- “I love my music !” by shankar, shiv is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Ask yourself the following questions:
| TOPIC | YOUR NOTES |
| SONG TITLE: | Scenes from an Italian Restaurant |
| COMPOSER(S): | Billy Joel |
| YEAR: | 1997 |
| COUNTRY: | United States |
| If you could work on this song (change it), what would you change and why? | Both the beginning and end of the song are very similar, albeit with some minor differences since it’s the conclusion of the song. I believe that the ending could’ve been improved if it ended more climatically and in a grand manner. I really enjoy songs that finish with a bang and Scenes from an Italian Restaurant certainly had the theme and potential to do so. However, the ending that was included was by no means disappointing. |
| What is the song GENRE? | Rock |
| What is the song KEY? | F-Major |
| What is the song TEMPO? | 97 bpm |
| What do you like about the RHYTHM? | I love how the song moves from a slow beginning to a very feel-good beat |
| What do you like about the ARRANGEMENT? | The song mixes a variety of instruments and percussion that all blend fabulously |
| What do you like about the MIX? | The layout and combination of all the instruments fit the mood in every part of the song |
| What do you like about the TIMBRE of some or all of the instruments? | The piano and saxophone sound very clean and grand. The guitar strumming at the very beginning of the song also sounds very nice, almost ASMR like. |
| What do you like about the PITCH of some or all of the instruments or vocals? | The song stays pretty in line with a few points where Billy sings a little higher |
| Are there particular TRACK(S) that stand out? | The first transition from the slow jazzy beginning to “Brenda and Eddie” has a slow build-up to a complete mute to all other instruments. The only instrument is the piano playing chords in a simple repeating pattern, then another piano part plays over with a funky melody. It’s a great transition into the other part of the song. |
| Finally, what do you like about the overall COMPOSITION? | This song gives me similar vibes to Bohemian Rhapsody, while it might not be the 5 part epic of Queen, Billy Joel’s Scenes from an Italian Restaurant moves seamlessly and beautifully from its different sections that really mixes many different moods into the piece. |
“A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetition and variation of sections.” wikipedia.org/wiki/Song
HookTheory for Learning About Song Structure
- Explore songs in https://www.hooktheory.com/trends
- Explore common chord progressions https://www.hooktheory.com/theorytab/common-chord-progressions
- Explore beginner tabs https://www.hooktheory.com/theorytab/difficulties/beginner