Welcome to another exciting episode of Kobby Kyei News music review. The song in the spotlight today is, “1997” from Yaa Pono.
Introduction
The piece is in D major. The composer decided to use three (3) chords only.
These are chords one (1), four (4) and five (5) respectively. The use of these three primary chords is very vivid as far as this this 1997 piece is concerned.
Voicing
The composer of this piece (Yaa Pono) employed two (2) voicing techniques. They are the use of singing and spoken word. He employed some music devices like call and responds and the use of trio (three voices singing at the same time in different parts). This is clear in the call and response.
Instrumentation
The instrumentation of this piece is great. There is the use of what we call in music ostinato in the bass guitar. This means that the bass guitar was doing the same bass melody from the beginning to the end of the piece. This idea used by the composer beautified the whole piece. He also used syncopations on the piano side. This is where the piano is normally on the second beat instead of being on the first beat.
Aesthetics
The beauty as far as this piece is concerned is a nice one. The composer decided to use composition devices like the ostinato, the call and response, trio, syncopation just to clarify his message to the audience. This on the part of the composer is a nice idea which made the piece very beautiful. This piece is an A piece.
Suggestions and recommendations
As usual music is an art and must be treated as such. Talent alone is not enough, learning and applying the basics is what will make your music stand out.
