Precision vs. Emotion?

clipart-music-notes-music-notes-clip-art“Oil and Water.” Can’t happen. Opposites don’t attract. Like-minded people are just that.
Wait! What if it’s the precision of music and the emotions of the heart? Oil and Water? Forget about it.

“Sussudio,” Phil Collins…”Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da,” Beatles
“Na Na Hay, H
ey Goodbye,” Steam
“Hot Diggity (dog biggity boom),” Perry Como

Monophony, heterophony, polyphony, homophony

“Splish, Splash, I Was Taking A Bath,” Bobbie Darin…”Chim Chim Cher-ee,” Dick Van Dyke
“Supercalifragilisticexplialidocious,” Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke
“Heebie Jeebies,” Louis Armstrong…”Sh-Boom,” Crew Cuts

“Emotion is often entertained with mood, temperament, personality, disposition and motivation.” Wikipedia
Oil is filled with precision, accuracy, perfectly fitted together. Water is fluid, constantly changing, and unpredictable.

“You’re the Reason Our Kids Are So Ugly,” Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn
“Thank God and Greyhound (She’s Gone),” Roy Clark…”If You Don’t Believe I Love You, Just Ask My Wife,” Gary P. Nunn…”All I Want From You (Is Away),” Loretta Lynn

“In the early 20th century, Tin Pan Alley songs and Broadway musical songs were often in AABA 32 bar forms, in which the A sections repeated the same eight bar melody and the B section provide a contrasting melody and/or harmony for 8 bars. From the 1960’s onward, Western pop and rock songs are often verse-chorus form, which is based around a sequence of verse and chorus sections, with new lyrics for most verses and repeating lyrics for the choruses.” Wikipedia

Sectional, Strophic, Binary Ternary, Rando, Variational, Developmental Forms

“In-A-Gadda_Da-Vida,” Iron Butterfly…”Chika Boom,” Guy Mitchell
“La La – Means I Love You,” The Delfonics
“Mama, Look at Bubu,” Harry Belafonte…”Oh, Oh Child,” Five Stairsteps

Cognitive – evaluation of events and objects that can either be rigidly held for years, totally ignored and just passing through the mind.
Bodily – physiological experience of the precise structure and rigidity of musical composition.
Action – “motivational for the preparation and direction of motor responses.” Wikipedia (Again, an unpredictable response to a predictable construction.)
Expression – emotional states are almost always accompanied by facial or vocal expression. (As in singing in the shower.)
Feelings – the subjective experience (you), stimulated by an objective/subjective composition (the composer).

If the Phone Doesn’t Ring, It’s Me, Jimmy Buffett…How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Loved You When You Know I’ve Been A Liar All My Life,” Fred Astaire, Jane Powell

“The conclusion or outro of a song is a way of ending or completing the song. It signals to the listeners that the song is nearing its close. By using an outro, the songwriter signals that the song is, in fact, nearing its end. This gives the listens a good sense of a closure. For DJ’s, the outro is a signal that they need to be ready to mix in their next song.” Wikipedia

Finally, there’s that silly, nonsensical “Symphony No. 9” in D minor by a minor composer, Ludwig van Beethoven; something about joy.

Emotion: Joy, Precision: Structure = Total Enjoyment

book_list

About Rev. Joe Jagodensky, SDS.

A Roman Catholic priest since 1980 and a member of the Society of the Divine Savior (Salvatorians). www.Salvatorians.com. Six books on the Catholic church and U.S. culture are available on Amazon.com.
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