IN THE KEY OF LIFE
In the key of life was a Motown album released in 1976 by Stevie wonder under the Tamla record label. The song won 3 grammies and 2 American music awards. The aim of the album was to talk about the issues in the world and his opinion on them. Over 130 musicians worked on this album, to make it that good. Stevie Wonder was the main artist on the label. Stevie Wonder is very talented as he can play many instruments, even though he is blind. Meaning everything he learnt was by ear and touch and not sight. In this album Stevie Wonder used a lot of the Rhodes piano because he loved it so much.
SIR DUKE
LYRICS
Music is a world within itself
With a language we all understand
With an equal opportunity
For all to sing, dance and clap their hands
But just because a record has a groove
Don’t make it in the groove
But you can tell right away at letter A
When the people start to move
They can feel it all over
They can feel it all over people
They can feel it all over
They can feel it all over people
Music knows it is and always will
Be one of the things that life just won’t quit
But here are some of music’s pioneers
That time will not allow us to forget
For there’s Basie, Miller, Satchmo
And the king of all Sir Duke
And with a voice like Ella’s ringing out
There’s no way the band can lose
You can feel it all over
You can feel it all over people
You can feel it all over
You can feel it all over people
You can feel it all over
You can feel it all over people
You can feel it all over
You can feel it all over people
You can feel it all over
You can feel it all over people
You can feel it all over
You can feel it all over people
You can feel it all over
You can feel it all over people
You can feel it all over
I can feel it all over – all over now people
Can’t you feel it all over
Come on let’s feel it all over people
You can feel it all over
Everybody – all over people
Sir Duke was made as a tribute to the great jazz musician Duke Ellington of the 50’s. Stevie wanted it to reflect his music so he chose the correct instruments for that. The song uses a trumpet as it’s centre piece, which was also the same instrument Duke Ellington specialized in. The drum has a swing pattern which was very popular in Duke Ellington’s jazz music, making swing a fit feature for a tribute. There is lots of instruments in this song that give it a thick texture of sounds, the loud brass dynamics also add to the depth of the texture. The instruments that are used in this song are; drums, trumpets, percussion, bass guitar, tenor sax, alto sax, Rhodes, vocals. The harmony in this song comes mainly from the trumpets, which harmonise with the melody. It harmonises by mimicking the melody with it’s notes at a different pitch, but at the same rhythm. The melody of this song is very repetitive and catchy, it is also quit simple as it moves in skips and steps mostly.
This song comes under the Motown genre with it’s funky rhythm and beat, which is supported with it’s swing drum beat. The song is written in 4/4 common time with a BPM of 107, which is nothing out of the ordinary for a funk track. The key of this song is B major which has has 5 sharp notes in it. The structure of this song is; verse, pre- chorus, chorus, shout-chorus, verse. A shout chorus is new to most people what it is, is a section where brass instruments play for a bit. This was more well known and popular in the 50s, the year of jazz and Duke Ellington. The lyrics of this song are a direct tribute to Duke Ellington and the effect his music had on people, as demonstrated in the lyric “you can feel it all over people”. Talking about his music and it’s positive effect on people.
I WISH
LYRICS
Looking back on when I was a little nappy headed boy
Then my only worry was for Christmas, what would be my toy?
Even though we sometimes would not get a thing
We were happy with the joy the day would bring
Sneaking out the back door to hang out with those hoodlum friends of mine
Greeted at the back door with “Boy, I thought I told you not to go outside!”
Tryin’ your best to bring the water to your eyes
Thinkin’ it might stop her from whoopin’ your behind
I wish those days could come back once more
Why did those days ever have to go?
I wish those days could come back once more
Why did those days ever have to go?
‘Cause I love them so
Brother said he’s tellin’ ’bout you playin’ doctor with that girl
“Just don’t tell and I’ll give you anything you want in this whole wide world”
Mama gives you money for Sunday school
You trade yours for candy after church is through
Smokin’ cigarettes and writing something nasty on the wall (You nasty boy)
Teacher sends you to the principal’s office down the hall
You grow up and learn that kinda thing ain’t right
But while you were doin’ it, it sure felt outta sight
I wish those days could come back once more
Why did those days ever have to go?
I wish those days could come back once more
Why did those days ever have to go?
The song starts by playing the plucked bass by its self, the bass is played in a staccato articulation, which makes the bass line really snappy and groovy. The drum kit plays many hi-hats in a quaver rhythm. the texture of the song is moderately thick because many instruments are playing and there wouldn’t be much room for anything else in the song, because this would make the song feel very full of sounds. In this song Stevie Wonder used the Rhodes piano to harmonize with the lead vocals in the song, the Rhodes was playing chords making the harmony polyphonic. The harmony in this song is quite simple, as it revolves around the vocals. The main harmony is from the Rhodes piano, however in the chorus the brass instruments can also be heard as a harmony. The genre in this song like the rest of his album is Motown, which explains the snappy rhythm and jazzy brass instruments. This song uses many instruments like Sir Duke so now I am going to list them all; plucked bass, vocals, percussion, drums, alto sax, tenor sax, Rhodes and trumpets. These instruments are made up mostly of brass and percussion instruments, which gives it a jazzy tone to the music. The structure of the song is; verse, chorus, verse, chorus, outro. This structure is very simplistic and common for most songs, so the structure is not hard to get behind.
The time signature for this song is 4/4 common time which is expected and the BPM is 106 which is also in a common range for the Motown genre. The lyrics in the song are about Stevie Wonder missing his childhood and the days with his family, this theme is written all over the lyrics. An example of this would be “Was Christmas what would be my toy”, this is talking about the excitement every child get’s at Christmas, wondering what their parents got them. The melody of this song comes from the lead vocals and it is very catchy and simple. the melody mainly moves in 1 to 2 note intervals throughout the song, making it very simple and flowing. The melody tends to repeat throughout the song making it very repetitive and memorable. My favourite part of the song is the outro as it is filled with energy as all the brass instruments play together, playing the melody of the song. Most of the instruments in this section play the same melody, this means their is not much harmony in the outro, because most of the instruments in the outro are playing in unison. The outro is very repetitive and loops for 1 minute before coming to a diminuendo and fading off. the dynamics in this song tend to be forte throughout the song. The song is in the key of Bb minor, it is in a minor key to sync to the feeling of loss of childhood and remembrance.