Favorite music paper by disneyluver

Summary: this is a term paper that I wrote for my music appreciation class. The assignment was to write a 500 word essay comparing and contrasting two of your favorite songs using musical terms (aria, rhythm, cadence, tempo, etc). You also had to include a timed listening chart. I received my paper back on april 27,2008 and was really happy that I got an A+ on it. I am really proud of it so I thought I’d share it with you. I won nothing except my opinions about the music.

The two songs I have picked to write about for my term paper are “Somewhere Out There” by Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram and Billy Joel’s “Why should I worry”. “Somewhere Out There” is a slow but moving love duet featured in the 1986 animated movie An American Tale and the melody is so wonderful that you find it stuck in your head after the song is long over. This song appealed to me because Linda Ronstadt was a favorite singer of Noël, a friend of mine who passed away a year and a half ago and whenever I play it I can picture Noel listening to it from Heaven. The Billy Joel song “Why Should I Worry” has more of an upbeat rythm as well as a catchy chorus starting with “Why should I worry?”. I am attracted to this song because it cheers me up when I am feeling down.

“Somewhere Out There” is a wonderful 1986 love duet from preformed by Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram. According to the website Ronstadt achieved a close return to the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1987 with this song which maxed out at No. 2 in March 198, earning a million selling gold single in the United States. The song also won a Grammy for Song of the Year while getting nominated in several other categories as well as winning an Oscar for Best Song. I love the melisma of this song because that both Ronstadt and Ingram decorate certain parts of the verses they each sing The union of the singers’ voices and the instruments in the background is such a perfect consonance that you do not want the song to end.

In 1987 Billy Joel, the famous singer-songwriter, completed voice work as Dodger for Walt Disney Pictures’ 1988 animated tale, Oliver and Company, According to the website , Joel not only brought along his acting talents to the film, but he also recorded a song for the film called “Why Should I Worry?”. The song starts out slow but the beat quickly picks up once the instrumental introduction is over. The main instruments include the drums, guitar and the piano, which are very distinguishable at times I like the melisma and the cadence elements of the song simply because I am amazed how talented a singer Billy Joel is. The tempo is very fast and upbeat You easily get the melody as well as the chorus stuck in your head long after the song is done.

“Somewhere Out There” and “Why Should I Worry” are similar to each other in a few ways. Both songs are from animated theatrical releases from the 1980s since An American Tale, the film in which “Somewhere Out There” is in debuted in 1986 and Oliver and Company, the motion picture which featured “Why Should I Worry” opened in November 1988. Both songs also include the piano as one of the major instruments. However that is where the similarities end. While the shape of the “Somewhere Out There” song goes up and down like an ocean wave , the shape of “Why Should I Worry” is ascending, since it only has a few moments where it goes really high. “Why Should I Worry” has a faster tempo and rhythm whereas “Somewhere Out There” has a slower tempo and rhythm.

these two songs are completely different from each other but I chose them for the feeling they put me in when I listen to them. If I am a romantic mood I will listen to “Somewhere Out There” but if I am in a bad mood I will play “Why Should I Worry”. I also chose them for personal reflection. I am a huge worry-wart so hearing “Why Should I Worry” when I have a lot on my plate makes me feel a bit more at ease. When I listen to “Somewhere Out There” I am reminded my friend Noel who I believe hears the song from heaven I also chose them because I’m a huge fan of soundtrack music.

Favorite music term paper Timed Listening Charts:

“Somewhere out there” by Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram (1987)

01: piano introduction

: 28 verse one- Ronstadt

: 53 verse two, piano in background

1:15 verse three-James Ingram. Piano and guitar

1:26 Verse four-Linda Ronstadt

1:40 verse five- both Ronstadt & Ingram singing

2:10- instrumental melody- flute and saxophone joins in

2:43: Ingram repeats first two lines of verse four (cadence on ‘star”

2: 54 Ronstadt finishes last two lines cadence on “sky”)

3:09 verse five- both Ronstadt & Ingram singing (Ingram repeats end of 2nd line: see us through)

3: 47 verse finishes, fades out

4:01 song ends

“Why Should I Worry?”-Billy Joel (1988)

:01 synthesizer- sounds like beats; drums, piano

:20 dog howling

:26 Verse 1 (one minute I’m in Central park…), beats continue in background, trumpet or trombone

:47 verse 2

1:08 Chorus (Why should I worry), piano in background

1:19 Chorus repeats (melisma on “care” and “faire)

1:29 short instrumental break

1:33 Verse 3 (Cadence on “crown)

1:42 Chorus repeats twice -piano in background

2:05 Verse 4

2: 12 Verse 5

2:20 instrumental piece- trumpet, piano

2:26 repeating “Whoo, whoo, whoos”, fade out

3:34: song is done