Stevie Wonder made his recording debut at age 11, becoming a 1960s force to be reckoned with via chart hits like “Fingertips, Pt. 2,” “I Was Made to Love Her” and “My Cherie Amour.” Over the next decade, Stevie Wonder had an array of No. 1 songs on the pop and R&B charts, including “Superstition,” “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” and “Higher Ground.” He continued to churn out hits into the 1980s, including “I Just Called to Say I Love You” and “Part-Time Lover.”
Source Link;
https://www.biography.com/musician/stevie-wonder
Stevie wonder – I wish Song Analysis
Instruments played;
Nathan Watts – bass
Hank Redd – alto saxophone
Raymond Maldonado – trumpet
Trevor Laurence – tenor saxophone
Steve Madaio – trumpet
Stevie Wonder – vocals, Fender Rhodes, ARP 2600 Synthesizer, drums
The song revolves around an 8 note bassline, which is repeated throughout the whole song (although the specific octave of the bass line does change). The key of the piece, like several other of Wonder’s hits that I’ve found, is E♭ Minor, although the bridge of the piece is slightly different. The keyboard part consists of two chords during the chorus and verse: E-flat minor and A-flat 7. Stevie Wonder also created a multi-layered monophonic synthesizer part which runs through the song’s entirety. Throughout the chorus and verse, this varied Minor pentatonic scale is repeated and adds depth to the song. This piece has a syncopated horn section, as well.
Words researched;
Pentatonic scale;
A pentatonic scale is a musical scale with five notes per octave, in contrast to the heptatonic scale, which has seven notes per octave. Pentatonic scales were developed independently by many ancient civilizations and are still used in various musical styles to this day.
Syncopation;
Syncopation is a musical term meaning a variety of rhythms played together to make a piece of music, making part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat.
I Wish is played at 210 Beats Per Minute
Stevie Wonder – Sir duke Song Analysis
Chord progression
Wonder uses repetition to a great extent in Sir Duke to firmly cement is complex chord progressions and riffs in the listener’s ears. The song can be divided into 4 simple sections, A, B, C, and D, with mild variations. All 3 sets of chord progressions are fairly short, being 4 bars long each. Here are chord progressions for the respective sections;
A: B, G#m, G, F#
B: E9-Eb9-D9-Db9, D9-D#9-E9-(F9-F#9)
C: B, Fm, Emaj7, C#m7-F#11
D: No chords
Some of these chords I don’t understand but I wanted to include them anyway as a bit of extra information.
Structure of the song;
Introduction
Verse
Pre-chorus
Chorus
Instrumental Interlude
Instruments played;
Raymond Pounds – Drums
Nathan Watts – Bass
Mike Sembello – Lead Guitar
Ben Bridges – Rythm Guitar
Hank Redd – Alto Saxophone
Raymond Maldonado – Trumpet
Trevor Laurence – Tenor Saxophone
Steve Madaio – Trumpet
All Other Instruments – Stevie Wonder
Album information;
Songs in the Key of Life is the eighteenth album by American singer, songwriter, and musician Stevie Wonder. It was released on September 28, 1976, by Tamla Records, a division of Motown. The double album has been regarded by music journalists as the culmination of Wonder’s “classic period” of recording.