Harmony

In music, harmony means that more than one note with different pitches are sounded at the same time. Listen to the Gaithar Vocal Band singing in harmony (in the shower!) in the YouTube-video below.



Intervals and Chords

The distance in pitch between the notes are called the interval. When three or more notes are sounded at the same time it is called a chord. The most common chord is the triad chord – three different notes sounded together. When people learn to strum the guithar they usually learn to play different chords, and often triad chords. Popular songs are usually made up of three (sometimes four) chords that go well together. “When different chords systematically follow each other in a piece of music, we describe the musical results as a chord progression” (Crossroads in Music, p. 26). Listen to the YouTube-video below and notice how many popular songs all use the same chord progression.



Since the chord progression is exactly the same, how do we differentiate between these songs? Yes, it is the melody that makes these songs unique.

Dissonance and Consonance

Usuall when we think of “harmony” in music, we think of notes that sound nice toghether. However, harmony can be any notes sounded at the same time and does not necessarily have to sound pleasing. When notes sound pleasing together is called consonance. When notes sound unpleasing together it is called dissonance. Dissonance creates tension in music. Rock music, especially heavy metal music, makes use of a lot of dissonance to create tension. Crossroads in Music (p. 29) explains that “moving from dissonance to consonance provides resolution (rest)…”

The song “Bohemian Rhapsody”by the rock band Queen is probably one of the most famous songs of all time. This song has much emphasis on harmony by the different vocals – there is therefore lots of consonance in the song. Although there is a strong focus on consonance between the different vocals and instruments, there are also clear moments dissonance. Listen to the song in the YouTube-video below and notice how the dissonance creates tension which is resolved when the dissonance changes into consonance again.



Which instrument(s) do you think helps the most with creating those moments of dissonance in “Bohemian Rhapsody”?

Today, musicians in the fiels of electronic music, rap music, and some other musical styles do not emply harmony in a traditional sense. They rely on the intensity of sound, lyrics, or rhythmic drive to give meaning to their musical statemensts, which often come as isolated sounds rather than as part of a harmonic context. (Crossroads in Music, p. 31.)

Reread the quote above and then listen to Justin Timberlake’s “Lovestoned / I Think She Knows Interlude”. What do you think is the most important element in this song: melody, harmony, rhythm, or lyrics?

Harmony’s Effect on Your Mind

It is well known that music can put us into a certain mood. For instance, sad music can make you melancholic or upbeat music can give you energy. How do you think music with lots of dissonance, such as heavy metal music, will influence your emotional state? It is possible that long term exposure to music with a strong emphasis on dissonance (which creates musical tension) could put you into a negative – even aggressive, agitated, or depressed – frame of mind. Later in this semester we will see how certain types of music have traditions of drug abuse, violence, depression and suicide associated with them.

What effect has the music you listen to on your mind?

Melody

The melody is often the most important part of a song. In the textbook Crossroads in Music, melody is described as “a succession of musical tones organized in a meaningful fashion” (p. 17). We can differentiate between songs because of their different melodies. Crossroads in Music (p. 17) explains that good melodies are easy to remember, but also different enough to be unique.
There are some vocabulary you need to know when discussing a song's melody. Much of the definitions below come from the textbook Crossroads in Music (p. 17-24).

Pitch

Pitch is the “highness or lowness of sound.” The keys on a piano each represent a different pitch, with higher pitches towards the right of the piano and lower pitches towards the right. Pitch and note are often used synonymously, although the meaning is slightly different.

Scales

A scale is “sequences of pitches” – a series of pitches that customarily go together. The most common scale in Western music is the C major scale, which include all the white keys on the piano from one C to the next C. In Western music there are two common scales, namely major scales and minor scales. Minor scales tend to sound sad, therefore sad ballads are often written in a minor scale. On the other hand, happy songs are written in major scales.

The most important note in the melody is called the tonic (also known as the key); for example, “C” is the tonic for a song written in C major.

A special type of scale that uses only five pitches (only the black keys on the piano) is called the pentatonic scale. Music from Asian cultures are often in the pentatonic scale. A very famous Western song that is in the pentatonic scale is “Amazing Grace”.

Melodic Contour, Motion, and Range

The contour (or shape) of a melody describes how the notes move up or down in pitch. For instance, the melody of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” starts by ascending from C to A, then changing direction and descending again to C. Next follows two repetitions of a descending pattern (starting with G and ending in D), after which the first part with its ascending-descending form is repeated.

Notes can move up and down by stepping (conjunct) or skipping (disjunct). Stepping means that the notes move up or down one pitch at a time. Skipping means that the notes miss some pitches when the melody progress up or down. In the song “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” the melody starts by repeating the same note (C) twice and then skipping upward to G, which is also repeated twice. The melody then steps one note up to (A) which is also repeated twice. Next the melodic contour changes direction and descends through a series of downward steps and repetitions. And so on.

“Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” has a short range. Its range only spans six notes from C to A. The range of a song is the distance between the the lowest and the highest pitch. Usually the wider the range of a song, the more difficult it is to perform. Vocalists are often praised if they can sing a wide range (very low and very high notes).

Countermelody

Apart from the primary melody, a song may have a secondary melody which is called the countermelody. Listen to the Rossini's "Duet for Two Cats" in the YouTube-video below. The first vocalist sings the primary melody and the second vocalist sings the countermelody. The piano provides the harmony.



Usually the countermelody is considered to be of secondary importance to the primary melody. Do you think that the countermelody in Rosinni's "Duet for Two Cats" is of less importance that the primary melody? Why or why not?

Assignment #1 (Due Sept 16)

Choose any English song. (Please do not choose a song with excessive profanity; i.e. foul language, lyrics that promote gender violence, etc.)

Provide the metadata for the song, answer question #20 (i.e. copy the lyrics of the song and indicate the song structure), and answer questions #1-#9, from the list of questions from the "Becoming Familiar with a Song"-post. Some questions you may not be able to answer; for instance, it is not always possible to know who the audience (i.e. who the speaker is singing to) is.

Your assignment should be typed. Please use full sentences when answering the questions. Remember to include a link to the song online, so that I can listen to it.

Becoming Familiar with a Song

Before you can really criticize and evaluate a song, you need to become “familiar” with it. Listen to it a couple of times. Listen to the melody, the harmony, and the rhythm. (We will discuss these terms in much more detail later.) Can you identify the musical instruments? Have you started to recognise parts of the structure of the song? Read the lyrics.

The following questions are adapted from the book Perrine’s Sound & Sense: An Introduction to Poetry by Thomas R. Arp and Greg Johnson and will help you to understand the lyrics of the song, and the song as a whole, much better:

1. Who is the speaker? What kind of person is the speaker?
2. Is there an identifiable audience for the speaker? In other words, who is the singer singing to? (For instance, is it a Casanova singing to woo a potential lover?) What can we know about the audience (her, him, or them)?
3. What is the occasion?
4. What is the setting in time (hour, season, century, and so on)?
5. What is the setting in place (indoors or out, city or country, land or sea, region, nation, hemisphere)?
6. What is the central purpose of the song?
7. State the central idea or theme of the song in a sentence.
8. (a.) Outline the ideas in the lyrics to show its structure and development, or (b.) summarize the events of the song.
9. Paraphrase the lyrics.
10. Discuss the diction of the song. Point out words that are particularly well chosen and explain why.
11. Discuss the imagery of the song. What kinds of imagery are used? Is there a structure of imagery?
12. Point out examples poetic devices, such as metaphor, simile, personification, and metonymy, and explain their appropriateness.
13. Point out and explain symbols. If the song is allegorical, explain the allegory.
14. Point out and explain examples of paradox, overstatement, understatement, and irony. What is their function?
15. Point out and explain any allusions. What is their function?
16. What is the tone (i.e. feeling) of the lyrics? How is it achieved? How does the music contribute, or contrast, the tone of the lyrics?
17. Point out the significant examples of sound repetition in the words and explain their function.
18. (a.) What is the meter of the poem (lyrics)? (b.) Copy the lyrics and mark its scansion.
19. Discuss the adaptation of sound to sense.
20. Describe the form or pattern (i.e. structure) of the song.
21. Criticize and evaluate the song.

Use the questions above, specifcally question #20 and #1-#9, on the two songs below:

• "Life for Rent" by Dido -- Listen to the song on YouTube, and read the lyrics here.
• "The Ballad of Love and Hate" by The Avett Brothers -- Listen to the song on YouTube, and read the lyrics here. This song is an allegory. Explain the allegory (see question #13).

Hooks & Memes

The “hook” of the song, is the catchy part of the song. It is that part that you think of first when someone asks you to sing the song. The hook is usually found in the chorus, and it is sometimes also the title of the song.

Think of the Beatles’ song “Love Me Do”. Where is the hook? You’ve guessed it, it is the “Love Me Do”-part. What is the hook in the song you introduced as your favourite song?

A “meme” is a piece of cultural information that easily spreads within a community. Some short video clips on the Internet that people forward to each other are a form of memes. The phrase “Why so serious?!” from the movie Batman: The Dark Knight is a very famous meme.

Certain tunes, and often the choruses of popular music, can be a meme. Frequently the hook of a very popular song can also become a meme. Have you ever whistled or hummed a part of a song, and then suddenly a friend that overheard you starts to whistle or hum it too? That is a meme in action -- a piece of cultural information moving from one brain to another brain.

As you can see hooks and memes have a close relationship. The most famous songs are those songs that have become popular memes.

Song Structure: "Save Me From Myself"

Today we looked at the song "Save Me From Myself" (listen on YouTube), performed by Christina Aguilera. Look at the lyrics of the song below and note how we identified the song's structure, using the terminology you learned before.

“Save Me From Myself” – Christina Aguilera

Verse 1
It's not so easy loving me
It gets so complicated
All the things you gotta be
Everything's changing
But you're the truth
I'm amazed by all your patience
Everything I put you through

Pre-Chorus
when I'm about to fall
Somehow you're always waiting with
Your open arms to catch me

Chorus 1
You're gonna save me from myself
From myself, yes
You're gonna save me from myself

Vocal Interlude

Verse 2
My love is tainted
by your touch
Well some guys have shown me aces
But you've got that royal flush
I know it's crazy everyday
Well tomorrow may be shaky
But you never turn away

Pre-Chorus
Don't ask me why I'm crying'
Cause when I start to crumble
You know how to keep me smiling

Chorus 1
You always save me from myself
From myself, myself
You're gonna save me from myself

Bridge
I know it's hard, it's hard
But you've broken all my walls
You've been my strength, so strong

Pre-Chorus
And don't ask me why I love you
It's obvious your tenderness
Is what I need to make me

Chorus 2
A better woman to myself
To myself, myself
You're gonna
save me from myself

Where is the "hook" in this song?

When listening to music in your own time, practise identifying the structure of the songs you listen to. Do the artists you listen to use a set formula or do they deviate and use experimental song structures?

Song Structure

The lyrics (or words) of a song usually follow a structure. Different parts of the structure are identifiable, and have specific names. These include:

• Verses
• Chorus (Refrain)
• Pre-chorus
• Hook ("Meme")
• Bridge
  

The parts above all relate to the lyrics. In other words, they usually have words. There are other parts in a song which usually do not have words. You have already been introduced to two of them, namely the intro and outtro. These other parts of the song include:

• Intro
• Outtro
• Interludes & Riffs
• Breakdown

A song does not have to have all these parts in its structures. For instance, some songs do not have a chorus, and many do not have breakdowns.

For more information, read Tom Zarecki's post about "Song Lyrics"

Your Favourite Songs

Below is a list of the songs you all shared for the "Introduction Assignment". Thank you for sharing!

• "She Will Be Loved" -- Maroon 5
• "Some Might Say" -- Oasis
• "Tomorrow" -- Annie: The Musical
• "Everytime" -- Britney Spears
• "One Moment in Time" -- Whitney Houston
• "Lucky" -- Jazon M'raz
• "The Winner Takes All" -- ABBA
• "Incomplete" -- Sisqo
• "In a Big Big World" -- Emillia
• "My Heart Will Go On" -- Celine Dion
• "Pretty Fly for a White Guy" -- Offspring
• "Misread" -- Kings of Convenience
• "So Sick" -- Ne-Yo
• "I Knew I Loved You" -- Savage Garden
• "Listen" -- Beyoncé
• "Every Body Knows" -- John Legend
• "Fly Like a Bird" -- Mariah Carey
• "I Gotta Feeling" -- Black Eyed Peas
  

Introduction Assignment

In the next class you will introduce yourself by playing your favourite English song. (Bring the song as a music file, or as a CD.) Include the following information in your introduction:

• Your name
• Basic metadata of the song (You should have at least the title and artist, but the more metadata the better.)
• Tell us what the song is about
• Tell us why you like it
  

Metadata

The metadata of a song is the important basic information about the song’s creation. Below are short definitions of different points that form the metadata of a song. But first, what is a song? For the purpose of this course we will define “song” as the combination of music and lyrics. (Song = music + lyric).

Title

The title is the name of the song.

Artist(s)

The artist is the person or group that performs the song. Artists usually includes a vocalist (singer) and other musicians (musical instrument players).

Composer

The composer is the person or persons responsible for the initial creation of the song. Composing a song requires a lyricist and a musician. The lyricist writes the lyric. A lyric is a type of poem that is relatively short and meant for singing. (That is why our course is called “Poetry in Music”. It could also have been called “Lyrics and Music”.) The musician, in the context of composing, is the person who writes the musical notes for the song. Sometimes the lyricist and musician is the same person; while at other times it might be different people.

Arranger

The arranger is responsible for the structure of the song, and decides when the different instruments will play and so on.

Engineer

The engineer (aka sound engineer, studio engineer, session engineer, recording engineer) controls the electronic recording equipment and “mixes” or “edits” the music electronically.

Producer

The producer is the overall manager/director of the song.

Three other important terms that is also part of the metadata are intro, outro and runtime. The intro (or “open”) is the beginning-section of the song from when the music starts, until the vocalist(s) start singing. The outro (or “close”) is the end-section of the song from when the vocalist(s) stops, until the music stops. There are two types of outros; a cold ending and a fade ending. With a cold ending the music stops suddenly. With a fade ending the music fades out; i.e. the volume decreases until all sound is gone. The runtime is the total length of time of the song and is usually given in minutes and seconds.

The metadata may also include the year the song was produced, and the record label (the name of the music company that produced, manufactured and marketed the song / album), as well as the album (usually the record or CD) on which the song first appeared.

Exercise:

Listen to the song “Wonderwall” by Oasis in the YouTube-video below.


See if you can find the metadata that are missing below. You may need to search on the Internet, or if you have the album, look in the CD-cover.

Title: "Wonderwall"
Artist: Oasis
Album:
Composer:
Arranger:
Engineer:
Producer: Owen Morris
Intro: Acoustic guitar strumming; 22 sec
Outtro: Cold end; ____ sec
Runtime:

When you use the music video above to figure out the length of the Intro, take note that the music only starts at second 17 of the video. The vocals start at second 39 in the video. To work out the length of the Intro you need deduct 17 from 39 That will give you the length in seconds for the Intro. A similar principle applies for working out the Outtro and the Runtime.