Module 6

The listening examples for Module 6 are listed below:

“Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin was a little difficult to follow.

I personally found the song to heaven mysterious and dark. The lyrics were difficult to follow as well. These feelings were experienced upon first hearing the recording, however, after reading about the piece I can further understand why.  I also found the ties to Aleister Crowley and his teachings extremely disturbing. Musically the form of the song was one like I had never encountered. For example, there are three main sections of the piece.  The first section was the least complex of the three, and yielded the following form: ABABA’.  “Oye Como Va” performed by Santana was significant in its integration of the Latin influence in Rock music.  Carlos Santana leads the band. Due to the incorporation of afro-Cuban rhythms throughout this song, the mix was also a key component of the recording. It was essential that all of the individual percussion parts can be heard. “Psycho Killer” by Talking Heads begins with an established groove in the introduction.  When section “A” begins with the verse, the high-hat and snare are added to the drum kit to create a bit more of a drive in the piece. The form is pretty straightforward with oscillations between section A and B.  There are slight variations such as a two-part C section and an instrumental section toward the end of the piece. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s “The Masterpiece” was an enjoyable piece.  It began with a brief introduction followed by the chorus.  The lyrics gave c clear picture of society from the perspective of the writer, which I think was the main goal of the piece.  Between each verse there was a pre-chorus and a chorus section. “Pedro Navaja” by Willie Colon begins with a clear trumpet section and an infectious Latin rhythm.  This is followed by the verse.  The interesting concepts of this piece are the Spanish text and the clever inclusion of the line, “I want to live in America”, taken from, “Westside Story”. “Hotel California” by The Eagles begins with an acoustic introduction and at the beginning of the verse we hear the rhythmic beat of the piece for the first time.  Lyrically a picture is set from the very beginning.  The verse is comprised of two 8-bar phrases.  The chorus enters with syncopation and harmony and is followed by the second verse.  The chorus enters again and then a third verse is heard.  Next is a lengthy instrumental section, which includes a guitar solo.  The song ends by fading out the music. “Bad Girls” by Donna Summers begins with an instrumental introduction with a repeating bass line, guitar strums, a trumpet section and even a whistle.  The first verse enters and then there is the chorus. This continues until the chorus has ended for the second time.  Then there is the instrumental section that was first heard in the beginning.  The song ends with a spoken chant. In contrast, “Love to Love You Baby” by Donna Summers is a very seductive piece.  The racy sound effects atop the smooth musical line and breathy melodic line performed by Donna depict the message of the song clearly.  The form of the song is simple and repetitive.  For the most part it oscillates between the chorus and verse and includes many repetitions of the chorus with variation in melody line. “Crocodile Rock” by Elton John enters with a brief instrumental section with piano and keyboard.  The verse then enters followed by the chorus.  There is a type of tag of “la’s” immediately before the second verse.  This sequence is repeated and then a third verse begins.  After this, the tag section repeats until the music fades out.  “It’s too late” by Carol King is a smooth vocal written in a singer/songwriter style.  The form bounces back and forth between verse and chorus.  The exception to this is in the middle of the piece and toward the end where there is a solo line in the guitar, soprano sax and toward the end of the piece where the piano played the solo in the instrumental section.  Barry White’s, “Love’s Theme” begins with a dizzying ascending line from the strings of the Love Unlimited Orchestra.  The piece is unique from the others that I listened to this week as it is the only that is completely instrumental.  The same ascending, melismatic line in the introduction reappears as a clear point in the music.  From that point, the piece takes on another layer utilizing other orchestral instruments, such as French horns to fill in the spaces and ultimately fill our the sound.  Toward the end a groove is established by a change-up in the rhythmic feel of the piece.  The newly created groove continues until the music is faded out in the beginning.  Stevie Wonder’s, “Superstition” is a classic recording that is used still today.  It begins with the drums and then layers a synthesizer on top.  Next, we hear the keen vocals of Stevie Wonder. The verse leads into more of a tag at the end of the verse. This tag will be used at the end of all the verses and so it feels like the chorus.  There is then an instrumental section, which leads into a final verse.  The music then fades out for the end of the piece.