Category Archives: Uncategorized

The World Was Wide Enough for Different Approaches to Harmony

Posted on May 9, 2019 by timchenette

Hamilton: An American Musical centers around the friendship and rivalry between the contrasting characters Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. Hamilton is tense, ambitious, rash, risk-taking, trying to reach his goal (his power of speech, unimpeachable). Burr is cautious, waiting to play … Continue reading →

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Metrical Modulation is in Kendrick Lamar’s DNA.

Posted on October 27, 2018 by timchenette

In 2015, Geraldo Rivera responded to a Kendrick Lamar performance by saying, “This is why I say that hip-hop has done more damage to young African-Americans than racism in recent years.” Let us briefly consider the perfect role models that … Continue reading →

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Chasing Adele’s Phrase Rhythm

Posted on October 5, 2018 by timchenette

As I’ve noted before, phrases in popular music (and “classical” music) are usually four measures long, and when they aren’t, it’s often possible to relate them in some satisfying way to a four-bar norm. That previous post noted that the … Continue reading →

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Is the augmented sixth chord just a tritone sub for V7/V?

Posted on July 31, 2018 by timchenette

Good question. (Don’t worry if you don’t know/remember what these chords are. We’ll get there.) In my experience, classically-trained music theorists prefer to consider the augmented 6th as separate from tritone substitutions while jazz musicians explain the augmented sixth chord … Continue reading →

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My Suspension Will Go On

Posted on June 7, 2018 by timchenette

I’ve already talked about a suspension in a pop song, but this one occurred to me and it’s so great that I just had to make a second post on suspensions. In that previous post, I showed how the Miley … Continue reading →

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Groovy Muzio

Posted on April 22, 2018 by timchenette

I don’t know about you, but when I hear a piece by Muzio Clementi, I think, groovy. Apparently, so did Toni Wine and Carole Bayer Singer, because they based their song “Groovy Kind of Love” on the opening of the final … Continue reading →

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Is Scale Degree 6 Dangerous?

Posted on February 23, 2018 by timchenette

Scale degree 6 in a minor key has long been associated with grief and tragedy. The most famous example might be in Fréderic Chopin’s Piano Prelude in E minor, which begins with several repetitions of the half step between scale … Continue reading →

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I Came In Like a Suspension

Posted on January 31, 2018 by timchenette

Here’s a partial list of some of the words that composers love to express through music: sighing, weeping, laughter, rising up, falling down. Not making the list of common text-painting concepts (as far as I can tell): smashing down walls … Continue reading →

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Bruno Mars Causes the Feels (Expectation in “When I Was Your Man”)

Posted on November 28, 2017 by timchenette

I started my post on secondary dominants with this statement: “Here’s how you know Bruno Mars is sad.” But really, the song “When I Was Your Man” gives us all kinds of signals that he’s sad. In that post, I … Continue reading →

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Variations on “With a Little Help From My Friends”

Posted on October 31, 2017 by timchenette

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Piano Sonata K. 331, 1st movement is a set of variations on a simple, beautiful, catchy theme that begins like this: Whoops, sorry. That’s actually the famous Beatles song (also famously covered by Joe Cocker) “With a … Continue reading →

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