Analysis Project

For my analysis project—which involved analyzing certain qualities of an established song and incorporating those qualities into an original composition—I studied the song “In the Waiting Line” by Zero 7.  This is one of my favorite songs, and I attempted to pick apart what distinguishes this song from others in terms of such factors as genre style, instrumentation, tone, vocal style, vocal harmonies, song structure, chord patterns, and density of the music.

         The distinct qualities that I picked out of In the Waiting Line are as follows.  The genre is reminiscent of R&B, but it has more modern and electronic instrumentation, and it incorporates elements of the psychedelic.  The instrumentation creates a full sound, yet the overall feel is dreamy, soft, and calming, aided by the soothing quality of the vocals.  There is a pattern of four chords that repeat over and over, and interestingly, these chords are the same in both the verse and the chorus.  They are broken up by different chords in the pre-chorus, as well as in the bridge.  In terms of instrumental solo lines, there are distinctive instrumental riffs that are recognizable and repeat over and over.  The choruses incorporate multi-part vocal harmonies, that build slightly in the second chorus.  All the vocals blend well and with each other and with the music itself. 

         In my song, I incorporated many of these elements, including the chord structure (four repeating chords that are the same in the verse and chorus—broken up by different chords in the prechorus and bridge), distinctive instrumental riffs, and vocal style/vocal harmonies.  I used a beat that, while it is different from In the Waiting Line, it produces a similar feel of slow R&B.  I originally had greater instrumental density in the piece by adding synthesizer chords similar to In the Waiting Line, but based on suggestions from the class, I removed the synthesizer altogether so that the instrumentation is much more simple and bare than that of In the Waiting Line.  Generally, the structure of my song is very similar to that of In the Waiting Line (verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-solo-chorus-chorus).  

         Finally, I attempted to incorporate lyrical themes that were similar to In the Waiting Line.  I’ve interpreted the lyrics of In the Waiting Line as generally being about criticizing the wasting of time based on routines and patterns we have all developed.  I tried to vaguely emulate this idea in my own lyrics.

         Overall, I think my song shares many essential qualities with In the Waiting Line.  I am somewhat concerned that my song resembles it too closely, though.