The song becomes more rhythmically complex from the beginning to the end. In terms of rhythm, this song is in duple meter, and the tempo is andante. This countermelody is more complex with each statement of the chorus and emphasizes the build-up to the song’s ending. In the chorus, the strings play a countermelody. In the verses, the instruments play chords that accompany the melody. Though there are other instruments playing, the texture is heavily dominated by the vocal melody. In the second verse and chorus, guitar, drums, and other voices are added.
The first verse and chorus features primarily the voice, keyboard, and strings, with a bit of tambourine and flute. Second, instruments are added to the texture. The crescendo is accomplished in two important ways.įirst, the instruments simply play louder. These instruments have an almost vocal quality about them, and therefore they seem to work with the voice in conveying the meaning of the text.In terms of dynamics, the song begins piano, and there is a gradual crescendo with the loudest part coinciding with the final statement of the chorus. The high-pitched instruments such as flutes and violins give this song a warm and bright tone color. These changes highlight the emotional impact of the text change. Before the last appearance of the chorus, the music changes key, and the pitch rises significantly. The chorus, however, ends with a clear feeling of arrival, and therefore it makes sense that the song ends with a restatement of the chorus. The verses end not with a sense of closure, but rather with a feeling that harmonic progression is not finished. The increased melodic motion seems to highlight the emotional impact of the chorus and its significant text change at the end.The harmony in the song is consonant, and only a few different chords are used. The verse melody does not contain a lot of melodic motion rather, it consists largely of repeated notes with changes in pitch to emphasize words.įor example, in the first verse, pitch changes only occur on the words “my,” “see,” “I feel you,” “know,” and “on.” The chorus melody contain much more melodic motion, with the melodic highpoint occurring in the first line of the chorus (on the second syllable of the word “wherever”). The use of the same chorus melody for a different text highlights the different standpoints of the speaker from the beginning of the song to the end.Two distinct melodies are used in this song, one for the verses and one for the chorus. This final chorus is remarkable in that the text is different from the two preceding choruses. Another bridge leads into a final statement of the chorus which ends the song.
After a bridge, we hear another verse (same melody, different text) and another statement of the chorus (same melody, same text). The chorus appears immediately after the verse and features a different melodic line that is heard twice with two different texts. In the verse, the melody is heard two times, with a different text each time. After an introduction, we hear the verse. Musically, this change in attitude is signaled through the form, melody, harmony, tone color, dynamics, texture, tempo, and rhythm.The form of this song is a modification of a standard verse-chorus form. The meaning line of this line contrasts with the opening of the chorus, “Near, far, wherever you are” (Jennings, line 7), as the speaker has moved from acknowledging her separation from her true love to the realization that her true love will forever reside in her heart. There’s nothing I fear” (Jennings, line 23).
The highpoint of the text comes towards the end, with the stanza that begins “You’re here.
“My Heart Will Go On”: A Musical Analysis Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On,” from the Titanic soundtrack, provides a wonderful example of how musical elements can be used to reflect the sentiments of the lyrics.
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