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Writing Assignment 1

This document summarizes and compares two musical pieces: "Ride in the Chariot" by Brandon Waddles and "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen. It describes the instrumentation, time signatures, dynamics, polyphony/monophony, and relationship between music and lyrics in each piece. The author expresses enjoying how upbeat "Ride in the Chariot" is and appreciating the emotion and contrast between sections in "Bohemian Rhapsody", noting it as Queen's magnum opus.

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Sri Julapally
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74 views

Writing Assignment 1

This document summarizes and compares two musical pieces: "Ride in the Chariot" by Brandon Waddles and "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen. It describes the instrumentation, time signatures, dynamics, polyphony/monophony, and relationship between music and lyrics in each piece. The author expresses enjoying how upbeat "Ride in the Chariot" is and appreciating the emotion and contrast between sections in "Bohemian Rhapsody", noting it as Queen's magnum opus.

Uploaded by

Sri Julapally
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Sri Julapally

MGA Music Appreciation


Dr. Cain
8-26-19
Writing Assignment Unit 1

The first song I chose was Ride in the Chariot by Brandon Waddles. This song is a

contemporary Christian song. It is based off a traditional African American Christian song. It has

the typical choir instrumentation: piano, tenor, alto, soprano and baritone voices. It also has

two tenor soloists. The song is in cut time or in a fast common time. Cut time is when there are

two beats per measure, and the half note gets the beat. Common time is when there are four

beats per measure, and the quarter note gets the beat.

The dynamics are interesting; it changes throughout the piece. The solos at the

beginning are quite loud, or at a forte level. Near the middle of the piece(1:20), the choir sings

an accented note, and suddenly changes the dynamic from a forte to what sounds like a subito

piano. The song ends with a very lively dynamic, most likely a fortissimo.

The piece starts off simple and monophonic, with most of the choir in unison, lyrics

wise. At 1:45, the different parts of the choir sing in different parts of the measure, and there is

a lot of syncopation and polyphony. It eventually comes back together for the climax of the

song near the end, before finishing.

There isn’t much relation between the text and the background music. I believe that the

piano serves to simply act as a background to the piece, and be an accompaniment to the lyrics.

I like this piece because of how upbeat it is. I originally thought choir music was slow

and boring, but this piece showed me otherwise. As a result, I listen to choir and chamber choir

music quite regularly now.


The second piece I chose was Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. This piece of music is one

of the most popular songs of all time, and it incorporates several different music styles into the

song, from opera, to rock. The instruments are the members of the band; Freddie Mercury,

Brian May, John Deacon, and Roger Taylor, the piano, the electric guitar, the electric bass, and

the drum set. The song goes between many meters, from common time, to 2/4 in the opera

section, to 6/8 in the rock section.

The song is very fluid in terms of dynamics. For example, the rock section is at a

fortissimo, while the ending is at a piano and fades into nothing. The dynamics change a lot,

and that is one of the factors which makes this song so interesting to listen to.

The opera section of the song has a polyphony, with various voices and melodies in the

section. The rest of the song is mainly monophonic, with Freddy Mercury being the sole singer

in the sections. Occasionally the other singers join in to sing a chord, but there aren’t any other

sections where there are 2 distinct voices singing.

The relation between the music and the lyrics include how the liveliest section of the

piece, the rock section, includes the drums, and electric guitars in the back, while the softer

sections just have a piano in the background. This is much more pronounced than the first piece

I chose, which only has a piano in the background, and it doesn’t bring much to the piece other

than being an accompaniment.

I like this piece for a variety of reasons. I enjoy how much emotion Freddie Mercury puts

into his singing, and how the different sections contrast with each other. I think that is the main

thing in Bohemian Rhapsody that many other songs of its time did not do. As it is the magnum

opus of the band, I am sure many other people also enjoy it as one of their favorite songs.

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