Tag: vocal

Jacob Collier | Once You

I have been meaning to introduce the MotD audience to Jacob Collier‘s music for awhile, so here is one of his songs, “Once You” (2018). Collier is truly one of the most incredible musicians and thinkers I have ever come across, and I highly encourage you to check out his other stuff on YouTube. It will blow your mind. A big shout-out also to June Lee, who does painstaking transcriptions of many of Collier’s songs, giving us the opportunity to follow along. There are too many key changes in this tune to list, so I will just leave you to listen. Enjoy!

Rufus Wainwright | The Sword of Damocles

Singer/songwriter/pianist Rufus Wainwright, a dual American/Canadian national (the son of American folk artist Loudon Wainwright III and Canadian folk artist Kate McGarrigle), is known for his cutting societal commentary. His 2018 release “The Sword of Damocles” is no exception. At 3:14, a bridge of sorts sends the tune into a series of keys-of-the-moment; at 3:26, there’s a full-blown modulation.

Donald Fagen | Ruby Baby

A decade after he co-founded Steely Dan, vocalist / keyboardist / composer Donald Fagen released 1982’s The Nightfly, an album which featured a distinctively Cold War/1950s vibe and was reportedly inspired by Fagen’s childhood habit of late night jazz radio listening. Not surprisingly given Fagen’s trademark harmonic complexity, “Ruby Baby” modulates at 2:57, but the close harmonies of the backing vocals are so complexly layered that the key change seems almost routine in comparison.

Lara Fabian | Adagio

Another new artist for MotD today — Lara Fabian. Two key changes in this 1999 tune — from G minor to Ab minor at 2:18, and then to C minor at 3:10, with a high quality music video to entertain you along the way. Enjoy!

The tune is based on a composition originally thought to be by Venetian composer Tomaso Albinoni, Adagio in G minor for violin, strings, and organ continuo. The neo-Baroque composition was actually written in the 1950s by 20th century musicologist and Albinoni biographer Remo Giazotto, purportedly based on the discovery of a manuscript fragment by Albinoni.

Andrea Bocelli | Because We Believe

Bocelli’s “Because We Belive” has a textbook example of a “common tone” modulation: a single note is sustained through key change, thus transforming its harmonic function. And the second, at 4:20, is the rare downward modulation, moving from E to D. David Foster is at the keys (he co-wrote the song with his daughter Amy for the 2006 Turin Olympics).

Barbra Streisand | Children Will Listen

Today we feature Barbra Streisand’s “Children Will Listen” (1993). Modulation comes early at 1:34, but the whole track is just stunning. As Allmusic.com reports, ” As a singer, Streisand‘s rise was remarkable because her popularity was achieved in the face of a dominant musical trend — rock & roll — which she did not follow.”