Michael Jackson is dubbed as the “King of Pop”. Jackson started young in the music industry, joining the Jackson 5 at just 8 years old, rising to fame with his very own single “Ben” in 1972. He is widely known for his impact on popular music, with his signature dance moves, songs for protests and justice, his philanthropy and with most boomers growing up watching Michael rise to fame. My mother, who was born in ‘67, is the reason I am a Michael Jackson fan today. Having grown up in Jacksons era, she introduced me to all his hits and educated me about his legacy. One of those songs in particular being “Beat it” by M. Jackson in 1987, is one example of the popstars best songs. With the constant rhythm being accompanied by the intense tempo, this song can quickly get stuck in your head. All of this contributes to the musically inclined part of the song where Jackson gets to the first Chorus, you hear a higher pitch with more intensity of music. Michael wrote most of his songs, therefore he had control of his lyricism and texture. Using Homophony, Michael was able to combine the fast paced rhythm with multiple instruments to follow his lyricism. If you listen closely, there is an acoustic guitar and a drum set being played at a constant beat contributing most of that catchy rhythm we keep hearing. Today, we don’t hear much of this song anymore because being a part of pop and being released in 1987, it is often forgotten. However, this remains to be one of Jackson’s most publicized songs to date mainly due to his appeal to his rhythms and beats in the song. 

(0:10-0:24) Drums sets the beat of the song. 

(0:25) We’re introduced to our catchy rhythm.

(1:06) First Chorus.

(2:35) We now hear the most musically inclined part where our drums are still there keeping the constant rhythm, but now a guitar is having a solo to keep up with the fast tempo so Michael can then start singing again.

The song I chose for today’s blog is “Falling in love” by Elvis Presley. Elvis Presley was a music artist who mainly focused on rock and roll music. Some other genres he contributed to were country and gospel music. Elvis’s interest in music began in 1954. The reason I find this song very interesting is because of the fact that growing up my dad use to play it all the time and I enjoyed how it sounds. Also, this song was featured in my favorite horror movie which is the conjuring. The melody in this song is very disjunct especially in the main chorus. The lyrics “I can help falling in love with you”, tend to have gaps in between them. I believe the texture of this piece would be considered homophonic because the music is accompanied by chords and is pop music.

Elvis Presley – Can’t Help Falling In Love (Official Audio) – YouTube

For my song, I chose the orchestral version of “Your Best Nightmare” from one of my favorite games, Undertale! Toby Fox, the creator of the game, also composed all the music for Undertale by simply taking a few motifs and reworking them into different songs by speeding them up, slowing them down, and adding new sounds. “Your Best Nightmare” is a reworking of the character Flowey’s motif, “Your Best Friend.” Only this time, he shows his true colors, which is why the former song is much more fitting of a boss fight. I’m not sure where this song would fit in a genre, but I would generally put it in whatever category “video game soundtrack” music goes in.

To try and pick just one musically interesting part of the song would mean leaving a whole lot of it behind since it all works together to reflect what happens in-game. “Your Best Nightmare” is a kind of variations form, where Flowey’s motif is changed ever so slightly whenever the orchestra transitions to the next version of the motif. We have an A section, the first grand notes (and heartbeat in the Percussion if you listen real close!) that precede the maniacal laughter, and then a variation on that section before we transition into the “Your Best Friend” motif. Upon closer listening, I noticed that the first three times we hear the motif (I call B, B’, and B”), the Woodwinds are the predominant instruments, but later on (B”’, B””, and B””’), the Strings take up the melody. As we go along listening to the melody change, we go from a major key (the “original” key from when Flowey is still lying to you, the player) and gradually grow into a dissonance where we get the sense that Flowey’s gone power crazy. Those spare piano transitions between B sections (I dub “C”) create a contrast that helps the next A section shock you, as well as reflect the in-game sequence of healing your character before going back into battle.