#the best thing about this is my primary instrument (viola) isn’t even included

[emp-t-man]

so my friend @delaneytalks-tostatues very kindly sent me a prompt for the ask reblog and of course i had to blow it out of proportion so here’s a long and ramble-y description of what musical instruments would represent the cast of wolf 359 in an instrumental score (by a music major)

minkowski would have trumpet motifs. they’re bold, and loud, and often the leaders of the brass section, but can also have a beautiful and even melancholy sound when played in the right situation. trumpets are often used to solo, and hardly play as much as other brass or woodwind instruments in an ensemble, the way minkowski often places upon herself the entire fate of the crew and the mission and is reluctant to accept help when it doesn’t come to aspects of the mission itself. i can just imagine the slow, emotional solo that would play in the background of her breakdown in pan-pan and it’s. ugh /pos

lovelace would be repped by a trombone— very close to a trumpet, but slightly deeper, with more of a dark timbre behind it, reminiscent of the people she’s lost and what she’s had to go through to be where she is. they’re also more friendly in terms of playing with the rest of the ensemble and more flexible in moving between notes, but just as strong.

eiffel has french horn motifs. is it because the french horn is my favorite of the non-string instruments? maybe. but also it has such emotional depth behind it. it’s so full, and hauntingly beautiful, and i think it’d be a good representation of how deeply eiffel strives to be a good person to try and forget his past.

now, these three all have something in common, and that’s having their instrument be a member of the brass section. brass just seems very fitting for the protagonists of the series— it’s hopeful, it’s strong, it’s driving. but i’m missing a couple members of the hephaestus crew who i think wouldn’t be represented by brass motifs for one reason or another.

starting with hera. i think hera’s motif would be played by a flute for a number of reasons. for one, she just gives me flutist vibes. for two, flutes aren’t a member of the brass family, just as hera isn’t seen as a true member of the hephaestus by a lot of people for a long time. while the flute is a beautiful instrument on its own, it can sound sort of lonely among a big, strong brass ensemble. however, a soft, lilting flute melody above a brass accompaniment could be just what the ensemble needs to achieve the mellow timbre a piece could call for, just as hera’s persistence and determination and intelligence is often what pulls the crew through when they’re stuck doing nothing but yelling at each other. i think it could especially be really pretty with a muted trumpet as a duet, in the same way hera and minkowski grow to be very close and work rather well with one another as they go through everything together.

there’s another we gotta talk about but i gotta bring up SI-5 first—

while the hephaestus crew is represented by the brass section, i think it’d be cool to have SI-5 represented by woodwinds. they aren’t as strong aurally, but add essential undertones and accompanying cues that could make or break an orchestra.

maxwell has english horn motifs for little reason other than it just— sounds like her to me. it can either sound like a sunrise of a new day or the creeping sensation of dread as lights dim depending on what mode you’re in and what the accompaniment is like, just like maxwell is seen by hera as both a friend and someone who doesn’t respect her in the slightest at different points in the series, and sometimes at the same time. it’s bright, and beautiful, but sneaky, and i think that kind of motif would go hard

jacobi would be played by a bassoon. again, this is a little bit because two of my closest friends are bassoonists and i love the instrument to death but ALSO because it’s deep and looming and intimidating but can also be extremely moving and emotional if you listen closely enough.

now kepler, he’s represented with saxophones. the instrument that looks to be a brass instrument but in reality is part of the woodwind family, just as kepler appears to have the crew’s safety in his best interest and to want to be their friend at first, but is rather quick to let them know his only interest lies with himself and his mission. it’s also a very charismatic instrument and is used to charm people a lot of the time, just as kepler relies on to pull in and trap other people in his “big picture” before they even know it.

all of this leaves hilbert. hilbert, to me, would be played by a cello. it’s a string instrument, and has no part in the band ensemble, just as hilbert has no alliance with any of the other crew members. he does his own thing, and the decima project means more to him than any individual. it’s deep, and full, and just like eiffel’s french horn motif, hauntingly beautiful.

i’m too tired to come up with what goddard’s motifs would be (cutter, pryce, and rachel), but i might do them another time if this gets enough traction—

[the-big-sue]

SOTT Instrumentation

So the tumblr purge killed this post because it was under a Read More and that fucking blows. But Hozier worked with Booker T. on his new EP and that reminded me of this post. So here it is:

So I was going to make an extra long post about the interesting choices in instrumentation on Sign of the Times, but it got…. Very very long. So I’m going to just shorten it to a few of the best bits I found.

The production on the track is incredibly rich and the choices made in the the accompaniment and arrangement are just as indicative of the themes of this song as the lyrics.

The Highlights:

The humanization of the ‘choir’ in the pre-chorus and chorus

The use of flexible irregular rhythm in the ‘chaotic’ act of the song

Water and flight imagery

Unusual instruments and sounds that Mean Something

The unusual resolution

The Pre-Chorus (aka the falsetto part)

In the pre-chorus the most important lyrics in relation to the instruments are “the bullets, the bullets”. As it’s been discussed, the official lyrics have a misprint because these change to “your bullet, a bullet” for the repeated instance in the first pre-chorus. Below is a breakdown of the instruments accompaniment for each pre-chorus

Pre-Chorus 1: ‘the bullets, the bullets / your bullet, a bullet’ - wavering, faint violins

Chorus 1: strings

The faint violins are used to give a slight sense of tense anticipation. The fuller violin section fills out the wall of sound in the chorus.

String instruments are often used to replicate the range of the human voice. A string quartet has two violins, a viola and a cello to replicate a human quartet with soprano, alto, tenor and bass voices. In the context of the progression of the song, this metaphorical ‘choir’ is the least human. Strings do not use air (or ‘breath’) but are manually played.

Pre-Chorus 2: ‘the bullets, the bullets / the bullets, the bullets’ - electric organ

Chorus 2: Synth choir

The use of the electric organ is subtle and fascinating. Organs have heavy association with church imagery. Electric organs have a strong history in rock music. In this case, the use is more Us and Them by Pink Floyd than Green Onions by Booker T. This is the second use of an instrument as a metaphorical ‘choir’ and one step closer to human, as organs use air to generate sounds, imitating breath and the human voice. (In this case it’s an electric organ, but that would be stylistic choice so as to not go too far into the funeral imagery)

The chorus here seems to use a synth choir, meaning computer stored versions of the human voice, or some other kind of harmonic synth sounds. Again that’s even closer to a human ‘choir’.

Pre-Chorus 3: ‘the bullets, the bullets / the bullets, the bullets’ - drum and rhythm guitar arrhythmic breakdowns (tuplets)

Here the metaphorical ‘choir’ drops out to allow the rhythm section to signal the coming chaotic , section (more on that later)

Bridge, Final Chorus + Chorus’ Riff - real human choir

The rest of the song uses real human voices. Finally achieving a kind of harmonic ‘truth’. As someone who isn’t religious but has a long history of singing Christian music, each of these ‘choirs’ resonate differently for me, but overall represent a specific kind of progression.

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The Chaotic Act:

If there’s one thing I’ve been flailing about is the drumming on this song. It’s executed very well, but also designed well to broadcast constraint and chaos.

The song starts with the drumming and rhythm guitar keeping within the established beat, even for the simple breakdowns and pick ups. Even the initial piano is acting equally as percussion and harmonic accompaniment plodding along at the start.

As the song progresses, and particularly from the third pre-chorus on through the bridge, the drums use irregular rhythm which makes the song sound so dramatic. The actual beat of the song doesn’t change too much, but the way the drums break down the rhythm gives the impression of time slowing down and flexing for emphasis. This is also the most ‘chaotic’ part of the song, including the vocal rhythm. (more on that later)

This is a classic rock song move, usually accompanied by guitar solos etc. In this song, it emphasizes a tumultuous moment before finding clarity in the final chorus and chorus’ riff.

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Water and flight imagery

The flight imagery is very easy to identify. There are four moments where a rocket-like whistle noise is used. Firstly in the intro of the song as a moment of foreshadowing. Secondly in the second verse after the word ‘atmosphere’, which is very on the nose. Thirdly in the final chorus when he says ‘we’ve got to away’ aka take-off. And lastly in the final sustained ‘away’ which would be exiting the atmosphere.

The water imagery is more evident in the rhythm. Harry’s promo has been heavy into the water visuals, while still keeping a somber atmosphere, avoiding an association with the ‘purity’ or rebirth elements. Here, water is more of a symbol of trying times, like weathering rough seas. This is where the chaotic section of the song comes in. The drums resemble tumbling waves, the vocal syncopation resembles the beating of waves as well as the kind of off-beat feeling you get when your breath is knocked out of you, and finally the vocal choices on ‘will we ever learn?/we’ve been here before’ sound like gasps for air. *insert Dunkirk drowning gif of doom*

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Unusual Instruments

So other than the core rock band, we’ve covered that the song uses strings, an electric organ, synth vocals and real human vocals.

The lead guitar part starts off as a sighing commentary on the first chorus and throughout. Eventually that sighing turns into wailing in the Chaotic section.

The electric organ is so prog rock to me and I love it. It also gives off a church vibe, but in a alt-church way with the electric organ. To me it re-emphasizes the more somber tone of the lyrics and my personal interpretation of this song as being about grief and loss.

There’s a distinct rocket whistle effect that we’ve already discussed.

For vocal effects, there’s a doubling and echo effect on the falsetto pre-chorus, which mimics the switch into plural pronouns. The falsetto also gives an impression of innocence.

Finally the weirdest and most subtle instrument is the orchestra chime, aka the bell sound. I probably heard this on my 100th listen (I’ve definitely done my part on the streaming front), but at 4:28 there are two hits on an orchestra set of chimes (which are vertical static chimes hit with a soft mallet). This is immediately after the ‘it’s just what we know’ line and ends the Chaotic section. Very much a ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’ moment, so let’s get literary with the John Donne poem:

For whom the bell tolls a poem (No man is an island) by John Donne No man is an island, Entire of itself. Each is a piece of the continent, A part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less. As well as if a promontory were. As well as if a manor of thine own Or of thine friend's were. Each man's death diminishes me, For I am involved in mankind. Therefore, send not to know For whom the bell tolls, It tolls for thee.

LITERALLY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ok I’m done with these bells.

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The Ending

The vocal line does not resolve to the tonic (or the primary chord of the key) but the piano line does.

In relation to the flight imagery, this moment comes right after the final rocket sound, which to me is a moment of exiting the atmosphere. We, the listener, do not exit the atmosphere. The voice, or what the voice personifies, exits but does not resolve for our ears. After the vocal line ends, the descending guitar line and drums feel like how you would slow down if you were running towards the edge of a cliff, but with no intention of jump off it.

The human choir takes on a celestial quality. It was previously used as harmonic accompaniment, but in its resolution it moves into polyphony as each vocal part moves to find it’s natural end note before blinking out of the score one by one. The three repeated notes on the piano are counter to the 4/4 (or 2/2) meter, so seem off beat. To me, it resembles how objects in space gently rotate on their axis as they move. As the piano and vocal lines resolve and fade, the final two piano chords seem like the moment the object disappears into the stars so you just have the stars winking passively back at you. (WOW THAT’S DEEP I’M DONE NOW)