Stairway to Heaven Analysis
Stairway to Heaven” is a song that appears to have a little bit of everything that one would look for in music. Although it is greatly varied with many tempos and rhythms, it still produces a sound that people find enjoyable and among the most popular. As mentioned before, “Stairway to Heaven” can be divided into a number of sections. The first section lasts for about the first two minutes of the song. In this section, the dynamic Is piano-like and the tempo is quite slow, ranging from largo to adagio.
An acoustic guitar plays a phrase that Is repeated and continued as lead anger Robert Plant begins his vocals about fifty seconds Into the song. An electric guitar then changes the tune which Is repeated In a strophic form manner and also with an adagio tempo. In total, this slow-moving section lasts for about four minutes. The second section of the song begins with the introduction of drums to accompany the electric guitar and vocals. This section is faster than the first, having a moderator tempo.
The previous tune is still played albeit with some variation and a more lively sound. This includes the vocals, which also move faster with the instruments and sing a variation of the first section’s vocals. There is still a strophic form contained in the second section, although the chorus is represented by the instruments rather than singing. About five and a half minutes into the song, the rhythm and melody of the song changes again. This next section contains no vocals, only the sounds of electric guitar and drums.
A guitar solo played In an allegretto-allegro form dominates the section, which Is somewhat syncopated In the first half. The second half of the section is more organized. With a rondo form presented as BACKED and played by two electric guitars. In addition, the dynamic has dramatically changed from the beginning; it is no longer a soft rhythm but more similar to a mezzo forte dynamic. The final section of the song brings back vocals and a much faster tempo than the previous sections.
The guitar now plays a hard rock phrase that repeats itself in the background of the vocals. The guitar and vocals go back and forth in ABA form for about forty seconds. Then, in the closing seconds of the song, one guitar plays a flowing phrase while another accompanies It with Its win tune until the last line of the song Is sung In a slow and soft tempo. The song Is composed of several forms. One Is strophic form; while not having a textual chorus, the song contains an Instrumental phrase that acts like a chorus in the first half of the song.
There are also many rhythm for more than a couple of minutes. For all the sections of the song, there is polyphony among the vocals and instruments. Robert Plant sings his lines as if they were independent of the guitars, only being consistent with the pace but not the withy or pitches. The sections of the song, though vastly different, tend to transition to each other very well. The guitar is responsible for providing a bridge to each section, quietly changing the tempo and tune in between sections.
The song is entirely in duple meter. This is easier to tell in the first couple sections of the song, where the guitar plays one quarter note after another in an adagio tempo. It is also in major form, especially the last sections. Although the first half of the song is slow and soft, it would still be insider to be in major mode based on the definition of the major key in the Western world. The beat of the song is hardly present in the first half because of the soft notes of the acoustic and electric guitar.
However, as the transition from acoustic to hard rock is made, the beat’s presence is greatly felt during the guitar solo and the last section of the song. Guitar and drums are the dominant instruments used in the song. It contains both acoustic and electric guitar, not often seen in songs from the sass-ass. The drums are only present in the second half of he song, and its introduction signaled the transition from alternative to rock. The acoustic guitar is played during the intro to set up the rhythm for the song and is continued during the first vocal lines.
This paves the way for the electric guitar to play a different tune with the same quiet feel. Then, during the second section, it gets faster and begins to sound more like a rock song. As it goes on, it changes tempo and rhythm and is eventually played fast and with passion. In addition, one is able to determine which notes the guitar will play as it is more organized than the earlier parts of the song where it was playing all different notes with different pitches and tempo.
