Billie Jean
Billie Jean “Billie Jean” referenced as a famous song that everyone knows of. The song is in the album, Thriller which was produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson in 1982. When you first hear the song, it gives the listener a great impression because it starts with the rhythm. After two measures of the rhythm played on the drum set, it introduces to the bass, the hook that keeps the listener interested. Billie Jean is one of iconic songs of Michael Jackson’s career. It also has huge influence afterwards on pop, rock, and funk music. At that point, Michael Jackson is already well-known in United State, and Thriller becomes the most selling album of all time. He was so famous that anyone or anything that was related to him would have been on the headlines of news. “Billie Jean” expresses Michael Jackson’s thoughts and feeling about how Michael is being accused of doing something that he didn’t do.
There are many instruments that are used in “Billie Jean;” such as drum set, drum machine, electric bass, guitar, synthesizer, strings, and voice. The style of the song is classified as R&B because the song has a strong backbeat, driving bass line and emphasis on the 2nd and 4th beat of each measure. In each verse begins in mp and increases dynamically to mf at the pre-chorus; there is a slow crescendo to F during the transition from pre-chorus to chorus. The tempo of this song is moderato at approximately 116 bpm; however it feels much slower because the emphasis is on the 2nd and 4th beats rather than on the 1st and 3rd(Musical Analysis and Critique of “Billie Jean”). In the beginning of the song, the beat is the first thing you hear. It 's about as simple as a beat gets, with hits on every eighth note and alternations between the snare and the bass drum every quarter note. After a bar of the beat, that iconic, prowling bass line lurks into the mix. The bass line is called “walking bass line.” (Billie Jean Music) The walking bass is a melody that is designed to
There are many instruments that are used in “Billie Jean;” such as drum set, drum machine, electric bass, guitar, synthesizer, strings, and voice. The style of the song is classified as R&B because the song has a strong backbeat, driving bass line and emphasis on the 2nd and 4th beat of each measure. In each verse begins in mp and increases dynamically to mf at the pre-chorus; there is a slow crescendo to F during the transition from pre-chorus to chorus. The tempo of this song is moderato at approximately 116 bpm; however it feels much slower because the emphasis is on the 2nd and 4th beats rather than on the 1st and 3rd(Musical Analysis and Critique of “Billie Jean”). In the beginning of the song, the beat is the first thing you hear. It 's about as simple as a beat gets, with hits on every eighth note and alternations between the snare and the bass drum every quarter note. After a bar of the beat, that iconic, prowling bass line lurks into the mix. The bass line is called “walking bass line.” (Billie Jean Music) The walking bass is a melody that is designed to
Cited: "Dream Middle School Arts." Dream Middle School Arts. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2012. George, N. (2010). The musical life of michael jackson. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press. George, Nelson. “Thriller: the musical life of Michael Jackson.” New York : Da Capo Press, 2010 Jackson, M (Performer). (1982). Billie jean. OnThriller [Medium of recording: Record] New York, NY: Epic. (1982) Shmoop Editorial Team. "Billie Jean Songwriting" Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 6 Dec. 2012. "The Strata-Sphere » Michael Jackson: Extremely Talented And Extremely Disturbed." The Strata-Sphere » Michael Jackson: Extremely Talented And Extremely Disturbed. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2012.