A Comparison Of Simon And Garfunkel's Sound Of Silence

“The wise musicians are those who play what they can master” (Ellington, 2017). The 1960’s were a decade of cultural calamity which with saw the premature political gripes of racial discrimination and ethnic values. Witnessing the implications of constitutional instability through the social revolution, songs of social commentary demonstrated expressionism of outdated morals through emphasis of lyrical progression. While various genres mirror the social ideals of an artist’s philosophies; as time and music progress renowned artists from the 1960’s set the standard for new rock music with a political or societal testament. Consequently, the perception of what constitutes a musical maestro is determined by an artist’s ability to manipulate musical elementation to convey emotion and tug at the heartstrings of contemporary audiences. Two prominent American artists such as Simon and Garfunkel’s 1964 “Sound of Silence;” (folk rock) and notorious Heavy Metal Band Disturbed’s 2015 rendition of “Sound of Silence” (mainstream rock), demonstrate how interpretations of what establishes a maestro are consistent with stimuli of the period. Through …show more content…
Emphasized through Simon and Garfunkel’s “Sound of Silence,” extending over three octaves in range of a Major 24 (C² - B⁵), this musical progression has the tendency to highlight lyrical progression through harmonization rather than extensive melody and chord sequences stereotypical of classic 1960’s rock genre. As this predisposition allows for the amalgamation of a diatonic melody, the incorporation of ascending and descending passages, and a typical representation of conjunct intervals; the diverse incorporation of manipulated melodic elements throughout the composition, is symbolic of musical maestro’s instrumental dimension rather than significant musical arrangement to convey