SOP #46 - The Most Popular Song In The World

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Artist: Bob Tozier
School: North Allegheny

Notes:

1:00 - Sound is all around us

2:00 - Cel Phone Rings

3:30 - Nokia Cell Phone

4:20 - 6:00 - What is an effective ringtone?

Sequenced music
stepwise
the power of three
Chopin EMinor Example

6:00 - A good melody - not a clothesline

6:30 - Denial of the TONIC

8:15 - Tony ANN

11:00 - Time, MC Escher, The girl and the old woman

14:00 - Gran Vals

Found Sound!

Comments

Chelsea Chao from: North Allegheny - posted: September 21, 2018
The 1st movement of the Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven uses the power of three in the left hand (breakdown of C# minor chord) in the beginning of the song.

Trey Tillotson from: North Allegheny - posted: September 24, 2018
The composer of the cell phone ringtone had to write something that would be short, catchy, and not too too annoying, and I think that a waltz is a nice choice for that. It sort of reminds me of "Roses de Noel" or "The Skater's Waltz" by Emile Waldteufel, as these both are just a series of waltzes strung together, and it seems that the Nokia Cell Phone Ring could be apart of either one of those.

Trey Tillotson from: North Allegheny - posted: September 24, 2018
It reminds of "Roses de Noel", a waltz that consists of mutliple waltzes pieced together. It's almost as if the ringtone could be apart as one of the waltzes.

Mary Katherine Stewart from: North Allegheny - posted: September 24, 2018
A song that uses sequence frequently is the Can Can, which makes it effective in being stuck in your head.

Reid Suddaby from: North Allegheny - posted: September 24, 2018
A very catchy jingle is the state farm "like a good neighbor, state farm is there" phrase. This jingle utilizes G, Em7, A, D, and then F# chords.

Aman Khalid from: North Allegheny - posted: September 25, 2018

Benjamin Zander, musical director of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, does a fantastic job of observing the rule of three—in terms of musical phrasing—in his masterclass of Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor; he essentially explains that musical phrases frequently consist of three statements. In the case of Elgar's Cello Concerto, the piece opens with the cello soloist playing three chords of increasing intensity, the first two being inversions of E minor chords and the final one being an C major base with an unexpected D on top, leading into the next line. You may watch it here: https://youtu.be/u1_KOJ8h9qY (discussion of the 3 chords begins at 11:00).

Jack Lopuszynski from: North Allegheny - posted: September 26, 2018
Another song that uses a sequence would be mars, specifically in the parts where the brass have parts that build on each other. They are simple two note melodies, but they build in sequence.

Nicholas Zurchin from: North Allegheny - posted: September 27, 2018
I don't think that the Nokia ringtone is the most popular song, but I will say that if there would be a way to reach a lot of different parts of the world and in varying demographics, the Nokia phone might be one to meet that need.

Jack Lopuszynski from: North Allegheny - posted: September 27, 2018
Another song that uses a sequence would be mars, specifically in the parts where the brass have parts that build on each other. They are simple two note melodies, but they build in sequence.

Ainsley Ferron from: North Allegheny - posted: October 1, 2018
While it doesn't utilize the rule of threes, the Marimba iPhone ringtone has become as recognizable as the Nokia ringtone.

Brett McCutcheon from: North Allegheny - posted: October 1, 2018
the office intro to the intro uses the rule of three . thats all i can come up with . maybe thats why its a godly intro

Enoch Hsiao from: North Allegheny - posted: October 9, 2018
Technically a song has lyrics in it, so I believe that Happy Birthday or some other song ingrained in our heads is the most "popular." Notable classical pieces that also incorporate the power of 3 include Vivaldi Spring and the Mozart Symphony #40 in their themes.

William Wang from: North Allegheny - posted: October 18, 2018
Paganini wrote 24 caprices for violin. 24 is an even multiple of 3. 24/3=8. 8 is 2^3. 3 is a magic number.

Jake Mellinger from: North Allegheny - posted: October 25, 2018
In the chorus of James Taylor's classic "Fire and Rain" he repeats "I've seen...." Here he names various different things he has witnessed in his life with a similiar melody and the same chord progression three times. He then switches the chord progression and the melody and does a lyrical 180 by stating "But I always thought that I'd see you again" stating something that he will no longer see in his life.

Emma Hackworth from: North Allegheny - posted: October 25, 2018
The Subway commercial "5 dollar footlong" would be a good example. Very catchy and easy tune that also uses the rule of three in stating that it's only five dollars.

Pavan Otthi from: North Allegheny - posted: October 25, 2018
This 3 note pattern is found in "Who we are" by imagine dragons. The pattern opens up the song and offers as a transition to the lower tone-based majority of the song. It starts again with the hook of the piece, and is significant in differentiating the hook from the rest of the piece.

Malia Wilson from: North Allegheny - posted: October 26, 2018
What happens when technology becomes integrated in our society is that we gain worldwide connections. I'm sure now most people could easily recognize the iPhone stock ringtone, no matter where they're from. Or maybe jingles from billion dollar companies. Music is an easily recognizable form of media that transcends worldly boundaries.

Lily Stromberg from: North Allegheny - posted: October 26, 2018
the rule of three is not only prevelent in music, but also in literature, such as moby dick. the final chase for moby dick takes three days and that reminded me of this podcast

Margaret Johnson from: North Allegheny - posted: October 28, 2018
Ok, so to prove how catchy ringtones are, soemone wrote a ringtone sonata and had an orchestra play it. It was so funny and yet it actually sounded great.

Yukang Guo from: North Allegheny - posted: October 28, 2018
At this point, the nokia's cell phone ring is played so much that I'm annoyed at it. It does not need to ring even in asian dramas.

Kellie Smith from: North Allegheny - posted: October 29, 2018
I feel like the Nokia ringtone is "the most popular song in the world" because it has been around so long. If it was not one of the first ringtones, I don't believe it would have the same popularity and relevance today.

Emily Vaiz from: North Allegheny - posted: October 29, 2018
I think the most popular phone brand ringtones are known by most people because they hear it a lot, not because they are necessarily catchy. For example, almost everyone knows the iPhone ringtone just as much as they know the Nokia ringtone.