Final Listening Log Post
Amazing Grace
The song Amazing Grace holds a unique place in Western culture, particularly in the United States of America. The intrinsic message of personal transformation, of recognizing and ending tragic and/or “wrong” behaviors or attitudes, speaks to all individuals at a variety of levels. This seeming universality has taken Amazing Grace from the solitude of the hymnal to a place of prominence. Experienced in practically every Western musical style from popular to country to jazz to classical to gospel, it is performed at public events ranging from state funerals to professional football games.
Amazing Grace is the perfect example of a song using Common Meter. This means that the text has a metrical pattern of 8:6:8:6 syllables per stanza. Common Meter is identical to ballad meter. The tempo in this rendition of the song is rather slow. In addition, the song is sung according to the practice of “lining out,” in other words, the leader of the congregation recites each line before it is sung. This practice was developed before reading music was common.
For this particular version of Amazing Grace, I think that this musical description is accurate. However, after completing the remaining units in this course, I am inclined to think about how other, more recent genres could cover the song. Many renditions of the song continue to use common meter, or ballad meter. However, the tempo of the song, which can easily be changed and personalized, adjusts the color of the musical piece.
The recording of Amazing Grace found in the textbook fits into Candeleria’s European American stream of music culture because of the strophic form of the musical piece, in addition to the lyrical ballad. However, one could make an argument that some renditions of the song have an African American influence due to the aesthetic strength of repetition of rhythms, phrases, and melodies.
The origins or this song are incredibly similar to African-American spirituals; however, the style is different because it was written by Newton, an Englishman who was involved in the slave trade. Therefore, if this song is a part of a musical web, it would inevitably be tied to songs written during the Antebellum Era, in the prime of slavery, such as “I be so glad, when the sun goes down,” recorded by Ed Lewis. The lyrics in this song were written from Newton’s firsthand experience of grace, just as slave music was written from firsthand experience of pain. It is incredibly fascinating to analyze the relationship between these two perspectives because they sing about the same issue, but we have an interesting dichotomy of power between Master and slave referring to the same God.
In closing, I am surprised that the original version of Amazing Grace does not have more African-American stylistic influence, considering the context of its origins.
Maple Leaf Rag
I have edited my first ever listening log from oh so many weeks ago. The song Maple Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin is a classic piece of ragtime music. Scott Joplin, the son of an ex-slave from Texas, started as a travelling musician around the southern states, playing piano in “gentleman’s clubs”. By the turn of the century his piano rags, such as Maple Leaf Rag, had become a national sensation, but he was desperate to be taken seriously as an orchestral composer. His opera Treemonisha was all but ignored, and he died insane in 1917 after his brain was destroyed by syphilis. This piece was one of Joplin’s early works, and became the model for ragtime compositions by subsequent composers.
I enjoy this piece because I love the simplicity just one instrument. However, Joplin creates a unique color because although the recording is only the piano, Joplin brings the music to life combining dissonant harmonies with major chords. These different characters are not often seen together. The instrumental character of the music makes it seem like a song that an ice cream truck would play.
I would consider this piece to be derived from the African-American stream because of the dense texture and polyrhythmic patterns. Furthermore, the rhythmic feature of the backbeat is typical in the Africa-American stream.
In terms of style, I would connect this song to other classical ragtime pieces such as, Rhapsody in Blue; however, I think it is more fitting to classify it with songs such as Hyperprism or The Banjo because all of these styles were pertinent in creating an American Musical Identity. Maple Leaf Rag could easily be connected to similar sounding ragtime music, but it would be interesting to map the time period relation to other styles in order to see the combination of characteristics that advanced American music.
In closing, I still enjoy this song. The musical patterns, such as the combination of polyrhythmic patterns and dissonant harmonies played on the piano, created a unique and dense texture. Joplin composed this song in a time period in which America found its place in the global music scene. It is an important musical piece that marks the emergence into a new style of music, ragtime.
Muleskinner Blues
Muleskinner Blues is a classic country song written by Jimmie Rodgers and first recorded by him in 1930. It has been recorded by many artists since then, acquiring the de facto title “Mule Skinner Blues” after Rodgers named it “Blue Yodel #8” (one of his Blue Yodels). The song tells the tale of a down-on-his-luck mule skinner, approaching “the Captain”, looking for work. The Captain then directs the water boy to “bring some water round”. The most distinctive feature in this song is the addition of yodeling. This is the first song that we have listened to that incorporates yodeling into the musical arrangement of the piece. Furthermore, Rodgers utilizes his falsetto voice in order to yodel. The guitar is the main and only instrument in this recording. Rodgers uses the guitar to create dissonant harmonies.
I undoubtedly identify this song with the European-American stream because of the folk elements, such as the yodel. It does not intersect with the African or Latin American streams.
This song has a vast musical web. It can be linked to both songs of the folk tradition such as “I’m so Lonesome I Could Cry” by Hank Williams, and pop-country songs such as “Cotton-Eyed Joe”. On an analytical level, Muleskinner Blues is more like William’s song when considering tempo and instruments involved. The strategic use of a single instruments in both songs is interesting. Rodgers uses the guitar in many different way to produce many different sounds while William’s has a rather simplistic role for the guitar. On the contrary, the upbeat pace of Cotton-Eyed Joe contrasts the musical simplicity of these two songs. Cotton-Eyed Joe utilizes a fiddle, a steel guitar, and a backbeat, which indicates an identification with the African-American stream.
In closing, Muleskinner Blues is the epitome of old country music to me. It combines folk elements with simplistic yodeling. The de facto title might be confusing because it sounds as if the song could be related to blues music; however, it is strictly folk.
John Henry
John Henry is said to have worked as a “steel-driving man” — a man tasked with hammering a steel drill into rock to make holes for explosives to blast the rock in constructing a railroad tunnel, as described in the lyrics of this song. He is considered an African-American folk hero, but the historical accuracy of this song is subject to debate.
The cling of the hammer keeping the tempo in this song, fitting for the context of the song, is more obvious to me when listening again. This song is a combination of a work song and a ballad, even though those types of songs are dissimilar in function according to the book. There is an underlying pattern of 3+3+4+3 stressed syllables per line, and this grouping would be classified as short meter. The lyrics in this song may have been improvised, and they provide a greater emphasis on the individual rather than the event. For example, two stanzas/verses focus on conversation with John Henry’s captain rather than John Henry’s significance in building the Big Bend Tunnel. Because there is only one singer and no musical instruments in this song, no harmony is present. Additionally, this song uses a strophic form because each stanza uses the same melody.
I would classify this song as part of the African-American stream of music culture because of the backbeat of the hammer throughout the song. Furthermore, even the use or sound of a hammer would be unconventional in European American music.
I think that this song intersects with the song Barbara Allen because they have comparable meters, even though Barbara Allen comes from the English-Celtic (or European American stream). Furthermore, the fifth line in each stanza is an extension by repetition, just as in Gypsy Davy. It’s ironic that all three of these songs contains a name in the title; maybe that’s an added bonus connection!
Overall, this song, like many other African-American ballads, notes a greater emphasis on John Henry’s character than situation in order to provoke a greater amount of personal and emotional expression through empathy. Songs such as this one created a foundational base not just for African-American music in America, but also in developing an American sound.
The Imperial March
Even though this was one of the most recent listening logs, I am interested in expanding the musical network around film music. Listening to The Imperial March by John Williams prompts questions about its musical origin. The lack of lyrics eliminates the possibility of connecting the piece by theme. Interestingly, Williams composed the music during a time when film makers used popular music as the basis for their scores. Obviously this song can be connected to other pieces of film music that John Williams composed, such as Jaws and the music in Hook. All of these pieces purposefully evoke emotion that is inevitably tied to particular scenes or characters. Furthermore, I would even link its use of the full orchestra in combination with its ability to provoke emotion to songs found in Broadway musicals, such as “For Good” from Wicked or “One Day More” from Les Miserables.
I have grown up listening to this song. In fact, when I first saw the text in the book, I read the entire passage aloud to my family. However, I have never analyzed the piece through a technical aspect. I am now able to recognize that the darkness of the music is created through the use of minor chords, and this sound is as much a part of Darth Vader’s character as his black mask and helmet, cape, and body armor, making him an ominous villain.
I recognize the blaring brass instruments over the string instruments. While I have heard these sounds before, I can now identify them.
Each composer is incredibly talented and creative in order to compose a piece of music. However, I now have a greater appreciation for composers of film music because they are able to coordinate the combination of style, tempo, key, and dynamics with the plot-line of a film, just as musical composers, such as Rodgers and Hammerstein do.
Finally, I want to point out the common thread of brilliance throughout all of these pieces: human ingenuity. These songs were pieced together by individuals who are all passionate about music. Their passion may stem from a spiritual background or from a desire to bring emotion to an audience. Regardless, music expresses what sometimes cannot be verbalized. It allows for communication without words, and it can change the world one song at a time.