The Sonic Inventory

 By Christopher Lee

When we listen to music, we should consider that there is more than one way to listen. Active, or critical, listening is an important skill for musicians to develop, as it allows us to fully understand what we are hearing. It is largely the practice of learning to focus our attention on specific elements of musical timbre and texture; when we consider all the discrete elements present in the fabric of a pop song, let alone an orchestral work, and all the ways those elements can work in combination, we realize that there are many, many ways to listen.

One tool that can help us listen deeply and critically is something I call a sonic inventory. A sonic inventory is a detailed account of any musical or lyrical elements you hear in a recording. For this discussion, we’ll consider the elements of a pop song. These can include the overall structure or form of the song, how the melody is shaped, types of chord progressions or any interesting harmonic features you hear, the unique timbre or ambience of the overall track or individual instruments, any unique production elements, and how the lyric concept relates to or interacts with the other elements. The lyrics should be the focal point of a song, sending a message to the listener– how does the overall production help convey or enhance the lyric concept?

A sonic inventory can take many shapes. It can be a paragraph or two, highlighting the most important points in a narrative form. You can organize it around a copy of the song lyrics, writing chord or key symbols under the corresponding words, bracketing stanzas into verses, choruses and bridges, and noting changes of instrumentation for each formal section. You can draw a few X-axes on a piece of graph paper and use each one to illustrate a different element over time: changes in dynamics, instrumental density, or spatial placement of elements around the stereo soundstage, for example.

Here are some things to consider:

  • Start with general observations about the track, then move into smaller details.

  • What is the overall timbre, tone, or ambience of the track? Some descriptive terms could include dark, bright, atmospheric, energetic, unsettling, etc. (Even though using vague terms like these to describe sound to someone else may not be very helpful, they can be useful to us in recording our impressions.)

  • What is our impression of where the vocals and instruments are placed? Are they close to the listener and intimate, or distant and diffuse? How does this contribute to the tone or ambience of the track?

  • How many voices, instruments or other sound sources do we hear? Does that number change in different sections of the song? Where are they placed around the stereo soundstage (or “soundbox”, if we’re imagining a 3D space)?

  • Can we discern the form of the song? Do we recognize a common form, such as verse-chorus or strophic form, or is the form complex? Do we get a sense of an overall shape to the song?

  • What type of harmonic motion do we hear? Is the chord progression simple, repetitive, complex, or unpredictable? Does it stick to a single major or minor key, or does it modulate often? Do we hear a lot of chromatic harmony or borrowed chords?

  • What is the contour of the vocal melody, or any significant instrumental melodies? Does the contour change between sections? Does the character of the vocal line change? (Often the contour is more static in verses, and becomes dynamic in the chorus, for example.) Are different points of view or personas revealed?

  • How do the bass and drums interact? What is the character or function of the rhythm section in this song? What are the drums doing– are they dominant, supportive, repetitive or quasi-melodic? How often do the drum patterns change? Do we hear a common pattern, or something more complex? Do the rhythms of the bass and kick drum line up, or do they differ? How does the rhythm section drive the overall groove of the song?

  • How do these elements relate to and enhance the lyric concept? What do we think the song is about?

To illustrate some of these points, I’ll use the song “Hideaway” by Jacob Collier, from his 2016 album In My Room.

Example: Jacob Collier, “Hideaway” (2016)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v3zyPEy-Po

Overall ambience/tone: Warm, intimate, optimistic. The lush instrumental textures and warm timbres reflect the sanctuary of the song’s title.

Form: Intro, Verse 1, Chorus 1, V2, C2, Bridge 1, Bridge 2, V3, C3, short Outro

  • Free tempo acoustic guitar intro; starts with a single guitar, then adds bass pedal and acoustic guitar layers panned hard to the sides.

  • Moves into the first verse with a slow, sparse drum groove. Vocal sound is natural, intimate, and “dry”– no obvious use of effects.

  • The verse is dominated by drums, bass, and soft synth sounds. It features a fairly simple, diatonic chord progression.

  • An acoustic guitar run leads into the chorus, with many layers of close vocal harmony, a modal progression using extended chords, over acoustic guitar and melodic guitar fills.

  • The second verse features a stronger groove provided by polyrhythmic shaker and acoustic guitar arpeggios, panned to the right and left sides.

  • There are also guitar and synth fills, along with some background vocal heterophony. We hear a denser texture than in the first verse.

  • The second chorus features richer, more mobile vocal harmonies.

  • The second chorus moves into the bridge, which is very rhythmic and groove-oriented, based around a bass and shaker/cowbell ployrhythm groove.

  • We hear rich layers of repetitive vocal harmonies, with vocal ad libs superimposed. Guitar fills and arpeggios are gradually layered in. A drum groove comes in after a few phrases.

  • The bridge section releases into a short, relatively loud, funky, synth-centric section, probably with synthesized vocals and lots of “ping-pong” stereo movement around the soundstage.

  • A big swell leads into the final verse– very lush, rich harmonies, with a full, texturally dense soundstage.

  • Leads into the last chorus, with higher, more embellished vocal harmonies. The song ends with deep, lush vocal harmony, then fades out with the solo acoustic guitar we heard at the beginning.

– Christopher Lee, 2021