Thursday, June 25, 2015

Week 5

Familiar:
Billy Joel
Piano Man click here
Time:5:41
Billy Joel
Uptown Girl click here
Time:3:23
Billy Joel
The Longest Time click here
Time:4:05
Billy Joel
We Didn't Start the Fire click here
Time:4:06

Okay, so I picked another group of music from the same person, this time Billy Joel.  Hopefully you have all heard his music but it not you are missing out.  He really is one of my favorites, I don't think I could even pick which of his songs is my favorite.  I am choosing to talk about Piano Man but all the songs are great.  Piano Man starts of with just the piano and then the harmonica comes in bringing more texture to the song.  There are dynamic and pitch changes throughout the song.  I think the song is largely homophonic but I feel sometimes with the piano and harmonica it is more polyphonic.  There are times when it is just the piano so I guess it uses monophonic texture as well.  The harmonica is my favorite part is just adds to much to the song.  It is fun to watch him play the piano in the video because he really is an accomplished artist and has even written some classical songs.  Enjoy!!!

Unfamiliar:
Jazz and Conversation Suite click here
Time: 2:11:38 ( first 15 minutes of songs)

So the first song One Scotch One Bourbon One Beer I have heard before but not in a Jazz sound. I really liked it this way.  The next song had a really nice sound with the brass taking the lead.  It was polyphonic and very smooth sounding.  They had some nice piano sounds as well and it wasn't a solo by the piano but it was taking the lead or out front.  The next song has female singers.  There was a lead female vocal with several more women singing back up.  It sounded like World War 2 era music to me, kind of a boogie woogie bugle boy sound to it.  Brass seems to be used a lot in this music. Around 10:00 another song starts and this one has male and females singing.  The music on the background provides harmony but does not overpower the singers at all.  When the brass gets louder throughout they stop singing and it takes the front.  I love old movies from this era so I really enjoyed these songs.  The final song I listened to started with out with drums and then went into horns and the melody.  This one was just instrumental like the second and it had a really nice sound. 

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Week 4

Familiar music
Song: Daydream Believer click here
Group: The Monkees
Time:2:55
Song: Last Train to Clarksville click here
Group: Monkees
Time: 2:26
Song: I'm a Believer
Group: The Monkees
Time: 2:46
Song: Pleasant Valley Sunday click here
Group: The Monkees
Time:2:57
Song: Mary Mary
Group: Monkees
Time: 2:18

So I was driving in my care shuffling XM stations and Daydream Believer came on the other day. Needless to say you could have charged admission to the concert in my car. :)  I have loved this song since I was a kid even thought it was already pretty old by then. Every time I hear it is it just makes me smile.   If you haven't heard it (which I doubt) you really should give it a try.  It's starts out with a great little piano melody and then the lead singer takes front with the harmony in the background.  You can see the band playing some instruments in the videos like piano, tambourine, and guitar but the horns and such that are added in are my favorite part.  The pitch gets louder with the chorus and them comes back down for the verse. (as do I when I am singing in my car ;) )  When I think of sixties music the song styles or sounds in these videos is really what I think of.  The Monkees have a very recognizable style or sound to me and Davy Jones with his British accent really makes this band for me. 

Unfamiliar:
Song/Performer:
MEDIEVAL WIRE-STRUNG HARP
I. Anonymous (13th c. France): Improvisation over an anonymous tune

MEDIEVAL HARP AND LUTE PLAYED WITH PLECTRUM
II. Anonymous (13th c. England): Fuwëles in the frith (fragment)

MEDIEVAL HARP WITH ENSEMBLE
III. Anonymous (13th c. France): Chançonnete, A la cheminée, Veritatem

XV CENTURY HARP AND LUTE
IV. Gilles de Binche (or Binchois, as known as Gilles de Bins, 1400-60): Mesdisans m'ont cuidie

XVI CENTURY SPANISH HARP
From TRES LIBROS DE MU'SICA EN CIFRA PARA VIHUELA (Sevilla, 1546)
V. Alonso Mudarra (c. 1510-80): Tiento para harpa

RENAISSANCE LUTE AND VOICE
From 13 VILLANELLAS, a collection of Traditional Italian Songs (1541-63)
VI. Adrian Willaert (c.1490-1562): O dolce vita mia (fragment)

RENAISSANCE LUTE
VII. Joan Ambrosio Dalza (16th c.): Poi che volse (arrangement of the vocal setting)
VIII. Pier Paolo Borrono (1490-1563): Fantasia per liuto

FAMILY OF RENAISSANCE LUTES AND VIOLA DA GAMBA
From IL PRIMO LIBRO DE BALLI (Venice, 1578)
IX. Giorgio Mainerio: La Zanetta padovana

FAMILY OF LUTES AND GUITARS
X. Anonymous (16th c. Italy): Paduana del Re

VIHUELA DE MANO
XI. A. Mudarra: Romanesca o Guardame las Vacas

ELIZABETHAN LUTE
XII. Anonymous (16th-17th c.): Galliard

CITTERN
XIII. Anthony Holborne (1545-1602): The voice of the earth (The sprite's tune)

SOPRANINO LUTE AND A FAMILY OF LUTES
XIV. Carlo Farina (1600-30): Gagliarda prima Poi che volse (arrangement of the vocal setting)
  • Music

    • "Fuweles in the Frith" by Reverdie
Time: 20:53
I put Middle Age music in YouTube and found this.  It starts with strings which are homophonic at first and then adds some voices that sound all female for a homophonic sound.  As is continues it goes through the different instruments/songs listed by Roman Numerals, most it seems with Anonymous composers.  It seems to be a compilation of different pieces of Middle Age music.  I think I liked the sound best at around 4:30 and then 17:55.  The instruments sounded nice together and had a relaxing pretty sound. I think both had the harp as the main instrument.  Some of the singing was a little soprano and high pitched for me in the pieces that had signing, not to mention it wasn't in English so I have no idea what they were saying.  I found the dates for the music interesting as they were from the 13th through the 17th century.  It is amazing how this music is still around to enjoy or at least experience.  This music is relaxing to listen, I felt like I could fall asleep while I was listening.  I will say all the pieces kind of blended together for me and had a similar sound with the harp and lute. 

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Week 3

 Familiar:
Michael Buble'
It's a Beautiful Day 3:50 click here
Haven't Met You Yet 4:19click here
Home 3:46 click here

Out of the three songs by Micheal Buble' I chose to talk about It's a Beautiful Day because I like it best :).  I believe he wrote all three songs I listened.  He used the typical singer in forward and instrumentation in the background for this song.  He changes pitch and gets louder for the chorus and takes it down a little for the rest.  I like that you can here some kind of a horn here and there doing like a scale down or something.  The drums add to the beat and the guitar in the beginning does a good job leading into the vocals.  The video is pretty cute and has a famous actress and Diet Pepsi for a nice ad placement.  As many times as I have heard this song (like hundreds) this is the first I actually saw his video.  I think he is a baritone...right??  I also feel like I should mention Haven't Met You Yet.  That one is pretty great too.  This one has horns, piano, and drums for sure you can pick them out pretty easy.  The repeating melody from chorus is easy to pick out too.  If you watched any of these do you love him yet?  He is pretty adorable. 
Unfamiliar:
Mozart concerto for flute and harp-2.Mvnt.   9:11
click here

For my unfamiliar this week I once again just put classical music into YouTube and randomly picked but I added with flute this time hoping for a pretty melody. This features harp, flute, and has an orchestra in the background although they all appear to be playing the strings.  The flute and harp sound so pretty together in this song.  You can hear some pitch and dynamic changes when they add in more of the orchestra and then a softer sound when they go back to just the flute and harp taking the lead or being forward.  When I think of classical music this is more of the sound I picture in my mind.  Such a pretty melody.   I know it is only 9:11 but I had to listen to it a few times trying to pick out different things.  You will notice that the guy's flute is black and not the typical silver.  It's nice when you can actually see them perform and you can tell which instruments are being used. 

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Week 2

Song: November Rain
Band: Guns N Roses
Time: 9:08

Song: Welcome to the Jungle
Band: Guns N Roses
Time: 4:35

So for my familiar music this week I picked a pretty old song from 1992 but if fits in well with this unit I think.  I wanted something close to the ten minutes and thought of this song.  I had forgotten about the orchestra so that worked out nice.  If you have not heard it before please give it a try it was pretty amazing back in the day.:)  It has an orchestra and utilizes wind, brass, stings, piano, and percussion.  My favorite part is the guitar solo by Slash in the middle it's pretty amazing. In the video you can see the conductor with his baton and crazy hair leading the orchestra.  I am pretty sure I picked out a four beat meter in the music.  I then listened to Welcome to the Jungle to make sure I got my ten minutes in and if you haven't heard that it's pretty good too.  This link worked for me when I checked it so I hope it works!! 
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8SbUC-UaAxE


Song: Sarabande
Composer: Bach
Time: 5:25
click here

The unfamiliar piece I selected was written by Johann Sebastian Bach.  It starts out with strings and seems to be exclusively that.  It was very pretty but I had a hard time picking out the count for the meter in this piece.  There is a part where the strings kind of sound like they are kind of vibrating or holding the note a little and it makes a very pretty sound.  Side note my six year old walked in when I was listening and asked what this music was and when I told him it was violins said "that is so boring" so I guess no future composer for me :(  I honestly listened to all five+ min. but I can't say anything really stood out for me about this.  I think I may have enjoyed it more it there was more instrumentation, I like to hear wind instruments in this type of music.  With just the violins ( I think) it was kind of dark.  I think maybe this piece is in minor and that is why it didn't appeal to me as much.