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GCSE Music
AOS3 – Popular Music In
Context
Club Dance Music
Moby
Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?
Song Structure
Section
Bar Numbers
Intro
1-8
Verse 1
9-40
Chorus
41-48
Verse 2
57-72
Break
73
Chorus
74-97
Outro
98-105
Intro Section
o
o
o
o
o
Tonic key of A minor is established.
Time signature is 4 crotchets beats in a bar.
Tempo is 98bpm (beats per minute).
Song begins with the chord sequence 1 shown below.
Piano establishes chord sequence 1 (see next slide).
Chord Sequence 1
Bar 1 Bar 2 Bar 3 Bar 4 Bar 5 Bar 6 Bar 7 Bar 8
Am
Am
Em
Em
G
G
D
D
Intro Section
o Piano establishes chord sequence 1, see example below.
Verse 1
o Verse 1 consists of four repeats of chord sequence one
that was previously heard in the Intro section. As a
result verse 1 can be split into the following sections:
Section of Song
Verse 1
Bars 9-40
Sub-section
Bar Numbers
Sub-Section 1
9-16
Sub-Section 2
17-24
Sub-Section 3
25-32
Sub-section 4
33-40
Chord Sequence 1
Bar 1 Bar 2 Bar 3 Bar 4 Bar 5 Bar 6 Bar 7 Bar 8
Am
Am
Em
Em
G
G
D
D
Verse 1: Sub-Section 1
o Sub-section 1 follows chord sequence 1.
o First vocal sample is introduced and simple piano
accompaniment from the Intro continues.
o Vocal sample is very untidy as you can hear echo's & traffic
noises in the back ground.
Verse 1: Sub-Section 2
o Sub-section 2 follows chord sequence 1. Vocal sample &
piano accompaniment continue.
o Drum/percussion loop is introduced playing a hip-hop
style rhythm.
o You can also hear a sustained synthesiser pad playing
bass notes with the left hand of the piano.
o There is a similar synthesiser pad which is also doubled
by the right hand high notes of the piano playing the
response section in the call & response texture with the
vocal sample. (See next slide).
Verse 1: Sub-Section 2
o Call & Response between vocal sample, string synthesiser
& right hand of piano.
Verse 1: Sub-Section 3
o Sub-section 3 follows chord sequence 1. Vocal sample,
piano accompaniment continue & call & response idea
continues.
o A synthesiser bass part & string synthesiser part is
added to fill out the texture with long sustained chords
in the mid to high pitch range.
Verse 1: Sub-Section 4
o Sub-section 4 follows chord sequence 1. Vocal sample,
call & response idea, synthesiser bass part & string
synthesiser continue.
o The piano accompaniment continues but playing a
different syncopated rhythm & decorating the chord
sequence through the use of suspension chords in
particular sus2 & sus4 chords.
Verse 1: Sub-Section 4
Chorus 1
o Chorus 1 is split into two different sections as can be seen in
the table below:
Section of Song
Sub-section
Bar Numbers
Chorus 1
Bars 41-56
Sub-Section 1
41-48
Sub-Section 2
49-56
o Chorus sub-section 1 uses chord sequence 2.
Bar 1
Bar 2
Bar 3
Bar 4
Bar 5
Bar 6
Bar 7
Bar 8
C
C
Am
Am
C
C
Am
Am
o Chorus sub-section 2 uses chord sequence 3.
Bar 1
Bar 2
Bar 3
Bar 4
Bar 5
Bar 6
Bar 7
Bar 8
F
F
C
C
F
F
C
C
Chorus 1: Sub-section 1
o Chord sequence changes to chord sequence 2, with a dramatic
lifting effect on the mood.
o Key is now ambiguous it could be either A minor like verse 1 or
C major as both of these chords are used in the chord
sequence.
o Second vocal sample is used on the lyrics ‘These open doors’ .
Chorus 1: Sub-section 1
o Texture is similar to sub-section 4 of verse 1.
o The answering phrases between the synthesiser & piano have
been replaced with more subtle phrases in the right hand of
the piano part.
o The synthesiser string part is now more a part of the
background, becoming more prominent towards the end of the
chorus.
Chorus 1: Sub-section 2
o Chorus 1: sub-section 2 uses chord sequence 3.
o The music is now clearly in C major, this is confirmed by chord
sequence 3 as all the chords in the sequence belong to C major.
o The texture remains the same as in sub-section 1. The main
difference is that the sample is retriggered faster than in
sub-section 1. As a result the sample answers itself in the call
& response pattern.
o Echoes & shouts are added.
Verse 2
o Verse 2 is split into two different sections as it can be seen in
the table below:
Section of Song
Sub-section
Bar Numbers
Verse 2
Bars 57-72
Sub-Section 1
57-64
Sub-Section 2
65-72
o Verse 2 returns to chord sequence one & as a result the key
changes back to A minor.
Verse 2: Sub-sections 1 & 2
Sub-section 1
o Verse 2 sub-section 1 is very similar to verse 1 sub-section 4.
o The vocal sample has the following an echo effect added & a
telephone voice EQ is applied to the echo which makes it sound
much thinner.
o The echo effect is delayed & there are a number of repeats
of the echo which gradually fade away.
Sub-section 2
o Sub-section 2 is an exact repeat of sub-section 1.
Break
o The break section consists of a single bar where all the
instruments have dropped out.
Section of Song
Break
Bar 73
o Dying repeats of the delay effect on the EQ'd vocal echo.
o A quiet delay repeat of the snare drum which was playing in
the drum loop of verse 2.
o Tailing off of the reverb that has been applied to the other
parts.
Chorus 2
o Chorus 2 is split into two different sections as can be seen in
the table below, however the second section of this chorus
repeats.
Section of Song
Sub-section
Bar Numbers
Chorus 2
Bars 74-97
Sub-Section 1
74-81
Sub-Section 2a
82-89
Sub-section 2b
90-97
Chorus 2: Sub-section 1
o Sub-section 1 uses chord sequence 2 as in chorus 1.
o Vocal sample 2 from chorus 1 is used. Reverb & delay has been
added to it to make it sound distant.
o The reverb & delay also blends in with the lush string pad part
which is playing in the static chords.
o Drums enter at bar 81 leading into sub-section 2.
Chorus 2: Sub-section 2
Bars 82-89
o Similar to sub-section 2 of chorus 1, uses chord sequence 3 as
in chorus 1.
o Reverb on the vocal sample 2 has been dramatically reduced
from sub-section 1. It now sound clearer & more prominent
even though it is no louder than it was in sub-section 1.
Bars 90-97
o This repeat of sub-section 2 is unexpected as we are
anticipating an immediate return to the verse.
o Repeating or extending the chorus at the end of a song is a
common song writing trick which signify's that the song is
coming to the end.
Outro
o The outro is the final section of the song & uses chord
sequence 1.
Section of Song
Outro
Bars 98-105
o Texture reduces to just vocal sample 1 accompanied by synth
pad playing the chord sequence using static chords.
Important Points
Sampling
o Moby left in the background noise on the vocal samples as he
felt that this enhanced the emotional content of the song as
well as the emotional reaction of the listener.
Musical Effects
o In electronic music using effects is an important development
tool. Moby uses a number of subtle techniques including
reverb, delay & equalisation (EQ). He also pays particular
attention to the placement of sound within the stereo field,
this means where they have been placed within the left-hand &
right-hand speakers.
Important Points
Harmonies
o Harmonies in dance music are usually very simple. Why Does
My Heart Feel So Bad only consists of 6 chords. These chords
were selected because of the emotional response they would
provoke from the listener rather a musical theory. As a result
we have a unique combination of chords being used.