Post by plurprincessjane on Aug 13, 2015 15:04:08 GMT
Hello. I wanted to post about this song because, from my perspective, Finn Keane has reached heights of musical perfection beyond what I have ever experienced. I could talk about the whole piece, but of particular interest to me are the rising synth arpeggios starting at 4:03 in the Jessie J half of the mix. They are so heavenly, so blissful, so euphoric, that I'm afraid no music will satisfy me ever again. They start with a low frequency cut off, and gradually as the arpeggios climb higher and higher, the sound opens up and the cutoff is taken away, immersing the listener in waves of ecstasy.
For any music theory nuts on here, I've transcribed and analyzed the arpeggios to look into how he achieves such wondrous effects, but please read on even if you do not consider yourself well versed in technical music terminology. I hope I have been able to explain these concepts in a way that communicates the emotional weight of this composition.
First of all, everything fits to a 16th note grid, but the arpeggios are in groups of 5 to start, then 6, then 7, then back to 6. The irregular displacement of each group of notes is so brilliant; it achieves a sense of floating, as opposed to groups of 4 which are firmly grounded in our traditional sense of time.
Next, the initial arpeggios span 2 octaves, then 2 octaves and a 3rd, then 3 octaves and a 3rd, then 3 octaves and a 5th, then 4 octaves and a 5th. This creates a feeling of expansion that totally blows me away. Tracking the bass note and the highest note of each group shows this effect taking place.
The choice of chords are also quite well placed, and the voice leading from one arpeggio to the next facilitates that. Here's my chordal analysis:
G#min7 ~ F#/A# ~ B ~ B/D# ~ E(add9) ~ F#(add9) ~ C#min ~ G#5 ~ F#5/A# ~ G5(add9)/B ~ B(add9) ~ D#min7 ~ B/F# ~ Fmin7(b5) ~ Emaj9 ~ E(add9) ~ B/D# ~ E(add9) ~ B/D#
A few parts I have bolded and underlined because they are important. The first bolded chord contains the notes G, D, and A natural which are all foreign to the key of B major (which sharps F, C, G, D, and A). This is the first arpeggio containing notes not in the key signature, and it is timed excellently with the automation on the track. Just as this chord jumps out of the harmonic texture, the timbre starts to get very bright, then the next arpeggio reaches the terminal height of 4 and a half octaves (literally climbing to extreme heights!) The coordination of all these compositional techniques at this one moment is almost too perfect for me to believe!! The next bolded chord, Fmin7(b5), is a half diminished 7 chord on a #4 bass, and it leads directly into a chord with a ♮4 bass, the subdomimant chord. To me, this specific sequence of chords, #4 → ♮4, creates a poignant sense of emotional tension and release.
The subdominant chord brings with it feelings of safety, satisfaction, and relaxation. In the baroque period, composers would often modulate to the dominant key for feelings of excitement and anticipation, then in later classical music, composers started modulating to the subdominant precisely to achieve an opposite effect.
Upon reaching the subdominant chord in this context, Keane adds a booming cushion of sub-bass, a rising siren, cranks up the reverb, and to achieve ultimate sensory overload, samples the "aah ah-ahh aaahh" from Domino, to echo my soul sighing with contentment at the overall beauty of the music. I can't say enough what it feels like when I hear all of this happening at once.
Truly, it's like witnessing the heavens opening up, and ascending into a dreamy orange sky, as depicted on the art for this release.
Repeat all that I have just explained, juxtaposed with the beautiful pitched up candy pop vocals of Jessie J, and well, it's just so amazing. It makes me cry.
I hope other people appreciate how absolutely incredible this piece of music is. I wish to hear more music that delivers unto me an unforgettable euphoria.
For any music theory nuts on here, I've transcribed and analyzed the arpeggios to look into how he achieves such wondrous effects, but please read on even if you do not consider yourself well versed in technical music terminology. I hope I have been able to explain these concepts in a way that communicates the emotional weight of this composition.
First of all, everything fits to a 16th note grid, but the arpeggios are in groups of 5 to start, then 6, then 7, then back to 6. The irregular displacement of each group of notes is so brilliant; it achieves a sense of floating, as opposed to groups of 4 which are firmly grounded in our traditional sense of time.
Next, the initial arpeggios span 2 octaves, then 2 octaves and a 3rd, then 3 octaves and a 3rd, then 3 octaves and a 5th, then 4 octaves and a 5th. This creates a feeling of expansion that totally blows me away. Tracking the bass note and the highest note of each group shows this effect taking place.
The choice of chords are also quite well placed, and the voice leading from one arpeggio to the next facilitates that. Here's my chordal analysis:
G#min7 ~ F#/A# ~ B ~ B/D# ~ E(add9) ~ F#(add9) ~ C#min ~ G#5 ~ F#5/A# ~ G5(add9)/B ~ B(add9) ~ D#min7 ~ B/F# ~ Fmin7(b5) ~ Emaj9 ~ E(add9) ~ B/D# ~ E(add9) ~ B/D#
A few parts I have bolded and underlined because they are important. The first bolded chord contains the notes G, D, and A natural which are all foreign to the key of B major (which sharps F, C, G, D, and A). This is the first arpeggio containing notes not in the key signature, and it is timed excellently with the automation on the track. Just as this chord jumps out of the harmonic texture, the timbre starts to get very bright, then the next arpeggio reaches the terminal height of 4 and a half octaves (literally climbing to extreme heights!) The coordination of all these compositional techniques at this one moment is almost too perfect for me to believe!! The next bolded chord, Fmin7(b5), is a half diminished 7 chord on a #4 bass, and it leads directly into a chord with a ♮4 bass, the subdomimant chord. To me, this specific sequence of chords, #4 → ♮4, creates a poignant sense of emotional tension and release.
The subdominant chord brings with it feelings of safety, satisfaction, and relaxation. In the baroque period, composers would often modulate to the dominant key for feelings of excitement and anticipation, then in later classical music, composers started modulating to the subdominant precisely to achieve an opposite effect.
Upon reaching the subdominant chord in this context, Keane adds a booming cushion of sub-bass, a rising siren, cranks up the reverb, and to achieve ultimate sensory overload, samples the "aah ah-ahh aaahh" from Domino, to echo my soul sighing with contentment at the overall beauty of the music. I can't say enough what it feels like when I hear all of this happening at once.
Truly, it's like witnessing the heavens opening up, and ascending into a dreamy orange sky, as depicted on the art for this release.
Repeat all that I have just explained, juxtaposed with the beautiful pitched up candy pop vocals of Jessie J, and well, it's just so amazing. It makes me cry.
I hope other people appreciate how absolutely incredible this piece of music is. I wish to hear more music that delivers unto me an unforgettable euphoria.