Arrangement 1

Arrangement 1 features pitched percussion tone colors, such as the marimba, which enters at 0:30 (m 17). The marimba and various related instruments are often used in African music. The contemporary melodic patterns in the pitched percussion parts give the overall arrangement a "world music" feel. Imagine that you heard this arrangement as a soundtrack for a television show or movie. Consider what might be happening visually.

• Listen for each pitched percussion part as it first enters the arrangement.
• Note how the rhythms in the arrangement become gradually more complicated.

Arrangement 2

After a count-off by the voice and then the drums, an organ and a synthesized bass begin the piece. Notice how the bass line sounds particularly "electronic." Also notice the unusual beginning, or "attack," of the sixth bass note of the part.

At 0:12 (m 6) a medium-pitched drum enters.
At 0:16 (m 8) a higher-pitched drum enters.
At 0:20 (m 10) all of the other percussion parts enter.

• Listen to how the organ and the synthesized bass give the arrangement a modern sound, while the percussion maintains a more traditional feel.
• Consider whether any of your favorite music contains modern sounds, traditional sounds, or a mixture of both. Combining modern and traditional sounds in the same piece often creates a very unusual result. Sometimes this result is desirable. Sometimes it isn't, as when it makes traditional musical elements sound "watered down."
• Consider whether the mixture of modern and traditional sounds is successful in this arrangement.

Arrangement 3

Unlike Arrangement 1, which began with percussion, and Arrangement 2, which began with the organ and the bass, Arrangement 3 essentially begins with the percussion and the nonpercussion parts (bass and electric guitar) playing together. At first you hear two electric guitar parts. One part plays full chords. The other plays a single-note line using rhythms similar to those heard in the bass line. A third guitar part fades in and can be heard at 0:13. A fourth guitar part joins in by 0:31.

• Determine which of these guitar parts sound the most melodic (or "catchy").
• Which parts help "fill out" the overall sound of the piece in more subtle ways? Often, if a rock band only has one guitar player, the ability to record multiple guitar parts in the studio helps their songs have a fuller sound "on record" than when they perform live.

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