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Mar. 9th, 2004 12:14 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jfbMindy Smith's "It's Amazing" starts out like Swan Dive covering Josh Rouse's song "Miracle," and then her voice kicks in. Now and then I hear Molly Felder or Kathleen Edwards or Deb Talan in it, but mostly I'm learning to hear Mindy Smith, and she's singing a song of love and comfort, and it's nice to just wrap myself in that voice for a while. I should be working, or driving, but this is what I'm doing instead.
And for what happens next I have to get all music geek for a second, and I'm sorry but it's all I can do.
The chorus starts on the tonic--A major--and the melody is up on the major seventh, a G#, with harmony vocals singing along on the fifth and ninth. And then the bass drops to F# and the vocals stay where they are, and now they're the seventh and ninth and eleventh of the chord. This can't possibly be anything that hasn't been done a thousand thousand times--and look, I used to play jazz piano, ninths and elevenths were like the back of my hand. But this afternoon when I pay attention to it for the first time I'm sure it's the most beautiful thing I've ever heard.
I spent half a movie tonight analyzing the melodies I've written and desultorily browsing the subtitles on the screen. I've never used a major seventh in a prominent way like this. My songs are ti-free. There are so many things I've never done! I guess I won't run out of music for a while.
And for what happens next I have to get all music geek for a second, and I'm sorry but it's all I can do.
The chorus starts on the tonic--A major--and the melody is up on the major seventh, a G#, with harmony vocals singing along on the fifth and ninth. And then the bass drops to F# and the vocals stay where they are, and now they're the seventh and ninth and eleventh of the chord. This can't possibly be anything that hasn't been done a thousand thousand times--and look, I used to play jazz piano, ninths and elevenths were like the back of my hand. But this afternoon when I pay attention to it for the first time I'm sure it's the most beautiful thing I've ever heard.
I spent half a movie tonight analyzing the melodies I've written and desultorily browsing the subtitles on the screen. I've never used a major seventh in a prominent way like this. My songs are ti-free. There are so many things I've never done! I guess I won't run out of music for a while.
