The Hanging Tree

Here we are on Halloween night. I thought it would be appropriate to share my 4 part version of “The Hanging Tree”, definitely the darkest of songs in The Hunger Games Trilogy. (And here I am, dressed as Katniss. I never thought I would be so impatient about handing out candy. I would prefer them all coming at once so that I could do something besides wait. So of them knock so softly on the door…). Anyway, I’m sorry if you have been upset that I haven’t been writing as much and very little of it has been creative writing. Then again, I haven’t heard anyone complain or ask for more…

To hear my version of “The Hanging Tree” go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZqTObePIoE&feature=plcp

            “The Hanging Tree” is a major part of the third book because it captures the thought that death is easier than the life the characters live. The final verse of the song is brought up twice as Katniss thinks about the horrors she has seen and her and Gail’s promise to kill the other if captured.Borselllino relates “The Hanging Tree” to the song at the end of 1984 which she says Collins has read repeatedly: “Under the spreading chestnut tree / I sold you and you sold me.” Borsellino writes, “Combined, the two songs become a question posed to Peeta and Katniss: will fear, torture, hate, lust for power, and the desire for self-preservation ultimately prove to be so strong that even lovers would betray each other? . . . The Hunger Games, however, declares that no, love does conquer hate. . .” (Wilson, 36). Some object that Katniss living, even though she and Peeta eventually raise a family, is not the ideal ending for the Hunger Games series. As “The Hanging Tree” echoes, sometimes the hardest thing to do is to live. Instead of receiving a glorious death or even an easy life, at the end of the series Katniss and Peetaare still dealing with the trauma they have endured.

            “The Hanging Tree” is the piece that I am least satisfied with the outcome, though it does communicate the darkness of the song described in Mockingjay. I composed the song in ¾ time because it is usually associated with the waltz, a happy dance for lovers. By doing this, I hoped that it would feel odd as the song progresses and the listener realizes that the lovers in the song will never dance together because the man is dead and wants his beloved to join him. D minor is usually thought to be the saddest sounding of the minor keys, so I wrote in that key signature. Unlike the “Lullaby” I composed the melody of “The Hanging Tree” before deciding on the chords. This allowed me to ensure that the melody would be simple, as it is described in the book. However, how I heard the melody in my head did not end up simple as I found out while trying to record the song with a 15 year old singer. It being too late for me to rewrite the song, I asked her to make up the song as she sang. This worked fairly well since she already had what I had composed in her ear. I decided this worked well because Katniss learned the song from her father, and songs learned through oral tradition are bound to change over time.

            In the ensemble version of “The Hanging Tree” the oddness I had composed myself into is more apparent. The harmony lines have simpler rhythms than the melody to make up for the chord progressions. Though none of the chord progressions break Baroque rules, they are not the simple three chords heard in many songs today. On the end of the third line of the song (the only line in the song that changes. The words being “three”, “flee”, “free”, and “me”) I end on a V chord, making a half cadence. The next line begins with a VI chord, a deceptive cadence. This breaks the listener’s expectation[1] while not being displeasing to the ear. Having the piece be in a minor key also allowed me to include several diminished chords which are harsh sounding[2] and therefore appropriate for such a dark song.

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[1] V chords drive to the I chord. VI chords do not offer the full relief of returning to the tonic, but they do allow the leading tone (the third of the V chord) to resolve up a step.

[2] Diminished chords are made of two minor thirds stacked on top of each other. This creates the outer notes to be diminished fifths, or tritones, one of the most dissonant intervals. Tritones were once believed to invoke the devil and were also used in sirens because of the jarring sound.

Rue's Mockingjay Melody

Another Musical day! This time I’m looking at Rue’s 4 note Mockingjay melody from The Hunger Games. To listen to the melody I composed you can go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujF0wZoYsJw&feature=plcp. Hope you enjoy it!

            In the Hunger Games Rue’s melody is a signal. At her home it is how Rue told the others in the orchard that it was quitting time. In the first arena, it became Rue’s signal to Katniss that she was fine, just cannot meet with her at the appointed time. However, this signal fails. The notes give Katniss a sense of relief until she hears Rue’s scream. In Catching Fire, the four notes become the signal for District 11, where Rue was from, to show their respect for Katniss. This again fails because the man who whistled the cue was killed for doing so.

            Deciding on four notes to create Rue’s melody was challenging because it is happy but slightly haunting in the books. I chose to have the four notes go in the same direction because a run, which is how the melody is described in The hunger Games, is defined as “rapid ascending or descending of notes” ("run"). The four notes that I ended up with, the first three notes create a C major chord, one of the happiest sounding chords. The fourth note though makes the chord into an a minor seven chord in third position. This makes the piece less happy but not by much. To add variety, I sometimes included the four note melody transposed up a perfect fifth, a pleasing interval. I choose to use piccolo, flute, and clarinet because they are bird-like sounding instruments. I composed the piece in 5/4 because it is an unusual key signature, making it sound more spontaneous instead of composed. This is also why I have triplets. The melody is sung by the mockingjays when interrupted by the mutations at the end of Katniss’ first Hunger Games, hence the high pitched warning calls at the end.

Ideal place

I feel like I’m cheating with the whole free/creative writing thing. Yesterday I copy and pasted something I did in college (Did you checkout my version of the Lullaby from the Hunger Games? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPv5Yq_FM-I&feature=g-upl. I’d really appreciate you checking it out and giving honest feedback! J). Then today, I just have to write about my ideal place.

            My ideal place is pretty simple. It’d be a cozy place with lots and lots of books. All kinds of books. Well, I’d be okay with there being no horror books. And I’m not crazy about romance novels (especially the dirty ones). I love libraries. Big public or school libraries. My high school had a library that was kind of rounded. I loved it. The room would of course need a huge comfy chair. The kind of chair that you would find in a “bachelor pad.” Not that I want the chair to look that way, but I’d want it to be comfortable that way. I would want the room to have a big window with a beautiful view. I would want the view to be of nature—trees, mountains, ocean, whatever—and I don’t want to have to worry about looking in. There would have to be a light in the room for when it is dark outside as well.

            I would also want an office. One with a big desk with drawers. Filing cabinets, organized stacks of paper, and maybe another bookshelf too. My dream house (yep, I moved up from “ideal place” to “dream house”) would also have a music room that is sound proof and big enough for my piano, guitar, djembe, and any other large-ish instruments I might get. The music room would also need a bookshelf or some other way for me to organize the music I have. An art and crafts room would also be pretty nifty. And a hallway where I can hang up the most random stuff.

Oh, and I would want a little room as an actual prayer closet. I would want that little room to be a light yellow with blue quotes written on some of the walls. I would hang up my world map in there. I would also want a large-ish whiteboard or chalkboard where I could write prayer requests and reminders of people and things to pray for. Actually, that might be my ideal place. I know I don’t need to go anywhere to find God, and I don’t need quiet to hear Him, but that would be my quiet place where it’s just about God. To physically go somewhere to be close to God but that place never be far away, that’s my ideal place.

Dream House

I loved these tree columns, but the site they were from is apparrently spam... I thought I might post them here because they are just so beautiful. I think it would look nice with any twisted or interesting-looking trees. You would just have to cut them to the right size and cut off the branches (or leave some stubs of the branches as coat hooks?)

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.

Confessions of a procrastinating student

I convince myself I'm sick more than I would like to admit. I think,
"this teacher wouldn't push me so hard if I had a sore throught." So I
clear my throat until it does become sore. It's easy to prettend to be
tired. I'm already hard on my body, so I'll finally listen to its
complaining and aching. I know that it is all in my head, but I feel
better having an excuse.
I know, I know it needs to stop. I need to get serious about my
schooling, finding a job, figuringout how I'm going to make out in the
"real world." If I haven't been living in the real world for the past
18 years, where have I been living?
I am a hard worker, most of the time. Sometimes I get tired of working
so hard though! Don't I deserve a break? It's not like I'm the only
one who does it. I bet some of my teaches even do it. It's my senior
year. I should have some time to enjoy it. Having a few projects that
aren't my best because I'm not feeling well won't hurt anybody. It's
not like I'm trying to get valevictorian or into a presigious
university. I'll just go to a community college until I really figure
things out. I would just get a job, but my parent's won't let me.
Things aren't going to be changing any time soon. Why can't they just
let things be? Why can't anybody just let me be?

Word associations

            Yay! Something thoughtless, unless you analyze them—then it is very thought provoking. Please don’t psychoanalyze me… So, basically it starts with one word, I write the first word that comes to my mind, then the first word that comes to my mind from that word, etc. Make sense? Okay, so I randomly typed some letters and the word it tried to spell from them: rise.

Rise, Maya Angelou,  amazing, sunset, bells, carol of the bells, music, happy, smile, song, guitar, restring, string instruments, violin, high pitched, cringe, drawback, handicap, sports, stadium, football, marching band, tennis shoes, bare feet, happy feet, fun socks, toe socks, warm, scarf, crocheting, needle, needle point, Christmas tree, O Christmas Tree, bells, Wednesdays, midweek, half over, half way there, traveling, driving, road trip, January, new year, new beginning, fresh start, start over, from the beginning, redo, mess up, messy, dirt, mud, rain, umbrella, Singin’ in the Rain, Make ‘em Laugh, happy, smile, smiley face

            Okay, that was 5 minutes about.

            I feel like I should explain some things. I am part of a bell choir, so that’s where all the bells came from. I need to restring my guitar (it’s been about 4 or 5 years since I’ve done that). I think that violins are beautiful and high notes can sound amazing. I haven’t been doing so well with hitting high notes recently though, hence the cringe. I was helping create a counted cross stitch pattern of a Christmas tree, so that’s where that jump came from. January I was on a road trip. Only I can go from “new beginning” to “mess up”. I like new beginnings, they’re great. I promise I’m a positive person! I ended on a happy note. :)

            Tomorrow I’ll try to do something with more substance (I wrote writing prompts on pieces of paper and pick them at random, so there’s no order or much planning that goes into these. Hope you’re okay with that!).