I'm Gonna Sing Till the Spirit Moves - Essay Example

The group’s song “I’m Gonna Sing Till the Spirit moves” is one best example of their song which has uplifted the spirits of the many. The song is “a capella”. Just the soft yet powerful voices of the singers can be heard. They just used their own voice, blended their tone qualities with each other, and produced accompanying sounds making the song more effective and interesting to hear.

The overall structure of the song is very solemn. In fact, this song can be sung inside the church. Listeners, like me, can even imagine to serious faces of the singers giving all their hearts and soul while singing the song.

The mode and/or tone are very emphatic. It is as if the singers are directly talking with each listener. But despite this, listeners can enjoy every lyric of the song. I even noticed myself tapping my fingers and silently humming the song.

Indeed the title of this song is very apt with its content and melody. It will not take too much time for the singers in singing the song because the listeners’ spirits will surely be moved in less than a time.

“The Rising Sun”
Brownie McGhee & Sonny Terry were two famous soloists during the early 1930s. But these two tried sharing their music together and their fans loved them more for this movie. Brownie was a superb and smooth guitarist and singer, while Sonny was known for his able playing of his harp and voice quality which is in a rough country style complete with whoops and hollers.

Sonny's solo "Mountain Blues" from the 1938 Spirituals to Swing concert was one of his finest recordings and was sung completely in falsetto. Nearly blind since childhood Sonny had almost always played music, at first on street corners and later in recording studios with Blind Boy Fuller. Sonny met his partner of many, Brownie McGhee. Together they became the folk-blues musicians - recording and gigging with people like Lead Belly, Woody Guthrie, and Rev. Gary Davis. Sonny was considered one of the most explosive "down-home" harp men of his time (http://www.island.net/~blues/sonnyter.html, 2006).

Their song “The Rising Sun” is a song that transcends through time. This is because the style is still very recognizable and well-liked by many. In this song, only the guitar and the harp are used as instruments. These instruments have effectively blended with the voice quality of the two singers. Having just two musical instruments did not hinder the singers in sharing what they thought to their listeners.

The mode is not so lively, but not so sad either. It is a little in between. This is because the theme of the song is serious but some lines make it more meaningful in a way that listeners can easily understand and at the same time enjoy.

This song is very unique in a way that it is more on the Blues genre, but it can also be considered acoustic because of the guitar used and the melody chosen by the singers. This song can also be considered inspirational, just like the song “I’m Gonna Sing ‘till the Spirit Moves”.

This song is inspirational because it aims to motivate its listeners. The song specifically says that there is hope behind the rising of the sun. Like the two singers of this song, they found a way to meet each other and share their talents with their listeners together. Despite some difficulties that went along their way, the two, along with their songs such as “The Rising Sun” were able to uplift the lives of the many, give further hope. This they do through their song. Read More