Adele’s hit “Hello” is about heartbreak and sadness. But the title points to something more: the desire and need to reach out to our fellow human beings. Look up any words or references that don’t make sense. This is often the key to making a strange song suddenly clear. Charles Mingus’s “Fables of Faubus,” for example, only makes sense if you know that Orval Faubus was a racist Arkansas governor.
Beyonce’s “Love on Top” features a series of key changes that bring her voice higher and higher. The obvious, but important, parallel is that the love she feels is elevating her into the sky. The Smiths are famous for using bouncy, happy instruments under dark, melancholic lyrics. Perhaps this suggests that there is sadness under the surface of even the happiest people, or maybe the juxtaposition signifies the irony at the heart of life. Check out covers of your favorite songs to see how different artists approach the same words. Popular songs like “A Change is Gonna Come” can have wildly different “meanings” depending on the music behind the lyrics.
Even a howl or grunt can give lyrics new meaning, like Marvin Gaye’s “Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler). " When he hits that high note you feel every word of pain in the song in a new light. Leonard Cohen puts all of “Chelsea Hotel No. 2” into perspective with a quick, surprising internal rhyme. The song sounds like a love song, up until “I never suggest that I love you the best” shows that it is actually about fleeting memory. Think of the singer has a character, not the specific person. Tom Waits, for example, inhabits all sorts of druggies, gamblers, drivers, and con-men. When you realize he is playing characters, all with unique stories, he makes much more sense.
Eric Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven,” for example, is a poignant song. But it becomes devastating when you learn it is about his son who died young. Kanye West’s album “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” is already powerful, but the knowledge that it was written in the wake of his mother’s death gives it added depth.
Bob Dylan’s “A Simple Twist of Fate,” is in the third person for every verse until the last one. Suddenly, he switches to the first person and starts with “I. " A impressionistic, cute little song becomes extremely personal, and it is clear Dylan was actually hiding his own sadness in someone else’s story. Common’s “Testify” is a mob ballad with a twist at the end – the grieving wife is actually the mastermind. Suddenly, the refrain “please let me testify” sounds much more sinister.
If you’re still struggling, close your eyes. What do you see? If this song was in a movie, what kind of scene would it be scored to? Visualization is a great tool for understanding, especially without lyrics. You could also delve deeper into basic structures in the classical genre, such as sonata, rondo, and binary to gain clear markers that you can refer to as you listen.
Duke Ellington is a great introduction to jazz because his titles so perfectly match the mood of the song. “Sophisticated Lady,” “In a Sentimental Mood,” “Take the A-Train,” and more all capture a specific image, idea, or event with clarity and beauty. Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” is dark, eerie, and gorgeous. In short, it would fit perfectly under a quiet, moonlit night. George Winston’s repetitive, quiet keystrokes on “Snow” gain a depth and softness when you realize they refer to the flurries out his window.
Again, trust Duke Ellington to provide an accessible, swinging entry-point. Listen to how multiple instruments layer up to balance each other out and create complex melody lines. His famous suite “Diminuendo in Blue” is a good start. Mentally break up orchestras into sections. What are the strings (violins, cello, etc. ) doing at one point? How are they balanced by the horns? When does percussion jump in to provided emphasis? Think in terms of groups, all working together to serve the needs of the piece.
Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite is very difficult to listen to at times, full of harsh noises and jarring changes. But the Civil Rights Movement was anything but smooth and easy. Miles Davis’s complex album Bitches Brew is the first major collision of rock and jazz, mashed up with African rhythms and influences. Music could no longer just be “one genre,” and Davis is committed to exploring that idea, even when it gets weird. Doc Woods classical suite Symphonically Speaking contains the suite “Biota,” whose messy, weird intro points to messy, weird origins of biology.
Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite is very difficult to listen to at times, full of harsh noises and jarring changes. But the Civil Rights Movement was anything but smooth and easy. Miles Davis’s complex album Bitches Brew is the first major collision of rock and jazz, mashed up with African rhythms and influences. Music could no longer just be “one genre,” and Davis is committed to exploring that idea, even when it gets weird. Doc Woods classical suite Symphonically Speaking contains the suite “Biota,” whose messy, weird intro points to messy, weird origins of biology.
New jazz fans can find no better starting points than Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. They laid the foundation for many of the artists after them. Classical fans should, in general, try and see something live. There is no better entry point than the rush and connection with live musicians in concert. [6] X Research source Those getting into prog rock and instrumental rock might check out pioneers like Rush and Pink Floyd before moving on to complex modern bands This is true of almost all music, lyric or instrumental. The Beatles began with simple rock and R&B songs. It is only later that their complex, worldly music grew out of them.
