Analysis No: 1/2/3 Student name: Ethan Saunders Date:

Questions

Artist: Van Halen Song name: Eruption
Performance: Van Halen
1. Describe how the
following music elements
are being embellished /
developed throughout this
improvisation.
-Fast double tapping
-Whammy bar drops all effects and sounds to a really low note
-Song begins with less tapping than the end
1a. Rhythm - e.g. use of
repetition, syncopation,
note durations

-Lots of repetition of tapped notes in a scale
-Fast notes
1b. Melody - ascending,
descending, repetition,
intervals, scales, modes,
shape / stepwise motion
and leaps
-Start of the song, sweep picked notes, which turns to double tapping and
repeating notes.
-Halen plays up and down a scale, then descending to slow down the song
(0:01 0:15)
-(0:30- 0:40) plays gradually up the scale fast, then goes back down in leaps
1c. Dynamics - crescendo,
decrescendo, accent, loud
and soft passages


-Stays the same volume
-Song has silent gaps / stop start sequences
1d. Tone - clean,
processed, articulation


-Eco effects
-simulations of other sounds, EG; Bull horn
-Deliberate feedback
2. Identify potential OHS
risks or challenges posed
by the performance style.


-A lot of feedback on amps, could cause electrical faults

3. Describe how the
musicians interact with the
other band members


-The band just lets the solo happen, after the drummer rolls out a fill
4. Describe how the
musicians communicate
with the audience before,
between and after
performances

5. What cues musical or
visual were used to start or
end improvised sequences
of music?

-Musical cues drums and bass guitar play a fill in the beginning of the song
to signal the guitar
-Whammy bar dips which concludes and begins each sequence of the solo
6. Describe the use of
rhythm, dynamics, texture
used by the accompanists
whilst the solo is being
performed.
-Start of the song the drums and bass introduce the guitar which fills out the
solo to a solid piece