Lullaby from The Hunger Games

Here’s something a little different again. I’ve decided to put some of the music I’ve composed on youtube for people to listen to. Obviously, this one is the Lullaby. This was for a school project but I wanted to share my explanation of it. I plan on doing a real recording of it, maybe writing my own words. Until then, I hope you enjoy my lullaby inspired by The Hunger Games (a link to the youtube video will be in the comments). :)

            The “Lullaby” is the bookends that show how little the world of Panem has changed from the first book to the last. Katniss describes the “Lullaby” this way, “a simple lullaby . . . a mountain air. But the words are easy and soothing, promising tomorrow will be more hopeful than this awful piece of time we call today” (The Hunger Games, 234). The series keeps looking for the happier tomorrow but it is slow in coming. As mentioned above, the first time the Lullaby is sung it is to Rue who is dying. When it is brought back in the epilogue of the last book, it is for Katniss and Peeta’s children who are playing in the meadow that became a mass grave after the bombing of district 12. This already shows that the bright future is coming because the grass grew back and the children are allowed to be innocent. The darkness of the past is still there, a warning not to be repeated.

            How I chose to compose the music for the Lullaby reflects the calmness lullabies usually posses and the sadness of the books. I wrote the Lullaby in 6/8 because it has a rocking motion that is mimics the sway of the mother or cradle. The chord progression is barrowed from a song called “You Won’t Relent (Seal)” by Misty Edwards. This progression of four chords worked well for the “Lullaby” because it is in a minor key but two of the chords are of a major quality, allowing the song to have both a hopeful and melancholycharacter. I composed the piece in e minor because it was once described as expressing love and sorrow (Characteristics of Musical Keys).

            The melody of the Lullaby was also planned to be simple and pleasant to the ear. The music sometimes splits because I wanted to include leaps of perfect 4ths and 5ths because they are pleasing intervals. However, doing this made some notes high and I wanted the “Lullaby” to be easily sung. I also chose to use word painting in the song[1]. The solo version is sung by a 15 year old because I wanted the quality of the voice to be similar to that of what Katniss might sound like.

            I included an ensemble version to show how it might sound in the community. I chose piano and flute to accompany the singers because it reflects on community as well as characters in the books. Prim easily picksup the flute when Katniss cannot (Catching Fire, 39), and Katniss enjoys listening to Madge play the piano (Catching Fire, 87). For the ensemble version of the piece, I ended the song with a Picardy third[2]. By doing this, the song reflects the hope of the future.

 

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[1] Word painting is when the music reflects the words being sung. For instance, for “Lay down your head” the notes descend and for “the sun will raise” the notes also raise.

[2] A Picardy third is when a composition in a minor key ends with a major tonic chord (I). This is accomplished by raising the third of the chord a half-step.