Starting behind the downbeat of the bar creates instability.
On the second level, starting on the strong bar, particularly the downbeat of
the strong bar, creates maximum stability.
The downbeat of the weak bar creates less stability.
It's a bit like doing something back-heavy, starting in the weak bar in
half time is really a back-heavy line. So let's see if we can apply those
concepts to our unstable experiment, hobo wind, and let's see what happens when we
start creating some back-heavy lines in the verse, see what see what that does.
Note that, by the way The fifth line singing as you pass is already back heavy
starting on the third beat of that bar. but, let's see what happens, when we
start adjusting the verse for, phrasing. This makes sense now, or a little more
sense out of our five elements of structure.
Number of lines, lengths of lines, rhyme scheme, rhyme types and rhythm of lines.
Now, rhythm of lines is taken to include where the lines, where the phrases start
relative to the downbeats of the bar and also relative to strong versus weak bars.
I hear you out there crying. I hear you out there crying, begging, let
me in. You make your way between the cracks, I
know your moan, I know your laugh. Singing as you pass, oh hobo wind, hobo
wind. Stay tuned, we're going to be talking
about what just happened. A couple of segments down but, it feels
to me like the opening line. I hear you out there crying.
Just from my tone of voice feels unstable.
Begging. Let me in from my tone of voice.
That's how I'm feeling it and your tone of voice reflects how you feel.
Again stay tuned, so I'm going to try those first two lines, I'm going to start
behind the down beat and see how that feels.
[MUSIC] I hear you out there crying begging let me in.
[MUSIC] You make your way between the cracks.
I know your[MUSIC] moan, I know your laugh.
Singing as you pass. O Hobo Wind.
[MUSIC] Hobo Wind. [MUSIC] I wonder where you're going.
I wonder where you've been. All the hearts you must have touched, the
ones alone, the ones unloved. The ones you couldn't move.
O Hobo Wind, o Hobo Wind. [MUSIC] We'll work on the bridge on a
minute. I wish you'd take me with you
[MUSIC].
I'd join you in your hymns. Climb your mountains, kiss your shores,
know your valleys green and pure. Anywhere but here, o Hobo Wind.
[MUSIC] I wish you'd take I wish you'd take me wondering.
I'd join you in your hymns. Climb your mountains.
Kiss your shores. That's what I really want to do and
that's, that's an image that I have and, and so a note that those phrases started
stable, started on the downbeat of the bar.
[MUSIC] I wish you'd take me wandering. [MUSIC] I'd join you in your hymns.
Climb your mountains, kiss your shores, know your values, green and pure.
Anywhere but here. Oh hobo wind.
Hobo wind. Note that I skipped skipped a strong beat
on anywhere but here. [MUSIC] Kiss your shores, know your
valleys. [MUSIC] Green and pure.
Anywhere but here. Just as we did in pieces, skipping that
internal downbeat really seems to make a difference emotionally.
They really don't want to be here. Anywhere but here.
No, anywhere but here. and so that, that feels like engaging now
this whole concept of front heavy back heavy in these verses has added another
layer. Of expression to them.
Creating, again, this connection. All of this stuff working together.
the number of lines, the length of lines. The rhythms of the lines.
The rhyme scheme and the rhyme types. All working together with, now, the
phrasing and the melody to create this sense of longing, this sense of wanting
to belong, wishing I could belong. Now back to the bridge, I want to try a
weak bar there. I want to try a weak bar phrasing on the
saying. Travel on sing and see what happens
there. [MUSIC] Oh, hobo, wind, hobo wind.
Strong 2, 3, 4, sing. [MUSIC] Travel on Sing [MUSIC]
[SOUND].
Like that, I like moving the sing in a bar, it does a couple of things.
Number one, it takes up some of that space, but it gives you that kind of
moment to reflect, and then sing on the downbeat, but on the downbeat is a weak
bar, really feels like I want to sing. And note by the way that when that G
moves past the 1 bar of A minor and moves into the G major, that it really sort of
feels with that adjective that the G major says, yes that feels good.
Then the singing moves from something that's a little less stable to something
that's a little more stable. And something that's a little bit more
attractive. So that that motion from one bar of A
minor rather than two bars of A minor into the G while I'm singing a G, gives
us kind of a sense of tension resolution there.
Listen to that again.
[MUSIC]
Oh hobo wind
[MUSIC]
Hobo. Sing.
Travel on. Sing.
I wish you'd take me with you. [MUSIC] .
So that feels like it works. and so, where we are right now.
It feels like we have a really workable melody.
We have nice contrast between verse and bridge.
Here, staying unstable, but using that other tool of weak bar phrasing.
And the melodic tool of an unstable note, so that we are able to contrast it give
it a different feel and then we want to move back into the strong bar.
Also though we're back heavy in the last verse it feels like we have arrived some
place. So that's kind of the thought process, I
hope that that this has been helpful for you to actually go through the thought
process in the construction of an experiment and you know, whatever the
song is it at least has done this, it at least has said "here is how I want to
feel and here are the tools". That you can use to help that feeling
along. And I think that as the song has
progressed, that the feeling has become intensified by the use of these
songwriting tools. we'll see more of how this is
accomplished in the next segment but for now, we're going to say goodbye to our
friend Hobo Wind.
[MUSIC]
I hear you out there crying, begging, let me in.
You make your way between the cracks, I know your moan moan.
[MUSIC] I know your laugh, singing as you pass.
O Hobo- Wind, Hobo- Wind. I wonder where you're going.
I wonder where you've been? All the hearts you must have touched, the
ones alone, the ones unloved. The ones you could move, oh hobo wind.
[MUSIC] "Hobo wind"; "Sing"; "Travel on"; "Sing"[MUSIC] I wish you'd take me
wandering I'd join you in you hymns Climb your mountains, kiss your shores know
your vallyes green and pure. [MUSIC] Anywhere but here oh hobo wind,
hobo wind oh hobo wind.
[MUSIC]
Oh hobo wind.