



links, discussions,
and more...
from our chat on November 5th

what do these songs have in common?
let's dig deeper into the tracks you've been listening to ------->

I wish we could have had more time to discuss all of the songs you listened to for the class.
I have loved reading all of your responses - below is a word cloud made from the thoughts you all shared from listening in the chat.
You were all right on the money - hearing the connective tissue of the "lament bass" that unites all of these pieces of music!

so what's on the playlist ?
a little more info about who wrote these pieces of music and when (listen above on YouTube) --->
Feeling Good
Written by: Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse (1964)
Performed by: Nina Simone (1965)
Key: G minor (bass line = G, F, Eb, D)
Ciaccona
Written by: Tomaso Vitali (1745)
Performed by: Ensemble Clematis (2011)
Key: G minor (bass line = G, F, Eb, D)
View the manuscript HERE.
Bye Bye Bye
Written by: Kristian Lundin and Jake Schulze (2000)
Performed by: *N'SYNC (2000)
Key: G# minor (bass line = G#, F# E D#)
Passacaille
Written by: Jean-Baptiste Lully (1685)
Performed by: La Petite Bande (2000)
Key: G minor (bass line = G, F, Eb, D)
***but...it sounds like it is in F minor with a bass line of F, Eb, Db, C because it is being played at A=392, French baroque pitch, a whole step lower than what we use today, A=440
View the manuscript HERE (see page 147)
Hit The Road Jack
Written by: Percy Mayfield (1960)
Performed by: Ray Charles (1962)
Key: G# minor (bass line = G#, F# E D#)
Lamento della ninfa
Written by: Claudio Monteverdi (~1614-1638)
Performed by: Montserrat Figueras and Jordi Savall
Key: A minor (bass line = A, G, F, E)
View the manuscript HERE
La Blanche Biche
Written by: Emi Ferguson (2017)
**based on an anonymous folk melody
Performed by: Emi Ferguson (2017)
Key: B minor (bass line = B, A, G, F#)
***but...it sounds like it is in Bb minor with a bass line of Bb, Ab, Gb, F because it is being played at A=392, French baroque pitch, a whole step lower than what we use today, A=440
View the manuscript HERE (see page 147)
Music to Watch Boys to
Written by: Lana Del Rey and Rick Nowels (2015)
Performed by: Lana Del Rey (2015)
Key: C# minor (bass line = C#, B, A, G#)
Midnight Train to Georgia
Written by: Jim Weatherly (1970)
Performed by: Gladys Knight and the Pips (1973)
Key: Db Major (bass line = Db, C, Bb, Ab)
Just Give Me A Reason
Written by:P!nk, Jeff Bhasker, and Nate Ruess (2011)
Performed by: P!nk and Nate Ruess (2011)
Key: G Major (bass line = G, F#, E, D)
...we could keep going, adding many more songs to this playlist including...
Bach: Chaconne, from Partita no.5 for solo violin
Biber: Passacaglia for solo violin
the lament bass
a repeating, cyclical, bass line from
one (tonic) descending to five (dominant) ---->

Musicians took these four descending notes and built (and still build!) harmonies and melodies on top of it.
All of the songs in the playlist use this fundamental structure in someway - thus connecting all of them, from 17th century composer Monteverdi, to 'NSYNC.
the lament bass is usually found in a minor key, but one can also create the same concept in a Major key ---->

click on the slides below to learn a little more about how all of these songs are connected and why the lament bass has it's power ------->
Musicians often alter the lament bass from the original four notes. One famous version is descending from 1 to 5 chromatically like in Henry Purcell's famous "Dido's Lament" ------->


played on a Rod Cameron copy of a c. 1700 Hotteterre flute
boxwood and ivory with a silver key
pitch = 392 hz

This is the song we all sang together. It's one of my favourite examples of the "major" version of this bass line. It was written in the court of Louis XIV and would have either been sung or fluted with the accompaniment of a lute (very large guitar). Check out this recording that is a beautiful recreation of what it might have sounded like back then...
view the sheet music HERE
notice how the bass line is notated all the way down in the bottom right corner - this is all the information a keyboard player or guitar player would be given to play with the flute player or singer whose melody is fully written out above.
Pourquoi, doux rossignol,
dans ce sombre séjour
M'éveillez-vous avant l'Aurore?
Venez-vous à mon coeur annoncer le retour
Du charmant objet que j'adore ?
Pourquoi, doux rossignol,
dans ce sombre séjour
M'éveillez-vous avant l'Aurore?
Mais si Climaine, a mon amour trop insensible encore,
Abandonne mon coeur au feu qui le dévore ;
Pourquoi, doux rossignol,
dans ce sombre séjour
M'éveillez-vous avant l'Aurore?
Why, sweet nightingale
in this dark abode
do you wake me before dawn?
Have you come to announce the return
Of the one that I love?
Why, sweet nightingale
in this dark abode
do you wake me before dawn?
But, if Climaine is still insensitive to my love
Then abandon my heart to the fire which devours it
Why, sweet nightingale
in this dark abode
do you wake me before dawn?
in my version of Pourquoi Doux Rossignol, listen out for how I'm constantly changing back and forth between the Major and minor versions of the lament. Can you hear when it changes?
Play the descending four notes of the lament bass on a digital keyboard - sing/hum a melody on top of the bass. Play around with notes that feel like they "fit in" and notes that feel like they "clash" with the bass - find what feels good for you - play around with tempo (fast/slow), feeling, etc. - compose multiple lament bass songs!
If you have a Mac, iPhone, or iPad, download the following Garageband files as a starting point. Play around with changing the tempo, instruments, adding new instruments, and recording a live instrument or voice.
sound and
perception
dig deeper into Josh McDermott's study about how people hear sound, Synesthesia, and more ------->
The Washington Post
Music is universal - but the way it makes us feel may not be
Sarah Kaplan
July 13, 2016