Shanney+O+popular+music

__Josh Groban__

Joshua Winslow Groban famously known as Josh Groban is an American singer, songwriter, actor and record producer. His first first four solo albums have been certified multi-platinum. In 2007 he was charted as the number-one bestselling artist in the United States with over 22.3 million records in the nation.

Josh Groban was born on February 27, 1981, in Los Angeles. A naturally gifted singer, Groban dropped out of college after only a few months to pursue his recording career. The move paid off: His first solo album came out in 2001 and went on to sell nearly four million copies. Several studio releases later, among them Closer and Awake, Groban is one of the most popular singers on the planet. His fans have gobbled up each offering with verve, with Groban's albums selling more than 25 million combined copies.

Groban began signing in 7th grade and later enrolled in the Interlochen Arts Program to concentrate on his voice. As fate would have it, his vocal coach was friends with David Foster, a well-known producer, writer and arranger, and in 1998, Groban and began working together.

At first, Groban served as a rehearsal singer, but the scale of the events wasn't such as the inauguration of California governor Grey Davis and the Grammy Awards. Foster would also be instrumental in landing Groban a recording contract with Warner Bros, through his own 143 label. The decision to sign with Warner Bros, put Groban's education on hold at Carnegie Mellon University, but it was a decision that quickly paid off.

Groban made his recording debut on the soundtrack for the 2001 Steven Spielberg movie //A.I: Artificial Intelligence// with the song "For Always," which he performed with Lara Fabian. In November 2001, his eponymous debit album was released, and Groban spent the next year riding a wave of success. In quick succession, the album went double platinum (eventually selling in the neighborhood of four million copies), Groban signed on for his PBS special and he performed at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway. Another notable appearance of this period was a duet Groban performed with Charlotte Church at the closing ceremonies of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.

Song Analysis

__You Raise Me Up__

Introduction, Verse One, Chorus Instrumental, Chorus, Chorus with key change, Chorus Vocals - male, back up singers, violin, cello, harp, drums, pipes, trumpets, electric guitar , bongo The piece's tempo is not to slow or fast. The tempo is a reasonable speed. the tempo stays the same thought-out the song At the begging if the song, the dynamics are soft but as the song continues the dynamics gradually gets louder. The last couple of bars at the end of the song gets soft again. The violin plays the intro then the bango is brought in for a bar then piano is brought in just before the vocals starts. The violin and the piano play throughout the song. After the instrumental, all the other instruments come in. The piano They are back up vocals. They start singing when the key change is brought in. The violin 4 beats per bar the song is a At the beginning of the song the texture is thin but as the song continues the texture gradually becomes thick. the piano and the violin play the melody The chords are the same through-out the song but are occasionally played in different orders The song reaches it high point at the key change. The key change happens on the third chorus. All the instruments are brought in making it have a thick texture.
 * What is the structure of the piece?
 * What are the instruments that are playing in the piece?
 * How would you describe the tempo of the piece?
 * Does the tempo change or is it the same throughout?
 * Describe the dynamics of the piece. Is it loud or soft? Is it always loud or soft or does it change? If it changes, does it change suddenly or gradually?
 * Do all the instruments play all the time? Are there some sections that have more or less instruments that others?
 * Do any of the instruments have any effects? Maybe the guitars?
 * Does the singer have a distinctive sound voice?
 * Are there back up vocals? Do they sing the whole way through or just in certain sections?
 * Is there an instrumental solo? What instrument plays the solo?
 * Can you identify how many beats per bar?
 * Would you say that the song is major (happy sounding) or minor (sad/angry sounding)...don't think about the lyrics, think about the music.
 * Can you make a comment on the texture (texture is all about the layers of sound)...are there many layers or only a few? Is the texture constant throughout or does it change?
 * Are there any repeated patterns used in the piece? What instrument plays them?
 * If you were to look your song up on [|www.ultimate-guitar.com]and look at the chords, is there a different chord pattern between the verse and the chorus (and the bridge) or is it the same?
 * Think about where the piece reaches its high point? Which section is it? What happens to make you think that this is the high point of the song?

__ Pure Imagination __


 * What is the structure of the piece?

piano, vocals - male, violin, cello the song has a quite slow tempo The tempo stays the same throughout the song At the beginging of the song, the dynamics are soft but it gradually gets louder as more instruments start playing The violin and the cello play throughout the song but as the song continues, the piano the comes in with other instruments the violin and the cello make the song sound 'peaceful' They are no back up vocals in this song they are no instrumental solo's in this piece 4/4 the song is a major The texture at the start is thin but as the song progress the texture become thick The instruments play the melody the chords of the song are the same but the order they are played change throughout the song the song reaches its high point at the second chorus when the whole orchestra plays. The whole orchestra playing make the song have a thick texture.
 * What are the instruments that are playing in the piece?
 * How would you describe the tempo of the piece?
 * Does the tempo change or is it the same throughout?
 * Describe the dynamics of the piece. Is it loud or soft? Is it always loud or soft or does it change? If it changes, does it change suddenly or gradually?
 * Do all the instruments play all the time? Are there some sections that have more or less instruments that others?\
 * Do any of the instruments have any effects? Maybe the guitars?
 * Does the singer have a distinctive sound voice?
 * Are there back up vocals? Do they sing the whole way through or just in certain sections?
 * Is there an instrumental solo? What instrument plays the solo?
 * Can you identify how many beats per bar?\
 * Would you say that the song is major (happy sounding) or minor (sad/angry sounding)...don't think about the lyrics, think about the music
 * Can you make a comment on the texture (texture is all about the layers of sound)...are there many layers or only a few? Is the texture constant throughout or does it change?
 * Are there any repeated patterns used in the piece? What instrument plays them?
 * If you were to look your song up on [|www.ultimate-guitar.com]and look at the chords, is there a different chord pattern between the verse and the chorus (and the bridge) or is it the same?
 * Think about where the piece reaches its high point? Which section is it? What happens to make you think that this is the high point of the song?