IB Musical Links Investigation | Classical vs Pop

http://www.wwnorton.com/college/music/listeninglab/shared/listening_guides/liszt_the_little_bell.pdf Forney, Kristine, and Joseph Machlis. The Enjoyment of Music. Tenth ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2006. Print. Scores: https://musescore.com/user/358686/scores/2823556 http://imslp.org/wiki/Special:ReverseLookup/29890

Theveeed. "La Campanella by Yundi Li."  YouTube . YouTube, 26 Aug. 2006. Web. 04 Apr. 2017. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEnfZjqMSy0>. PTXofficial. "[OFFICIAL VIDEO] Hallelujah - Pentatonix."  YouTube . YouTube, 21 Oct. 2016. Web. 04 Apr. 2017. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRP8d7hhpoQ>.

Because of this scrupulous musical investigation, I was able to further my knowledge of the key musical elements implemented in Pentatonix’s Hallelujah and Franz Liszt’s La Campanella . Knowing that these two works are of completely different cultures and that they were published hundreds of years apart makes it easy for one to doubt any strong musical connections. Sometimes I would think that there is not much to some portions of a piece. It is extremely fascinating to realize that there may be more sophistication than one initially perceives. The use of this modified theme and variations form is remarkably the strongest musical link between the Pop and Classical work, aside from the similar use of dynamics. Every composer or artist has their own unique flavors in which they incorporate into their music to show off to society. To find that two distinct works of art have at least one common musical link makes me ponder the fact that, maybe, music is universal. There is always a conne...

Differences Hallelujah How Pentatonix establishes harmony Pentatonix’s a cappella work Hallelujah is filled with several points of harmony. Although the listener can follow the obvious lyrical line, there are times where the other members back up the lead vocalist with accompanying notes, providing more richness and color to the principal melody. The musical details of harmony can be investigated through a few examples. Following Scott’s solo statement from the first four measures, all but Scott begin to hum (refer to Figure 5 ) ; this is the first evidence of harmony is enacted. Those who were humming seem to have an overall similar idea in regards to their humming accompaniment against the melody; for instance, they move up a half step from the dotted half note of measure 5, descend by either a 2nd or 3rd from measure 8 to 9, and then ascend in the 10th measure. The only exception is that the choir’s bass, Avi, enters the accompaniment on measure 9. Although they all fol...

Similarities Form: Both works visit the use of A-B form, so it can be concluded that both contain some type of binary structure. However it is not just A-B alone; the form is repeated at least a few times, having the overall general form of A-B-A’-B’-A’’-B’’-A’’’-B’’’ (the amount of A and B sections differ from both works). Like most music today, Hallelujah can also be described in strophic form (verse-chorus). What makes these pieces similar is the fact that both vary each A and B sections by either varying the melodic outline or implementing various harmonies to be performed simultaneously. Hallelujah ’s A section is represented by the verse, and its B section is represented by the chorus. La Campanella ’s A sections are represented by these times: 0:10-0:42, 1:20-1:52, 2:44-3:24. The B sections are represented by these times: 0:42-1:19, 1:53-2:43, 3:24-3:57. After 3:57, the piece concludes with the coda. Dynamics Although this is not a major link in the two works, w...

Classical vs Western Pop Franz Liszt (left) and Pentatonix (right) This musical links investigation will cover the similarities and differences of musical styles between a Western Pop work and a Classical work. In this case, I will use Pentatonix’s rendition of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah and Franz Liszt’s piano composition of Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 2, La Campanella . Pentatonix is a 21st century American a cappella group consisting of 5 vocalists - Scott Hoying, Mitchell (or Mitch) Grassi, Kirstin (or Kirstie) Maldanado, Avi Kaplan, and Kevin Olusola. Given that they do not use instruments, these aspects are created using their mouths. Scott is the baritone, Mitch is the alto, Kirstin is the soprano, Avi is the bass, and Kevin is the tenor - however, primarily, Kevin is the group’s beatboxer. Together, the group performs covers of various hit pop songs and a few of their own compositions. Franz Liszt is a Hungarian piano virtuoso and composer who has been a prom...