Musical Analysis #2: Home Free's "Good Ol' Country Harmony"

 



Released on September 18, 2015 in their album "Country Evolution", Home Free's "Good Ol' Country Harmony" is an earworm that gives a nod to some of country music's greatest groups known for their vocals and/or harmonies. Home Free is based in Minnesota, but regularly travels all over the country on tour, so it's difficult to say exactly where this song was written.


Timbre

The first thing that jumps out at you about most of Home Free's music is that they are a cappella. They have a high tenor, tenor, baritone, bass, and vocal percussionist. They sing like no a cappella group I've heard before, blending in beautiful harmony and playing around with all sorts of soaring vocals, impressively low bass, and fun beats. Each singer has his own style and they work so well together. The Daily Country quotes the Star Tribune in saying that their "blend is 'spot on perfect'".

Beat/Rhythm

As you're thinking about how good their singing is, you are then, also impressed by their percussionist and co-founder, Adam Rupp. In this song, you can hear the syncopation that creates that hip-hoppy feel. It starts accenting the beat on beat, but later on, sometimes the snare seems to become more prevalent than the bass, coming in on the off beat (forgive me if I got the wrong drum with the snare, I'm not so familiar with my percussion). I love all the flares that Adam adds, it makes this song and many of their others just so unique.

Lyrics

This song is a call back to country melodies that got you singing and it savors the adventure that life is for them in the present. They sing about singing like the oldies, enjoying the touring, and bringing back the 'good ol' country harmony'. This is one of my favorite songs from Home Free because, rather than just lamenting that the glory days are gone, it joins the greats in bringing their own new, back-country style to the table. This is a song about a group uniting with the purpose of going back to the roots of what made country music good (musically).

Structure

It starts out with just the voices singing as an introduction (no percussion) and then the beat comes in (nothing crazy) and the bass gives an introduction to the story the song tells. Then the chorus comes and all of them sing together. As the song progresses, this pattern repeats. There's nothing particularly unique about this pattern, it's actually standard for the type of music it's inspired by, but their vocal flares and the beat keep it lively.

Texture

As mentioned before, the band has a high tenor, another tenor, baritone, bass, and vocal percussionist. The voices sing in almost unison for the majority of the introduction and, later, the chorus with the bass and percussion holding the beat. The bass and baritone take the solo parts and the rest sounds like harmonic improv coming mostly from the high tenor, which he is known for. Of all of these, the percussion is my favorite. They have other songs where the bass plays a bigger role (then I prefer the bass), but here the beat boxing is so creative and it isn't overbearing.

This song has the hip-hop, country feel Home Free is known for that leaves you feeling nostalgic and like you want to break out dancing at the same time. From an interview with The Boot, it looks like the group is known for giving an at-home feel where they show off their skill and just have fun with music and their audience. I think this is why I am so drawn to this song and this group in general. You can tell they love what they do and you feel like you can join them in it.


Credits

Stefano, Angela. "Interview: Home Free Show Off Hard Work and Perfect Harmonies on New Album." The Boot. Sept. 18, 2015. Accessed Feb. 25, 2024. Retrieved from: https://theboot.com/home-free-country-evolution-interview-2015/

"Home Free to Release Third Studio Album 'Country Evolution' September 18th." The Daily Country, thedailycountry.com. Aug. 21, 2015. Accessed Feb. 25, 2014. Retrieved from: https://thedailycountry.com/3/post/2015/08/home-free-to-release-third-studio-album-country-evolution-september-18th.html

Julia. "What are the 8 Elements of Music." Jooya Teaching Resources, juliajooya.com. 2021. Accessed on Feb. 25, 2024. Retrieved from: https://juliajooya.com/2020/10/11/what-are-the-8-elements-of-music/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kathryn's Exploration in Music - An Introduction

Image
Hi all!  My name is Kathryn Finley and I'm excited to be making my first blog post! For those who don't know me, I'm a quiet, adventurous gal from Alaska and one of my favorite pastimes is going on road trips and hiking. Right now, I'm preparing to graduate with a degree in mechanical engineering and a minor in music. I'm still not sure what will come after college, but, Lord willing, at some point I hope to give piano lessons. I'd say my relationship with music is on the moderate side. I play and listen, but I don't compose or really improvise at all when I play. In high school, I began to become invested in learning my instrument and start listening to music (rather than just playing it). Since then, the whole world of music began to open up for me as different genres and styles resonated. I learned country makes you feel at home, sea shanties and orchestral epic are terrific for pumping you up for that hike or next wilderness adventure, and baroque is jus
Read more

The Role of a Performer: Hilary Hahn

Image
  When searching for music on a favorite streaming platform, I think we most often search for the piece rather than a particular band, orchestra, or soloist. When we do search for the performer, what are we looking for exactly? In this blog, I will be discussing the role of performers, using Hilary Hahn, an American classical violin performer, as the example.  Hilary Hahn (1979 - present), born in Virginia, began learning to play the violin at age 4 through a Suzuki-method program, quickly moving into private lessons and performed with an orchestra as early as 11 years old. She debuted internationally in Germany at 16 years old and at 20, she obtained a bachelor's degree from the Curtis Institute of Music where she had been admitted at 10 years old. Hahn's professional life has included international performances, recording contracts with big names such as Sony, receiving three Grammy Awards, and so much more. Hahn is known for her lively and interpretive style and I have come
Read more

Music and the Telling of Stories: If I Were a Rich Man

Image
  The Fiddler on the Roof is a musical produced in 1964. The musical is based on a set of stories written by Sholem Aleichem. The music was composed by Jerry Bock, the lyrics were written by Sheldon Harnick, and the book was written by Joseph Stein. The story depicts the life of a Jewish family and community in a small, poor Russian village named Anatevka. The story is set at the turn of the 20th century at a time when Russia was still ruled by a tsar. Aleichem, a Jew himself, was born in 1859 and grew up in Kiev, Ukraine. His story tells about the oppression and poverty of the Jewish culture in Russia at the time, much inspired by his own experience. While the political landscape sets the scene and is a theme in the musical, it primarily focuses on the Jewish traditions held to by the main character, Tevye. Over the course of the story, Tevye's three oldest daughters get married to men whom they love rather than having arranged marriages, as is the tradition. Tevye struggles to r
Read more