"Strange Magic"

I was thinking about "Strange Magic" recently and realized that in most instances of the title phrase, the word "magic" is sung on up-beats.  (In the recurring line "Got a strange magic," it's sung with a melisma, with the notes alternating between down-beats and up-beats.)  This placement of the notes is a bit unusual, and to a small degree, it contributes to that "strange" quality.

"Strange Magic"

I learned about half of the bass part in "Strange Magic" recently, and when I wrote it out in notation a few days ago, I discovered that the verses are seven measures long.  Usually, musical sections last an even-numbered amount of measures.  That the verses in "Strange Magic" last an odd-numbered amount is a musical element of that "strange[ness]."

"Strange Magic"

I listened to Face the Music yester-day and noticed a couple small features.  In "Strange Magic," "high" in the line "You fly so high" is sung with a melisma (A G E), musically giving a sense of degree (for "so").

Face the Music

Last night, I remembered that (back in November) I'd noticed some similarity between the opening orchestral sections of "Waterfall" and "Strange Magic."  I finally got around to looking into that, and I discovered that I was right.  While the orchestrations are different, there's one phrase that's the same, just adjusted for key.

Here it is at the beginning of "Waterfall":

And here it is at the beginning of "Strange Magic":

I'm pretty sure these are played on cello, but the phrase in "Waterfall" sounds like it's also doubled on upright bass.  In any case, while the specific pitches are different and the last note in the phrase in "Strange Magic" lasts longer, the intervals are the same.  Using this phrase in two songs gives the Face the Music album a bit of cohesion.

"Strange Magic"

Backdated, archival post

[link to original on tumblr]

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This is the last of the four parts that I learned a few days ago.  It's the opening guitar part for "Strange Magic."