Cornell University



Melissa Gao MUSIC 1421: Assignment 3Prof Ernste and Marshall Section 1Listening Exercise: Paris in the Rain by Lauv FormA | ABC A’CDCDescriptionThe song starts out in section A with very light, high-pitched cascading notes and static to mimic the relaxed vibes of a rainy day. They’re quickly joined by simple, reverbed piano chords. The vocal melody and finger snaps, which set a more concrete beat, come in while the cascade drastically lowering in volume to become the background “rain” (A verse). Interestingly, the static sound remains at about the same volume and is most prominent in the melody’s pauses. Some small additional moments of piano are added in B (pre-chorus) to add some spice, and a direct harmony to the melody appears right before the C (chorus) to signal a change. The instrumental in C stays the same except for an addition of a bouncy, jazzy “bass line” with short, low-pitched piano chords. In the second half of this section, an echo is added to the melody’s “you” as well as the last two lines of the section – similar to what happened in the transition from B to C. The piano bass line also does a funky drop down to lead us into section A’ (verse 2). I called verse 2 A’ because the vocal melody is completely different notes than the first verse. Most verses have very similar melodies, but these two feel totally separate in that regard. A’ also feels emptier due to the lack of consistently playing background sound. The first measure is a full measure of rests, with just Lauv singing. This provides a nice contrast to the first part of the song, because the background piano chords previously never stopped or had rests up until this point. The sudden stop in sounds, particularly the fundamental chords, provides a dramatic shift and draws your attention to the differentiation of the two verses. His vocals also get an echo/delay that was not there prior, and continues throughout this section. The second measure sees snaps, as well as a funkier and spruced up version of the piano bassline, join in, though the reverbed piano chords are still absent. Unlike most pop songs, the pre-chorus (another B) is totally skipped. There is a pause on the last word of the section before jumping into the chorus again (C), which differs from the B (pre-chorus) to C (chorus) transition we saw earlier. C (second chorus) is identical to the first, except it adds the percussive elements of cymbals and light drums – the latter of which emulates the sound of raindrops lightly hitting the pavement. The percussive elements build throughout this section, with the cymbals increasing in frequency to lead us into the bridge, “D”. “D”’s instrumentals are almost identical to C, but adds a loop of someone sliding their hands up and down the upper octaves of a piano. This is a faster, louder and thus more dramatic version of the beginning cascade. It also adds some vocal “ah”s to compliment the melody. An abrupt shift to a simpler and moodier C wraps up the song, with softer vocals, normal piano (no effects) chords and static in the background. The strength of this relatively simple song is how little changes can create big impact when made strategically. ................
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