Week 5 Listening Blog Post


 The Great Speckled Bird


    I listened to this song critically a few times. This song was sung by Roy Acuff in 1936 and written by Charles Swain. As I payed attention to the lyrics, I realized that the bird is a metaphor to being true to your beliefs. This is a country and western genre song that was popular during the swing era. It has the fluid, rocking rhythm. Acuff's vocals have a twangy sound. This song includes guitar, bass, and violin. I noticed there are examples of call and response between the vocals and guitar. I am thinking this song is a strophic because it has a lot of verses. This song takes on the AABA form, with the melody and different variations of the melody. In the beginning of the song, there is a riff/refrain in the beginning of the song including the guitar and is repeated throughout the whole song. It is catchy and creates a groove. My favorite part of this song starts at minute 2:29, when he is singing "great speckled bird" but the instruments take a pause and it puts more emphasis on his voice and creating a good, slow ending for the song. I really enjoyed listening to this song. 




Comments

  1. Heaven CasausOctober 12, 2020 at 11:48 AM

    Hello Ally! I really like your song choice this week! I feel like I have heard this song before but I can't remember where. I really enjoyed his voice it was very soothing. I also really liked the instruments. Great song choice this week!

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  2. Morgan CalderOctober 12, 2020 at 2:26 PM

    This is a fun piece to listen to! My favorite part was the sliding that the instruments would occasionally do at the end of a line. It added a twanginess to match the vocals of Roy Acuff. I like how you pointed out that the beginning of the song sets the groove for the rest of it and how it relates to AABA form.

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