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Below I will discuss what the significance of the One Note is and how it can take upon different disguises or be interpreted in different ways. This will also slightly touch upon anxiety and why music we listen to always must refer back to us. I include a couple of songs that have a One Note composed melody. My interpretations of the melody are also along attached with the song that is embedded in the Padlet. I include a couple of images that coordinate with the songs to sort of bring light to our imagination to question what we feel in those dwelling moments. Should we correct our feelings? Or do we let the song tell us how to feel? When is one more necessary than the other? I attempt to look at these conflicts and weigh them for what they are verbatim and also for what they are to us.

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"The listener feels his strength, and possibly even his frustration." - Ben Ratliff, "Every Song Ever"

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"The listener feels his strength, and possibly even his frustration." - Ben Ratliff, "Every Song Ever"

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From "marksheriden43.tumblr.com"

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Do you agree with Ratliff’s arguments regarding this musical element?

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Do you agree with Ratliff’s arguments regarding this musical element?

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Yes, I agree with Ratliff. As he puts it, when you hear a single repeated note “you are listening to either a form of resistance or play – or resistance as play.” This means that the single note is either a function of the song or a function of the artist’s thoughts. Recognizing this difference can extract different feelings or emotions from the listener, making the impact of the song more powerful or possibly even undertaking a new meaning. However it is used, its importance should not be undermined as it could contain so much in such a small detail. One could say that it turns it into a bigger detail because of that importance but still, it is quite easy to overlook in leisure listening. Another point worth discussing is how a single note can “[make] the song an event.” It draws the listener’s attention; demands it. Automatically, the thought of its meaning becomes a feeling of anxiety. As the vibration of the single note probes our ear, there is something beyond the note that probes us in the back of our mind and which is ultimately what we seek to understand. Part of trying to comprehend its power is what gives the single note so much power to begin with. What I ask is how many ways could an artist use the repetition of a single to mean something different? There is something uncanny of its presence in a song that we all may refuse to admit, but secretly enjoy. And so, what does the song say about us? That’s a question we have to answer for ourselves. Ratliff also brings this up: “When we listen to music, we are often making music ourselves, in a parenthetical sense.” What creates “good” music or “good” art to us? I’ll leave on that.

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Thelonious Monk, “Thelonious,” from Genius of Modern Music, Vol. 1, 1974

The use of the single note in this jazz piece helps provide structure for the composition of this performance. Without it, I would find it hard to follow in which it guides the listener through the bounce of the rhythm. This demands us to stay focused on the music, urging us to attempt to listen to the other set pieces like the brass in the lower octave. It’s an interesting way to make the listener actually listen to the song rather than make the music about themselves in this case.

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"If a musician can make one note, one sound, that he feels happy with, it's a good practice session." - Sonny Rollins, "Every Song Ever"

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"If a musician can make one note, one sound, that he feels happy with, it's a good practice session." - Sonny Rollins, "Every Song Ever"

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From "Thomasdanthony.com"

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Adele, “Skyfall” 2012

The single note in the introduction of the song has a constant presence throughout. Adele’s vocal dynamics convey a motion to the song that the listener cannot seem to quite cling onto. Even through the chorus, our attachment to the single note prevents us from accepting the drop of the rhythm as there is a phantom tone that rings within our minds that holds us back from fully empathizing with the hurt in Adele’s heart. This could be warning the listener of the dangers of conforming as you lose your ability to make your own decisions. You begin to confuse what is out of your desire and what is from another’s desire. We “let the sky fall”, giving up our control to the power of the sound and the attention it demands. The point is that the single note is irresistibly attractive. When will we crumble from it?