Reaction to Final Concert

As with the midterm concert, I was extremely impressed by the final concert.  Everyone did a fantastic job both tightening and improving their songs and performing them.  This class has been an incredible success--it has been amazing to see the progress each of us has made as we've gotten to know each other's work intimately, and even more impressive to hear the resulting music that has come out of collaborations in this class.  Great job everyone!

Josh:  Faster from the Sun

I loved Josh's and Rosalind's voices in harmony, which fit together so well.  Having male and female voices singing together really spiced the song.  I like how Josh utilized vocal harmony throughout the entire song, rather than just emphasizing certain words or sections.

Roman:  Good St. George

It was great to see the creative lyrical work Roman could do with the assigned narrative.  I especially like the line "Ascalon, you ask a lot of me"--very clever.  In general, I was very impressed with the song's high energy level.  The melody was especially strong, as was the use of contrasting dynamics in different sections.  My favorite part was probably the short guitar break that was completely tonally unrelated to the rest of the song.  This break really caught my attention and gave the song a mystical quality that fits appropriately with the narrative off of which the lyrics are based.

 

Julie and Jeremy:  Wild Things

 Jeremy played incredibly well in our song "Wild Things."  I think our parts fit nicely together, as slower melodic lines were juxtaposed with his intricate outlining of guitar chords.  This assignment--which was to write a song together--was initially very challenging, as it was hard to know where to start.  I think it worked very well to have Jeremy come up with the guitar part while I came up with the vocal part.  I loved the guitar part that Jeremy wrote, which consisted of an unpredictable and unique chord progression that flowed together flawlessly.

 

Jeremy:  They Took the Kids Away

The lyrics of this song were fantastic.  I can tell from the performance that this was a song Jeremy felt passionate about.  Once again, I was very impressed with the control he had over his guitar, switching suddenly between different styles of playing.  It was really nice to hear variations on different chords as Jeremy finger picked and added a different note every other chord.  Jeremy's engagement with the song during his performance made it easy for the audience to connect with it.

 

Katherine and Butch:  It Rains in His Heart

Butch's and Katherine's song was very beautiful, and I especially loved Parker's and Ben's guitar and bass additions, as well as when both singers come in and harmonize together.  I still can't believe they've never harmonized together before.  The chord progression of this song is very strong.  It Is unpredictable, yet fits together smoothly.  The bridge was especially well done.  It differs significantly from the rest of the song, and uses interesting rhythmic structures, yet it still flows effortlessly to and from the chorus and verse.  The melody is also very powerful, as it immediately makes an octave leap from the fifth to the fifth above.  This song is really beautiful.

 

Rosalind and Ben:  The Ballad of Seamus Taylor

I admired the way in which Ben and Rosalind worked out their duet for this song.  It was very effective to have Rosalind sing the verses and Ben the choruses or prechoruses, instead of just switching off versus.  The harmony was great too--not overwhelming and used in appropriate places.  Structuring the song this way made it sound purposeful as a duet rather than a forced collaboration.  

 

Ben:  Pink Pills

I like the varying rhythmic layers in this song.  The drum beat is the most rhythmically intricate, the guitar chord rhythm is somewhere in the middle, and the melodic rhythm moves slower over the chords.  I loved that Ben incorporated the synthesizer and drums—they really added to the song as a whole.  This is something I could picture hearing on the radio.  My favorite part was at the end, where all instruments cut out except for a softer guitar rhythm, and Butch came in with a saxophone solo.  This part was very pretty, and added a nice contrast to the rest of the song.

 

Parker:  Easy Going, Easy Gone

Parker did a great job with the billboard 100 hit assignment.  His song was funny in its parody of an annoying Miley-Cirus type pop hit, yet it was still well-made, catchy, and fun.  I loved the synthesizer parts that Jonathan played--they were very accurately representative of a sort of computerized sound that seems to be a trend in pop music right now.  I also had a lot of fun singing this song!  It has great energy.

 

Ben:  Coathanger

This song is catchy and interesting.  It has many different sections with different chord changes, but all utilize the technique of singing with a slower rhythm over a faster harmonic rhythm.  I love how the song switches back and forth from major to minor mode.  My favorite part is the repeated line "she's come not full, she is a vacuum,"  which gets higher in pitch each time, eventually reaching the climax line, "she is a void."  This may not have been intentional, but Ben seemed to have something scratchy in his voice, which actually was very effective in adding intensity to the song.

 

Rosalind:  Fish and Lobster

This song was very cute.  I love how Rosalind began this song a cappella, yet the implied chord harmonies were still apparent as she outlined them with arpeggio.  It was nice to see the progression of this song's creation.  The first time we heard it in workshop, it was entirely a cappella.  At the concert, Rosalind had added some piano harmony.  The harmony was slight and subtle, which was nice, because it really emphasized her voice which was definitely the most important aspect of this song.

 

Parker and Jonathan:  Fjord

I loved this song, which I've had stuck in my head ever since.  Parker and Jonathan both have very different musical styles, and it was great to see what they could do together.  The song was incredibly complex musically, yet it is still very catchy and very solid.  I love how they used different drum beat patterns for different sections of the song, as well as their periodic changes of time signature.  I especially liked the transition from the section that I think was in 5/4 to the section in 6/8.  It was unexpected, but very cool sounding.  Like Rosalind's and Ben's duet, this duet was split up very well.  I especially liked the parts where Parker and Jonathan were singing separate lines that overlap each other, each in a slightly different register.

 

Jonathan:  Neverland

This song was very reminiscent of its inspiration, Miss American Pie.  At the same time, it is an independent and unique song, so Jonathan's interpretation of this assignment was certainly a success.  I was very impressed with the transition riff that is played between the chorus and the following verse.  The riff sounded difficult to play, but Jonathan and Jeremy played it well and together.  In general, Jeremy's guitar playing was a nice component of the song that added an extra dimension.

 

Roman:  Hotline Again

This song is very pretty, even if its content is supposed to be somewhat somber.  Roman's addition of the cello was a beautiful touch, and it really made this song stand out.  I also liked how Roman added an extra beat in certain places--it contributed to the general lyrical mood, which described a sense of unease, discomfort, and sometimes anger.  The extra beat did not allow the listener to settle into the song, but rather to feel a bit on edge as did the narrator of the song.

 

Julie:  Worry Away

This song was well done, especially considering the difficulties that can arise when many musicians are performing at once.  The harmonies sounded great, as did Ben and Parker on guitar and bass.  I especially liked how Ben embellished the bass part slightly.

 

Josh:  O Holy Night

Josh's rendition of this song was absolutely beautiful.  He successfully demonstrated how a musician can take a traditional song that most people know and completely personalize it without changing any of its fundamental elements.  Very well done.

 

Josh:  All Ye Shackled Men

It was effective to have everyone participate in this last song, creating a strong and forceful sound. It was also great to hear and see Josh perform slightly differently as he sang in that belting style.  His vocal intensity seemed to be influenced by the lack of guitar in front of him, which likely allowed him to focus entirely on his vocals.  The song came across very soulfully and passionately.  Performing this piece a capella added a great contrast to the other songs, and provided a strong finish to the concert.