Compare and contrast the musical features in:

 Living for the City by Stevie Wonder &

 September by Earth Wind & Fire

Element Similarities Differences

Structure Both pieces have an introduction
Both pieces have multiple verses. The verses typically
have the same melodic structure. The lyrics are different
in each verse except for the last line of each verse in LC.
Both have a chorus
Both pieces have a bridge which links different sections
Living for the City has a 4 bar intro but September has a 9 ½ bar intro with the melody starting in
the 10th bar, with a 3 quaver lead in to the 11th bar.
LC has 6 verses & Sept has 5.
LC has a tag line at the end of each verse: “Just enough, just enough for the city.”
Sept has a distinct chorus which is played 1x after Verses 2 & 2x after verse 4. After the final verse,
the chorus is repeated 4 times. LC on the other hand does not have a distinct chorus. Instead, the
final line of each verse is the same. This tag line is used in the middle of the piece in an extended
form, which could be considered to be the chorus. It is accompanied by claps and female vocals in
harmony singing “Living, just enough for the city” while the main vocalist sings the same lyrics in
an extended improvisation.
In Sept the bridge links the chorus and verse 3. It comprises non-sense words: hey hey ba de yah.
The bridge in LC links the chorus & interlude to verse 5. The bridge is unique in being comprised of
music concrete sounds that tell a story.
LC has an interlude based on the introduction, which occurs after verse 2 & 4 and then again after
verse 6. This interlude continues as an outro. Sept has no outro. It repeats the chorus 3 x with a
fade out on the 4th time.

Repetitive ending

Instrumentation
Timbre
Rhythm
Melody
Tonality
etc