A presentation for Advanced Audio Production in NYU's Music Technology program, exhaustively analyzing the sonic qualities of a particular song.

1. An analysis of "Tightrope"
by Janelle Monáe ft Big Boi
Ethan Hein
Advanced Audio Production

2. Released February 11, 2010 Composed & Arranged by Nate "Rocket" Wonder
Length: 4:23 Lyrics: Janelle Monáe and Chuck Lightning
Tempo: 83.81 bpm Additional choral arrangement: Roman GianArthur
Label: Wondaland Arts Society/Bad Additional vocals: Big Boi
Boy Records
Backing vocals: Janelle Monáe, Big Boi, Nate
Writers: Nathaniel Irvin III, Charles "Rocket" Wonder and Chuck Lightning
Joseph II, Antwan Patton, Janelle
Monáe Robinson Bass: Nate "Rocket" Wonder
Produced by Nate "Rocket" Wonder, Guitar and ukelele: Kellindo Parker
Chuck Lightning & Janelle Monáe
Strings: The Wondaland ArchOrchestra (violin &
Recorded by Control Z and Roman viola: Alexander Page, cello: Grace Shim)
GianArthur at Wondaland Recording
Studios, Atlanta, GA String arrangement: Nate "Rocket" Wonder
Mixed by Phil Tan at Soapbox Studios Horns: Hornz Unlimited
and Christopher Carmouche at
Farmhouse Studios, Atlanta, GA Horn Arrangement: Nate "Rocket" Wonder, Jason
Freeman, Jerry Freeman
Additional Engineering: Damien Lewis
Moog: Nate "Rocket" Wonder
Mastered by Larry Anthony at COS
Mastering, Atlanta, GA Drums: Wolfmaster Z
Turntable: DJ Cutmaster Swiff

3. Intro Rap, BB:
BB: Monae and Leftfoot You gotta keep your balance or you fall into the gap
JM: Whoaaa, another day, I take your pain away It's a challenge but I manage cause I'm cautious with the strap
Do damage to your cabbage that a doctor cannot patch
Verse 1 See why you don't want no friction like the back of a matchbook
Some people talk about ya like they know all about ya Daddy Fat Stacks will fold you and your MacBook
When you get down they doubt ya and when you tippin' on the scene Close shows, shut you down before we gon' go backwards
Yeah they talkin' bout it cause they can't tip all on the scene with ya Act up, and whether we high or low we gonna get back up
Talk about it, t-t-t-talkin' bout it Like the Dow Jones and Nasdaq, sorta like a thong getcha ass crack, c'mon
When you get elevated, they love it or they hate it
You dance up on them haters, keep getting funky on the scene Verse 3, JM:
While they jumpin' round ya, they trying to take all your dreams I tip on alligators and little rattle snakers
But you can't allow it But I'm another flavor, something like a terminator
Ain't no equivocating, I fight for what I believe
Chorus 1 Why you talkin' bout it, s-s-she's talkin' bout it
Cause baby whether you're high or low, whether you're high or low Some callin' me a sinner, some callin' me a winner
You gotta tip on the tightrope, t-t-t-tip on the tightrope I'm callin' you to dinner, hey you know exactly what I mean
Whether you're high or low, baby whether you're high or low Yeah I'm talkin' bout you, you can rock or you can leave
You got to tip on the tightrope, now let me see you do the tightrope Watch me tip without you
And I'm still tippin' on it
Chorus 3
Verse 2 N-N-Now whether I'm high or low, whether I'm high or low
See I'm not walkin' on it or tryin' to run around it I'm gonna tip on the tightrope, mmmmmm
This ain't no acrobatics you either follow or you lead, yeah Baby, baby, baby whether I'm high or low, high or low
I'm talkin' bout you, I'll keep on blaming the machine, yeah I got to tip on the tightrope, now baby tip on the tightrope
I'm talkin' bout it, t-t-t-talkin' bout it
I can't complain about it, I gotta keep my balance Bridge
And just keep dancin' on it, we gettin' funky on the scene You can't get too high, I said you can't get too low
Yeah you know about it like a star on the screen Cause you get too high, now you'll surely be low, 1, 2, 3, HAM!
Watch me tip all on it
Horn break
Chorus 2 Yeah, yeah, now shut up, yeah, yeah, now put some voodoo on it
Then baby whether I'm high or low, baby whether you're high or low Ladies and gentlemen the funkiest horn section in Metropolis
You gotta tip on the tightrope, yeah, tip on the tightrope Yeah, yeah, yeah, OH! We call that classy brass
Baby, baby, whether you're high or low
Baby whether you're high or low Turntable break
Tip on the tightrope, baby let me see you tightrope Do you mind if I play the ukulele, just like a little lady
And I'm still tippin' on it Do you mind if I play the ukulele, just like a little lady
As I play the ukulele, if I play my ukulele, just like a little lady
Outtro
Happy birthday, happy birthday

4. Song Structure
There are essentially two sections to the song: the verse form on F minor and
the more harmonically complex chorus form. The intro and bridge use the verse
form. The rap uses the chorus form. The horn break uses the second half of the
verse and the chorus. The turntable break and outtro both use the chorus form.

5. Sound Sources
The rhythm section instrumentation is unusual in that there is no snare or
cymbals anywhere in the track. The snare's role is played by handclaps and the
cymbals' role by tambourine. In usual hip-hop style, the drums and percussion
are looped, with muting and unmuting in place of fills.
The track also features the distinctive sounds of ukelele and a theremin-like
Moog synth. These are hinted at briefly during the rap section but do not enter
fully until the turntable break at the very end of the song.

6. Dynamic Contour
ff
f
RDL
mf
mp
p

7. Sound Quality Perceived Performance Environment
Kick, rim, toms Absence of cymbals makes for an unusual tribal Small room, quite dry as is typical hip-hop practice
quality
808 kick Huge, sinusoidal Extremely dry and synthetic, no particular spatial cues
Tambourine Richly tonal; sampled but with a loose feel within Natural sound; nearby in the room
the samples
Congas Several overdubs, blended with drum kit tonally Slight natural reverb; multiple layering and panning creates
hyperreal feeling
Handclaps Multiply layered Layering and slight reverb creates a feeling of being closely
surrounded
Lead vox (JM) Not much compression; dynamic level remains Digital delay on an otherwise dry and present vocal creates
steady through careful mixing a confusing spatial image
Backing vox (JM) Some segments EQed strangely to bring out Reverb creates some distance but it is difficult to visualize
highs; some segments with classic gospel the space specifically
quality; some segments built from samples of
verses
Lead vox (BB) Multiply layered Same with other lead vocal
Backing vox (BB) Sampled and delayed Electronic-sounding; hyperreal in typical hip-hop style
Guitar Sharp, angular, percussive Very slightly removed due to mixing, but no spatial quality
otherwise
Bass Rich, natural-sounding, possibly doubled Front and center, probably direct with no effects except
slight compression
Horns Extremely distant and washed-out Located far away in a conspicuously artificial and
enormously reverberant space
Strings Compressed and artificial-sounding Large, reverberant space
Ukelele Doubled, strummed brightly and rhythmically Some natural-sounding reverb; hard panned left and right
Moog Pure sine tone playing smooth portamento Dry electronic tone; no spatial environment except slight
distance implied by low mix
Turntable High-pitched, clean, tonal Wandering rapidly from left to right, implies a dreamlike
atmosphere more than a physical space

8. Musical ff
Balance drums Ld Ld
f Gtr
vox:
JM
vox:
Big B
Boi vox
mf Turntable
Bass Bass Bass
Uke
mp Horns
Strings
Strings Horns Strings
Moog
p
ff
Performance Turntable
Gtr
Intensity Ld
vox:
f JM
B B Uke
vox vox
Horns
mf drums
Horns
Strings Strings Strings
mp Bass Bass Bass
Bass
p B
vox
Moog

9. Acapella track amplitude
I included this image to illustrate how little variation
there is in the actual dynamics of the vocal tracks,
in spite of the wide variety in performance intensity.

10. Stereo Image
Congas Horns Turntable
Left H
o
Congas Horns Congas Horns
r
Strings n Strings Ukelele
Gtr Guitar
s
Moog
M JM
o bvox
o JM bvox
JM bvox
g
Tambourine
Bass Bass Bass Bass
BB BB
Center
808 kick Kick, Kick,
808 kick
Kick, rim, toms rim, rim, Kick, rim, toms
toms toms
Lead
BB Lead vox (JM) vox Lead vox (JM)
(BB)
Hand
Handclaps
Handclaps claps
Ukelele
Uke
Right BB bvox Turntable

11. Distance
Horns Horns Horns
Far
Strings Strings Strings
B vox: B vox: B vox: B vox: B vox:
JM JM JM JM JM
B vox:
Big Boi
Ld vox: Ld vox:
Janelle Janelle
Monáe Monáe
Ukelele
Near
drums
Moog
Gtr Gtr Gtr
Ld
vox:
Big
Boi
Turntable
Proximity
Bass Bass Bass

12. Turntable Break

13. Pitch Area and Density - Turntable Break
Ukelele
4 Turntable
5 Strings
Moog 4
2
Ld vox:
Janelle
Monáe
3
drums
B vox: Big Boi
2
B vox: Janelle Monáe 1 4
Bass
3
5) Very dense 4) Dense 3) Moderately dense 2) Sparse 1) Very sparse

14. Vocal Spectral Content - Turntable Break
B vox: B vox: Big
Big
Boi Boi
4 4
Ld vox:
B vox: Janelle
Big Boi Monáe B vox: Big
Boi B vox: Big Boi
4 4

15. Janelle Monáe's "Michael Jackson Scream"
Definition
non-pitched
Pitch
pitched
f
Dynamic
Contour
mf
mp
p
high
Spectral
Content
mid-upper
mid
low-mid
ff
ld vox
Envelope
f
Spectral
mf delay
RDL
mp
p
3:49.500 3:51.000

16. Janelle Monáe's "Michael Jackson Scream"
f
Reflections
mf direct sound
mp single-tap digital delay
p
very high
high
Spectrum
mid-upper
mid
low-mid
ff
f
Spectral
Envelope
mf
RDL
mp
p
3:49.500 3:51.000

17. Vocal Melody - Verse

18. Vocal Melody - Chorus

19. Vocal Melody - Bridge

20. Vocal Melody - Turntable Break