GCSE Music AOS3 – Popular Music In Context

GCSE MusicAOS3 – Popular Music In

Context

Club Dance MusicMoby

Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?

Song StructureSection Bar Numbers

Intro 1-8Verse 1 9-40Chorus 41-48Verse 2 57-72Break 73Chorus 74-97Outro 98-105

Intro Sectiono Tonic key of A minor is established.o Time signature is 4 crotchets beats in a bar.o Tempo is 98bpm (beats per minute).o Song begins with the chord sequence 1 shown below.o Piano establishes chord sequence 1 (see next slide).

Bar 1 Bar 2 Bar 3 Bar 4 Bar 5 Bar 6 Bar 7 Bar 8Am Am Em Em G G D D

Chord Sequence 1

Intro Sectiono Piano establishes chord sequence 1, see example below.

Verse 1o Verse 1 consists of four repeats of chord sequence

one that was previously heard in the Intro section. As a result verse 1 can be split into the following sections:

Bar 1 Bar 2 Bar 3 Bar 4 Bar 5 Bar 6 Bar 7 Bar 8Am Am Em Em G G D D

Chord Sequence 1

Section of Song

Sub-section Bar Numbers

Verse 1Bars 9-40

Sub-Section 1 9-16Sub-Section 2 17-24Sub-Section 3 25-32Sub-section 4 33-40

Verse 1: Sub-Section 1

o Sub-section 1 follows chord sequence 1.o First vocal sample is introduced and simple piano

accompaniment from the Intro continues.

o Vocal sample is very untidy as you can hear echo's & traffic noises in the back ground.

Verse 1: Sub-Section 2

o Sub-section 2 follows chord sequence 1. Vocal sample & piano accompaniment continue.

o Drum/percussion loop is introduced playing a hip-hop style rhythm.

o You can also hear a sustained synthesiser pad playing bass notes with the left hand of the piano.

o There is a similar synthesiser pad which is also doubled by the right hand high notes of the piano playing the response section in the call & response texture with the vocal sample. (See next slide).

Verse 1: Sub-Section 2

o Call & Response between vocal sample, string synthesiser & right hand of piano.

Verse 1: Sub-Section 3

o Sub-section 3 follows chord sequence 1. Vocal sample, piano accompaniment continue & call & response idea continues.

o A synthesiser bass part & string synthesiser part is added to fill out the texture with long sustained chords in the mid to high pitch range.

Verse 1: Sub-Section 4

o Sub-section 4 follows chord sequence 1. Vocal sample, call & response idea, synthesiser bass part & string synthesiser continue.

o The piano accompaniment continues but playing a different syncopated rhythm & decorating the chord sequence through the use of suspension chords in particular sus2 & sus4 chords.

Verse 1: Sub-Section 4

Chorus 1o Chorus 1 is split into two different sections as can be seen

in the table below:

o Chorus sub-section 1 uses chord sequence 2.

o Chorus sub-section 2 uses chord sequence 3.

Section of Song

Sub-section Bar Numbers

Chorus 1Bars 41-56

Sub-Section 1 41-48Sub-Section 2 49-56

Bar 1

Bar 2

Bar 3

Bar 4

Bar 5

Bar 6

Bar 7 Bar 8

C C Am Am C C Am Am

Bar 1

Bar 2

Bar 3

Bar 4

Bar 5

Bar 6

Bar 7 Bar 8

F F C C F F C C

Chorus 1: Sub-section 1

o Chord sequence changes to chord sequence 2, with a dramatic lifting effect on the mood.

o Key is now ambiguous it could be either A minor like verse 1 or C major as both of these chords are used in the chord sequence.

o Second vocal sample is used on the lyrics ‘These open

doors’ .

Chorus 1: Sub-section 1

o Texture is similar to sub-section 4 of verse 1.

o The answering phrases between the synthesiser & piano have been replaced with more subtle phrases in the right hand of the piano part.

o The synthesiser string part is now more a part of the background, becoming more prominent towards the end of the chorus.

Chorus 1: Sub-section 2

o Chorus 1: sub-section 2 uses chord sequence 3.

o The music is now clearly in C major, this is confirmed by chord sequence 3 as all the chords in the sequence belong to C major.

o The texture remains the same as in sub-section 1. The main difference is that the sample is retriggered faster than in sub-section 1. As a result the sample answers itself in the call & response pattern.

o Echoes & shouts are added.

Verse 2o Verse 2 is split into two different sections as it can be

seen in the table below:

o Verse 2 returns to chord sequence one & as a result the key changes back to A minor.

Section of Song

Sub-section Bar Numbers

Verse 2Bars 57-72

Sub-Section 1 57-64Sub-Section 2 65-72

Verse 2: Sub-sections 1 & 2

Sub-section 1o Verse 2 sub-section 1 is very similar to verse 1 sub-

section 4.

o The vocal sample has the following an echo effect added & a telephone voice EQ is applied to the echo which makes it sound much thinner.

o The echo effect is delayed & there are a number of repeats of the echo which gradually fade away.

Sub-section 2o Sub-section 2 is an exact repeat of sub-section 1.

Breako The break section consists of a single bar where all the

instruments have dropped out.

o Dying repeats of the delay effect on the EQ'd vocal echo.o A quiet delay repeat of the snare drum which was playing

in the drum loop of verse 2.o Tailing off of the reverb that has been applied to the other

parts.

Section of Song

BreakBar 73

Chorus 2o Chorus 2 is split into two different sections as can be seen

in the table below, however the second section of this chorus repeats.

Section of Song

Sub-section Bar Numbers

Chorus 2Bars 74-97

Sub-Section 1 74-81Sub-Section 2a 82-89Sub-section 2b 90-97

Chorus 2: Sub-section 1

o Sub-section 1 uses chord sequence 2 as in chorus 1.

o Vocal sample 2 from chorus 1 is used. Reverb & delay has been added to it to make it sound distant.

o The reverb & delay also blends in with the lush string pad part which is playing in the static chords.

o Drums enter at bar 81 leading into sub-section 2.

Chorus 2: Sub-section 2

Bars 82-89o Similar to sub-section 2 of chorus 1, uses chord sequence

3 as in chorus 1. o Reverb on the vocal sample 2 has been dramatically

reduced from sub-section 1. It now sound clearer & more prominent even though it is no louder than it was in sub-section 1.

Bars 90-97o This repeat of sub-section 2 is unexpected as we are

anticipating an immediate return to the verse. o Repeating or extending the chorus at the end of a song is

a common song writing trick which signify's that the song is coming to the end.

Outroo The outro is the final section of the song & uses chord

sequence 1.

o Texture reduces to just vocal sample 1 accompanied by synth pad playing the chord sequence using static chords.

Section of SongOutro

Bars 98-105

Important Points

Sampling o Moby left in the background noise on the vocal samples

as he felt that this enhanced the emotional content of the song as well as the emotional reaction of the listener.

Musical Effectso In electronic music using effects is an important

development tool. Moby uses a number of subtle techniques including reverb, delay & equalisation (EQ). He also pays particular attention to the placement of sound within the stereo field, this means where they have been placed within the left-hand & right-hand speakers.

Important Points

Harmonieso Harmonies in dance music are usually very simple. Why

Does My Heart Feel So Bad only consists of 6 chords. These chords were selected because of the emotional response they would provoke from the listener rather a musical theory. As a result we have a unique combination of chords being used.