Tag Archives: r&b

Bruno Mars – “Liqour Store Blues”

Bruno Mars – “Liquor Store Blues”

 

This song is a duple meter with a moderate tempo.  The main instrument is a guitar with syncopation by drums which gives it a reggae feel. The speed of the beats remain constant throughout the song.

The music is clear, and lively. The guitar and drums are very clear. There are other percussion instruments like the cymbal which accentuates the downbeat with the drums. The music is in the major scale, which makes it feel bright and lively. The vocal is the main melody, performed by Bruno Mars who has a higher pitched voice than the Damion Marley who has a lower pitch. While the music has a major scale, which normally helps to create the feeling of joy. The words of the song speaks of drug use normally a very dark subject.

The music is harmonious with Bruno Mars and Damion Marley voice. As with traditional reggae music there the harmony is very simple using only two chords throughout the song.The music is generally laying in mp, but during the climax points the dynamic changes to f. Since there is just one melody with several accompaniments, then the texture of the music is homophonic. The song is in a binary form repeating each section.

Frank Ocean- Thinking About You

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHXI6AzJi2E

The beat of this phenomenal song is duple meter while maintaining a slow and steady tempo. I feel as if the rhythm in this song divides the time evenly within the music. I believe the song is played with electrical instruments giving it a unique sound in comparison to other songs. The song has one main melody with many accompaniments making it a homophonic song. Frank Ocean sings at a lower pitch in his verses than he does in his chorus. By changing the pitch in his voice he sends off different kinds of emotions. For example, the tone of his voice is more calm during his versus making it seem like he is relaxed. However, during his chorus he sings at a high pitch giving us a feeling of much stronger emotion.The song is in minor scale because it gives off a sad feeling. The songs maintains  consonant sounds throughout by playing chords agreeable to the melody. The song does not change dynamics, except when it gets to 1:56, which is the last verse, it seems to be getting slightly higher in volume. You can notice here that the artist wants to grasp your attention at this point to send a clear message.Frank Ocean uses a ternary form for his song. Throughout the first minute and 56 seconds he maintains a steady beat. However, at 1:56 he changes it slightly making the song sound more gloomy, but then he goes right back to the melody the song began with (similar to “Dance of the Reed Pipes”).