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Comparing the elements of music

David Wolfswinkel 10e1

Music has existed and been a part of daily life throughout the history of man-kind.

Beginning with only the voice and banging sticks on rocks, music as an art form has evolvedinto a huge spectrum of expression and communication – a universal language. Thousands

of unique instruments, countless opposing genres and styles; yet they all maintain the same

for elements, and have the same purpose of expression.

For the purpose of this task I have chosen 2 pieces of music, one from the romantic era, and

the other from the modern era, to compare with each other:

  Perluido, from the opera La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi  

  The Edge of Glory , off of the album Born This Way by Lady Gaga

Perluido form La Traviata - Verdi The Edge of Glory – Lady Gaga

Perluido is the musical prelude to Giuseppe

Verdi’s 13th

opera, La Traviata. La Traviata is an

opera in three acts and was first performed at

the La Fenice opera house in Venice on the 6th

of 

March, 1853.

The Edge Of Glory is the 3ed single off of 

international pop star and fashion icon, Lady

Gaga’s 2ed studio album, Born This Way. It was

released on international radio playlists on the

the 9th

of May, 2011.

Analysis of the musical elements.

Tone Duration

The piece begins with a series of long, sustained

notes that hang in the air as they are played; this

creates a very ominous and haunting effect.

Although the rhythm is difficult to distinguish at

the beginning of the piece due to the many

ritandanto’s and fermata’s; in the middle of the

piece it begins to take shape as the woodwinds

 join in to establish a steady rhythm, common in

courts in the classical era, where the opera takesplace.

Tone Duration

The Edge of Glory has a very dramatic beginning;

the short, pulsing notes upon the basis of a

constant and staccato rhythm create a sense of 

movement.

During the chorus and sax solo the short pulsing

notes change into strong legato pulses the

duration of note in the melody also become

longer and less snappy. The addition of 

arpeggiated chords played violins also effectivelycreated movement.

Throughout the song, there is a strong and

constant rhythm line. This line is very snappy

creating a sense of constant moving, almost a

running sensation.

Pitch

The Preludio is written in the key of F major.

The chords played the beginning of the piece bythe violins are dissonant and clashing, the

Pitch

The Edge of Glory is in the key of A major and

follows a basic chord structure of A – E – D for the

Verse and the basic A- E- Minor - D.

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Volume

At the start of the beginning, the music is very

soft, again, adding to the eerie atmosphere.

Throughout the first section, it gradually

becomes louder and louder until the descending

scale, which connects that section again.

The next section of the piece has a relatively

steady volume, although the melody has an

haunting feel and it gently becomes louder and

softer.

Towards the end of the piece there are also

numerous echoes’, in which a motive is played

loudly, and then echoed softly directly after.

The piece ends with a glorious crescendo and

then a light decrescendo into the final chord.

Volume

The song begins with the very softly with 2

heartbeats, but from there quickly develops and

instruments and synthesisers are added.

The piece reaches its maximum volume duringthe chorus. Here, the most instruments are

present and the greatest sound is produced.

Other than the crescendo at the beginning and

slight raise in volume during the chorus, the

volume remains constant.

Timbre

The combination of the sliding between chords,

unestablishable rhythm, and eerie melody at the

beginning of the piece create an ominous and

almost haunting atmosphere.

But, in then the timbre changes dramatically at

the beginning of the next section of the piece.

The steady rhythm and gentle crescendo’s and

decrescendo’s in the melody create a very lighthearted, and relaxed atmosphere. A complete

contradiction to the first section.

Timbre

Throughout the piece there is an overwhelming

sense of movement.

At the beginning of the sound the atmosphere is

in a very excited and growing state, but as the

chorus comes in the overall timbre of the piece is

established.

Overall, this is more in the genre of smooth jazz,rather than typical pop music. The relaxed and

carefree timbre, and as well as the constant

sense of movement, define the timbre of The

Edge Of Glory.

melody hidden between the long and ominous

chords.

As the rhythm picks up midway through the

piece, although the eerie chords are still present

in the background; the joining of the woodwindinstruments provide a solid chordal basis upon

which the melody is played. The melody is now

much clearer and enjoyable, due to the change

in atmosphere.

The melody itself remains within a range of A3 to

D5,as that is the vocal range that Lady Gaga can

sing in in.

Although a saxophone can play a wide range of notes, during the sax solo, it also remains in that

range, making it sing-able for Gaga