Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson Analysis

The song I choose to analyze is Man in the Mirror, made popular by Michael Jackson. He was born in 1958 and was known as the King of Pop due to his numerous talents that included being a songwriter, dancer, American singer, record producer, and humanitarian until his death in 2009. As an eighth child, he had a distressed relationship with Joe, his father, who he claimed to verbally abuse him. However for over forty years, due to his broadcasted private life and his role to dance, music, and style, he became an international character in popular art, music, and literature. Historically, Michael was the first entertainer to have emerged as a top ten single in the Billboard Hot 100 in fifty years when in 2014, his song, Love Never felt so good peaked at 9th place. His death caused an international outburst of sorrow. His memorial was held in Los Angeles, at the Staples Center. His death was treated as a homicide due to the presence of drugs such as midazolam in his bloodstream. His other singles included The Way You Make Me Feel, Dirty Diana, Bad, and I Just Cant Stop Loving You.

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The song Man in the Mirror is written by Siedah Garret and Glen Ballard. It defines how a man can make a difference just by changing his way of interrelating with people. Michael Jacksons recordings were produced by Quincy Jones and co-produced by Jackson. In 1988, the song was released and it gained popularity in the United States at first place and as the forth single from Bad, which was the singers seventh single album. The song is considered one of the most critical acclaimed songs and was thereafter nominated at the Grammy Award as the Record of the Year. During the same year, in the UK Tracks Chart, the song emerged at the 21st position, but when Michael died in 2009, it rose to the second place. It also became the number 1 single in the United States and the UK, in iTunes downloads, having made a sale of above 1.3 million digital replicas in the past only. In addition, during Michaels tribute tour immortal, a new version of the song was produced.

The melody in this song is steady all through. In the beginning, it starts off slow with a single strata based off a piano, but then it gains strata including the key melody added by the singer himself. The song appears to have three stratums: a piano, a drum, and the singer. All the three elements follow musical purposes. For instance, when Michael Jackson sings the chorus, the melody of the song does not change. In other words, the melody is disjunctive whenever he sings the chorus but when he sings the verses, the melody changes and become conjunctive. This means that when Michael sings the chorus the intervals are large, but when he sings the verses the intervals are small. This is the case because the singer enjoys sliding whenever he sings Man in the Mirror for emphasis of the chorus.

The harmony of the sing is very well constructed. As the stratums build, they make sure that the instruments maintain a choral character. For instance, the piano and other instruments are playing a 1, 3 count on a 4 base measure while the drums are playing a 2, 4 count. This supplements great texture and character to the song. In addition, the way snapping is used as an instrumental addition to add percussion to the song is very interesting. This is because it adds an extra stratum to the melody. As a whole, this type of song can best be termed as polyphony because the synchronization and lyrics meet to create a beautiful texture. The rhythm is quite easy to follow. This is because, to be exact, it directly reflects on the lyrics repeated for most of the song which is Im starting with the man in the mirror. Each time there is a repetition of the lyrics, 5 times within the song, the rhythm also repeats itself. The tempo goes up and down, and expression is very well formulated. This is the case because it drops during the verses of the song, but then increases as you sing the chorus.

The expression of the song has great articulation, and well done changing aspects, all thanks to Michael Jackson. Man in the mirror is a classic song of the pop genre that still remains famous years after. The changing aspects and the articulation of the song are brought together in a way that makes you act during the chorus and think during the verses. This is quite a vague way as I like to view a reaction and a request, not only in musical terms, but also in a format such that Michael is calling for action. The song was designed this way because it is intended to be an inspirational and motivational song. As indicated in the beginning, the song was produced so as to inspire people to change and make the world a better place. Therefore, to change the tempo of the song may help get people motivated. The reason why the song is effective is because it shows how important it is, that if you, want to make a change in the world, you have to start with you first. The song is unique because despite the fact that it wasnt a hit first time until the death of Michael Jackson, it still feels fresh.

Amazing Grace by John Newton

The second song of interest is Amazing Grace written by John Newton, an Anglican minister and English lyricist. His personal life experience inspired him to compose the song. He grew up with no specific spiritual belief, but a path in his life was formed by multiple coincidences and turns that were often tied up in motion by his unruliness. However, in 1748, while sailing, his vessel was severely battered off the shores of County Donegal, located in Ireland, by a violent storm. In the middle of the frightening nightmare, he cried out for Gods mercies, and as a result, his spiritual transformation was marked. In 1764, he was predestined in the Church of England where he wrote hymns with William Cowper, a fellow poet.

The Christian hymn Amazing Grace was printed in 1779. It is among the most known songs in the English-language domain. The song emphasizes that it is possible to be restored and forgiven irrespective of the sins a person has committed in the past and that through Gods mercy, his or her soul can be delivered from misery. The song had a specific effect in folk music and its message has been a vital element in its cusp into worldly music. Following the assumption of the folk hymn in nonspiritual songs, it turned out to be such an image in American art, music, and literature that it has been used for many marketing promotions and nonspiritual purposes, making it a cliche.

The closer the chord and melodic elements within Amazing Grace are inspected; the more obvious it becomes that word like generic and simple defines the musical features of the song rather suitable. Frequently, the New Britain melody is put to 1, 4, and 5 chords and is among the most accustomed evolutions of Western music. That said the melody leads itself well to a number of re-harmonization that can be selected along with the mood that the artist wishes to depict. There may soon be an alteration of the chord structure of the song due to the number of artists rewriting the melody. This chord simplicity as well as inconsistency suggests that progressions of the song are not the essential reasons for its success. The melody is focused around scale degrees that reflect the major chord, with 2nd and 6th degrees used carefully as passing notes. The song comprises totally of intervals less than a perfect 4th in size, making the song well suited to the human vocal sound. The repeated minor thirds at the height of the melody accompany the low lyrics I once was lost quite appropriately, suggesting that the delineations of the melody could be described as effective. At regular intervals, the song is very basic, being made of only quavers, minims, ad crotchets. Its time mark was ordinary in composition from its period, providing slight evidence as to why the song became a Western wonder while related hymns remained in the borders of the church.

The reason why the song is unique is due to the way it has linked with an extensive cross-section of humans over many periods, and more importantly, the fact that people have been the main means of the song reinvention, evolution, and promotion through time. Additionally, the allocating and advertising of the song has been fundamentally invisible throughout the songs history. This is because the communities and artists who participate in the composition of the song have become the key methods and the promoters of the songs distribution. This has created an environment for Amazing Grace to spread on a far greater scale than conventional advertising could allow, and is likely to continue in contributing to its popularity for some time.

Conclusion

Pop music such as Man in the Mirror is distinct by a fundamental element which normally includes short interval songs, which are written in a verse-chorus configuration, as well as the collective employment of recurring choruses. It is vocally motivated where singers are mostly singing throughout the song. As compared to pop music, Christian hymns such as Amazing Grace are marked by constant alteration of the simplest harmonies, lively rhythm, and sentimental text. The harmony found within Amazing Grace is spoken by the four-part choral arrangement, making the song perfect for large group involvement. Commonly, instrumental complement preserves the harmonic structure found in the choral lines.