Has a song in video game from the early 2000's ever left you feeling strangely bittersweet? Or a song that a friend recommended to you years ago popped up in your recommendations just recently and you can't help feeling melancholy?
It would be pretty weird if both those things happened in one night, wouldn't it?
Well, that's what's happened to me tonight, as the tab with YouTube open cycled from Lonely Rolling Star in Katamari Damacy to Gorillaz's On Melancholy Hill. And within the first few measures of the second song, I realized that something about them was similar, but I couldn't pinpoint what it was. The soungs play at completely different speeds, have different melodies and harmonies, and aren't even in the same language. However, they both convey similar emotions. I began to think that, while there are many different factors that play into how a song sounds emotionally, the rhythm could have a great deal to do with it.
First, I should get a few definitions out of the way. What is rhythm? You probably know, but couldn't define it if you were asked to. There are a few different meanings, but a good general one is the repeated pattern of strong and weak pulses in a sound. Drum patterns, base patterns, and any repeating sounds can contribute to rhythm.
And now, the songs in question.
Right away, I noticed that both songs like to bounce between high and low notes. I also noticed that in both songs, the lower bass tones will use two eighth notes late in the pattern. In Lonely Rolling Star, however, the bass is far more pronounced and shares the spotlight with the vocals, whereas in On Melancholy Hill, the bass is less pronounced for the vocals and higher melody to shine through. Also, the higher melody in this song plays a repeating pattern, and helps contribute to the rhythm of the piece.
Maybe it's not just the rhythm that makes the mood of a piece. After all, you can have the same drum pattern in a more cheerful song. A baseline could be sampled in a song with a completely different mood. Specific notes, chords, and melodies definitely have a large impact, and often vocals can truly define a song, even if you don't know what the words mean. However, there's no denying the similarities in the rhythms in these two songs (which both deserve more individual analysis, but it's almost 4 am). And often we concentrate on melody and vocals, so the rhythm is left to our subconscious to interpret. Maybe it cuts deeper into our emotions than we realize.
Either way, these two songs leave me with similar feelings when I'm finished listening to them, feelings that very few other things are able to replicate.
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