Hailey's Music Exploration Blog

25 or 6 to 4 Chicago As soon as I saw this song I knew this was the one I wanted to write my blog post about this week! This is not usually my genre or 'stream' of music that I listen to on my own but I played this song in band in junior high so it has stuck with me! Some parts of this song that I like are how well the lyrics match with the band. I obviously practiced and replayed this song a million times for the class, so hearing how well the lyrics match with the original band is very cool. I also like how the time or beat changes quite a bit in the piece, keeping listeners attention the entire time. In the middle of the piece, there is a big 'jam session' or solo session of the guitar but it is not necessarily an improv solo from what I can hear.  All in all I think this song is both fun to play and listen to, it brings me right back in time. I think it was most likely written for the young adult and teen audience at this time and has stuck with that generation as t...

What'd I Say  Ray Charles  This song is a new song to me, I had never heard it before. I was surprised by the long intro and 'vibe' of the song. The introduction is an only instrumental introduction that lasts for nearly the first minute of the piece. After the first minute, the singer comes in and has a very unique voice. In my opinion, I do not think his voice matches the tone that the band puts on in the introduction. After a little while, some more singers come in to join the main male singer and this balances out the piece well. I think these other singers (mostly in the background) help balance out the band and his voice so that everything blends much better. The second group singers are hard to understand as they are mostly in the background, but they do add to the noise. One thing I noticed about the piece is the increase in volume throughout the entire song, it just keeps being added and added. I think this is a cool part to the song because listeners can't get...

  You Can't Hurry Love The Supremes  I just chose this song because I thought it was new and I had never heard it, but I totally have! This piece was played in my calculus class my senior year during our 'work time' like everyday haha! I love this piece because the background music and the singer's voice go together so good. The song has had happy feel to it and is very upbeat. I like that there are many repetitions between the different verses which makes it an easy song to listen to and follow along with. This is one piece that you can recognize just off the bat, right from that first few beats of the piece. This song starts with just percussion, then the band comes in with a high instrument (like an alto saxophone or trumpet). After that beat, the singer comes in and joins the band. The singer remains the big part of the song for the rest of the song, but does allow the band to also crescendo and decrescendo. I like the dynamics and repetition in this piece as well. ...

  "Rock Around the Clock" Bill Haley & His Comets This entire piece is very upbeat and would be great for big line or big group dances. It starts out by counting up the "clock" and then the lyrics talk about having fun and dancing. The song seems to be written in a night setting as it mentions rocking around the clock til "broad daylight." One thing that I liked about the background music was the stop-time like rhythms throughout the entire song. The band follows the same rhythm together throughout the song causing there to be many parts without music in the song which adds to this energy. I loved hearing the electric guitar and how it connects to both the band and the lyrics. This song has many parts to it but all are pieced together that it keeps the energy and same feel throughout the whole piece. I would say this song is written for younger adults or teenagers to dance to in big group settings. I was surprised that there were many different verses ...

  Taking a Chance on Love Benny Goodman This song starts very upbeat with a brass-like band and has a fairly long introduction period. After the introduction is complete, the lyrics are added and these discuss the instrumentals, love, and taking chances on new and exciting situations. The arrangement that I decided to listen to on Spotify included a female singer that added great dynamics along with the instrumentation. There are many trumpet riffs and then the saxophones copy the trumpets rhythm with their own tone and style. I liked hearing the "call-and-response" type instrumentation throughout the piece but especially in the saxophone and trumpet sections.  One part of the music that surprised me was the intense solo section in the middle of the song. There are various instruments that each take a solo that all react to each-other which is fun! One of my favorite parts of the piece is when the singer finally comes in because that is also a surprise because of the long int...