Final Exam Portfolio Post 1
He’s Got Better Things For You — Bessy Johnson’s Memphis sanctified singers
The main singer in this ensemble has a very deep, raspy, soulful tone that is intermittently harmonized with a very light, airy, high pitched tone from an opposing singer. The song follows a verse- chorus form and the rhythm has a duple meter. The lyrical elements follow along with this duple meter as opposed to syncopation. The rhythm of the song goes well with the lyrics because of the very steady metric tick that one might rock their body back and forth to. The meaning of the lyrics tells the story of someone speaking to their friends about their Lord and Savior. They expound on what the Lord can do for them and that ultimately, He got better things for you.
The meaning behind the lyrics makes this song fit into the stream of music culture because of its sacred element and divinity in American culture. Our country was found on the virtues of Christ and believing that there is a Lord in Savior to look up to. While now-a-days our culture has stepped back from assuming this Christian perspective, it is still apart of our history. This sacred song also ties into the musical web because its positive meaning, which is a familiar aspect found in jazz. Jazz originated from the slaves as a way to communicate to each other and promote a positive attitude. While the general rhythm and melody of sacred music and jazz music differ greatly, it is the lyrical value that allows them to be tied together.
Brother Can You Spare A Dime? — Bing Crosby
The introductory melody follows a wave-like contour with a narrow range. The basis of this melody is kept through out the song, however when the lyric soloist begins singing, the melody is quieted and pushed to the background. The melody of this song has very low, slow tones that create a feeling of sadness and melancholy. In addition to this the vocalist follows these slow, and low tones and draws out the last cord to create a dramatic effect. He begins each verse with the word “once”, however there is no chorus. Each verse ends with the same phrase “Brother, can you spare a dime” and then is intermittent between verses with an element of saxophone instruments.
While this song represents popular secular music, the slow and low tones relate strongly to the key elements of the classical blues. Because there are so many different styles of the blues, its different elements can be found in many genres. The blues specifically intertwines with this song in particular because of it’s story telling. Brother Can You Spare A Dime is a painful story of man who is struggling to keep afloat in a bustling world. Many classical blues songs that we have discussed tell the story of heartbreak and pain. This congruent theme of sadness and difficulty is why the melodic and rhythmic elements in this song is so easily compared to that of the classic blues.
Hotter Than That — Louis Armstrong
The tempo of the song Hotter Than That is very upbeat and energetic. The melody of the notes have a wide range and multiple climaxes. The contour is wave-like and the rhythmic meter is a duple meter.
As the lyrical content begins, the range becomes more narrow and the fluidity of the notes are much smoother in order to match the smoothness of Louis’ voice and allows him to be in the foreground while the instrumentals are in the background. Louis’ raspy voice carries a calming effect that dances nicely with the smoothness of the clarinet, as well as the trumpet and saxophone.
Louis Armstrong is a strong representation of true Jazz in America as he himself was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Armstrong represents an artist who used his music as an agent of change. His music was not controversial nor was it protest music, but the way he made a change was by pursing to be one of the first soloists as a black man in the 1920’s. It is believed that the power of his genius, combined with the kindness he put forth in the way that he lived, forced whites to rethink their racism, whether they knew it or not. Louis was an agent of change simply by pursing his passions and being the kind of man that he was. I think it is neat that we can see several artists today who also represent this agent of change, not by creating a ruckus, but by simply pursuing their craft and changing the way people think.
Get Off The Track — Hutchinson Family Singers
The song, Get Off The Track, follows a strophic chant-like form that has a series of stanzas that end in the same repetition. The reason for this repetition is poignant because of its lyrics: “Roll it along! Roll it along! Roll it along through nations Freedom’s car, Emancipation!” Due to the importance of the lyrics, the melody has a simple narrow range, as to not create to much excitement in the background and the lyrics not be heard. The purpose of this song is to be an abolitionist song as it was published in 1844. It is considered a mark of esteem for the intrepidity in the cause of Human Rights. In order to help listeners connect to the meaning of the song, the composer utilizes personification and imagery throughout the song by creating a visual representation of the tracks of freedoms car on the way to emancipation. This song very clearly acts as an agent of change and as a protest song. The lyrics signal people to jump on board the car of freedom. Many protest songs utilize triptych repetition in order to emphasis the importance and urgency of the lyrics. “Roll it along” as well as “Sound the alarm” are repeated triptychs within the song. While this is a secular popular music song, its qualities are webbed in with the elements of the country blues because of the mission to protest or promote through the use of lyrics.
The Imperial March (Star Wars) — John Williams
The Imperial March is a non-diegetic score for the movie Star Wars. The melody has a wave like contour that is slightly upward sloping. It has a steady metric tempo that represents the marching of feet. The sound level becomes gradually louder to signify a figure becoming increasingly closer and closer. This creates a very tense and on edge feeling since the notes are the intense, loud lower keys. This score is also a leitmotif that represents the character Darth Vader, a powerful, imperial ruler. It does this by using low brass in the minor key in addition to drums that keep the march-like tempo. Because it is a leitmotif, we know that anytime the music plays, Darth Vader is present, even if he is not in the shot yet, he is coming.
This piece is so incredibly famous because of how distinct the melody is. The music, more specifically, leitmotivs, used in movies today relate back to the stream of music culture because the music we have today is a combination of all of the elements we’ve had in the past. For example, we can see the use of classical music elements in The Imperial March. Had we never gone through the development of classical music, we would not have anything to pull from. I think that the way our culture today incorporates all different genres and forms of music to create different variations forms and styles is what makes the history of music so important.
The evolution of music over time is a truly beautiful process. Music represents us as a society because what we listen to is what we care about. The different techniques and forms that have built on eachother is what makes the sound of our music today. Within this post we have seen five different uses for music: to spread the gospel, express pain, create art, prompt a movement, and enhance filmography. The different uses for music continue to grow even today. Since we are in a time period where there are many different opinions, music has lately been used as an agent of change, which is becoming a whole new category of music that people will study as they too reflect of the history of popular music.
