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.
I am going to be one hundred percent honest, when I saw Guns N' Roses, I got really excited! I had only heard Welcome to the Jungle before so I listened to November Rain via the link. I will agree with your 4 meter judgement. I was excited that I could pick out the flute when its sound arose above everything else. I liked how the tone color changed between the happy marriage to the death. In the marriage, the strings and percussion were very prevalent which gave the tone a very perky, uplifting tune. When the bride died, the tone color became very dark and the strings disappeared and were replaced by the singer deepening his voice and the percussion crescendos. Everything was very fitting. As for the guitar solo, the dramatic "almost splits" that Slash does fits the drama created by the guitar.
ReplyDeleteI really like how the Guns N' Roses song started using the piano and strings. They used the percussion drums well in the next few seconds. The singer's voice felt like it fitted just right with the other instruments they used in the song. The mood in the beginning sounds kind of happy and joyful in the wedding scene. I also agree that the song has a four beats in a measure. The instruments kind of help to pick out the upbeats and downbeats in the measures. I do agree with you that the guitar solo is the best part. The guy plays his guitar with so much passion and he is really talented. I enjoyed listening to this song again after the time in class. :) The guitars really do sound fantastic around 6:35-6:40, the chords from the guitar and the drums add to the passion and emotion of the music video. After she died, I agree that the strings made the tone color sound dark, kind of a sorrowful passionate sound. The piano really added to the intensity of the scene around 8:27ish when the man on the piano does runs or glissandos. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeletePeggy,
ReplyDeleteGNR - what else needs to be said?! HAHAHA!!! Love your choices, and you're spot on with your analysis. Congratulations!
Bach's Sarabande, on the other hand, is totally different! (DUH!) This piece is for cello (the large violin) and in a minor key - BINGO!!! Here's a link to a live performance of the piece (without computer processing): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhhixCUf0YY
The piece is called Cello Suite No. 2 in D minor, mvt. IV. Sarabande (BWV 1008). It is for unaccompanied cello. This is a crude interpretation of the piece, but it will allow you to see the music: http://www.music-scores.com/midi.php?sheetmusic=Bach_kk_BWV1008_4_Sarabande_Gtr
Thanks for sharing your music with us this week!
~JM