UNIT 318 Listening to Music

Analyse two contrasting pieces of music.

Radiohead - Pyramid Song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3M_Gg1xAHE4

Pyramid Song is the first song I have chosen to analyse because its a very interesting song with a really unusual rhythm and time signature. The reason I love this song so much is the much disputed time signature of the song which gives it the off beat and mysterious feel. The piano plays what feels like s syncopated rhythm but there is a push on the beat which sounds kind of jarring and unpredictable at first but when the drums kicks it it all makes sense and It becomes a beautiful rhythm which is just inspired. after looking for what the timing is it looks like it is in 4/4 which brakes down into a 32 beat pattern. 

The lyrics of the song don't really make any sense to me. There is some interesting ideas on the internet but I think only Thom York understands them but I guess is the point. They mean what you want them to mean which I think helps people to relate to the song. Thom uses his voice more like some sort of instrument like a violin which I really love! so to me personally, it doesn't matter what he is saying because it is a beautiful. In some sections there are harmonising vocals where he has harmonised a 5th over his base vocal. This creates a really nice atmosphere. The mood of the song is ambient and gentle with the minor key giving it a sad feel. 

Toska - Chasm 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJYPoS98c9A


This song is a completely instrumental son written and played by the band Toska. The style and genre of the song is progressive rock/metal. There is a heavy focus on the complex rhythms and guitar sections. The song opens with a unusual and jarring diminished voicing of a chord progression over the top of a simple quarter note drum pattern.

The guitarist uses a system called the grid system to write complex rhythmic patents on the guitar, its a fairly simple system which allows you to brake down each bar into a simple diagram then chose where you want the beats to be. I love this and it really helps to understand and write complex rhythms. It also help you to easily convey to a drummer how the pattern your are playing works. As a three piece band they can create some pretty thick sounds and tones which is alot down to the guitarist and the range of pedals he uses. This includes a fuzz distortion and lots of programmed delay and atmospheric sounds. 

The structure of this track seems all over the pace on first listen however there is a clear structure with an introduction, middle and end when you listen to it closer and analyse it. I think it has been carefully crafted and is an interesting structure which returns and pulls back melody and sections all the way through.   

Structure - Intro a b c a b c d e outro

My feelings and contrasting responses 

They have very contrasting feels and provoke very different responses Pyramid song is very chilled and relaxed making me feel quite sad but in a very relaxed way. This is completely different to chasm which has a real energy and sense of rhythm behind it. The feeling this song elicits are that it makes me feel energetic and lively in comparison to pyramid song. 


Analysis of my musical tastes.

Being a guitar player I am generally drawn towards guitar orientated music and often totally instrumental math rock and prog rock with a focus on the higher level guitar, drums and bass. Unusual time signatures and different chord voicing are another thin that will usually peek my interest and get my replaying a song. 

A genre I absolutely love is Math Rock. It is a rhythmically complex, guitar-based style of experimental rock that emerged in the late 1980s. It is characterised by complex, atypical rhythmic structures including irregular stopping and starting, angular melodies, and dissonant chords. For alot of People this is there worst nightmare however I think with enough listens anyone can admire the beauty in the harmonies or at least the difficulty level required to play an produce this music. In a vain to this I like progressive rock/metal which shares alot of the same characteristics.      

I normally don't like chart music or current popular music. This is normally because its all just so generic and boring. Also often has heavily auto tuned vocals really annoy me because of how soulless and robotic they sound.  

My Musical Journey

age 10 - 12

From a young age I pretty Just listened to what ever my dad was into I remember Pink Floyd and MUSE  being two band which has a big influence on me as a kid and I still love both of them to this day. I was attracted to these bands because of there catchy melody's and impressive, flashy guitar parts from David Gilmour and Matt Bellamy. I would listen to the solo from comfortably numb played by David Gilmour on repeat every day for months. I put way to many hours into learning how to play it even though it was way beyond my skill level at the time.

age 13 - 15

This was around the time I started to be less influenced by my dad and i began to discover music through friends and the internet.

Jimi Hendrix was probably one of the biggest influences on me early on in my guitar playing. The style and feel he has was like nothing else I had ever herd and it was often the reason I kept coming back and picking up the guitar. The blues rock style is something I still can't get out of my system. I think is is what installed a real sense of rhythm and feel in me.

This was also around the time I got into Radiohead which as been a big part of my life ever since. The album "in rainbows" was a big thing for me because Thom York is an extremely good musician and song writer which I could start to appreciate more at this age

age 16 - 18

In the last 2 years my love for Prog Metal and Math Rock has developed because of my desire to learn more interesting and unusual guitar techniques. I have found a neash within the rock genre which I have become engrossed in. Also with access to programs and streaming services like Spotify I has become so easy to discover new music.

Chon is one of my top current bands at the moment because I love the guitar Melody and harmonies which they create. I also really appreciate the extreme difficulty levels which the guitarists (Mario and Eric) achieve.