Introduction
I have decided to included my Song writing OC1 as it demonstrates my knowledge of contemporary music practices which I have presented in the form of an analysis. I have also conducted some basic research to complete the analysis.
My song writing work shows my knowledge of composition/song writing/arrangement techniques as seen in my lyric works and instrumental scoring, which also displays my knowledge of music theory and my ability to communicate it well
Ex Cathedra
My final song demonstrates compositional and lyrical skills that I have learnt over several years. This is highlighted in the instrumentals of the track where I have used different professional musical and arrangement techniques.
Score / notation
I have included the notation for the instrumentals that I mentioned earlier. This notation is properly notated in comparison to earlier works I have completed in the past. The use of this notation is important for communicating ideas across to other musicians in order to collaborate to create work. The use of intermediate chord types in inversions required a lot of theory practice in order properly notate them.
Lyrics
For the lyrics I noted basic ideas or imagery in my first versions and then worked along by putting them into structured section in lines and then went on to mirroring lines in repeated sections, by slightly changing ideas or imagery. I did this until I was happy with each section and when I believed I had enough to form a medium length song. This enables me to constantly improve my work or constantly add ideas to work, all of which are important in creating professional content for an EP
Theory
I have included my theory past papers as it it has helped me apply more complex theory concepts to my own music. I have also included it has I have completed them in extra theory classes, which shows that I am constantly trying to improve my standard of work which will help me in creating an EP where I might be learning new skills
Below this I have included my song writing analysis of three contrasting genres. This shows my understanding of music theory, lyrical devices, songs structures and other common musical knowledge, but most importantly it shows my ability to communicate these factors clearly in writing.
The knowledge I have learnt over the years by analysing music was highly beneficial to me, as over time I started applying genre specific techniques to my own arrangements and lyrics in order to create engaging instrumentals and songs
Song writing Analysis
FOLK
POP
INDIE
The first genre I have chosen is Folk, with a track from Philadelphia based indie artist Alex G
Melody and harmony
The main melody in the intro and the instrumental break is played by a violin, as a two bar phrase that is repeated twice in each section. The phrase makes use of interesting contours as it uses descending and ascending movement to emphasise the main beats.
"Bobby" is a harmonically simple song, as it is made up of five chords, that move mostly by major/perfect intervals, in the key of G major, that repeat throughout the entire song.
The intro starts with Am-C-G-D, closing with an Imperfect cadence from G to D. This is repeated later in the song as an instrumental break.
The verses follow the chords as G-D-C-G-D X2
And the choruses follow Am-C-G-D X4
The post choruses/bridges are slightly different in comparison to the other sections as it follows the chord structure of Em-D X2, C-G X2, C-G-D-Em
The song closes with the outro of G-D-C-D.
This repetitive and simple chord structure is typical within Folk and Country music
Rhythm and structure
The chords are mostly played by guitar in a quaver triplet strumming pattern where the up strokes fall on the main beats and the down strokes fall on the off beats
''Bobby'' is made up of a collection of verses and choruses, but it does not follow a typical Verse Chorus structure of most popular music.
But instead it is made up of three sections; A - verse, B - chorus and C - post-chorus. The order is as follows - ABABCABC
Lyrics
Throughout ''Bobby'' there are several examples of alliteration in each verse
e.g. ''...forgot when we first...'', ''I made my mess'', '' I paint pictures''
There also some examples of perfect rhyme such as ''mess'' and ''dress''
The choruses stay the same musically each time they repeat , but the lyrics are slightly altered each time. They move from '' I'd leave'' to ''I'd clean'' and then ''I'd burn''
The second track I have chosen to discuss is pop, with the song "Chamber of reflection" from Canadian born indie pop artist Mac Demarco
Melody and harmony
The bass guitar plays root notes in an ascending scale that move mostly by whole step and half step. Octave leaps are also played at the climax of the melody. The bass line acts as a counter melody to the main synth part/theme which plays a descending melody. Since these two parts are playing melodies that are moving in opposite directions, this creates contrary motion
Chamber of Reflection is in Eb minor and it repeats the following chord structure throughout each section
Abm7-Bbm7-Cbmaj7 (Bmaj7),
Abm7-Bbm7-Ebm-Gb/Db
The use of repetitive and simple chords structures, that sometimes use extensions such as minor 7ths is a defining feature of most pop music
Rhythm and structure
The main synth melody starts on beat 2 and finishes on the fourth beat or on the last quaver at later points. The main beats of the melody falling on 2 & 4 creates syncopation. This synth line also makes use of triplets and some swung notes.
"Chamber of reflection" follows the typical Verse Chorus structure of most popular music, where A is the verse and B is the chorus. So the song follows the sections in the order of ABABB where the final chorus acts as an outro
Lyrics
''Chamber of Reflection'' makes constant use of repetition throughout in both the verses and choruses, with some phrases being altered slightly when they're repeated e.g. ''Understand that soon you'll run with better men'' and ''Understand that when you leave here''
Family rhyme is also used throughout e.g. ''men'' and ''again''
The repetition of ''alone again'' creates constant alliteration in the choruses
The use of repetition and simple rhyming are common features of pop lyrics
Another genre I have picked is indie rock, with Baltimore based, dream pop band Beach House's "Sparks"
Melody and harmony
The intro of "Sparks" opens with a theme/ostinato played by guitar which is later repeated in the outro. This ostinato is made up of only three notes that repeat with slides ending/opening each bar.
There is a secondary guitar ostinato that acts as a counter melody, which appears in the second verse of the song. This part plays octaves and switches between two notes - C# & G#.
The synth parts mostly play perfect octaves but at some points diminished octaves. This creates dissonance and tension, which is released when it moves back into perfect octaves.
The use of clashing is a primary feature in Dream Pop, which stems from the heavy use of dissonant guitar parts in Shoe Gaze
The string/bass part plays drone notes that move in an ascending scale, with some of the notes being held across several bars.
Rhythm and structure
The drum part plays a backbeat which is emphasised on beats 2 and 4 which is played by the snare and hi hat. This creates even note syncopation. Missed note syncopation is also used to emphasise 2 & 4, by missing the first quaver offbeat and the third beat.
The overall structure of the song is made up of two sections - A and B
A consists of a verse that ends with the refrain - "And then it's dark again just like a spark"
B consists of a lyrically contrasting bridge and outro
The song uses these sections in the following order - AAB
Lyrics
The opening verse describes the town that the duo is based in: Baltimore which is described using imagery
''We drive around this town
Houses melting down
A vision turning green''
''Houses melting down'' is used as qualifying metaphor in reference to many parts of the town with vacant houses in ranging states of disrepair from economic crashes. "Melting" suggests that the degradation of these homes is constant and happens quickly.
"Sparks" makes use of perfect rhymes constantly throughout.
E.g. "town" & "down", "green" & "seen"
The use of graphic and descriptive imagery is a common feature of Dream Pop
Conclusion
Overall throughout my song writing submissions I have demonstrated my secure sense/knowledge of compositional/arrangement techniques,. More importantly, standard song writing and lyrical techniques which I have mostly applied to my final song where I have shown that I can use harmony & melody, structure and lyrics.
These are all important aspects required for creating an EP that may feature more standard songs, which contain lyrics in comparison to other instrumental works in my portfolio. I have also demonstrated my ability to communicate these ideas across to other musicians and non musicians effectively, which will be important for communicating any research or ideas across to others when working on the EP