IVACON 2026 Song Analysis Class (Year 2/3)
This webpage will be available for the next year so that you can revisit the class videos and notes if you like. Please do not reproduce any of the materials posted on this page.
In BOLD are lyrics where you may hear articulation choices that result in acoustic outcomes or shifts, as well as shifts in energy or dynamics. We will discuss what those choices and shifts mean, and how they may have influenced (or been influenced by) the singer’s vocal function.
Before you begin, an important request:
Many of the artists featured in today’s class are releasing new music or performing in their local communities. Please consider supporting them by following them on social media, subscribing to their channels on your preferred streaming platforms, and following their new music releases and performances. Let’s build up and support our global community of human artists. Thank you!
Questions to ask:
What tendency/tendencies do I hear?
How are the functional tendencies influencing the acoustic output? Describe this in terms of aesthetic attributes (e.g. dark/bright, edgy/soft, fuzzy/clear, etc.)
How is vocal function supporting or detracting from style?
What tools are being used (vowels, consonants, unfinished sounds, dynamics), and how is it shaping the sound? What’s helping? What’s hindering?
Time Marker: (1:32-2:58)
Verse 2:
I was raised apart and somewhere in between
On a different wave, a stranger frequency
But it all starts making sense when you dissect it piece by piece
Oh, like I could feel it speak to me
Funny how you crave for things you leave behind
Assess the message and replace the grand design
Til you’re pulse to pavement searching for the trapdoor in your mind
Oh, if I could feel it one last time
Chorus:
I collected chance encounters and found meaning in them all
Trapped in amber, public transport, dodging glances and missed calls
And I turned the street lights on and off because I had such energy
In my technicolor dreams, you weren’t raised like me
Questions to ask:
What tendency/tendencies do I hear?
How are the functional tendencies influencing the acoustic output?
What sounds intentional? What sounds like a default?
What tools are being used (vowels, consonants, unfinished sounds, dynamics), and how is it shaping the sound? What’s helping? What’s hindering?
Time Marker: (start at 0:20)
Verse 2:
On my own
Would I wander through this wonderland alone
Never knowing my right foot from my left
My hat from my glove
I'm too misty, and too much in love
Too misty and too much in love
Questions to ask:
What tendency/tendencies do I hear?
What are the differences between the overall vowel colors and shapes between song # 1 and song # 2?
How is the language difference playing a role in the articulation, registration, and acoustics?
How is the genre difference influencing the singer’s resonance strategies?
SONG 1: Sing Naadu (Shabir)
Time Marker: (start at 1:58-2:46)
Vaanathai Etti Pittithu
Saathanai Seiya Vaa
Ulagam Thirakkume,
Vazhigal Pirakkume Vaa Vaa
Desam Azhaikkirathu
Vaagai Sooda Vaa
Nam Kodi Parakkuthu
Inbam Pirakkuthu Vaa Vaa
Pala Inangal Sera,
Orumai Kondaade
En Veedu Enthan Thaai
Naadu Endru Sollu
SONG 2: “No Air” (Chris Brown/Jordyn Sparks)
Time Marker: 1:32-2:41
[JAYESH]
I walked, I ran, I jumped, I flew
Right off the ground to float to you
There's no gravity to hold me down for real
[ELSA]
But somehow I'm still alive inside
You took my breath, but I survived
I don't know how, but I don't even care
[BOTH]
So how do you expect me
to live alone with just me
‘Cause my world revolves around you
It's so hard for me to breathe
[AD LIB]
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