"January Wedding" by The Avett Brothers Song Link:
http://vimeo.com/33837978
One of my favorite bands is The Avett Brothers, a folk/bluegrass band that was formed in 2000 in North Carolina. Ever since the day I received my license and had the absolute privilege of driving alone with nothing but the road and my iPod, there has rarely been a week in which no songs by The Avett Brothers have been blasting from the speakers. The band's song, "January Wedding", has always been a song that comes up when discussing awesome music with friends, family, and acquaintances. This heartwarming love song creates a beautiful blend of male vocals and bluegrass instruments, including a banjo and a guitar.
After learning about meters, time signatures, texture, and many other aspects included in describing music, I have determined that this song has a 4/4 meter. It can be defined as having a duple meter because the number of beats (upper number) is divisible by two. The bottom number signifies a quarter note (four beats in a unit). Having a duple meter allows for the song to sound firm and stable. I believe that the simple 4/4 meter allows the song to have a steady beat that is easy to nod and clap to. I don't know about anyone else but when songs like these come on all I want to do is smile and get into the music as much as possible!
To me, the song seems to have a polyphony texture, defined as "hear[ing] two or more distinct musical lines at once" in Understanding Music (Yudkin 30). As I wrote before, in addition to the male lead vocals, the banjo and guitar serve as the accompaniment. If you listen to the song, you will find that the banjo echoes the voice several times during the song, including the beginning. It seems to me that the simple accompaniment allows for the audience to spend the majority of their listening skills on the romantic lyrics of the song instead of trying to keep up with the background music. This doesn't mean that one might block out the background music completely, though. I believe that the banjo and guitar only emphasize the understanding, and therefore the emotion, of the lyrics.
Although I am still learning and may not be entirely correct about the meter and texture of this song, I do know one thing for sure: "January Wedding" by The Avett Brothers is one heartwarming, smile-provoking, beautiful song.
Great analysis of the song, Ellen. I've never heard this song until now, but I'm an avid Avett Brothers fan. One more great tune to add the folk song list!
ReplyDeleteNow the "nod and clap to" idea of folk music makes much more sense: with a duple meter structure, along with the country violin and at-ease banjo and calm raspiness of the lead vocals, there's a since of familiarity with this tune. In class we addressed that most folk songs are folks songs because they're simple to follow and you can grab about any instrument in the texture from your home. As for whether this piece is homophony or polyphony, it maybe homophony because the instruments are accompanying/supporting the vocals. The piece may be polyphony if the vocals and instruments were rhythmically trying to dominate each other. And to be honest with you, I didn't understand that until we listened to "Blowin' In The Wind"!
This type of music, as you suggested, has the ability to make someone feel comfortable when they're on their own. Music like this makes the complicated simple. Music like this makes you take a deep breath in, and let it out. Music like this lets you know everything's going to be okay.