Monday, June 22, 2020

"Be with Me"

Some of the "free"s in "Be with Me" (in the sections starting at ~0:59 and ~1:57 and in the coda) are sung with various melismas.  Musically, this gives a sense of the word's meaning since it's not constrained to a single pitch.

Sunday, June 21, 2020

"I Can Hear Music"

I listened to Friends/20/20 yester-day and noticed a couple things.  In the line "Maybe that's why when we're all alone" in "I Can Hear Music," "alone" is sung with a melisma (F# A B A), musically giving a sense of degree (for "all").  I referenced the version by the Ronettes, and while the rhythm is a bit different, this melisma is present there too.

Thursday, June 4, 2020

"Amusement Parks U.S.A."

Last night, I learned the bass part for "Amusement Parks U.S.A." and noticed a small feature in the song.  Underneath "day" in the last "Let's take your car and mess around at the park all day" (at ~2:13), the bass (and I think also the guitar) has a chromatic phrase from F down to B.  Musically, this gives a sense of entirety for that "all day."