{"id":463,"date":"2011-10-22T11:42:55","date_gmt":"2011-10-22T15:42:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.craigperler.com\/blog\/?p=463"},"modified":"2024-06-06T23:26:14","modified_gmt":"2024-06-07T03:26:14","slug":"pretty-music-jason-robert-brown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.craigperler.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/22\/pretty-music-jason-robert-brown\/","title":{"rendered":"Pretty Music: Jason Robert Brown"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-post-featured-image\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1160\" height=\"772\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.craigperler.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/pexels-photo-206447.jpeg?resize=1160%2C772&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"music musical notes page paper\" style=\"object-fit:cover;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.craigperler.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/pexels-photo-206447.jpeg?w=1880&amp;ssl=1 1880w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.craigperler.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/pexels-photo-206447.jpeg?resize=800%2C532&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.craigperler.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/pexels-photo-206447.jpeg?resize=1160%2C772&amp;ssl=1 1160w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.craigperler.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/pexels-photo-206447.jpeg?resize=1536%2C1022&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.craigperler.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/pexels-photo-206447.jpeg?resize=120%2C80&amp;ssl=1 120w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.craigperler.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/pexels-photo-206447.jpeg?resize=90%2C60&amp;ssl=1 90w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.craigperler.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/pexels-photo-206447.jpeg?resize=320%2C213&amp;ssl=1 320w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.craigperler.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/pexels-photo-206447.jpeg?resize=560%2C373&amp;ssl=1 560w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1160px) 100vw, 1160px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>A few songs this time: Stars and the Moon, I&#8217;d Give It All For You, and The Next Ten Minutes, all by Jason Robert Brown.\u00a0 Mr. Brown (avid <a title=\"Jason Robert Brown - Blog\" href=\"http:\/\/www.jasonrobertbrown.com\/weblog\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">blogger<\/a> and <a title=\"Jason Robert Brown - Twitter\" href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/#!\/MrJasonRBrown\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tweeter<\/a>) is one of my favorite composers.\u00a0 At <a href=\"https:\/\/www.craigperler.com\/blog\/tag\/dartmouth\/\">Dartmouth <\/a>in 2004, we produced his two-person show, <a title=\"The Last Five Years\" href=\"http:\/\/jasonrobertbrown.com\/theatre\/show.php?showID=l5y\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Last Five Years<\/a> (<em>LFY<\/em>), and I believe the musical group there (the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.craigperler.com\/blog\/tag\/dartmouth-harlequins\/\">Harlequins<\/a>) performed <a title=\"Songs For A New World\" href=\"http:\/\/jasonrobertbrown.com\/theatre\/show.php?showID=songs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Songs For A New World<\/a> (<em>SFANW<\/em>) the year after I graduated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Random note: Mr. Brown&#8217;s mother was my 11th grade English teacher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"stars-and-the-moon\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Stars and the Moon<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Stars and the Moon\" width=\"1160\" height=\"870\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Am5LqPmNlJc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Writing as a pianist-performer, there are a few things I really like about Brown&#8217;s music.&nbsp; First, despite the unexpected time signatures and visible complexities, his music feels very intuitive.&nbsp;I find that the less thought and the more feel&nbsp;put into playing his stuff, the better it comes out sounding.&nbsp;The moment I start over-thinking the syncopation, for example, I screw up for sure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;ve spent a lot of time considering Jason Robert Brown&#8217;s music over the years, and I&#8217;ve coined the term \u2018JRB Rhythm\u2019 in reference to a rhythmic structure that Brown uses over and over again in both <em>SFANW <\/em>and <em>LFY<\/em>. Written in 4-4 time, this structure places in one clef, typically the bass, emphasis on the first beat, the \u2018and\u2019 of the second beat and the fourth beat; and in the other clef, emphasis on the first beat, the fourth sixteenth of the first beat, the \u2018and\u2019 of the second beat, the second sixteenth of the third beat, and the fourth beat (got that?).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This structure (for all I know, there may be a proper name for it) is seen in <em>SFANW<\/em>\u2019s \u201cThe New World,\u201d \u201cI\u2019m Not Afraid of Anything,\u201d \u201cShe Cries,\u201d I\u2019d Give It All For You,\u201d \u201cThe Flagmaker,\u201d and \u201cHear My Song,\u201d and is seen in <em>LFY<\/em>\u2019s \u201cSee I\u2019m Smiling,\u201d \u201cA Miracle Would Happen,\u201d \u201cIf I Didn\u2019t Believe in You,\u201d and \u201cGoodbye Until Tomorrow.\u201d\u00a0Often this rhythm employs the exact same melodic structures from song to song across shows.\u00a0For the most obvious of examples, examine the B section of \u201cI\u2019d Give It All For You\u201d (written in AABA\u2019 format) and the B section of \u201cIf I Didn\u2019t Believe In You\u201d (written in some sort of extended AABA\u2019 format). We can see this in Parade as well with \u201cAll The Wasted Time.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"id-give-it-all-for-you\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">I&#8217;d Give It All For You<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"I&#039;d Give It All For You\" width=\"1160\" height=\"870\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fs8eaqLrWsY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Second, Brown&#8217;s stuff is damn fun to play.\u00a0 You don&#8217;t just play through his syncopations, but really internalize them.\u00a0I tend to play his stuff really, really loud as a result, despite complaints from my neighbors.\u00a0One can find tons of not-easy virtuosic riffs throughout.\u00a0I believe I read on Brown&#8217;s blog that these riffs are carefully constructed, and sometimes even he has trouble playing them, such as in <em>LFY<\/em>&#8216;s \u201cMoving Too Fast&#8221;.  (I can&#8217;t find the post now &#8211; off-topic, Brown often writes some really interesting musical analyses on his blog, and I highly recommend following it if you&#8217;re at all interested in his music.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Third, Brown&#8217;s instrumental parts tell a story all their own, with twists, turns, jabs, witticisms, setting, direction, and all sorts of interesting asides; the instrumentals stand on their own. Even without a singer, the piano parts are involved and dynamic enough to keep me engaged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"the-next-ten-minutes\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Next Ten Minutes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Next Ten Minutes\" width=\"1160\" height=\"870\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mog11wBb8Ug?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A few songs this time: Stars and the Moon, I&#8217;d Give It All For You, and The Next Ten Minutes, all by Jason Robert Brown.\u00a0 Mr. Brown (avid blogger and&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1712,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"powerkit_post_featured":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-463","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.craigperler.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/pexels-photo-206447.jpeg?fit=1880%2C1251&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1SwZ6-7t","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.craigperler.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.craigperler.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.craigperler.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.craigperler.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.craigperler.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=463"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.craigperler.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/463\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1716,"href":"https:\/\/www.craigperler.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/463\/revisions\/1716"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.craigperler.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.craigperler.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.craigperler.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.craigperler.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=463"},{"taxonomy":"powerkit_post_featured","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.craigperler.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/powerkit_post_featured?post=463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}