The rhythm in Heaven Falls/Fall on Me by Surfaces helps provide the vibe that the artist is presenting with the lyrics. The rhythm in this song is upbeat fun and brings a feeling of a sunny day, birds chirping, with your favorite people. The rhythm of the song stays consistent until 1:58, when it changes into a rhythm that feels more elongated and almost in slow motion. The rhythm then picks back up to the original beat at 2:18, and changes again at 2:42 to change the feel of the song to a tropical feeling. The rhythm throughout the song helps the artist convey the feelings in their lyrics.

I think Joey is amazing, you can tell that music is his escape and that it is something that has come natural to him. You can tell it comes natural to him by the way he is able to improvise when he plays. This is similar to kids who are naturally good at sports, it just comes natural to them. I think that this kind of talent is so rare, it’s one thing to be able to sing and develop the right voice over the years but to be able to play jazz and improvise from such a young age is incredible. I think you measure talent. I think people are talented in different ways. I think it goes beyond music and sports though. Joey’s talent is different because he wasn’t taught to play this way he just picked it up and got good at it, it wasn’t taught to him. I have never met anyone like this in my life, I’ve seen people work very hard to get to where they are but never this natural talent from such a  young age.

#10 

Symphony No. 25 in G minor 

Mozart, a famous composer around the world who changed the world of music, was a complex and glamorous guy. Mozart’s full name is Christened Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus. Mozart grew with a Dad as a famous composer as well, the year Mozart was born his father Leopold published a violin textbook that did very well. Mozart began listening to music at 3-years-old, and started training to play the calvier and composing at the age of 5. Mozart has over 600 symphonies written, his first one written at the age of 8. Mozart went on to travel across Europe meeting musical influencers and writing music, along with the rest of his family. Mozart like many others experienced the depression and isolation that comes with the glamorous lifestyle. While the cause of Mozart’s illness that put him to death is unknown, it is rumored that Antonio Salieri, his rival had poisoned him causing him too early of a death. 

https://www.connollymusic.com/stringovation/mozart-20-facts

I found my information from the link listed above, to find this website I searched Fun Facts about Mozart

Between the two pieces of music I prefer the song seasons of love. Puccini’s piece from “La  Boheme” for me was harder to follow and a bit boring. I believe this is due to the fact that it is in a different language so I cannot tell which words go with the notes to give the romantic effect it seems the song should have. I did however enjoy her voice and the vowels and the resonance in her voice. I thought it was beautiful and drew you in. In seasons of love I enjoyed the harmony  and the way the voices fit together as well as the lyrics. 

In the music I listen to today I notice vibrato in pop songs that are more ballad like, songs that you can sing really  hard in the car with your best friends. In these pop songs when they hold longer notes they will use vibrato and bring a different sound to their music. 

In the piece that I have chosen for class there is not any vibrato the vocalist uses. Most of the notes are staccato and when the notes do become laggato they are steady notes holding one pitch.

In the beginning of the song the dynamics grow louder from pp to f as the “ba-ba-bahhhs” continue. The dynamics of the song continue to be forte until the singer reaches the lyrics “Heaven falls Heaven fa-a-all down on me”  and the dynamics become softer. This same pattern continues as you go from verse to verse and the words repeat. The dynamics of the accompaniment begin to fade and soften at 3:10 as well and creates an angelic music feeling. For me this does make the music more interesting, I enjoy louder music and this makes me intrigued. I enjoy being able to turn my music up loud and enjoy the lyrics which  the dynamics in this song allow for. The timbre of the music there is a bright and buzzy feel. The music has a bright feeling throughout the music, and makes you see the color of the song; yellows, blues, oranges, pinks. The song reflects Heaven in a day, and brings that bright feeling. As well there is a buzz to the song that brings the listerener in, I believe this is to do with the homophonic texture of the music that creates this buzz. I believe it comes from the accompaniment with the lyrics that creates this feeling of buzzy-ness and creates a different and unique vibe.

In my chosen piece, Heaven Falls/Fall on me by the Surfaces the music in my piece helps paint the lyrics the artists write. The artists’ lyrics describe a perfectly happy day filled with all the things they love, it feels like heaven on earth. The music with the lyrics helps bring the happiness of the lyrics to life. The music is upbeat and happy and brings a feeling of summer, this helps paint the words of the song as the lyrics talk about the sun, birds, music, bright colors, and laying outside. As well when the lyrics “As Heaven falls Heaven falls Heaven fa-a-a-alls As Heaven falls Heaven falls Heaven fa-a-all down on me” the music in the background sounds heavenly and as if an angel choir is singing from above. The word painting in this piece is very significant and brings the words of the song to life, it brings the listener to this day and you can almost feel the warmth of summer and the happiness that comes with it.

I did enjoy listening to the two pieces, The Cricket and Il est bel et bon. In high school when I was apart of a madrigal group where we sang similar pieces to this. In these pieces, I enjoy all the different parts and how they fit together to tell the story. I enjoyed the humor that comes with these songs, and truly how hard it can be to perform pieces such as these to tell a story. Pieces like these are what made me enjoy choir in high school, the fun rhythm, and complex parts while getting to tell a story that the audience can enjoy even when they do not understand the lyrics. I love the use of word painting in these songs, it makes the music so much more interactive and draws the listeners in. Specifically in The Cricket, the bouncing back and forth to make it sounds like a cricket singing brings the humor and story to life. For me, the language is not a barrier, the word painting and upbeat rhythm of the pieces alone is enough for me to enjoy these pieces. Watching the groups perform makes the music more enjoyable, specifically Il est bel et bon. For Il est bel et bon there are so many parts; the women speaking, the chicken in the background and the other supporting parts would make it hard to follow what is happening without seeing who is singing. In The Cricket, watching the guy who sings the highest notes is especially enjoyable to watch as he has facial expressions that make him enjoyable to listen to and brings humor to his part of the piece.

For my piece of music I chose Heaven falls/fall on me by surfaces. The melody in this song stays consistent throughout the piece. The Melody of the song is upbeat and consistent throughout the song, the melody is mainly staccato notes with a view lagotto notes mixed in for emphasis on lyrics. However in the last minute of the song the melody changes. In this last minute the melody slows down and another part picks up that was slow earlier in the song, as well the pitch of the melody is changed bringing a different feeling to this section of the song. The texture of this piece is homophonic the entire song until, at one point for about a measure the accompaniment stops and it is just the singer becoming monophonic. When the texture of the song is homophonic it includes instrumentals as well as fellow singers harmonizing with the leader singer. This continues throughout the entire song. This creates an upbeat piece with many beautiful sections going on.

 I enjoyed the Eagle dance in the sense of what it stands for and the culture that it represents. Though the style of music is not something that my ears enjoy, I do not particularly enjoy the movement and how it wavers up and down so rapidly between the chanting. The vocal quality to me was rather harsh and in a way sounds like a voice cracking when they transfer between the hey yahs. As well the voice quality sounds a bit nasally or maybe even flat to me which I do not enjoy. The sound presented in the Eagle dance is not what we predict to hear when listening for pleasure, we expect something that has a soothing voice and something upbeat and happy, or if it is sad to have a long melodious beat. The Eagle dance beat is kind of dry and constant and doesn’t have much uniqueness compared to modern-day music which is constantly changing. Watching the video with the dancers opposed to just listening to the music helps appreciate the culture and the context of where the music comes from and what it represents. 

I enjoyed listening to Bobby McFerrin music, I enjoyed how he used just his voice only to create a unique piece of music that explored different ranges of tones and notes. Compared to the Eagle dance the vocal in Bobby McFerrin’s performance was more smooth and connected his voice had a supported tone that keeps even regardless of the note. Bobby’s performance made me feel joyful and made me follow along desiring to see what note and rhythm he would conquer next, whereas the Eagle dance brings more of a somber serious feeling that is consistent and has a direct message.

I enjoyed listening to Hildegard’s excerpt from “Play of Virtues”, In high school, I was apart of my school top choir and each year we were required to sing similar catholic worship music for contest. Through performing in this choir my teacher helped us develop an appreciation for this genre of music. In Hildegard’s piece, I really enjoyed the vowels and the silkiness in her transition from note to note, specifically the high notes. As well I enjoyed when the whole choir came in, they came in as a unit and as one voice. I really enjoyed the movement in this piece and the dynamics in which it was performed. 

In Princess Leia’s theme music I think the melody is very important, it engraves a specific mood of Princess Leia and paints a picture of who she is and what she will do. The melody in this piece tells a story of its own and I believe helps bring the character to life. While listening to Princess Leia’s theme music to me it paints a picture of a strong woman who is going to make an impact. As well I think it brings this sense of nurturing and a story of redemption, showing that Princess Leia is strong and fierce yet nurturing and cares for others.

The second piece from star wars brings a feeling that something is about to go down and brings a feeling of power. I think this piece as well brings to life this character, Darth Vader and what he brings with him when he comes. 

For me, I relate more to Hildegard’s piece because of my musical background. however, I do believe for most students my age it would be easier to relate to star wars because of the popularity and modernism of it. Star Wars music has become a staple and has become something almost everyone knows.

I would hope other people would be able to appreciate Hildegard’s piece because it still provides a melody and soothing notes that are pleasant to the ear. Regardless of if it interests people or not it still is a beautiful piece that impacts the way you feel.