SONGS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
LISTENING JOURNAL
CONNOR KAIL
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NTRY 1
NALYSIS
Gaga, Lady. “Bad Romance.” (music video). Directed by Francis Lawrence. September 26, 2009.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrO4YZeyl0I&list=RDqrO4YZeyl0I&start_radio=1.
Melody: This song is very smooth and has a good rhythm to it. The piano is played mostly
during this song but also the drums, trombone, and trumpets were also played. The only voice in
this song was Lady Gaga. There was mainly one melody throughout the song. When this song
first came out, I remember I really liked the beat and thought the song sounded good. I also
remember when the song first came out, I was able to remember some of the lyrics and hum
some of the beat after hearing the song. There were leaps throughout the song.
Harmony: The song’s lyrics were kind of sad but the way she sang and the beat made it more of
a pleasant song. The lyrics in general was sad but the beat was a happier beat. The chords
changed frequently not staying very consistent throughout the song. A lot of her songs have this
kind of harmony, so I am not too familiar with this harmony but have heard it before. I wouldn’t
use this kind of harmony because it is one, I’m not too confident I could pair lyrics with this
harmony and I’m not super familiar with this harmony.
Rhythm: This is a rhythmic active song because the rhythm changed throughout the song. No
friends in the industry is a example of this rhythmic active song because the beat changed into
more of a faster pace and wasn’t very consistent. The laughing song is a rhythmic smooth
sounding piece because it has a consistent smooth rhythm. In the beginning it is smooth then
becomes more active. It happens during the entire song. The rhythm of this song makes me feel
relaxed. The beat of this song is not very consistent but is a nice sounding piece so it is relaxing.
Texture: There was only one person singing during this song and that was Lady Gaga, and the
instruments of this song was the piano, drums, trombone, and trumpet. The brass family of
instruments was played during this song which includes the trumpet and trombone. I think how
they played the beat made people listen more for the lyrics. I like how the instruments were
played because they were played perfectly during this song. This song had only one person
singing during this song but the instruments played during the song varied. This song also
seemed like it had a polyphonic texture to it.
Timbre: This song is pretty gentle. The reason this song is so gentle is because the song doesn’t
get to loud or soft in any portions. The song is very consistent with how loud and soft it is. I
really like the pitch of this song. This song is also very catchy. This song has some very good
lyrics and the way they play the instruments in this song makes this song so good. I remember
when this song came out, I was in elementary school and lots of my peers including me enjoyed
listening to this song, so this song appeals to the younger generation as well as older ones.
Form: It was tough to find different sections of this song. I only found 2 sections of this song.
The different sections I found was a louder section where Lady Gaga sang about the bad
romances she has experienced. The other section was a quieter section with only the beat
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playing. These sections did return multiple times because these were the only sections of the
song. With these sections returning I would consider this song as ABA form because you have
the quiet portion then switches to where Lady Gaga is singing then goes quiet again. ABA for is
also known as ternary form.
Dynamics: I didn’t really notice any differences in the loud and soft portions. The louder
portions were with Lady Gaga singing about her bad romances. The quieter portions of this song
was with no singing and only the beat playing. I would consider this song more in the louder side
of songs. I would consider this song as mezzo-forte on the Italian Dynamics Markings. The use
of dynamics helped connect the listener to this song. The soft portion of this song made people
listen harder for the lyrics. The beat and the lyrics also set the sad tone for the song.
Spalding, Esperanza. “Formwela 1” (music video). Directed by Matthew W. Hayes lll April 6,
2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEL1e4n-X2g.
Melody: This is a very smooth song, and it also has a very good rhythm to the song. The only
instruments I heard during this song was the piano and the cello. The cello is something new to
me because I have not heard many songs with this instrument. During this song there was only 1
melody that I found. After this song was over, I was able to remember some of the lyrics and
some of the beat. During this song there was some leaps but they were not large leaps so I would
consider this song as a combination of conjunct and disjunct melody.
Harmony: I would consider this song as a pleasant song, but more on the sad side. The softness
of this song made this song a little sadder. The chords seemed to change pretty frequently, not
having the same notes played repeatedly. This harmony is something that I’m not used to hearing
because I don’t listen to this type of music ever, so this kind of harmony is very new to me. I’m
used to hearing harmonies like Juice WRLD’s Robbery or something like No Friends in the
Industry by Drake. I would not use this kind of harmony because I am not familiar with this kind
of harmony.
Rhythm: This song has a very smooth rhythm because it never gets faster, it just stays at the
same slow pace. No Friends in the Industry by Drake is an example of an active rhythm. The
rhythm of No Friends in the Industry starts out smooth then becomes faster and more
unpredictable on the upcoming notes. The rhythm happens throughout the entire song because
the rhythm started from the very beginning to the very end. The rhythm makes me feel very
relaxed because it’s very soft sound and is soft throughout the rest of the song never getting loud
at all.
Texture: The person who sang this song was Esperanza Spalding. The main instruments played
in the song were the cello and piano. There were just mainly passages of solo playing of singing
and solo playing of the piano and cello. I think the softness of her voice and instruments made
the song more sad and makes the song more relaxing. I think it would be cool to play the
E
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NTRY 2
NALYSIS
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instruments like her as well as sing like her because she sings in a very low tone and is still very
good. Also for this songs lyrics, the instruments are played perfectly.
Timbre: This song is very gentle. The reason this song is so gentle is because this is meant to be a
sad and relaxing song. One of the ways you can make a song sadder is by lowering the tone of
voice and lowering the pitches of the instruments being played. Also, if you lower the pitches of
the singer and the instruments, the more relaxing the song becomes. I would also consider this
song very relaxing because of the softness of her voice and the softness of how she played the
instruments. I would also consider this song smooth because the pace stays very consistent.
Dynamics: There was not any loud portions of this song. This song was very quiet and very
consistent with that pitch through the entire song. I would consider this song as pianissmo on the
Italian Dynamics Marking. The emotions of the listeners was affected because of how soft the
sounds were. The softness of the song can make songs sadder, and that’s what this song does.
Form: There wasn’t really any different sections of this song. The pitches didn’t change, and there
wasn’t any different sections with the lyrics. This section did return. This song has strophic form
also known as AAAA form.
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