Final Project-Music Appreciation

1. A Biography, Listening Guide, and
Song History

2. “I spent maybe six months just running scales with a
metronome like a freak. I suppose that did something.”
That’s Ben Folds explaining what he filled his time with
after dropping out of the University of Miami’s Frost School
of Music, with only one credit left to graduate. He was
always a bit of an oddball, as I imagine most skilled
musicians are. He got his start playing music early, after his
father brought home an aged upright piano as barter from a
man who couldn’t pay a debt. As a young kid in the late
70’s, he would listen to his parents’ Billy Joel and Elton
John records and would learn to play them by ear.

3. A lot of Ben’s songs are influenced by his love of these
musicians as well as his hometown. He was born on a
beautiful September day in 1966, in Winston-Salem, North
Carolina. He describes the autumn season back East as
something to be grateful for. Growing up he always had
some musical project going on. He was part of several
bands from middle school through college. Interestingly
enough he was often the drummer or bassist of the group.
It’s hard to imagine given the fact that he has been named
one of the greatest piano players of his era.

4. Trying to make a name for himself on the music scene, he
started a band with his best friends, Millard Powers and
Dave Rich. With Ben on bass, Millard on guitar, and Dave
Rich on drums, they played and won the Battle of the
Bands under the name Mojosha in 1998. After that, they
went on to make an EP titled, “Party Night: Five Songs
about Jesus.” Surprisingly, none were actually about Jesus.
Soon, Mojosha became a recognized name and they
began playing bigger and better paying gigs. Not long after
that EP was released, the put out an album called, “Shut
Up and Listen to Mojosha.” This included a few songs from
“Party Night” which they chose to remix. “Emaline” made its
debut at this time, which is still a very popular song that
Ben Folds does solo.

5. In 1990 the band broke up and Ben went on the form Pots
and Pans with Evan Olson on bass, Britt Uzzell as guitar
and vocals, and Ben on drums. They only lasted about a
month, with Uzzell and Ben’s brother, Chuck forming a new
band with a different name. This inspired Ben to write a
song about the failures and miseries of life called “Army”. It
became one of his biggest hits, even making it to
mainstream radio.

6. After years of performing and doing everything he could to
exploit himself, Ben finally got a break. Nashville music
executive, Scott Siman gave him a record deal after
hearing him play the drums in a house band. Ben began
playing drums for different bands all over Nashville and
was quoted as saying, “In Nashville I was running 8 miles a
day, hanging out with my friends, walking around eating
chocolate-chip cookies and playing a lot of drums, which I
enjoyed. Life was easy. I was never frustrated- even though
I wasn’t fulfilling my contract obligations. If you are failing in
Nashville, at least your standard of living is nice. Nashville
is a nice way to fail.”

7. After his stint in Tennessee he went on to the University of
Miami’s Frost School of Music on a percussion scholarship.
He did very well, received high marks, and his teachers
appreciated his talent. It wasn’t until after a night of partying
and a fight which injured his hand, did he start to go
downhill. That day he showed up at school and was
expected to play in front of a jury, which would determine
his final grade for the semester. After he failed, he lost his
scholarship, and proceeded to throw his drum kit into the
campus lake.

8. His real success came after a short time in New Jersey where he
studied acting and abandoned music altogether. A friend asked
him to move back to North Carolina where they could start a
band. He agreed and headed to Chapel Hill to form Ben Folds
Five with Ben on piano, Darren Jesse on drums, and Robert
Sledge on bass. This was the beginning of something truly
magical. Only one year after they started, they released a major
album titled, “Whatever and Ever, Amen” which did very well in
the alternative music scene. Hits like “Brick” and “Song for the
Dumped” were huge among college kids and young professional
adults. The lyrics were often noted to contain “nuances of
depression, melancholy, self-confidence, and humorous
sarcasm”. Their songs eventually made the Billboard
Charts, but never the top 100. The band released several more
albums and EPs but eventually broke up. Ben started a solo
career.

9. After he decided to take the leap and do his own music, he
released a very successful album called “Rockin’ the
Suburbs” in 2001. He played almost all the instruments on
each track and added the guitar, which was not on the
other Ben Folds Five albums. He also released a series of
very successful EPs which included “Speed Graphic” and
“Sunny16”. Ben was on his way to superstardom and
began having songs hit mainstream alternative radio
stations across the nation. He even found huge success in
Japan, Australia, and England. Most recently he released
an album which turned out to be the highest charting album
of his career in the U.S. Topping at #11 on the Billboard 200
; he knew he had finally gotten somewhere.

10. Success started to come easily as he toured with big
names like The Fray, Rufus Wainwright, Ben Lee, and John
Mayer. He started performing with symphonies all over the
world including W. Australian Orchestra, Baltimore
Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops, Sydney
Orchestra, and Queensland Orchestra. Ben enjoyed the
richness of all the instruments and remained humbled and
flattered that any beautiful orchestra would want to be a
part of his music.

11. He continues to tour and amaze as he shares his talent
with the world. I have seen him perform live all over the
country and will continue to follow his shows. The reason
why I chose Ben Folds is because his music truly moves
me. It’s not the rock that I love, it’s his lyrics and the effect
his piano playing can have on someone. He is a
remarkably talented individual and I can only hope he has
the desire to keep making music for me.

12. The first song is titled “Mess”. It was composed by and lyrics written by
Ben. He was quoted on his iTunes Original album as saying, “Mess
was a song about a loss of innocence. It’s a song about having so
much baggage that now you are unable to completely explain your
history; you’ve made a mess. It’s like at this point, there’s really-the
next person I meet I can no longer completely explain my history. I have
enough baggage to where that’s not possible any more, and they’re just
gonna have to take it from, this is a new clean slate.” ,
When I listen to this song, those are precisely the feelings he conveys.
The music has a desperate quality about it. You will be able to
understand the feeling he is trying to create; you’ll notice it is in minor
mode. There are several little gems within the music if you listen
closely. Ben adds strings when he wants to create a heavy feel, a
depressing and lost feel. You’ll also notice the tempo is very quick and
he does this simply to emulate a very confused, chaotic, and out of
control emotion. Pay close attention to his variances in wording
throughout the chorus, it helps to explain his confusion.

13. The next song is called “Magic”. It was written and composed by
band mate, Darren Jesse. It’s hard to find a definite explanation
of this song because Darren is a person who doesn’t like to dish
on exact meaning. After reading several interviews, the
consensus seems to include his grandfather’s death, a best lady
friend’s suicide, and love. All of these are certainly subjects I can
hear within the song. When Ben plays a small part on the tack
piano, it paints a very specific image. Whomever they are
referring to at this point, you get the image that the band wants
to keep this person as a very special memory. The innocence of
the high notes on the tack piano tells me that it’s almost a dream
or vision in which they’re seeing this special person again. At a
time where there was no pain, only love and understanding. This
is a precious song and the fact that I don’t have a specific story
allows me to use my own life to paint their ambiguous canvas.

14. The last song I chose is called “Don’t Change Your Plans”. Written and
composed by Ben Folds in A major, it gives you a pleasant feeling. This
is another song without a definitive history. Ben has said, “It was
supposed to be just a long instrumental passage- after it was edited
down to its final product, a producer just cut it and all of a sudden it was
this pop song! And then I was like, oh, okay, I see what you’re talking
about.”
I love this song; I love all the variety you get. You hear happiness and
excitement in the beginning, you hear the joy of love and
commitment, and you hear real life thoughts and emotions. He does a
special little variance in the choruses, after the first chorus he starts
playing the chords as triplets and that simple change completely alters
the song. This is the small variety I love that he does. Just when you
think you understand what he is trying to convey, he throw you a
curveball and it’s up to you to interpret it as you wish. He incorporates
an array of instruments; featuring wire brush on
drums, trumpet, trombone, and saxophone. He also adds some style
with syncopation when his back- up singers do their part. It’s really an
exciting piece. I hope you enjoy these songs as much as I
have, throughout the years in all different moods and contexts.

15. • “Mess” Music and Lyrics by Ben Folds- G Minor
• 0:00 Introduction- Piano makes its debut with drums entering shortly after. Main theme repeats 6 times
• 0:15 Verse 1 begins, “There was a time when I had nothing to explain of this mess I had made”. You can hear cymbals
accentuate certain parts of this music
• 0:29 Second part of verse 1, after you will hear the main them repeated without lyrics before the chorus
• 0:43 Chorus: Take note of the variation in wording during the choruses. The first time he says, “But I don’t believe in God, so I
can’t be saved”
• 1:08 Instrumental break- Solo piano with some effects, you’ll begin to hear the viola, violins, and bass come in. You’ll also
hear back-up vocals that add depth to the music.
• 1:22 Pace and intensity pick up, creating dissonance- you can hear blocks, strings, and a painful scratching sound. Strings
raise pitch to add to the chaos, and vocals are alongside a shaker.
• 1:35 Break comes to a halt and introduces us to verse 2. This time you’ll notice there in significantly more energy and
instrumentation than the first verse. “All the untested virtue of things I said I’d never do, least of all to you”
• 2:00 Chorus: “But I don’t believe in love so I can’t be tamed”. You see the difference in chorus lyrics here. You also hear back-
up vocals this time.
• 2:19 Chorus comes to a close as you start to hear things slowing and calming. It almost feels like a tired section. He adds
lyrics to the end of the chorus that weren’t previously sung. “I have made the same mistake over and over again.” The word
“again” is said with no instrumentals.
• 2:37 A light organ note is held and drums come back in to reintroduce the main theme.
• 2:55 Verse 3, “There are rooms in this house that I don’t open anymore, misty books and pictures on the floor”. After the word
“floor” the piano makes a grand statement and all instruments are back.
• 3:10 Chorus- Begins with a heightened tone than the last couple times. The wording is now back to the first chorus, though
the back-up singers echo the second chorus wording.
• 3:33 There is still chaos but it’s slower, and you start to sense a little more darkness in the tone.
• Coda- He adds a series of “a’ohh’s” here instead of how the last bridge ended. The closing statement only includes some
dissonant piano and a few drum beats.

16. • “Magic” Music and Lyrics by Darren Jesse F Major
• 0:00 Introduction- You hear simple piano that offers and slow and unidentified emotion.
• 0:22 Verse 1, “From the back of your big brown eyes” you only hear piano and vocals.
• 0:44 Verse 2, Same theme with the piano’s tempo getting slower and softer than the
previous verse.
• 1:06 Variation of second verse that extends longer, but it comes to a halt.
• 1:11 I don’t know what you’d call this part, it’s not necessarily a bridge, and it’s not the
chorus- “Saw you last night dance by the light of the moon” starts to bring a memory into
play and paints an innocent picture.
• 1:29 Drum hits and breaks concentration. It’s highlighted with a light tambourine. This is the
simplest chorus I’ve heard in my life. Simply a series of “shal lai lai lai’s” and a few heavy
drum beats and bright tambourine.
• 1:52 Second half of chorus is only the piano and the viola. Shortly after you begin to hear
the violins which play as if they’re meant to add sensitivity or longing.
• 2:12 Verse 3 “You’re the magic that holds the sky up” start with piano and voice, but strings
come back in.
• 2:43 Tempo has slowed significantly and Ben plays the tack piano which emulates a
memory or a vision. It’s as if they’re portraying this special person as a beautiful and
innocent being.
• 3:15 Drums snap you back to reality and the chorus repeats. This chorus is much more
lively than the previous ones.
• Coda: The songs ends with one last “la la la” and a tap of the tambourine.

17. • “Don’t Change Your Plans” Music and Lyrics by Ben Folds- A major
• 0:00 Introduction- a single string instrument starts us out getting louder as it’s played. You hear the first piano chord slam.
• 0:11 Strings make an entrance introducing the wire brush on drums and the first verse.
• 0:33 Chorus “All I really wanna say, you’re the reason I wanna stay”.
• 0:47 Piano stops but you still hear the brush on drums. Verse 2 begins, this time with more drum and a louder and more
decorated piano.
• 1:06 Break in piano that leads us to the bridge, “Don’t change your plans for me” with some soft strings.
• 1:48 Drums return adding our familiar beat while painting a picture of the “leaves falling back East”
• 1:57 Instrumental break- the piano and back-up vocals begin. The piano is now playing excited triplets while the back-up “Ah-
ah-ah-ah-ah’s” are adding a bit of confusion. You’ll also begin to hear an electric guitar which is almost never employed by
Ben Folds. It creates a bit of a dragging sound.
• 2:22 Here comes the trumpet adding to the excitement of the scene, with all instruments coming together and drums
quickening pace.
• 2:35 Strings enter playing a soft yet essential part of the theme.
• 2:49Everything starts slowing with strings making the closing statement
• 2:57 Verse 3 “Beautifully we smile again, in fact I might be sore from it” has the piano and some sort of echo.
• 3:14 Chorus- this time sounding more mellow. You will hear a very soft high hat as well as some soft strings and bells.
• 3:40 Brush returns to the drums and bass guitar enters adding to the chorus
• 3:50 Piano and bell rings on the downbeat highlighting the chords. Drums enter.
• 3:57 Whistle- this is very simple but adds a lot of character to this section after all the chaos. It seems there is some relief.
• 4:07 All instruments back together for chorus with a variation of the lyrics. “But destiny is calling”
• 4:22 Back up “ah, ah, ah’s” with trumpets adding a little noise here
• 4:37 Coda- “I love you, goodbye” tells you things are ending. Piano playing soft triplets and strings adding to it.

18. • 1. Five, Wikipedia-Ben Folds. Wikipedia.com/benfolds.
[Online]
• 2. Ez-In-Articles. Ezinarticles.com
• 3. The Shrubbery. The Shrubbery.com
• 4. Ben Folds Five-Whatever and Ever Amen, Liner Notes
• 5. Billboard Charts- Billboard.com
• iTunes Originals album-Interview
• Kepkanation.wordpress.com
• Ben Folds Interview on benfolds.org