MLP Seasons 1 and 2: A Complete Musical Analysis

[Inactive01 5,298]

Season 2 was an epic season for music. There's so much to analyze and draw out what Daniel Ingram, the composer of MLP:FiM. To begin, I've already performed a musical analysis of "This Day Aria" on this thread.

 

Here's the link. It's post #518.

http://mlpforums.com...t/page__st__500

 

Now I'll be really busy for the next 2 weeks because I have exams to write and piano competitions to play, but I've got some free time right now because I'm on schedule in my final exam studies. As such, I'm beginning with the first piece played at the Season 2 Finale: "Twilight's BBBFF". I will select the pieces which I deem worth analyzing from both Seasons 1 and 2. Feel free to express your own thoughts and add (or criticize constructively) for all you music lovers.

 

So here's the forecast for the beginning of the musical analysis:

 

1. "This Day Aria"-------------------------complete (see link)

2. "Twilight's BBBHH"------------------------ complete (post 4)

3. "Smile, Smile, Smile"--------------------- later this week

4. "Find a Pet"---------------------------------later this week

5. "The Perfect Stallion"--------------------next week

6. "The Flim Flam Brothers Song"--------------------next week

Edited April 23, 2012 by Derpity Derp

[weegeez 150]

season 2, although had less songs than 1, i feel the songs were a lot better in terms of quality and sound, i guess this proves quality over quantity

[Jibbs93 64]

Season 2 was an epic season for music. There's so much to analyze and draw out what Daniel Ingram, the composer of MLP:FiM. To begin, I've already performed a musical analysis of "This Day Aria" on this thread.

 

Here's the link. It's post #518.

http://mlpforums.com/topic/13999-s02e25e26-a-canterlot-wedding-spoiler-alert/page__st__500

 

Now I'll be really busy for the next 2 weeks because I have exams to write and piano competitions to play, but I've got some free time right now because I'm on schedule in my final exam studies. As such, I'm beginning with the first piece played at the Season 2 Finale: "Twilight's BBBFF". I will select the pieces which I deem worth analyzing from both Seasons 1 and 2. Feel free to express your own thoughts and add (or criticize constructively) for all you music lovers.

 

So here's the forecast for the beginning of the musical analysis:

 

1. "This Day Aria"-------------------------complete

2. "Twilight's BBBHH"------------------------ almost complete

3. "Smile, Smile, Smile"--------------------- later this week

4. "Find a Pet"---------------------------------later this week

5. "The Perfect Stallion"--------------------next week

6. "The Flim Flam Brothers Song"--------------------next week

 

If your other analysis is anything to go off, then I can't wait for these!

[Inactive01 5,298]

Here's the clip for "Twilight's BBBFF" for reference. Let's get this started!

http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0VbyYcljx8

 

First off, I figured this piece was like Ingram's Season 1 predecessor "Winter Wrap Up". It had the same musical scale of D flat major, it stars Twilight and her struggles and reflections, and it even features some of the same instruments. In "Winter Wrap Up", Twilight sings about finding her place in helping the Earth ponies clean up winter's debris without her magic. In "Twilight's BBBFF", she sings about her yearning for regaining a lost brotherly love (we'll dive more into this later on). Both pieces also feature a guitar accompaniment and a percussion background. Even the other ponies sing along like they do in "Winter Wrap Up". However, this piece is unique in many ways. First, this piece centers Twilight in particular. It's not just about the other ponies. No, it's exclusively her. It's all about her love for her brother. Second, the percussion from "Winter Wrap Up" is that of a modern drum set. "Twilight's BBBHH provides a warmer tone with light bongo drums instead".

 

Now for the real musical analysis. As I said before, the scale's in D flat major. For the first five seconds, a feeling of nostalgia and yearning already exists with the adagio tempo and by beginning the piece at a supertonic minor chord: the E flat minor chord. It progresses to a dominant chord, the A flat major chord and holds it for a mere moment to express the transition to remembrance of the good times. This feeling is best expressed by the duple meter that the listener hears from 0:06 to 0:24 during the first verse of the piece. The light bongo drums and light guitar progressions (tonic, dominant, submediant, subdominant, dominant, repeat) of in the same time frame also expresses the light mood the piece harbors because of the family feel it offers. You guys must have sung together in small groups with an acoustic guitar and bongo drums right?

 

Now for the refrain. From 0:30 to 0:39 you get to hear two voices singing in harmony. That's just Twilight's harmonized version with her singing. The accompaniment still possesses the light mood the piece intends to portray, but the extra voice reinforces the strong sibling-love Twilight has for Shining Armor. Most notably when Twilight sings "My big brother, best friends forever...", forever is emphasized at the highest notes, showing how much she truly cares for her brother. From 0:40 to 0:53, Twilight's all alone again, but this time she clarifies the ways she loves her brother, like how they never got to fights and how Shining Armor taught her to fly a kite. The harmonized Twilight voice echoes such brotherly love, further reinforcing Twilight's childhood years. Even her friends reinforce Twilight's love for Shining Armor from 0:59 to 1:09, repeating the refrain.

 

Now for the ending. From 1:15, we complete the reminiscing and we go back to the present day. The tempo is slowed, the bongos stop drumming, and the guitar merely acts as a background instrument to the sustained notes from the strings. Strings are often used for gradual emotional expression, particularly sadness. Ingram draws from their timbres well, portraying Twilight's sadness because she hasn't seen Shining Armor in ages. By the time the piece ends, the instruments gradually die out, leaving Twilight in tears.

 

season 2, although had less songs than 1, i feel the songs were a lot better in terms of quality and sound, i guess this proves quality over quantity

 

Can be agreed on, but there's still a lot to analyze from each of the seasons, thus the thread. Much of it will focus on the application of music theory and music history to portray the songs in its own way.

Edited April 23, 2012 by Derpity Derp

[Jibbs93 64]

And to add a little something to the analysis of BBBFF: http://www.equestriadaily.com/2012/04/day-arias-hidden-meaning.html?m=1

 

Someone analysed it on Reddit and found an intentional hidden meaning. Quite clever!

[Inactive01 5,298]

And to add a little something to the analysis of BBBFF: http://www.equestria...eaning.html?m=1

 

Someone analysed it on Reddit and found an intentional hidden meaning. Quite clever!

 

It was indeed a clever trick. I already noticed it, but my analysis of deceptive cadences couldn't fit the point I was making with sadness. They were everywhere indeed. Must be that Ingram wanted to show that there indeed was a fake Cadence that might have resulted in Shining Armor being "imprisoned" by the fake Cadence all this time.

[Rainbow Dirk 1]

I would recommend starting on the season 1 songs if you haven't already. I thought that the music in SSN1 was much better although i can't tell why - i just enjoied it more.

[Inactive01 5,298]

I am too excited to not do another analysis, but I'm changing the order a little bit. Instead of analyzing "Smile, Smile Smile", I'm going to delve into "Find a Pet". I feel that there's a lot more to analyze for this piece at the moment.

 

NOTICE: There may be indications where I insinuate Fluttershy's weaknesses (being naive at times, being too much of a softie, etc). Please do not take these insinuations seriously. I am merely analyzing the piece and trying to understand Ingram's intentions.

 

The reference clip:

http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2Ltv9fjVe4

 

First off, there are two contrasting moods. The first one lasts from the beginning until 2:40 where Fluttershy does most of the singing about the animals. The second section stars Rainbow Dash and how she wants the pet that's best for her. Clearly both sections are highlighted well by the contrasting instrumentation and time signature. Each of these elements portrays the respective character's traits and intentions.

 

The instrumentation. First thing I noticed was how the harpsichord and bassoon enforced the rhythm while the upper strings played its own melodic pattern whenever Fluttershy sings. You can hear it throughout the first section of the piece up to 2:40. It represents her naive nature and light-hearted attitude to finding a pet (ie finding the pet you truly love and assuming that Rainbow Dash wants the cutesy-wutesy pets like a seal or a flying squirrel). Harpsichords were known for just using a quill to strum the strings from the keys and was unable to sustain held notes. In fact, the harpsichord accompaniment plays it role well, merely setting the rhythm (discussed later). They have little fullness to them, and it shows in Fluttershy's lack of perception in understanding what Rainbow Dash wants for a pet.

 

On the other hand, Rainbow Dash's sections from 1:48 to 2:01 and from 2:40 to the end expresses her extravagant nature at how she initially wants the coolest looking pet that can keep up with her the best. These sections are well highlighted by the brass and timpani and lower strings (viola from 1:48 to 2:01). Antonin Dvorak loves using the brass and timpani to express extravagance and debonair, particularly in his Pastoral Symphony and his Slavonic Dances. Ingram takes from that element, conveying Dash's desire for the coolest, most awesome pet that can keep up with her amazing speed and agility.

 

Now, time signature. Whenever Fluttershy introduces all the animals available to Rainbow Dash (beginning to 2:40), the time signature is a dance-like gigue at 6/8 time. Gigues were very common as light dances throughout the Baroque Era, a dance form introduced by the French. The French were also renowned for composing ornaments and other fluffy textures because their melodies were not as smooth-arching and developed as the Italians throughout the 17th century. Fluttershy, unlike the other characters, has the largest child-like heart. She loves interacting and having fun with animals, so the dance mood represents her joy and spirit whenever she "dances" with the animals, kinda like how a child loves being with her pet.

 

Whenever Rainbow Dash gets to sing, the time signature switches to duple time (2/4), witnessed from 1:48 to 2:01 and from 2:40 to the end. Instead of the dance feel, we get a marching feel instead and a faster tempo. Once again, the timpani reinforces the strong beats and Rainbow Dash sings along to reinforcements, showing her determination in getting the best pet she really wants. The faster tempo to the end of the piece portrays Dash's solution to picking the pet she really wants from a whole array of flying pets: the pet competition. Such a fast tempo and march-like instrumentation allows the listener to feel the competition and drive Rainbow Dash wants from her pet and her determination to get the coolest looking pet.

 

Would love to get to keys and its variations in this song, but I've already summed up that this piece clearly portrays the contrast between Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. However, I will mention that Fluttershy is clearly following along with Rainbow Dash's wants. The scale changes to B major from the original scale of D flat major. Most D flat major pieces in MLP:FiM are warm pieces. Most B major pieces here on the other hand are daring and extravagant. The change of focus from the warmth of Fluttershy to the fire from Rainbow Dash's belly portrays how Fluttershy just follows along with her customer's wishes (of course she would. She wants to give the best pet for her friends especially).

 

I would recommend starting on the season 1 songs if you haven't already. I thought that the music in SSN1 was much better although i can't tell why - i just enjoied it more.

 

I was considering changing the order of the pieces. Maybe I will in the near future.

 

EDIT: Sweet! I'm finally done exams, so I should be able to analyze "Smile Smile Smile" by tomorrow!

Edited April 27, 2012 by Derpity Derp