Songs:
Music In Motion
Enrique Granados was a Spanish pianist and composer during the late 1800s and early 1900s. This song is part of a collection by Enrique Granados called Valses Poéticos which consists of eight short movements which was released around 1886-1894. This specific piece shows emotion from tempo and sound. There are high climaxes and calm patterns that repeat for a strengthened statement. Work Cited: Enrique Granados | Classical Music, Piano Works, Catalan | Britannica Granados’ Valses Poéticos: A Brief Historical Background
As a classical and jazz pianist, having one song that combines the two contrasting styles felt crucial to my musical vision. This song that I composed takes inspiration from Song for my Father’s chord progression and the rhythm from Cogs In Motion for the jazz section. The song begins slow and peaceful and builds up to a jazz solo before it finishes back in the classical style with a little flare from jazz. I chose the title Music in Motion for this song and my album to capture the different styles of music and show the motion of how music went through history.
Herbie Hancock is a Grammy-winning jazz pianist that played in a plethora of musical styles like bebop, hip-hop, funk, and disco. The song Watermelon Man was inspired by Herbie Hancock’s childhood memories of a noisy watermelon seller, in which he turned the rhythmic clicking of the horse drawn carriage into a song pattern. This song’s form works as 16 bar blues, as the first 8 bars mimic a classic blues and the following 8 bars act as a longer variation of the ending of standard blues. Watermelon Man was a huge hit and it still continues to influence people today as it did in the 1970s. Work Cited: ‘Watermelon Man’: Herbie Hancock's Timeless Jazz Groove Watermelon Man - The Complete Guide To Herbie Hancock's Masterpiece
Dewbie Blues is the blues song that I composed for Music Seminar and it uses the 12 bar blues as well as following an AABA form with a solo and then another AABA form. Like Dewbop, the A section is in C major and the B section is in A minor. This song has piano as the main melody, electric organ for chords, and bass for the walking bass line. After my piano solo, the melody builds upon itself and makes a more jazzy feel than the melody in the first AABA section. My experience with jazz from the jazz band at Toledo School for the Arts made this piece extremely fun to make.
While Paul Desmond is credited with composing Take Five, it was rather a group effort between The Dave Brubeck Quartet. This quartet consisted of Dave Brubeck, Paul Desmond, Eugene Wright, and Joe Morello. This quartet worked so well together due to their different styles of solos that mixed fantastically together from each member. The drummer Joe Morello gave the starting point for Take Five from soloing in 5/4 on many songs. Alto saxophonist Paul Desmond came up with the main melodies, and pianist Dave Brubeck strung all of these musical ideas together into one of the most famous jazz songs of all time. Work Cited: The Story Of Dave Brubeck's 'Take Five' : NPR Timeline — Dave Brubeck The Music of the Classic Quartet - Rediscovering Dave Brubeck
Frank Sinatra first started his musical career as a big band singer with Harry James and then Tommy Dorsey. Frank Sinatra’s musical talent was being able to make long-breathed and romantic interpretations out of soft songs called ballads. The song My Way was based on a French song called Comme D’Habitude, in which the French version tells the story of a man having his love killed by the boredom of everyday life. My Way came to be as it was Paul Anka who rewrote the lyrics and he changed the meaning to be about a man looking back fondly on a life he lived on his own terms. May Way starts slow and quiet, then the song builds tension and reaches a climax and slowly moves back down to a peaceful ending. Work Cited My Way by Frank Sinatra - Songfacts Frank Sinatra: The Artist Behind The Image - Jazzwise
Steam Gardens is composed by Koji Kondo for the hit game Super Mario Odyssey and the main inspiration for this song was the jazz, pop, and surf rock of the 1960s.. The original recording of the song has drums, organ, flute, trumpet, tuba, electric guitar, and electric bass playing together in harmony. The high up feel, with the organ solo, and the connection of the instruments makes a wonderful piece that can easily loop around for hours upon end. The composer Koju Kondo has been working for Nintendo for 41 years and made tracks for the Super Mario Series, Legend of Zelda Series, and much more. Work Cited: Steam Gardens (theme) - Super Mario Wiki, the Mario encyclopedia Koji Kondo | Nintendo | Fandom
All My Loving performed by The Beatles featuring Paul McCartney singing the main vocals and playing bass, John Lennon singing backing vocals and playing rhythm guitar, George Harrison singing backing vocals and playing lead guitar, and Ringo Starr playing drums. This song has an up beat groove following an AABA form. The lyrics of the song describes how love works after Paul McCartney had to leave his lover behind due to the band traveling across the world. The narration hopes that the dreams of reuniting with his lover comes true once and for all. Work Cited: All My Loving – song facts, recording info and more! | The Beatles Bible All My Loving by The Beatles Lyrics Meaning - Unveiling the Layers of a Timeless Love Anthem Rock 'N' Roll: Song Meaning: All My Loving by The Beatles
In My Life talks about the nostalgic memories of Liverpool which included places changing or leaving, and the remembrance of friends and lovers of the past. In this song by the Beatles, John Lennon made and sung the vocals as well as playing rhythm guitar, Paul McCartney sung harmony vocals and played bass, George Harrison also sung harmony vocals and played lead guitar, Ringo Starr played drums, and George Martin, The Beatles’ producer, arranger, and mentor, played piano and tambourine. The feel of the song is much calmer and laid back in order to draw the audience into the lyrics. Work Cited: In My Life – song facts, recording info and more! | The Beatles Bible
Dewbop is an upbeat pop song that I made for the class Music Seminar at Toledo School for the Arts. The song itself is in AABA form, with the A section being in C major, the B section changing to the relative minor key A minor. I have been practicing piano for many years and while I play varieties of styles like classical, jazz, pop, and rock, I never really composed songs. This class was my chance to explore the world of composition.