Don Mclean - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Don Mclean

Brittany Taylor Music 1010Slide2

BiographySlide3

Born on October 2

nd, 1945 in New Rochelle, New YorkSlide4

Asthma

Swimming LessonsOpera LessonSlide5

Becoming a Performer

Networking within the music communityBefriending Erik DarlingRecording with Lisa KindredSlide6

Education

Villavona UniversityIona CollegeOffer at Columbia UniversitySlide7

Early Music Career

Harold Leventhal Management internshipCaffe Lena

Traveling with Pete SeegerSlide8

First Album

Tapestry- recorded in 1969Slide9

Honors

“Killing Me Softly With His Words”Honorary Doctorate-2001Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame- 2002Inducted into National Academy of Popular Music Songwriters Hall of Fame- 2007Slide10

Currently

Married to Patrisha for 27 yearsHas two children

Lives in Camden, MaineSlide11
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Composition History for “American Pie”

Recorded in 1971Reached number one on the national charts in the first month

Remained on the UK charts for 53 weeks

Re-released by Mclean and covered by many artistsSlide13

Meaning of “American Pie”

Mclean’s own experience of being a newspaper boyDeaths of Buddy Holly, JFK, and McLean's father 60-70’s political

upheavelSlide14

“American Pie”

Inducted in the Grammy Hall of FameVoted #5 in “Songs of the Century” poll by Recording Industry Association of America

Gateway to Mclean’s musical careerSlide15
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Composition History of “Vincent”

Written in 1970Recorded in 1971 by United Artists Records

International hit Slide17

Meaning of “Vincent”

Based on the life of Vincent Van GoghWritten from the prospective of his artPurpose was to illustrate that Van Gogh had an illnessSlide18

Listening Guide for “American Pie”

0:00 verse one: Piano begins with mezzo piano volume with descending chords playing the harmony, vocals singing the melody 0:23 vocals ending on a fermata, quadruple meter is being used.

0:25 key change, piano plays an arpeggio, vocals sing in an arch contour, tempo is probably andante.

0:59 silence Slide19

1:04 chorus guitar enters at a

faster tempo than the previous minute of music, probably moderato, vocals using conjunct arch contour, piano playing arpeggios higher on the scale1:27 guitars tempo pick up to probably allegro, drum

1:34 Verse two begins, tempo is medium/fast, piano and guitar are playing harmony arched contour

1:55

2:06 vocals reach a falsetto, piano plays harmony louder than the guitar that is strumming a fast rhythm Slide20

2:26 chorus, cymbals can be heard, more vocals are added in unison

2:36 vocals are the loudest here with some piano and drums emphasizing the beats

2:43 Verse three begins, piano playing harmony,

3:11 key change, cymbals, arched contour, vocals are singing in the conjunct arched contour, piano playing harmony, tambourine is keeping rhythm

3:42 chorus

3:53 all instruments stop except the drums and piano giving great emphasis on the vocals. The electric guitar play a descending

disjunct

contour into the next verse.

4:02 verse four begins. Piano is playing harmony and tambourine is keeping the tempo at a moderate rate.

4:11 Vocals do an impressing ascending contour that is conjunct,

piano is

playing harmony, and tambourine is still being used, the tempo is still probably allegro Slide21

4:27 quadruple meter is being used and vocals give great emphasis on those beats. Electric guitar is playing up the scale in a conjunct form, piano is playing harmony

4:59 chorus begins, piano is playing harmony and you can hear many chords being played, also more vocals are added in unison- homophonic5:10 electric guitar is playing chords and vocals

5:18 Verse five begins, tambourine keeping a allegro tempo, piano playing the harmony

5:45 electric guitar is sliding on the frets, drums are being played at a slow tempo,

6:15

chorus

piano is playing chords as the harmony, tambourine is keeping a moderately fast beat,

6:26 drums play at a slow tempo, electric guitar is playing

monophonic notes

6:32 verse six begins, tempo slows dramatically to maybe andante, and the piano plays a conjunct contour arch, piano is playing harmony and is the only accompaniment to the vocalsSlide22

6:57 piano is the only accompaniment and is playing the harmony

with chords 7:22 vocals are doing conjunct arch contour for the melody, the piano is the only accompaniment playing the harmony, and tempo is fairly slow probably adagio7:40 chorus begins, acoustic guitar begins playing, and tempo is a

little faster-

andante,

7:57 vocals are almost the only sound with a few strums of the guitar

8:05 chorus repeats, tempo picks up slightly by the guitar

8:13 more vocals are added in a homophonic sound

8:33 song endsSlide23

Listening Guide for “Vincent”

0:00 song begins, begins verse 1, acoustic guitar is playing harmony, vocals are the melody, tempo is fairly slow, andante-moderato, 0:24 vocals do an ascending conjunct contour, harmony is pleasant and played by the guitar

0:40 vocals do a conjunct ascending and descending arch contour0:47 guitar makes a staccato note change

0:49 chorus, the melody is nearly monotone, the harmony is being played by the guitar, and tempo is slow probably andante

1:26 verse two begins, ascending contour by the vocals, strings begin playing the harmony, maybe a viola?

1:43 vocals do a descending conjunct contour, tempo of the music is slow, and guitar is louder than the stringsSlide24

2:14 chorus

2:48 strings stop2:50 Bridge begins, guitar playing harmony and seems to get a little louder, tempo is still slow, 3:10 vocals do a descending conjunct contour

3:15 guitar plays the harmony in minor chords giving the song a dissonant feeling

3:36 verse three begins, vocals do an ascending conjunct contour, gives resolution to the bridge and has a consonant feeling to it,

3:45 the vocals do a descending ascending descending contour

3:53 vocals do a descending conjunct contour,

4:04 strings enters again and do an ascending conjunct contour, guitar is playing the harmony, and strings are louder than the guitar

4:25 chorus

4:45 vocals do a descending conjunct contour

4:58 the vocals do an ascending conjunct contour, guitar is very soft

5:10 guitar plays final ascending conjunct notes and ends with a chord that resolves all the dissonance of this song

5:15 song endsSlide25

References

http://ww.don-mclean.com