I assigned this track for analysis in my pop music seminar, and wanted to share my own thoughts on how this track relates to the concept of fragile tonic and motivic unity.
Author: Megan
Ear Training fantasies
One of my longest-standing research interests is in ear training pedagogy. Conventional wisdom says that the point of ear training class is not to train students’ ears in the classroom, exactly—everyone realizes that the majority of work must be done outside of class (though it’s hard to convince students that this is a good use of… Continue reading Ear Training fantasies
Analyzing timbre
I’ve removed this post, which was from 2016 (!), because my approach to timbre has evolved a lot. Readers should check out my MTO article instead, which was published in 2020. You can find more publications (all of which was published later than this blog post) on my Research page.
WHAT is the DEAL with TIMBRE?
After reading roughly 10,000 articles and books about the analysis of timbre, I can say with confidence this is how all of them start out. So here’s my own explanation of timbre’s DEAL. Timbre is more colloquially known as “tone color.” Imagine two different instruments, e.g., a violin and a trumpet, playing the same exact note… Continue reading WHAT is the DEAL with TIMBRE?
Garden pathing in Kesha’s music
One technique Kesha uses to create humor in her songs is through garden pathing.
Blogging and the writing process
This is sort of a confession of problems I have in the writing process—problems I hope to alleviate with this blog. I want to have a place to share my ideas in a more conversational tone, to ask questions and think “out loud”, to link to on my Twitter and get feedback from those who are interested. I am also looking forward to putting my writing process on display.