awake+and+alive+aural+analysis

=__**Awake and Alive Aural Analysis**__=

Song Analysis:

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Awake and Alive - Skillet. Instruments used. Violins Bass Guitar Electric Guitar Male and Female Vocals Drums

Intro: Song begins with Violins play a high tempo stecato styled piece with a palm muted electric guitar with a dirty toned amplifier sound. This violin and guitar duo continues on for four bars until drums come into count second electric guitars and bass into the piece. Guitars and bass play a stecatto styled riff, violins play the counter-melody over the guitars and drums, this fast paced and heavy sounding intro is 8 bars long. Drums, guitars and bass cut out for a bar and leave violins too play by itself for the one bar.

Verse: Both the male and female singer have vocal solos in the first verse, the male singer for 8 bars and then the female singer who is also playing drums joins in after those eight bars for another eight bars. The melody of the vocals goes in this sort of pattern. Verse goes for 16 bars all up. Electric guitars and bass play plam muted notes which are stecato styled. Drums supply a constant 4-4 beat, with snare, kickdrums and high-hats. Violins come into the second part of the chrorus after 8 bars, adding again a high pitched and paced melody which adds tension and interest to the piece.

Chorus: Chorus comes in after the 16 bar verse with explosive dynamics on the first few chords. Drums dynamically express the beginning of the chorus with use of crash cymbals, snare drums and bass drums. Vocals are high pitched, also with very expressive dynamics too. Guitar chords are longer in duration than in the intro and verse, the guitarests let the chords ring out a little longer and have a more well-connected feel to them instead of the broken up sound they had before giving it a more smoother sound. Female singer joins in with the male singer in a two-way harmony in certain parts of the vocal chorus too put more emphasis on those particular lyrics. Second phase of the chorus, the guitar chords break up more into intervals and backing vocalist sings behind lead vocalist. Backing vocalist adds as an echo for leading vocalist. Right here (Right here) Right now (Right now) (Stand my ground, and never back down)

Breakdown; Guitar chords break up more in the breakdown, dynamics are more intense in this part to add more emphasis on the chords played and give it a heavier sound and pitch. Chords are of a lower pitch, typically done to make a heavier sound. This breakdown plays for 8 bars. The vocalist has a high pitched voice which pitch-yells 'waking up! waking up!'

Bridge: Bridge is a more melodic phase of the song, where the chords ring out. Dynamics of the drums, bass and guitars are softer and add too the melodic sound of the bridge. Violins come in and play a new melody that fits in with the song, it has softer dynamics, higher pitch and plays along with the rung out chords that are played by the guitars. Vocalists sing a slower sounding melody which is slightly lower in the pitch of it and is not as loud in dynamics. Backing vocalists sing the same as the lead vocalist but in a harmony style.

Guitar Solo. Guitar solo is from a phrygian mode and written around the minor scale.


 * --5-7-8-| |-8-7-5-|
 * 5-6-8---| |---8-6-5---|
 * --4-5-7-| |-7-5-4-|
 * --5-7---| |---7-5-|
 * 5-7-8---| |---8-7-5---|
 * -5-7-8--| |-8-7-5-|

Backing guitar is chords ringing out to play same melodic sort of chord progression with low dynamics. Lead guitarest plays a ballad style of solo which starts with longer durating notes and then it gets faster as the end of the solo nears. Arpeggios are played at the end of the solo with the guitarest also tapping some notes to add a faster and harder feel to the climax of the solo.