Tag Archives: pop

Cold Mailman – “My Recurring Dream”

Here’s a song I recently discovered that I’ve been really enjoying; cool music video too!

Rhythm: The song is in a duple meter and the downbeat is created by the snare drum. Not only does the snare drum keep the “pulse” of the song but the bass line is very easy to follow and allows the listener to follow the downbeat.

Melody: The main melody in this song, akin to many other pop songs, is in the vocals of the song as opposed to a specific instrument. The main meoldy of the verse is different from that of the chorus. Listen for yourself…the first vocal verse begins at 0:27 and the first chorus begins at 1:22. The song is in a major scale, will explain in further detail below.

 Accompanying Harmony: The bass and vocals in the verse and chorus blend wonderfully together creating consonance  In addition, the chorus has a synthesizer playing a melody that accompany the main melody of the chorus.

Instrumentation/Timbre: As previously mentioned, this song is in a majore scale due to the overall feel/mood of the song. It feels very hopeful and dreamy and this is emphasized not only by the vocal style but by the harmonies relationship between the many different instruments in the song.

Form: A very simple ABA form is heard in this song. It does not go digress into any parts that are separate to the main verse and chorus.The first part (A) ends at 1:22 and the second part (B) is from 1:22 to 1:47 (i.e. the chorus)

 

 

We Found Love- Lindsey Stirling- VenTribe

 Rhythm : This song is in duple meter.

Timbre : This song gives a very calm and soothing feeling. It is very different from the original version by Rihanna. In the original version, Rihanna includes a more techno feeling rather than peaceful.

Instruments : This song contains mainly the violin that Lindsey Stirling is playing but there is also drums from time to time. In this cover from Rihanna’s “We Found Love”, it has a less futuristic melody. There is also a maraca that plays along with the singer. Also, the instruments that are in this video plays along with the singer’s voice.  The drum solo part starts on (2:18) and ends at (3:04) when the violin appears.

Texture: The texture of this cover is homophony (homophonic).

Harmony: The violin plays along with the maraca. The drums also plays along with the violin from (1:03-1:49). The harmony of this song is very smooth.

Link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUT5rEU6pqM

Shakira, Hips Don’t Lie.

This song is a duple meter with an andante tempo to fast at the end. The main melody is given by the drums. The timbre is happy, lively and sensual. Masculine voice starts with a low pitch(0.10), then feminine voice higher pitch(0.19) and masculine voice goes to a higher pitch after(0.39). At (1:57) clapping incorporates with various voices no instrumentation.

A lot of dissonance towards the end and song is done with major key. The songs texture is homophonic. The song starts with trumpets and  (3:24) the trumpets enters to end the song. The melodic contour is flat up to the middle of the song, then becomes volatile. The verses are made up of 4 lines, 4 measures. The chorus is made up of 8 lines, grouped in 2 sections.The line “And I’m on tonight ”  is more intense. The dynamics is moderately loud to forte.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bruno Mars – “Grenade”

Bruno Mars – “Grenade” is a duple meter. The rhythm throughout the song is played with a piano, drum and bass. The song is played in a moderate tempo known as andante. The tempo of the song speeds up during the chorus. (0:45)

The timbre of the song is calm and gives a welcoming feeling in the beginning and starts to get stronger while reaching toward to the climax of the song then becomes a soft and calm again.

The vocal melody of the song is different from the verse and chorus. The verses are sung in a low pitch and the chorus is sung in a higher pitch. The song is mostly played in a D minor.

The instruments used in the chorus are in harmony with the singer’s voice.

The song begins with the piano playing the main melody and then accompanied by a drum at 0:21 after the sound of the picture frame breaking and later on accompanied by the bass. During the chorus, the melody of the piano changes as you can listen to at 0:45 and its accompanied by the drum and bass. You can clearly hear the bass starting at 2:23 during the climax of the song.

The texture of the song is homophonic since the main melody has several accompaniments.

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.