29/9/15
13/10/15
Responses to Piece 1
What are your first impressions?
Ella thought that the song was slow and unoriginal, I did too. Sophie thought it was nice and peaceful but was too loud for her.
Do you like the piece of music? why?
I liked the melody and the bass line because they were catchy and nice. Sophie liked the start of it because it's nice and peaceful and she also liked it because it was different to what she usually listens to. Ella didn't like it because the chorus/ verse transitions annoyed her and she found it very same-y.
What emotion does this music convey? Why?
We agreed that the song was feel good and Ella thought it was about heartbreak. I thought it would make a nice lyrical dance and Sophie thought it was confusing because it was too fast.
What music do you normally listen to? How is this different?
Both me and Sophie said that it wasn't that different to what we usually listen to although Sophie said it varied in vocal tone to what she like to listen to. And Ella said that she listens to songs like this one but it's very different to what she usually listens to.
What do you like most about this piece of music?
I liked the beat and the vocal style and Ella liked the chorus, Sophie liked the melody and said that when the drums came in it made her feel better.
what do you dislike most about this piece of music?
Me and Ella couldn't make out the words in the song although Sophie liked everything because she thought it was really interesting. I thought it was too similar to every other acoustic song ever and Ella couldn't hear any chorus/ verse transitions.
Analysis of piece 1
SONG NAME: Scars by James Bay.
The group's first impressions of the song were that it was slow and unoriginal, nice and peaceful. People might think this because a lot of songs these days are very similar in style and therefore it's easy to zone out while listening and not actually be engaged in what the song is saying. It came across as nice and peaceful because it had a slow acoustic instrumental and therefore reminded me of someone sat in their bedroom just relaxing.
Sophie and I liked the song because the melody was really catchy and the bass line was nice. I think a good bass line is important because it forms the undertone of the song and it's the bit that gets stuck in your head so makes a song special. This is effective in a song because it keeps the listener engaged and makes them remember the song. Ella didn't like the song because the chorus/ verse transitions annoyed her and it was same-y. They annoyed her because she said they were non- existent and likes it when a song has an obvious build up to the choruses and a nice gently cool down to the verses. The chorus/ verse transitions need to be gentle and consistent because it helps the song flow and shows progression in the lyrics and melody. We agreed that the song was feel good becuase it had a bouncy beat and made us smile and Ella thought it was about heartbreak because of the lyrics, 'we always knew this day was coming'. The meaning in the lyrics " You're setting off, it's time to go, the engines running, My mind's lost, we always knew this day was coming", would make the song a great piece to use when choreographing a lyrical dance.
The pace was quite fast, which confused Sophie. This would be because all the chords and lyrics would pass by too quickly to understand what they mean and therefore would make it difficult to understand the song. As a group we decided that the song was similar to the music we usually listen to because we all like acoustic type songs, however me and Ella both listen to musical theatre songs and Ella listens to Phantom Of The Opera therefore it is actually quite different. I think that it is really useful to listen to different types of music because it varies your repertoire and means that you can listen to other people's views and opinions.
As for what we liked most, we all had different elements of the song that we thought were effective. I liked the beat and the vocal style because it made the song run smoothly and the vocals really portrayed the emotion in the lyrics. Ella liked the chorus, probably because it was catchy and had a lot of emotion it it and Sophie melody and said that the drum beat made her feel better. This may have been because when the brain hears a rhythm, it heightens cognitive performance; mental processing falls into a rhythm and therefore Sophie's brain would've felt better and more focussed as all her mental processes would've been synchronised and thus she'd feel more relaxed. Ella agreed that the thing we disliked most about the song was the diction of the lyrics because we couldn't make out what the lyrics were actually saying. I think it's important to be able to understand the lyrics because they show the meaning behind the song and help the listener to understand what the vocalist is singing about; if you cant make out the lyrics it leaves the listener confused. On the contrary, Sophie thought that the song was really interesting and she liked everything.
In conclusion I thought that the song was too similar to every other acoustic song. This is because it had the same rhythm and basic chord pattern as a lot of other songs. Also the acoustic nature of the song meant that it was in a very neutral key, which is the same in most other acoustic pop songs. Also the lyrics were about love and heartbreak, which is what every song in existence is written about. It's important to have individuality because it makes a song more interesting and keeps the listener engaged and is more likely to be remembered.
Responses to piece
12/1/16
Listening to music 2
MY RESPONSE:
Response to piece 2
What are your first impressions?
I thought it had a really nice beat and it was really feel good. I also liked the transitions from the verse to the chorus. However both Ella and Tino didn't like it; Tino said that it was confusing and the lyrics didn't make sense and Ella said it was getting stuck in her head.
Do you like the piece of music? Why?
I said that I liked it because it was really up beat and catchy and it had an off-beat rhythm. Tino said she didn't like the two styles mixing because it confused her and didn't make any sense. Ella said she didn't like the style but she liked the harmonies towards the end.
What emotion does this music convey? Why?
I felt that it was a feel-good song, but it demonstrated frustration, and fighting, and I gave examples for this. However, Tino felt that it had no emotion attached to it. Ella felt that it was an upbeat song and sounded quite happy.
What music do you normally listen to? How is this different?
Ella said that she listens to songs that are musical theatre or pop-rock songs, so it's not very similar. I listen to musical theatre as well so it's not very similar to my styles. Tino doesn't mind what styles she listens to, but doesn't normally listen to Reggae. She didn't like that she felt it changed styles half way through.
What do you like the most about this piece of music?
The thing I like most is the melody because it’s really bouncy and upbeat and feel good and it makes you want to dance, Tino kind of liked the chorus since it was very catchy and upbeat. She also kind of liked her voice; and Ella liked the ending and the harmonies in the final verse; she liked how it just stopped at the end because she thought it was effective.
What do you dislike the most about this piece of music?
I don’t really like the lyrics as they are really repetitive and difficult to understand the meaning of because they’re very misleading, Tino didn’t like the lyrics at all or the reggae part, she couldn’t understand most of the words and she didn’t ‘get’ what they are singing about. It seemed like a very pointless song to her. Ella disliked the style and bridge because it was too repetitive and was boring.
Analysis of piece 2
SONG NAME: 'Make up' by R. City ft. Chloe Angelides
The group's first impressions of the song were mixed; Tino and Ella didn't like it because they said it was confusing and got stuck in their heads, but I liked it and I really liked the transitions between the verse and the chorus because the build up was exciting and made me feel good. They may have found it confusing as the subject of the lyrics was quite tricky as they're talking about liking fighting because it feels good to make up; also the beat was very bouncy which may have confused them as the notes were going up and down, although I found it good. I would argue that it's good if a song gets stuck in your head because it means that it's a good song and commercially, it would make it successful as everyone would be singing it and buying it.
Neither Tino nor Ella liked the style because they said that it confused them the fact that it was kind of mixing two styles together ( reggae and pop), and the instrumentation is very techy, as it was all a bit electronic in style and so it clearly wasn't played by the musicians. However I liked the off- beat rhythm and thought the song was really up beat, this could be because it's in a G major key, and both me and Ella liked the harmonies. I like harmonies because when you have more than one person singing at one time, and they're always singing the exact same melody, it makes the song boring, but when they put in harmonies, not only does it make the song sound really cool, it makes it more interesting for the listener. Me and Ella agreed that the song sounded quite happy because the reggae style was quite upbeat and so made us smile, but I thought that the lyrics suggested that the song was about frustration and fighting; this is because the singer says 'I give you everything you want, But all you talk about is everything I don't'. This shows that the singer just wants his girlfriend to appreciate what he does for her.
Tino didn't think the song had any emotion at all; it was quite hard to find an emotion to say the song was portraying as the lyrics and music kind of contrasted in mood, but you could say that it was representing the relationship that the singer was singing about. The singer is at the point in his relationship where he is in love but not falling in love and so he likes the feeling of new found love after an argument. The song is quite different to what Me and Ella usually listen to as we both quite like to listen to music theatre; Tino also found the song different to what she usually listens to as even though she doesn't mind what she listens to, she doesn't listen to reggae type songs. Me and Tino both liked that the tempo was upbeat, and I liked the catchiness, and she liked her voice. She liked her voice because it was smooth and held the notes really well. Ella liked the harmonies and how it just stopped suddenly at the end because it was effective. None of us really liked the lyrics and both me and Ella didn't like the repetitiveness. The brain wouldn't like two different music styles mashing together because music is known to enhance the brain and different styles enhance different parts of the brain therefore the cerebellum and the auditory cortex would break down different pitches and volumes, meaning that the amygdala wouldn't know what emotions to make us feel. Also the brain wouldn't like the repetition because although repetition enhances the brain and creates patterns that help the brain excel, the same pattern over and over would become boring and the emotions become less exciting and the music no longer affects us in the same way.
Why do different styles of music affect us in different ways?
There are four main sections of the lobe of the brain, all of which are engaged when music enters.
cerebellem
auditory cortex
amygdala
caudate
The cerebellum and the auditory cortex work together when the music first enters the brain, breaking down the basics such as pitch and volume.
The amygdala controls the emotions we feel towards music causing a reaction.
The cerebellum connects the basic information to the amygdala and this leads to a dopamine rush. This is why we find pleasure from a song or why we get chills at certain points.
The caudate controls the emotional response, what your brains feeling.
Amber, your explanation is very good. However, you need to state which song it was that you listened to on both occasions.
ReplyDeletePiece 1: You have clearly assessed in detail and accurately your own responses to the song, and you have compared, with good detail, your initial reaction, emotions, musical background and preferences. You have also explained how the tempo and lyrical content have affected everyone's responses. To gain a merit, you need to:
1. Make a couple more points in the final analysis. Use examples of the chord pattern to demonstrate the tonality of the song. You also need to write about the instrumentation in the song, and the production techniques, and how this has had an impact on everyone's responses.
Piece 2: Piece 2 is not on here. This needs to be completed as soon as possible.