Week 3 Blog Post

 How Deep is the Ocean 

 Irving Berlin

I chose to analyze the song, "How Deep is the Ocean" that we also listened to in class on September 20th. This piece was composed by Irving Berlin and sang by Bing Crosby. This song came out in 1932 and was a very popular song in this time. One thing that stuck out to me about the piece was the background music and dynamics throughout the song. Dynamics were not included in most songs at this time and I liked how Bing Crosby sang with the dynamics to match the background music! This piece has an 'ABAC' refrain pattern which was partly unique in this time period as most refrain patterns at this time used the 'AABA' pattern. Overall, I think the musicality of the piece was new and different than other songs at the time which helped it become such a popular song!

Another thing that stuck out to me about this song was the lyrics. I liked how much emotion the performer included throughout the whole piece but especially the parts that needed it, along with dynamics. The lyrics of this piece are related to love and the amount of love the singer has for his significant other, how much he thinks about her, etc. I think this piece was written for all people in love, teenagers, young adults, and even old couples because it is a relatable song just through the lyrics and emotion. I liked listening to this piece and imagining it being performed during this time period.


Comments

  1. JrrSeptember 28, 2021 at 3:07 PM

    This song is so interesting! it's a sweet song and the instruments have been played so perfectly, slowly with all the love. I really like this kind of music. When we are listening to the singer, we notice that he masters his voice and sings with techniques and we can see that it's the result of several working sessions.

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  2. Kaylee SmythSeptember 28, 2021 at 7:38 PM

    I think that this song is super interesting! I also think that this song was popular because it is different and uses some unusual pattering and beats. I love romantic songs, so the lyrics in this song were relatable and I was able to enjoy them!

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  3. Kenley's Popular Music BlogOctober 27, 2021 at 11:19 AM

    Hi Hailey! I agree, I also loved the dynamics. It totally changes a song, and it is personally usually my favorite part of a song, so it was super awesome to hear. I think it was a very risky song to by releasing at the time because of how different it was, but I think that is also what made it excel!

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