Moby

When was 'Why Does My Heart Feel so Bad?' released?

1999

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Describe the samples and melody in the piece

The song is based on 2 samples taken from a recording made in 1953 of a gospel choir. The first sample is sung by a male and used for the verses. The second sample is sung by a female and used in the chorus. Both samples have been manipulated.

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They had a 'vintage' feel because Moby hasn't cleaned up the surface noise on the recording. These samples are looped to create the melody.

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Describe the structure and texture of the piece

Verse-Chorus. After the second verse there is a breakdown. Texture built up as imdi tracks are introduced. A1: piano only. A2: voice enters. A3: drums enter, plus a string-synth countermelody A4: bass enters, & held string synth chords.

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Continued...

A5: Syncopated piano chords introduced. After breakdown, texture becomes thinner as piano and drums drop out for 8 bars, they reenter for 8 bars, then drop out till the end. Contrasts in texture done by varying instrumentation, silence, static chords

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Describe the rhythm, tempo and metre of the piece

4/4, 98bpm. The drum loop, which enters after 16 bars is made up of a breakbeat sampled from a hip-hop track. Bass drum plays on beats 1 and 3, while there are strong accents on the backbeats from the snare. Repeated semiquavers are played on shaker.

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Describe the rhythm, tempo and metre of the piece (2)

Syncopation is used in the piano, vocal, and synth string parts. Rhythms are varied between sections to provide contrast. E.g. the piano pattern changes at the end of the first verse, and static chords appear in the 2nd chorus

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Describe the use of technology in the piece

Synth-to produce string, bass and piano sounds. Sampler- used for oval samples, as well as the breakbeat rhythm on the drum track. Drum machine, Sequence, to trigger sampler and synth. Panning, electronic ghostings (male vocal sample),

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Reverb and delay (can hear effect of this in breakdown), in second verse, echoes of voice are created through delay. The echoes have been processed with EQ to remove lower frequencies.

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Describe Harmony and Tonality in the piece

Entirely diatonic, made up of three, simple repeated chord progressions, each of which lasts 8 bars. First one, Am, Em, G, D. Second C, Am, C, Am. And the last F, C, F, C. The verses are in the Dorian mode on A, and the choruses are in C major.

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Card 2

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Card 3

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Card 4

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Card 5

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