![]() Though the notion of unifying entire albums became all the rage after Sgt. Smile is an unreleased Beach Boys album recorded from February of 1966 to March of 1967. ![]() I touched on using motives in melodies in “ What makes a melody great?” and briefly discussed Brian Wilson’s use of motifs for creating melodies in “ Brian Wilson’s songwriting tricks and techniques.” But on Smile, Wilson takes the notion of motivic writing further, using several motifs to create movements, unify the entire album, and up the emotional ante. think of how many James Bond title songs use the James Bond Theme). how Beethoven uses that four-note motif to create the entire first movement in his fifth symphony) or to reference other songs in order to create a cohesive statement (e.g. ![]() Motivic writing uses motifs to either create longer passages of music (e.g. (Think of the chromatic figure that underlies the James Bond Theme). It’s what the whole work has been heading towards, and it’s the key to unlocking a great lesson in motivic writing.Ī motif (or, if you prefer, motive) is a short musical idea that possesses a thematic identity. That “Ah!” is the culmination of the Smile album. And then we launch into the final chorus of the song. It’s the “Ah!” that comes right at the end of the “Gotta keep those lovin’ good vibrations a-happening with her” section. There’s this moment in the song “Good Vibrations.” It’s two seconds of pure ecstasy – the kind that only the harmonies of the Beach Boys coupled with the vocal arrangement of Brian Wilson can deliver. Nearly every song or song section is written in one of “Good Vibrations” chords. Not only does “Good Vibrations” provide a structural template for Smile, it also gives the album its tonal language.
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