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Word painting

Started by popcorn, January 31, 2019, 02:20:15 PM

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popcorn

Wikipedia sez: "Word painting (also known as tone painting or text painting) is the musical technique of composing music that reflects the literal meaning of a song's lyrics. For example, ascending scales would accompany lyrics about going up."

Shite term. But I'm a sucker for a good bit of word painting. Here's a corker: the key change just as the gospel choir sings "change!" in Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson.

Missed opportunity: no crossrhythm when Cyndi Lauper sings "the drum beats out of time" in Time After Time. Shame, it could have been a hit song.

Twed

That would have been too on the nose. Also it means she's implicitly saying "but not the drums in my band, Motherfucker. We keep our shit tight".

daf

This sort of thing ?

XTC - Love on a Farmboys Wages - Andy sings the line 'Milks the Herd" with herd sounding like a cow moo-ing ('Uuuuuuurd')

mrpupkin

Another XTC one, in Beating of Hearts you get an aeroplane noise when he sings "louder than bombers in flight"...although I suppose if you start including sound effects the list is endless. Can you clarify is an aeroplane noise an acceptable word painting thanks

Flouncer

'Wake Up and Make Love to Me' by Ian Dury springs to mind - when he sings "sliding down your body" there's a legato slide on the bass, then later he sings "roll against my body" and there's a sort of rolly drum fill.

SteveDave

In "Turning Tide" by Super Furry Animals:

"The service was so slow
My eyes began to grow
Into telescopes"

Something slowly descends that sounds (to me) like eyes extending into telescopes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPzGILufC2k


Cole Porter - Every Time We Say Goodbye

During the lyrics "change from major to minor", Porter begins with an A♭ major chord and ends with an A♭ minor one, matching the mood of the music to the words.