My room (waiting for wonderland) - a little musical analysis
Feb 21, 2021 16:59:48 GMT
Post by noamn on Feb 21, 2021 16:59:48 GMT
The discussion about this song that started with the Hugh Banton radio interview led me to share a few musical insights to this seemingly simple song.
First of all, for the first three and a half minutes, all one hears is a variety of major chords (I wouldn't be surprised if Peter managed to include all twelve major chords in the song). It isn't until he hits the words "how could you let it happen" that the disappointment of the words is matched by the music, turning into a minor scale. The final verse is a mixture of optimism ('dreams, hopes and promises') over major chords and disappointment ('but still you don't understand how it feels') over minor chords. The coda is simply two minor chords repeated.
Secondly, the rhythm at the beginning is somewhat odd: a bar of four beats, one of two beats and then another two bars, each of four beats each. This pattern repeats for most of the verse sections. For the discerning, this same rhythm is used in 'The Sleepwalkers'; it's fairly clear in the final verse of that song, but it also occurs in the opening verses. This rhythm is disguised somewhat as the band invoke a fast, ternary, rhythm that masks the bar lines, but it's the same as the final verse, which is now in a straight 4/4 time signature.
First of all, for the first three and a half minutes, all one hears is a variety of major chords (I wouldn't be surprised if Peter managed to include all twelve major chords in the song). It isn't until he hits the words "how could you let it happen" that the disappointment of the words is matched by the music, turning into a minor scale. The final verse is a mixture of optimism ('dreams, hopes and promises') over major chords and disappointment ('but still you don't understand how it feels') over minor chords. The coda is simply two minor chords repeated.
Secondly, the rhythm at the beginning is somewhat odd: a bar of four beats, one of two beats and then another two bars, each of four beats each. This pattern repeats for most of the verse sections. For the discerning, this same rhythm is used in 'The Sleepwalkers'; it's fairly clear in the final verse of that song, but it also occurs in the opening verses. This rhythm is disguised somewhat as the band invoke a fast, ternary, rhythm that masks the bar lines, but it's the same as the final verse, which is now in a straight 4/4 time signature.
