LMusic essay
tUnE-yArDs – Gangsta Viewed from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFHuTXJMgOk

This essay presents an analysis of the Musical Aspects of ‘tUnE-yArDs – Gangsta.’ Those aspects comprise of texture, Rhythm, and Melody Between 0.40 Seconds and 1.40 seconds at an interval of 15 seconds.

Texture

The texture of this music is characterized by alternative patterns that differ every 15 sec- onds from the point when the analysis started at 0:40 seconds. The texture of the first interval between 0.40 seconds and 0.55 is Homophonic since there are one voice and a melody that is heard from the background. I was interested in the simplicity of the chords at 0.40 seconds point. The texture is polyphony at the second interval between 0.55 seconds and 1.10 seconds since there are multiple melodic voices with equal significance, especially at the mention of the phrase, ‘What’s a boy to do if he’ll never be a gangsta?’ which is common in the entire interval. The tex- tures of the entire interval between 1.10 seconds and 1.25 seconds and the last one between 1.25 seconds and 1.40 are both monophonic since they are characterized by single melodic lines even though they are associated with different instruments.

Rhythm

The three key rhythms noted between 0.40 seconds and 1.40 seconds include repetition, pattern, and rhythmic ones. During the first interval, repetition is dominating since the chorus takes over 10 seconds out of 15. The second interval is characterized by rhythmic musicality with around three instruments sounding concurrent to enhance the rhythm. Also, the last two in- tervals between 1.1o seconds and 1.25 seconds, and between 1.25 seconds and 1.40 seconds are both characterized by rhythmic musicality. However, there is a mixture of pattern and rhythmic one in the second last interval between 1.25 seconds and 1.40 seconds, even though the former is felt for the last 3 seconds only. Rhythmic musicality and generally the language in this para- graph is very vague and doesn’t mean anything to me. Instead you can talk about what notes are short, what notes are long, and how the length of notes affects what notes are important.

Melody

The melodies recorded between 0.40 seconds and 1.40 seconds are either instrumental ones or vocal ones. The first interval between 0.40 seconds and 0.55 seconds is entirely charac- terized by a vocal melody with some variations in vocals, and the rhythmic changes enhance their variations. The second interval between 0.55 seconds and 1.10 seconds is composed of a mixture of melodies with around the first half being vocal melody while the rest is instrumental. The essence of this mixture is to enhance rhythm, which is evident with a rhythmic musicality between these melodies. Vocal melodies dominate in the last two intervals between 1.10 seconds and 1.40 seconds. However, the melody in the last interval is filled with calmness as preparation for transition to a different rhythm, which starts at 1.38 seconds point.

Color

I choose the colors between the intervals based on the interests brought about by the re- spective points, which are, in turn, determined by Timbre, mood, and melody. The blue color rep- resents high notes, especially when there were transitions from low to high note. For example, the transitional point at 0.49 seconds point arouses a happy mood, which becomes consistent for some seconds before changing transitioning to the next note.

Reflection

Gangsta by tUnE-yArDs is an interesting song that contained the application of various instrumentals. The tone and variation of the song are key interesting factors of the songs that sparked interest in me. During the transcription of the song, I decided to transcribe based on tex- ture, rhythm, melody and color. The texture was transcribed based on homophony, polyphony and monophony as it gave me a clear understanding of the song, the rhythm was transcribed based on rhythmic, pattern and perception of the entire song. The melody transcription took place based on vocal melody and instrumental melody that was clearly evident in the song.

From listening to the song, I noticed that there were several aspects that interested me. The texture is a key aspect that was clearly recognizable in the entire song. I ensured that I tran- scribed the texture of the song using symbols based on homophony, monophony and polyphony which are key elements that needs to be perfectly understood in this case. The duration of the songs is a key aspect that was clear in the song. I recorded down the duration based on texture, melody and rhythm which are key issues that need to be implemented and understood.

The texture of the song was depicted through the use of drawings that were in accordance with my observation. This gave a clear reflection of the song in a clear manner that enables one

to understand the element of the music in a perfect way. The use of line that were wavy to give a clear depiction positively worked out as it gave clear explanation of the appropriate practices that needs to be observed to explain the point of reference of the song. This positively played out as one can clearly understand the texture and determine whether it was homophony, polyphony and monophony in the song.

Making the score was the key issue that presented a challenge to the entire process of musical transcription and analysis. The creation of the graphical notions was the most challeng- ing activity. This is basing on the fact that the presentation of the song needs to take place to- gether with the rhythmic excerpt which is a key factor in the entire context that need to be per- fectly conceptualized. It is a necessity that the graphical notion matches with the mentioned mu- sical elements and any mismatch would affected the message or lead to a disconnection of the element. Making the choice of this perfect graphic notion was the hardest part in the entire score creation.

References tUnE-yArDs – Gangsta (Live on KEXP). (2011, June 12). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.-com/watch?v=FFHuTXJMgOk

Melody should address contour or mood, whether the melody is legato or staccato, etc. Just telling me who sings/plays the melody isn’t enough detail -.5

For texture next time focus on telling me how many and what kinds of sounds/instruments you hear instead of using the vocabulary you used for texture.

Rhythm – don’t just tell me that the rhythm is repetitive. Tell me what rhythm you hear. What notes are long? What notes are short? Same goes for not just telling me you hear a rhythmic pattern. What is the rhythmic pattern? -.5

Color – you used only one color -1 Perception – not enough detail -.5 This transcription is extremely and vague and does not convey much information. Feel free to see me if you want to discuss the assignment further.