The song Now in Our Lives is more relaxed and romantic compared to his other quick, strong be-bop songs. The majority of the song consists of low, sluggish melodies. However, there are many parts throughout the song that have many fast notes played. There are quite a few changes in rhythm throughout the piece which stimulates the piece. There’s a nice piano, bass and drum accompaniment that help to establish the laid-back feel of the music.
What is Hip-Hop? Hip-hop is a cultural movement best known for its impact on music in the form of the musical genre of the same name. It has its origins in the Bronx, in New York City, during the 1970s, mostly among African Americans but with some influence from the Latin American population of the area as well. The culture has gone from being a relatively underground style to being a major style throughout the world, and it has been commercialized and popularized, especially in the United States. The four traditional pillars of hip-hop are DJing, rapping, breakdancing, and graffiti art.
It follows the order of: Intro – Verse 1 – Pre-Chorus – Chorus – Intro – Verse 2 – Pre-Chorus – Chorus – Bridge – Intro – Verse 3 – Outro. The intro starts of quiet and grows when the full band enters; it’s also used interestingly as a fill to link the chorus’ so the verses. During verse 1 the texture builds up, till the voice enters. Then the pre-chorus arrives, this is used to build up excitement to the chorus. The chorus its self is high in pitch and very thick.
There is a dramatic neopolitan chord [the flattened supertonic- Eb major 1st inversion] in bar 95. Timbre The vocal part is for a tenor voice, with some sections requiring a quiet, whispered tone. The song is accompanied by a large, live band. Instrumental timbres include pizzicato strings [plucking], clarinets often in their low register, muted brass, piano and drum kit. In the bridge, high bowed strings, sometimes using harmonics and tremolo, add a countermelody.
Pink Floyd were influenced by a number of artists throughout their career, helping them towards the sound they achieved on Dark Side of the Moon. Miles Davis, one of the most important musicians of the second half of the twentieth century, helped create modern jazz as we know it. It is reported that Richard Wright would often lose himself in jazz records, particularly the work of Miles Davis, through his hard bop style in the 1950’s, experimental ambient sound in the 1960’s, and his rock and funk records in the 1970’s. Wright has said himself that one of his favourite pieces ever was Miles Davis’ take on Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess from the 1959 Kind of Blue album, which was a key influence to the composition of the chord sequence which forms the song Us and Them from Dark Side of the Moon. The Beatles were a band that influenced Pink Floyd greatly in the lead up to the release of Dark Side of the Moon; most bands were influenced by the Beatles at this time.
Hip-hop, while opposed to rap, generally defines the whole culture. Rap formed during the 1970s with the rise in popularity of block parties in New York, particularly among African American youth residing in the Bronx. Rapping developed as a vocal style in which the artist speaks along with an instrumental or synthesized beat. The roots of rapping are found in African-American music and ultimate African music, with roots originating from the griots of west African culture. The African American traditions of signifyin' (an early form of wordplay), the dozens (game of spoken words between two communities) and jazz poetry all had an influence on rap music.
Reggae music originated from Jamaica in the early 1960's. In the streets and ghettos of Kingston, shortly after independence from Britain in 1962, reggae started to evolve from Mento, which was a local form of Jamaican music in the 30's to what it has become today. Originated in Jamaica, reggae music is recognized by rhythmic accents on the offbeat, usually played by piano, guitar, or sometimes both. Changing American popular music, the genre began to be played in the 1960s producing a new and different sound. Reggae's origins are in traditional African and Caribbean music, American rhythm and blues, and in Jamaican ska and rock steady (Scaruffi, Piero).
Jazz Comparison ‘Deed I do’ Deed I do - Mose Allison Starts off with vocals before anything else, music is always cast around the vocals making vocals very dominant. Piano is also dominant taking up own solo In 4/4 Drums and bass very tight together, but always staying in the background. Instruments: Vocals, Piano drums, bass. The song is very simple, in stays in the key of C but a few odd notes are sometimes played to make it sound more interesting. The bass line sounds as if its walking and the drums always have a snare feeling n the background and the symbols are always very light, giving the intention the drummer is using brushes instead on sticks.
At first I felt as if I were listening to Island music. I thought I heard steel drums. There was an up tempo calypso like beat. There was also some kind of percussion instrument beating time but it didn’t sound like a regular drum set. I think it was an isolated snare and some kind of pitched bass drum.
This music style sometimes aquired chanting and emphasized the syncopated beat. Reggae contained a collection of many different instruments and music genres. Electric guitars, organs, pianos, and drums were the most used instruments in reggae records. Reggae also had some mixed beats from American R and B or other traditional folk music from Africa. There have been a number of successful artists come from Jamaica.