Listening Log Extentions

Rachel Marie
Jul 28, 2017 · 6 min read
  1. “Round the Clock”

Artist: Bill Haley//Genre: Rock and Roll

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/bd/Rock_Around_The_Clock_Bill_Haley_Comets_Myers.jpg/220px-Rock_Around_The_Clock_Bill_Haley_Comets_Myers.jpg

“Rock Around the Clock” was one of the first Rock and Roll songs, we know that it was Rock rather than R&B due to the audience being white teenagers. We hear the sax, drums, bass, piano, and at the very outset, a jazzy muted cornet. This song features the blues form AAB which is the 12 bar version. It also has boogie-woogie bass line acting as the driving ostinato of the left hand while the sax and guitar play the higher sounding notes rather than the right hand on the piano. The song also has backbeats emphasized by the drums on beats 2 and 4. The lyrics of this song make me also think of the classic rock song, “I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night” by KISS. Both songs talk about rocking and rolling (aka having sex) all night/ around the clock! I think that it is interesting how the lyrics of this song are emphasizing being active all night rather than sleeping, which since the audience for this song was white teenagers I guess that makes sense because they did not have to work as teenagers whereas most black teenagers were working during the 1950’s. The tempo of this song makes me want to swing dance!

Listening to this song after the completion of this course, I can hear now that there was a not of off=beat syncopation in the song as well. This song definately fits into the swing dance and rock and roll stream of music. We have listened to several other songs in this genre and they are all similar in feel (make you want to dance) and timbre. However, unlike other songs we listened to like “Good Rockin’ Tonight” “Round the Clock” has a much faster tempo. When compared to “Jailhouse Rock” though, “Round the Clock”
the songs are much more similar with the same tempo and off beat rhythm. This song is similar in style to many swing/rock n roll songs of the 1950s.


2. “Mr. Freddie Blues”

Artist: Meade Lewis//Genre: Classic Blues

The song “Mr. Freddie Blues” is clearly a blues song with the twelve-bar blues form. There is a driving ostinato in the left hand and repeated figures in the right hand on the piano. Since there are no lyrics to this song unlike the other blues songs in this section, I imagined what scene I could see this music as background for and I thought of like a low lighted bar with the same people sitting there day after day or a busy diner in a black and white film with waitresses going back and forth all day, every day. The timbre of this song is difficult to pin point because the song goes up and down the scale so much. I believe that the song is written in 4/4 time. I liked how while this song was under the Jazz genre, it still only used a piano. I feel like this song is a classic blues song because it does not have a guitar, which is a common feature of country blues. Specifically, this song seems like a boogie-woogie blues song because of the driving left hand and figures in the right hand being played on the piano.

Going back and re-listening to this song, I realize how similar in sound and texture it is to the other blues song we listened to, only with a more up beat tempo. It still primarily features a single instrument. For a blues song though, this song was written in a major key is is rather lively in comparison to majority of blues songs which are slower and more melancholy in sound. I realize that the left hand sounds very simple and actually reminds me of the song “Bad Bad Leroy Brown.”


3. “The Battle Cry of Freedom”

Artist: George Shirley//Genre: March Song

This song is very interesting to me because of its lyrics; the chorus talks about supporting the union and the versus talk about fighting. It is a very partisan song. Having been edited from a confederate point of view, this song was sung by an African American Opera singer during the Civil War era. This song is in verse-chorus form with rallying lyrics. It features a soloist on the chorus’ and the quartet on the versus plus it is accompanied by a piano. To me it sounds like a march song due to the steady tempo.

Listening to it a second time, I realize I forgot to point out its simplicity in that it is strictly a piano and a voice. The melody is constant throughout with little variation, which is expected of a march so that many could sing along. A portion of the intro to the song (0:04–0:08 and 1:27–1:30 of the textbook streaming audio)reminds me slightly of a Les Mis song “Do You Hear the People Sing.” These songs are also making political statements as well and are march songs. Both of these songs were written during a Civil War time.

NOTE: This is a different version of the song than the one mentioned above in the analysis. This is simply for comparison purposes.

4. “Afro-American Symphony”

Artist: William Still//Genre: Blues

The Afro-American Symphony’s “Humor” is very intriguing to me because it is constantly changing in tempo and instrumental sections as well as dynamics with crescendos and decrescendos. I could definitely hear the different movements in the song. This piece is very lively and bright in timbre at points, but then timid and pastel at others. I noticed that there is some repetition when a section is first introduced, it is played by different instruments before becoming more elaborate and involved. I love the string section at 1:13–1:35; it made me feel soothed. And again 2:14–2:29. I noticed that at 0:14–0:28 the song sounded like it samples George Gerhwin’s “I’ve got Rhythm,” which I thought was great, I wonder what the words to this song would have been had there been any. This song has an almost swing feel to it and does not use repetition! It continues to have that syncopated rhythm and feel of the blues and ragtime. I cannot imagine conducting this piece, my arms would fall off!

Listening again, I want to mention how smooth this piece sounds in comparison to other works of this time that are more choppy in sound; every stanza flows into the next. The strings and the brass and the other instruments all come together to make an amazing orchestral performance. I can almost picture a ballet going on while this music is being played. It sort of reminds me of the Nutcracker music.


5. “Appalachian Spring”

Artist: Aaron Copland//Genre: Orchestral Music

This song begins very quaint and soft, then quickly and momentarily crescendos at 0:44. Imagine a swirl of pastel colors on a swirl art board when I hear the beginning of this song and then as it progresses there are bright colors added little by little to the wheel that slowly spread until the entire page is bright (example of swirl art: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FF0U7YIwm4M). Then at 0:58, a round starts and continues while the instruments seemingly climb the scale. The trumpet section at 1:45–2:09 sounds like what would be played for the grand entrance of royalty. Then when that melody is played again with the full orchestra slowly towards the end it’s like the finale to a crowning ceremony where they walk through the sword tunnel. (I personally picture it as the music that would accompany the end of the Princess Diaries movie mute the video link and play it from 0:27 along with the Appalachian Spring song starting at 1:45) I wonder what the words to this song would have been.

Having revisited this song, I still believe that the above overlay of the music and scene is perfect! But again, similar to the Afro-American Symphony’s “Humor” This song to reminds me of ballet music from the Nutcracker, only in different scenes.


All in all, the music we have learned about and listen to this semester have ranged from slave songs, to hillbilly music, to rock n roll, to jazz/blues, to musicals and orchestral arrangements. I have learned so much about difference genres! One thing that ties all music together is that each piece is telling some sort of story and is person to the composer, where it be inspired by a hymn they know or about the work and life they have, or about their love life. Music is all personal, it is the most raw honest and sincere expression of self that a person is able to share with the rest of the world through song. There are songs for all moods and occasions from parties, to swing dance, to head banging, to ballet, to film and beyond. I do not know where society would be without music.

Rachel Marie

Written by

This is the blog for my MUSI 2040 class.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade