 0:45 within the song. The chorus doesn’t range too far out but you can hear Lee using Vibrato in his melody towards the end.

The verses are made up of 8 measures  whereas the chorus is only made up of 4. The song has a very distinct bridge witch leads into the solo and then back into the main verse.

The texture of the song is homophonic. the main melody is expressed by the singing and when not sung a different melody is played by the guitar.

In this song there are 4 main instruments being heard throughout. The drums, the guitar, the bass, and the keyboard. The drums are consistent throughout while the keyboard and bass comes in and out. The bass and the guitar are the main accompaniment behind the singing. Although if you listen closely to the song you can notice parts where the bass plays the direct octave of the guitar. Thereby doubling the melody.

Green Day – “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tijW_SrCoxs

Rhythm:
This song is in duple meter. The rhythm of the song is kept by the strumming of an acoustic guitar at the opening, and throughout the song (Starting at about 0:47) a bass guitar and drums are present.

Melody:
The song’s dynamic changes from quiet to quite loud, and back several times (depending on what part of the song is playing). When the lead singer sings the lines that begin with, “I walk a lonely road…”, “read between the lines…” — the dynamic is on the quieter side. Beginning with the line, “My shadow’s the only one who walks beside me” (and for the next three lines) the dynamic is noticeably louder.

The actual melody is emphasized by the tune played (and repeated) by the electric guitar throughout the song

Accompaniments:
Throughout the song, there are several accompaniments:
1) The echoing guitar
2) During the louder dynamic(s), the electric guitar plays loudly as an accompaniment
3) There is some piano accompaniment throughout the song (mostly in the background)
4) The electric guitar plays several two-note (chords?) after the singer has completed a line (at certain points throughout the song).

Instrumentation/Timbre :
The song has a haunted sounding timbre in the beginning, it sounds like something from the past that has collected dust. This morphs into something more vibrant throughout the song, although the hue I imagine is one with more faded colors — it feels a little retro.

At certain parts of the song, the timbre is more energetic (like the chorus parts).

Form:

Part A starts at 0:24 and lasts until 1:12…
at which point Part B [chorus] begins (1:13) and lasts until 1:35…
…then there is a recovery period (for lack of vocabulary….) from 1:35 until 1:45…
where Part A comes back from 1:46 until  2:25…
at which point we can welcome Part B [chorus] again (2:26) which lasts until 2:47…
again, there is a “recovery” period from 2:48 – 2:57…
and Part B comes back on at 2:58 (without words) until 3:22…
at 3:23, Part A returns for 10 seconds (until 3:33)…
and Part B comes back at 3:34 and lasts until 3:58…
where Part C enters (3:58ish) and lasts until the song is over.