SONG ANALYSIS CHECKLIST Name: Andrew Kennedy

Transcription

1 SONG ANALYSIS CHECKLIST Name: Andrew Kennedy PLEASE NOTE: the numbers #1 and #2 have been used in list form to differentiate the two versions of the song in this analysis. CONTEXT What is the name of the song and artist? 1. Teardrop by Massive Attack 2. Teardrop by Jose Gonzalez What year was the song released? 1. Massive attack version Jose Gonzalez version 2007 What is the Genre? 1. Trip Hop 2. Indie Folk Are there any features that we would expect to see in this genre? 1. Trip Hop is usually slow tempo, electronic, experimental music containing influences of soul, funk or jazz. 2. Indie Folk is basically the same as folk music but with a stronger artistic aesthetic and a cooler mainstream image. What other music was around at the time? How does this song fit in? 1. Trip Hop originated in the 90 s influenced by downtempo electronic music such as post- acid- house. 2. Indie folk is a branch of the Indie- Tree that grew in the 90 s. Indie short for Independent music which sought to free itself from mainstream formulas without influence from record companies. In the 2000 s, indie folk itself has become somewhat mainstream but still identifies with it s roots. What is the artist s background? Did their influences affect the sound? 1. Massive attack are a duo who usually use guest vocalists and instrumentalists. Generally, their music is experimental and artistic rather than seeking mainstream attention. While teardrop was one of their most commercially successful tracks, it arguably became more successful in hindsight having only reached #10 on the UK singles chart when it was released. 2. While his version of Teardrop is quite different from Massive Attack s, it is not that different from the rest of his music. This song appeared on his 2007 album In our nature which was partially influenced by atheism and several books Jose Gonzalez had been reading including The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins and Practical Ethics by Peter Singer. This is also reflected in the music video for the song. What else do you know about the context of the song? 1. Teardrop has been covered by numerous artists and is often used on TV shows including the opening credits of House. STRUCTURE What is the basic structure of the song? (eg: Intro, Verse, Chorus etc..) 1. Intro, Piano instrumental, Verse 1, Chorus 1, Break 1, Verse 2, Chorus 2, Break 2, Verse 3, Chorus 3, Tag, Break 3, Ending 2. Intro, Verse 1, Instrumental, Verse 2, Instrumental, Verse 3, Instrumental, Ending

2 What is the advanced structure of the song? (How many bars exactly for each section?) TEARDROP Massive Attack Intro Sound effects Drums Drums Drums Drums Asus (pedal) Piano instrumental A Gadd9 Dadd9 A Gadd9 Dadd9 Verse 1 Chorus 1 Fmaj7 Gadd9 A A Break 1 Asus (pedal) Verse 2 Chorus 2 Fmaj7 Gadd9 A Fmaj7 Dm9 Gadd9 A A Break 2 Asus (pedal) Verse 3 Chorus 3 Fmaj7 Gadd9 A Fmaj7 Gadd9 Fmaj7 A Fmaj7 Gadd9 A Fmaj7 Gadd9 Tag A (stumbling) Fmaj7 Gadd9 A (stumbling) A Break 3 Drums (NC) Ending Fmaj7 Gadd9 Fmaj7 Gadd9 Fmaj7

3 TEARDROP - JOSE GONZALEZ Intro D5 D5 D5 D5 Verse 1 Chorus 1 D5/F D5/G D D Break 1 D5 D7(no 3 rd ) D7sus4 D7sus4 Verse 2 Chorus 2 D5/F D5/G D5 D5 Break 2 D5 D7(no 3 rd ) D7sus4 Verse 3 Chorus 3 D5/F D5/F D5 D5/F D5/G D5/F Break 3 D5 D7(no 3 rd ) Dsus4 D5 Ending D5/Bb D5/C D5/Bb D5/C D5add9 Are all the instruments playing at once or do they come in at different times? 1. Each instrument is introduced one at a time in a staggered entry. Drums, then harpsichord pedal, Piano and vocals. Some instruments drop out during the Break sections. There are also some extra instruments audible in the background such as sustained synth notes but these are not prominent parts. 2. This version is primarily just acoustic guitar and vocals. The guitar is constant while the vocal drops in and out as one would expect. Can you hear repetition, variety, contrast or development of ideas within the structure? 1. Trip hop is generally very repetitive, however, there are numerous subtle touches that have been used to create variety within the arrangement. Probably the most repetitive element is the drums and harpsichord pedal. However, the harpsichord pedal stops in Break 3. Another interesting touch that wasn t immediately apparent was that some sections have uneven numbers of bars such as the Piano Instrumental and Chorus 3.

4 2. Jose Gonzalez version also features sections with uneven bars such as Break 2 and Chorus 3. Is this structure typical for the genre? 1. I don t think uneven numbers of bars are typical in Trip Hop or electronic music, no. 2. Uneven numbers of bars aren t common in Indie folk but not really a surprise either. Does the structure fit into a known category? (binary, 12 bar blues, through composed) 1. Verse/Chorus structure 2. Verse/Chorus structure Have you notice anything else about the structure? No, not really. HARMONY What is the key? 1. The key would appear to be D major apart from the Fmaj7 chord. However, I think it s really in A mixolydian based on the melody notes and the constant resolution to A major chords. 2. For the same reasons, I would say this song is in the key of D mixolydian. List all the chords used in the song? (Or even write a chart) See charts above. Is this key typical of certain instruments? Both A mixolydian and D mixolydian would suit a wide variety of instruments Has the composer used basic chords (triads) or advanced chords? (7ths, 9ths, 11ths 13ths) 1. The chords in this song are a little difficult to define. No one instrument seems to be playing proper chords, the chord sound comes from the combined sound of all the instruments and melody. The piano is playing root notes which defines the chord names. The harpsichord pedal contains the notes A, D and E which combine in different ways with the bass notes. For instance, when these notes are combined with an A root note, they form an Asus4 chord. However, I ve chosen to simply notate this chord as A major because the suspended effect is not prominent. When combined with a G root note, the effect is G6/9 with no third, however I ve chosen to notate it as Gadd9 as the 6 th sound is not prominent to my ears and the 3 rd is contained within the melody notes. When combined with the D root note the effect is Dadd9 with no third. However, Dadd9 is sufficient, the third is contained in the melody notes. When combined with an F root note, the effect is Fmaj7add6, but as the 6 th sound is not prominent, Fmaj7 is sufficient. However, this analysis is based only on the combination of bass notes, melody notes, and harpsichord notes. There are other notes present in the arrangements in synth parts, but these are too subtle to really be referenced in the chord chart. They are more colour sounds to my ears. 2. The predominant sound in Jose Gonzalez version of Teardrop is that of a perfect 5 th drone. With his guitar tuned DADABE we here two D s and two A s most of the time but with no third to imply either major or minor tonality. The major third is, however, present in the vocal melody so that is where the ear is eventually pulled. I chose to notate all the chords as D5 with various bass notes beneath because I think this is the best way to understand and hear them. I also think that s probably how the composer thought of them. Each time a new bass note combines with the D5 chord it creates a different effect. For instance, D5/G creates a Gadd9 effect, D5/F creates a Dm/F effect (because F is the b3rd of Dm), D5/Bb creates a Bbmaj7 effect, and as D5/C contains no third it creates either a dominant sounding D7/C effect or a minor sounding Dm7/C effect depending on how you hear it. There are some more

5 colourful chords in the breaks, mostly based around suspended and dominant sounds in order to build tension. Do all these chords belong in the one key (diatonic) or are there unexpected ones too (non- diatonic)? 1. At first glance, it would seem that most of the chords belong in the key of D major. However, D doesn t feel like home, A does. This is also reinforced in the melody which resolves to A most often. Therefore I d say this song is in the key of A mixolydian. There are two unexpected chords: Fmaj7 and Dm which occur mainly in the choruses. 2. As there are less chords in Jose Gonzalez version, there s less evidence to point towards D mixolydian. However, as the melody is comprised mainly of notes from the D mixolydian scale, it s a good assumption that it s in the key of D mixolydian. If that s true, then the chords D/F, D/Bb and D/C don t really fit. Also the suspended chord tones in the breaks aren t diatonic. Can you explain why the unexpected chords are included or why they work? 1. As the unexpected chords only occur briefly and always resolve back to A mixolydian somehow, I would regard them as a momentary shift in tonality. The thing that links them to the song is the melody. 2. The unexpected chords in this version work for the same reason, because they fit with the melody notes. Is there tension and release within the song s harmonic structure? 1. The Fmaj7 chord creates some tension which resolves with G and then A. These three chords are not uncommon in modern rock/pop music. Similar to the F, G, Am chord progression at the end of Stairway to Heaven. 2. The D5/F chord creates tension which resolves with D5/G and then D5. In the same way, the D5/Bb and D5/C chords in the ending resolve to Dadd9. Are there any known harmonic features like voice leading, cadence or four part harmony? I suppose the repetitive riff in both versions could be considered a Pedal. Something interesting which I noticed was that although the keys of the two versions were different, the actual notes that the pedal riffs are made of are the same. By using the same notes, but with different chords, each artist has made those notes have a different effect on the ear. MELODY Is there a melody? What is it played or sung on? 1. There is a vocal melody and a pedal riff on a harpsichord. 2. There is a vocal melody and a pedal riff played on with fingerstyle guitar. What are the notes of the melody? (Write them down) 1. Pedal Riff Notes (Massive Attack) Notes - A D A E A D E Beats Pedal Riff Notes (Jose Gonzalez) Notes - D D A D E D D A D D A D E D D A Beats

6 1. Vocal Melody notes (Massive Attack) A A A E E G D D E D C A A Love love love is a verb, love is a do-o-ing word. G G E D D D D C# D E Fe-e-earless on my, bre-e--e-eath. 2. Vocal Melody notes (Jose Gonzalez) D D D A A C G G A G F D D Love love love is a verb, love is a do-o-ing word. C C A G G G G F# G A Fe-e-earless on my, bre-e--e-eath. *NOTE: The letters in bold underline above are outside notes. Is the melody constructed from a known scale? (major, minor, pentatonic, whole tone) Both melodies basically stick to the mixolydian scale; A mixolydian for Massive Attack and D mixolydian for Jose Gonzalez. However, both melodies play a flattened 3 rd on the lyric doing (noted above) which momentarily gives the sound of the blues scale. Does the melody stay within the key or are there outside notes? Is the vocalist perfectly in tune? As you can see in the above notes, both melodies feature an outside note on the word doing. This is a flattened 3 rd. Does the melody span a small range or a large range? The melody in both songs spans about an octave. Does it move slowly or quickly? I would say the melody moves at a moderate speed with both long notes and faster groups of notes. Are there phrasing features like pitch bending, sliding or vibrato? Both vocalists expressive phrasing but nothing that really stands out as being worth mentioning. Is the melody typical of this genre? I d say it feels about right. TEXTURE Are there a lot of instruments (dense sound) or very few (thin sound)? 1. Massive Attack s version sounds quite full and thick although there are not actually that many musical parts. The prominent parts are Drums, Harpsichord, Piano and Vocals. Extra instruments that I hear are bass guitar and many background synth parts. 2. Jose Gonzalez version is based mainly on just classical guitar and voice though there are extra subtle parts such as vocal doubling and percussion. Despite the small number of instruments it never sounds thin, this could be partly due to the way he plays as well as the way the song was recording.

7 How do the instruments combine at different times to affect texture? 1. Massive attack s version has nicely blended parts. The harpsichord, piano and voice are all playing different parts but there is really no conflict. However, I wouldn t really go as far as to call it polyphony as the vocal is really the only melody. The texture becomes sparser during the breaks, the harpsichord and piano drop out leaving drums, bass and synth. 2. The texture doesn t really change throughout the song, however, the doubled vocals do help thicken and support his voice. Does the tone of certain instruments make them sound deliberately thicker or thinner? (Eg: Distorted guitars = dense, Acoustic DI pickup = thin) 1. I d say the most obviously affected sound is the drums which are slightly distorted and have a vinyl crackle effect added on. This makes them sound smoother, warmer and shifts them away from the upper frequencies and helps them fill out the bass and lower mid frequencies in the mix. 2. Despite using only a classical guitar, Jose Gonzalez manages to extract a wide range of tones which, in turn, affect the texture of the song. From delicate arpeggios on the top 3-4 strings to percussive slapping on the deeper strings. Are all the instruments playing the same thing? Or are there multiple parts? 1. Multiple parts, each doing something different. 2. One instrument, one voice. However, you could argue that the guitar is actually playing multiple parts consisting of both pedal riff and bass notes. How does the register the instruments are played in affect the texture? 1. The mix is carefully spread out so as not to be too cluttered in any one register. From lowest to highest: Bass, Drums, Piano, Vocal, Harpsichord, Synth Parts. 2. Jose uses the full register of the guitar at different times, from the detuned lowest string to the 10 th fret of the top string. He uses this to create interest within the song. How does the way the parts are voiced on their particular instruments affect the texture? (eg: notes close together or far apart?) 1. As mentioned, the arrangement is fairly spread out. With lower notes further apart (piano) and higher notes closer together (synth, harpsichord pedal) 2. For the most part, the guitar chords and arpeggios stay reasonably close together due to how far the hand can stretch across the fretboard. However, during the breaks, Jose moves higher up the fretboard while keeping the deep bottom D string ringing, this creates a wider voicing. Does the Texture fit into a known category (Monophony, Homophony, Polyphony? Neither song really fits into a particular texture category. How has the way the song was recorded or mixed affected it s texture? 1. Through mixing effects like equalisation and reverb, all parts have been fattened with the combined texture appearing denser than it would normally be. 2. Jose s guitar sounds huge. Recording and mixing would have to play a part in that. Perhaps multiple microphones, subtle room reverb and EQ. TIMBRE (Tone) Describe the timbre of each instrument 1. Drums warm, lightly distorted, vinyl crackle; Piano Deep, clear, wide. Bass dull, warm, round; Harpsichord thin, high pitched, sparkly; Voice ethereal, soft, soaring; Synths Wide, spacious, ribbon- like. 2. Guitar realistic, lush, articulate; Vocal soft, mid- rangy,

8 Is there variety/contrast of timbre in the way each part is played or sung? 1. Probably the only part that varies its timbre is the vocalist (Elizabeth Fraser) who is known for her huge expressive range. 2. Jose s voice doesn t really change in timbre, though the guitar does display a range of timbres. Has the timbre of each instrument been modified either by electronic means or by being played in an unconventional way? 1. Pretty much all the parts have been modified or manipulated in some way. Mainly the drums. 2. The guitar s timbre is being manipulated by the way it s being played more than mixing techniques. From soft harp- like tones to percussive slapping. How has the timbre of the instruments affected the Texture of the song? 1. Yes, I d say that the combination of affected sounds makes the track sound quite affected overall. 2. Yes, I d say that the minimal instrumentation contributes to the overall texture. It allows the listener to focus more easily on the details. Are the timbre s used in the song typical of this genre? Yes, although I d say that Jose Gonzalez vocal timbre is quite unique and allows him to stand out among indi- folk artists. Has the register the instruments are played in affected the timbre? 1. The piano tone sounds very deep and expansive by playing it in the lower register. The vocal seems to be sitting right in the middle of it s register which allows the vocalist to sound relaxed and smooth. 2. The higher up the guitar that Jose plays (in the breaks) the thinner the tone becomes which it allows the Verse which follows to be more powerful. Has the way the song was recorded affected it s overall tone? 1. Yes, I d say the overall tone has been carefully sculpted with music technology, however, as far as electronic music goes, this sounds very musical. Warm, mysterious, dream like. 2. Yes, it sounds very natural. DURATION (Rhythm) What tempo is the song? 1. 77bpm 2. 76bpm What time signature is the song? 1. 4/4 2. 4/4 Does the song have a repetitive rhythm or does the rhythm change? 1. The drum beat is extremely repetitive as are most of the elements in the song. Each repetitive element has it s own rhythm eg: drums, harpsichord. 2. While the notes of the chords may change, the rhythm of the right hand fingerstyle pattern is basically the same throughout. Is there an instrument that seems to drive the rhythm primarily? 1. Harpsichord and Drums 2. Guitar and percussion Are there instruments or parts that are non- rhythmic? 1. The synth parts 2. Not really no. All parts are rhythmic. Can you identify rhythmic accents or phrasing within the song?

9 1. Probably the most important observation is that the drum beat mimics a heart beat pattern. 2. Nothing that really stands out as being significant Is the rhythm straight or swung? Both songs are straight Is there any syncopation? 1. Yes, but only really in the vocal phrasing 2. Same. Is there any use of silence or space? Both songs have instruments drop out in the breaks. Does the rhythm fit into a particular genre? (8 beat, rock, jazz, Latin) 1. Trip hop or slow rock/funk 16 beat 2. No drum beat but rhythmic subdivisions in the guitar part seem to be 16 th notes. Are there rhythmic features you can identify? (polyrhythm, triplets, eighth notes, paradiddles) o In Jose Gonzalez version, I noticed that when the chords change, the new bass notes don t fall on beat one, but half a beat later on 1 and. DYNAMICS (Volume) How would you describe the overall volume of the song? 1. Medium volume 2. Spanning low to high volume. Do the dynamics change much throughout the song? 1. Not really 2. Yes, there is a wide range of dynamics within the song from soft to loud and back to soft. Do the dynamics of individual parts change in relation to each other? Do you think this a result of performance or mixing? 1. To my ears, this sounds like a set- and- forget mix. The balance of the mix doesn t really seem to change much from start to end. 2. While the overall volume of the song changes, the balance of the parts don t change too much in relation to eachother. Is volume used to accent certain notes or phrases? 1. Not really no 2. Jose slightly emphasises the pedal riff notes that land on beats. He also emphasise the bottom D string notes by slapping them fairly hard with his thumb, especially in the first break and 2 nd verse. Have electronic devices been used to alter the dynamics (compression?) 1. As there is not much change in dynamics through the song, I would assume that compression has been used on every track as well as in the Mastering stage to keep the levels consistent. 2. Jose s version retains much more dynamics which would indicate that less compression has been used. Are the dynamics of the song typical of this genre? Yes, I d say the dynamics are typical of both genres.