Monster Song
by John Frazier
Hear John's Song Now
For my final project I decided to write a piece of music on the guitar. To create such a monster, I drew on my studies of music theory, guitar theory, and the literature that we have read in class. I used the literature containing examples of monsters and the monstrous as my guidelines, then applied the ideas from the literature to music. To create an eerie sounding song, I used mainly dissonance, tension, and repetition within harmony and rhythm.
My overall vision for the song was to create a musical representation of a
monster created similarly to the monster in Frankenstein. I wanted the song
to start out with a dark and gloomy sound that is eerie and mellow. Then as
the monster springs to life and becomes loose, during which time I wanted
to mood to shift to more intense and frantic. Then I wanted the monster to
peak with a climax, before the mellow uneasiness returns and finally gives
way to a strange sense of completion, as the monster’s reign of terror
is ended.
The piece opens with wandering intervals, which, at first, keep
the listener from being able to establish an understanding of the rhythm and
tonal center. This introduction does, however, set an ominous tone, which
is reinforced by that which follows it. Next I pick the individual notes of
open and eerie sounding chord with a C at the base. This will be the backdrop
for the “A” section of the song. Over this chord I come back in
with the intervals, which are predominately 5ths. They wander briefly and
then settle into C- F- E pattern, while still using 5ths, which introduces
the chord progression of the “B” section. This pattern continues
with the original open chord while a low bass sounding droning C note fills
in. I used an effect pedal to harmonize the C note that I played with a C
one octave below it. This bass note adds to the darkness of the sound. Soon
after the bass note is added to the mix, I play a short wandering solo that
climbs up to the melody of the “A” section. During this solo and
melody I use the effect pedal again, this time to harmonize the note I play
with a 5th below that note. This is the same interval that I played by hand
in the beginning of the song. When I played it the first time, however, I
used a 5th above the note, while when I used the effect pedal, I had it play
the 5th below the original note. After the melody is stated it is repeated.
At this point in the song there are 4 different parts playing simultaneously.
Over these four parts I drone a very open and ambiguous C chord, which washes
over the mix until the song breaks and switches to the “B” section.
The “B” section uses a C m7- F dim7 – E dim7 progression
with a much faster rhythm. This progression is the same as the C- F- E pattern
contained in the “A” section. There are, for a short time, two
guitar parts playing this progression. While one guitar stays exactly the
same, the second guitar plays off of the first one and varies its rhythm to
create an interesting “double” progression. Then, in a fashion
similar to that of part “A” a guitar solo takes the listener up
to the melody of the “B” section. This melody is more like a motive
that repeats itself ascending and descending until it finally settles. Once
the motive settles, the same droning C chord that took the song from part
“A” to part “B,” now brings it back to the “A”
section. This section is the same as when the listener left it, however this
time, the lead guitar plays a lick that would normally be associated with
the end of a song. The lick is bouncy and light and clashes with the rest
of the sound. Finally everything drops but the guitar lick, which does announce
the end of the song and ends on an authentic cadence (V to I). This ending
is strange since it is a traditional resolution, while the rest of the song
is full of darkness and tension.
Throughout the song I strive to achieve a dark, horrific tone.
The most useful literary example of the tone that I wished to emulate is the
work of Edgar Allan Poe. With words Poe draws his readers into a world of
darkness and gloom, where monstrous things occur and horror is inescapable.
I wished to do what Poe does with words using sounds. In the attempt at achieving
this goal, I relied heavily on the use of dissonance. Dissonant intervals
are, “In traditional harmony, all augmented and diminished intervals,
and all 2nds and 7ths” (Clough 468). Dissonance can more broadly be
described as clashing or unresolved musical sounds. The chord that plays throughout
the “A” section is technically a dissonant chord because it contains
the interval G-G# which not only is a 2nd, but it is a minor 2nd, which gives
an even gloomier quality. This interval can be heard most clearly before too
many other layers are added to the mix. Once the chord begins to regularly
repeat itself, the minor 2nd is the interval between the last two notes plucked
before the chord cycles again. Also, during the solos, a diminished feel is
used to keep them from sounding like standard rock or jazz solos. The different
parts of the song are supposed to fit in with each other, while still creating
dissonance and tension.
The quality of tension that the separate parts have when played
together culminates at the end of the “B” section. The motive
that is repeated and ascends and descends creates the most tension of all.
It starts in the key of C, which is what the rest of the song is played in.
It then climbs and falls from the C position, creating a high pitched, tension
filled solo, which peaks with the washed out chord that brings the song back
into the “A” section. This effectively starves the listener of
a true musical resolution. The only resolve that the listener feels is that
the song has returned to something that is familiar, yet this is still far
from a tonal resolution. Once the piece has returned to the “A”
section, I use another form of tension. I juxtapose a cliché song ending
guitar lick, which has a bouncy and traditional feel, with the rest of the
“A” section, which is dark and untraditional. This juxtaposition
comes to a head when the rest of the music cuts out of the mix and the guitar
lick actually does end the song with a standard chord cadence. This could
be seen finally as a resolve at the last moment of the song, but even so,
it is a strange almost eerie ending to such a song. The image that came to
my head at this part was the unnerving sight of a smile on a corps’
face.
After reading about the monstrous affect that doubles and doubling
have, and seeing examples of this in Capote’s In Cold Blood, I was consciously
thinking about doubles when I wrote this monster. Since it is common for music
to repeat itself and hybridize motives, my intention may not be as clear as
Capote’s. First, I play the chord progression of part “B”
slightly differently and using 5ths in part “A”. I was hoping
that when the “B” section started, there might be some question
in the listener’s mind as to why it sounds so familiar. Another example
of doubling in this piece of music is in the melody of part “A”
and the motive of part “B”. The last three notes of the melody
of “A” are the same notes that are the motive of “B”.
In part “B,” however, these three notes run wild and are responsible
for the tension. Finally, I also intentionally used the same washed out chord
to switch from “A” to “B” that I then use to switch
from “B” to “A.”
Overall I think that the song is successful. I wanted to stay
away from to many effects such as reverb and chorus. I wanted to rely on the
content to produce certain a certain feel, and not electronics. I also knew
that the more layers I had looping, the more of an eerie or frenzied effect
I could create, but I did not want to rely on crowed sound. I found the project
to be an interesting hybrid of literature and music, and found it was useful
to be able to draw from both pools of resources. I conclude that a Poe like
mood can be created in music very easily using techniques such as dissonance
and tension, and that music lends itself well to the creation of monsters.
Bibliography
Denyer, Ralph. The Guitar Handbook. New York: Alfred A. Knopf,
1992.
Denyer’s Book is packed with useful guitar information. He includes
scales, chord progressions, and intervals, all of which are useful to guitar
players. Particularly interesting are the diminished scales, as they provide
a Poe like tone.
Clough, John. Et al. Scales Intervals Keys Triads Rhythm and Meter. New York: W.W. Norton & Co, 1999. This book provides key topics of music theory. The information on scales, intervals, keys, triads, rhythm, and meter adds to the ability of a guitarist to write interesting music, and allows the guitarist understand why certain sounds that he or she may wish to achieve have the quality that they do.
Nelson, Robert and Carl Christensen. Foundations of Music. California: Thomson & Schirmer, 2003. This book supplies the guitarist with more music theory to enhance a musician’s ability to speak the language of music and understand musical concepts. Much of the information is the same as in Scales Intervals Keys Triads Rhythm and Meter, but also includes information on chords and harmony, melodies, phrases, and cadences.
Bay, Mel. Mel Bey’s Modern Guitar Method: Grade One. Missouri: Mel Bay Publications, Inc, 1990. Bay’s book, takes music theory and applies it specifically to the guitar. His book covers note reading, chord construction, and scales, as they are necessary in the development of a guitar player.
Guitar Picture Chords. New York: Amsco Publications,1999.
This is a chord dictionary that offers over 750 useful chord forms. This is
a great resource for a guitarist who is writing music.
