Do you think the dissonant feel of the music supports or contradicts what is being said in the text?

Find a song—i.e., a piece of texted vocal music in any style or language—which contains a moment of dissonance that you find enjoyable or interesting. The song should not be something already discussed in our lectures and textbook readings or in your previous Listening Journals.

Please note, also, that—technically speaking—a “song” must, by definition, have a sung vocal text. Instrumental works with no vocals do not count as songs, and (however iTunes, Spotify et al. may categorize them) they should not be referred to as such in formal academic writing on music. Since this Listening Journal requires you to discuss music-text relations, you will need to pick a song with a vocal text (and not an instrumental piece) to complete the assignment successfully.

(Most styles of vocal music will include at least some dissonance. Having said this, you are likely to find the clearest examples in songs that sound markedly dramatic or expressive. If looking at sheet music helps you find dissonant intervals, please do so: imslp.org Links to an external site. has a huge database of free classical sheet music, and the opening pages of many pop songs can be found via a google image search for the song title with the phrase “sheet music” included.)

Write a paragraph of at least two hundred words in continuous prose (i.e., no bullet points or incomplete sentences) using the following prompt as a guide:

Name the song by title and composer/performer.
Write a sentence or so giving us a brief synopsis of what the song is about.
Name the word(s) on which you think the dissonance occurs, including an English translation of the text, if necessary.
Is the dissonant interval harmonic or melodic?
Can you name the specific interval in question (e.g., d5, M7, etc.)?
What, if anything, do you think the dissonance means in relation to the text? For example: does it express a mood from the lyrics that you find bittersweet, funky, weird, scary, awe-inspiring…or something else entirely?
Do you think the dissonant feel of the music supports or contradicts what is being said in the text? Why (not)?
If there is a recording of your song freely available to stream on YouTube, Bandcamp, Spotify, Soundcloud, et al., please include a link so that we can listen.

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