LISTENING FRAMEWORK
LISTENING PHASE 1 (Rhythm)
Tempo [slow, medium, fast]
Slow for the introduction, the medium afterwards
Source [where is the rhythm coming from?]
In the intro, the synths carry the song. Afterwards the drum set creates the main rhythm
Groove [describe how the personality of the rhythm]
Rhythm is relatively steady except for some moments at the end of a verse where there is some added cymbal crash.
LISTENING PHASE 2 (Arrangement)
Instrumentation [which instruments drive the song?]
Synthesizers, electric guitar, drums
Structure/Organization [how is the song built? Order, patterns, etc.]
Intro with just synthesizers, middle with mainly synth and drums (a little electric guitar), electric guitar solo, mainly synth and drums.
Emotional Architecture [Draw how the song build and drop?]
LISTENING PHASE 3 (Sound Quality) Balance
- Height [high and low of frequency] Medium to high
- Width [stereo panning left/right] Neutral
- Depth [layers of instruments - via loudness] Good depth, can hear each part.
LISTENING FRAMEWORK
LISTENING PHASE 1 (Rhythm)
Tempo [slow, medium, fast]
Medium throughout
Source [where is the rhythm coming from?]
Snare drum, primarily
Groove [describe how the personality of the rhythm]
Beat is constant with little or no variation. Drums stick to the same rhythm
LISTENING PHASE 2 (Arrangement)
Instrumentation [which instruments drive the song?]
Brass (Trumpet, Trombone, Tuba, Mellophone), Percussion (snare, bass, cymbals)
Structure/Organization [how is the song built? Order, patterns, etc.]
Verbal countdown, Instrumental
Emotional Architecture [Draw how the song build and drop?]
LISTENING PHASE 3 (Sound Quality) Balance
- Height [high and low of frequency] Medium to high
- Width [stereo panning left/right] Neutral
- Depth [layers of instruments - via loudness] Marching band, mostly brass, not much depth
The first song is from the original “The Final Countdown” music video by Europe. The second is a cover of the song by a high school marching band. The first obvious difference is that the original song contains lyrics, whereas in the marching band version, the lyric line is taken over by brass instruments, mainly trumpets. Therefore, there are no lyrics in the band version. The melody remains intact however, with the exception of the beginning. In the original video, the synths rev up to provide a “countdown” to the start of the song. In the marching band version, the countdown is provided verbally by the band members. The melody then takes over and continues until where the guitar solo would be in the original song, but then ends instead of giving a “solo” to another instrument.
While the original song has varying tempo for the beginning, main, and end, the marching band version keeps a steady medium paced tempo throughout the song. This may be due to it being hard to march to varying tempos. The drums in both versions seem to keep a fairly constant rhythm, however the instrumentation is very different between the two. The original song uses synthesizers, electric guitar, bass guitar, and drum sets. In the adapted band version, we have standard marching instruments: trumpets, trombone, sousaphone, mellophone, tenor/alto sax, percussion, and probably clarinets and flutes, although you can’t hear them. Theoretically there should be more depth in this version, because there are more instruments, but since most of the instruments combine to provide the melody, the melody is the most dominant element of the song, and there is not much going on in the background except for the drums. The sound is very flat, as opposed to the original video, where we can hear each instrument part.
Overall I like the original song better because it comes together in a more professional manner and having the lyrics makes the song very enjoyable. However, I am in marching band, so I have a respect for the band version, because it is not easy to march and play this song at the same time.
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