Samantha+D+popular+music

__**Music Assignment – Popular Music**__


 * Biography **

Matchbox Twenty is an American rock band, formed in Orlando, Florida, in 1995. The group currently comprises Rob Thomas, Brian Yale, Paul Doucette, Kyle Cook, touring guitarist and keyboardist Matt Beck and touring drummer Stacy Jones. The release of their debut album, //Yourself or Someone Like You//, in 1996, Matchbox Twenty was pigeonholed as one of the legions of post-grunge guitar bands that roamed the American pop scene in the middle of that decade. As their first single, "//Push//," climbed the charts, it was widely assumed that the band would be a one hit wonder however, their album continued to spin off singles well into 1998. //Yourself or Someone Like You// sold millions of copies without ever truly dominating the charts -- by 1998, it had gone platinum five times; by 2000, ten times. They were a little more classicist than modern, but that's the reason why they became America's most popular rock band of the late '90s -- even if nobody quite realized they had achieved that status. The leader of the band, Rob Thomas, spent much of his childhood between his mother's house in Florida and his grandmother's place in South Carolina.The stress of the constant movement spilled over into his schoolwork, and he dropped out of high school at the age of 17. He spent some time wandering around the Southeast, singing in a variety of rock bands before he made Orlando, Florida his home base. There, he met bassist Brian Yale and drummer Paul Doucette, and the three spent several years drifting through local bands before Matchbox Twenty officially formed. Once the band had formed, they were creating new albums and they were popular for their pop rock music and alternative rock music of that decade.

media type="youtube" key="C-Naa1HXeDQ" width="560" height="315"

What is the structure of the piece? Intro, verse 1, pre-chorus, chorus, verse 2, pre-chorus, chorus, instrumental, bridge, chorus, chorus
 * Song 1: 3am**

What are the instruments that are playing in the piece? Acoustic guitar, drums, piano, vocals, electric guitar

How would you describe the tempo of the piece? The tempo is quite fast throughout most of the song except in the bridge.

Does the tempo change or is it the same throughout? The tempo changes at the bridge and slows down but then gradually builds up to chorus at the end of the bridge.

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? The dynamics of the song is mostly loud in the chorus but softer in the verses and pre-chorus, however the dynamic is even softer in the bridge. The dynamic changes suddenly at the end of the chorus and it changes gradually when coming to the bridge.

Do all the instruments play all the time? Are there some sections that have more or less instruments that others? The intro starts with just the acoustic guitar and then the other instruments combine as the song approaches the verse. The instruments play simultaneously throughout the majority of the song however the dynamic of the drums in the verses are softer than in the chorus.

Do any of the instruments have any effects? Maybe the guitars? No.

Does the singer have a distinctive sound voice? Yes.

Are there backup vocals? Do they sing the whole way through or just in certain sections? There are backup vocals however, they only sing in the chorus.

Is there an instrumental solo? What instrument plays the solo? There isn’t an instrumental solo.

Can you identify how many beats per bar? 4 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 The song is major sounding.

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? The texture changes throughout the songs as you can hear the difference between the verses, pre-chorus, chorus and bridge.

Are there any repeated patterns used in the piece? What instrument plays them? Yes there are repeated patterns in the song that the guitar plays through the chorus.

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? The same chords are used in the verse, chorus and bridge but they are played in different orders.

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? The build up at the end of the bridge is the song’s high point because his voice gets stronger and louder as do the instruments.

media type="youtube" key="NLaLsNkaEq8" width="560" height="315"

What is the structure of the piece? Verse 1, pre-chorus, chorus, verse 2, pre-chorus, chorus, bridge, short electric guitar solo, chorus, post chorus, guitar solo.
 * Song 2: Bright Lights**

What are the instruments that are playing in the piece? Piano, vocals, drums, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar

How would you describe the tempo of the piece? The tempo starts out slow but then is faster throughout the rest of the song.

Does the tempo change or is it the same throughout? The tempo changes after the first verse and chorus and then stays the same for the remainder of the song.

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? The song starts out soft and then changes suddenly to a louder dynamic for the rest of the song.

Do all the instruments play all the time? Are there some sections that have more or less instruments that others? The piano only plays in the first verse, the acoustic guitar and drums comes into the chorus and then the rest of the instruments play for the rest of the song.

Do any of the instruments have any effects? Maybe the guitars? No.

Does the singer have a distinctive sound voice? Yes.

Are there back up vocals? Do they sing the whole way through or just in certain sections? The backup vocals sing in only the chorus and bridge.

Is there an instrumental solo? What instrument plays the solo? The electric guitar has an instrumental solo.

Can you identify how many beats per bar? 4 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 The song is minor sounding.

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? There are a few layers at the start of the song, however there are no more layers for the rest of the song except in the bridge.

Are there any repeated patterns used in the piece? What instrument plays them? The electric guitar plays a repeated pattern through the post chorus.

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? There is a different chord pattern between the verse, chorus and bridge.

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? The song reaches its highest point in the bridge because the vocals are louder and stronger and the instruments adjust to be louder and stronger the match the emotion of the voice.

Matchbox Twenty predominately plays pop rock and alternative rock music. Pop rock is a music genre that mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its (typically) guitar-based rock songs. Alternative rock is a genre of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s. Characteristics of pop rock music include; upbeat style of rock music and involves instruments such as vocals, electric guitar, bass guitar, drums, drum machine, electronic drums, keyboards and synthesizers. The genre of alternative rock music is mostly guitar music. The characteristics of the guitar music include; blast out power chords, pick out chiming riffs etc. The lyrics within this genre tend to address topics of social concern. Coldplay is another example of a pop rock and alternative rock band. Coldplay’s song //Paradise// is the perfect example of pop rock music as the song includes instruments under that genre.
 * Style of Music and Characteristics**

When Matchbox Twenty was formed in the 90s, bands such as //Pearl Jam// and //Foo Fighters// were formed around the same time as well. Matchbox Twenty had a number of bands and artists that influenced them such as //Collective Soul, Counting Crows, Cowboy Mouth, Hootie and the Blowfish, Live, Pearl Jam, R.E.M, Santana, Seven Mary Three, Soul Asylum and Toad the Wet Sprocket.//
 * Contemporaries and Influences**