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Analysing Concepts For Viva Voce
Analysing Concepts For Viva Voce
Pitch
Duration
Piano plays in a
medium-high register,
major
Major happy tonality,
blues scale (consists of 6
notes the 5 notes of
the minor pentatonic
scale, plus one
additional note which is
the diminished 5th of the
tonic) 1 - b3 - 4 - b5 - 5 b7 - 1.
No set chord progression
as it is mostly
improvised
Piano plays the melody,
bass plays the harmony
while drums keep the
rhythm
Around 4:00, piano plays
bass notes, crotchets
that keep the beat with
the improvised melody
Piece ends on a tremolo
after the return of the
main theme/riff. Tremolo
is on accidental notes,
there is a sense of
dissonance and
incompletion at the end.
Constant allegro piano
throughout the whole
piece, conveys the jazz
feel (>120 bpm)
Regular pulse/bassline is
created by the bass in
the rhythm section, to
accompany the higher
melody of the piano.
Bass plays in quavers,
eight in every bar
Simple quadruple metre
4/4 time. Piano accents
the weaker beats,
creating syncopation
against the steady pulse
of the drums and bass
Marry Me Jason
Derulo (Pop)
Piano plays an
ostinato/riff/hook, a
counter melody that
repeats throughout
the verses
G major tonality, F#
key signature
Chord progression
GDEC
During the chorus,
piano plays chords
on every crotchet
beat, as well as
playing the ostinato
Major tonality,
creates happy and
bright tone colour
Consonance,
pleasant intervals
based on major
scales
Moderato/Allegretto
tempo constant
throughout the entire
song (120 bpm)
Syncopation
accents on the 2nd
and 4th beat with the
electronic drumbeats
In third chorus, piano
plays harmony as
chord progerssion,
crotchets
accompanying the
vocals
Harmonic change
every measure/bar
there is a chord
Texture
Structure
change
Begins in thin
homophonic texture,
vocal melisma
accompanied by
piano playing
repeated ostinato
First verse begins still
in homophonic
texture. Middle of
verse, changes to
polyphonic texture
with bass drum plays
crotchets on every
beat, building up to
the chorus
In chorus, Piano no
longer plays ostinato
counter-melody but
harmonic chords in
the background.
Electronic drumbeats
are prominent over
the forte vocals,
creating a thick and
dense texture.
Typical structure of a
pop song. Verse
chorus verse chorus
bridge chorus
ABCBDB
Ostinato repeating
theme is prominent
throughout the whole
song. Accompanies
the vocal melody in
verses and provides
chord progression
structure for the
chorus. Theme also
returns in the second
chorus
Dynamics and
Expressive
Techniques
Improvisation of piano
when theme is not
played, improvisation of
piano occurs over the
harmonic bassline, and
drum rhythm
Piano plays in forte,
while drums and bass
play in mezzoforte
No crescendoes or
dominuendos
ET: the use of blues
notes, blues scale
Mostly staccato
Bass is played pizzicato
(plucked), ascending
and descending
constantly keeping the
beat and playing chords
Tone Colour