Now that the Frozen hype is starting to abate (it is, right?) I thought I'd take a look at the ubiquitous hit song and see what makes it interesting. I recently played the piece for a middle school chorus, and was able to dissect it a bit. No matter how tired you are of this song, I promise there is some interesting musical nerdery to be had!
There is no mystery as to why the song is popular: it is featured in a hit movie, is paired with a beautifully animated sequence, and has a super catchy powerful chest-voice chorus sung by Idina Menzel. The chorus follows the never-fail I-V-vi-IV chord progression, which you might remember from Cryin' and Hide and Seek. I swear you could put those four chords in any order, any key, and you are halfway to having a hit song.
While the chords might not be especially inspired, there is a lot to chew on, musically. Here are my favorite parts:
1. The Band Is Excellent - It is easy these days (and cost-effective) to synthesize all your parts and quantize them to a tight click track. Upon listening with good headphones it is clear that this song has a core rhythm section of studio musicians - bass, drums, piano. I would love to hear a stripped down version with just those parts and the vocals! I appreciate how ad-hoc their parts are, especially the bass and piano. It really breathes life into the piece. The orchestration is excellent as well. There really is no substitute for live musicians.
2. The Second Verse Makes No Sense - Musically, that is. It might seem obvious now that everyone knows the song cold, but the first time I heard the second verse I had no idea what was happening. When the strings come in at 1:28 it sounds like the beginning of a I-V-vi-IV, but then she starts singing two measures in, on the Fm chord. So I figured that was the start of the verse, just like in the first verse - very clever. It appears that way at first - Fm, Db, Eb, Bbm, but then the next four chords (Fm, Eb, Bbsus, Bb) are different from the first verse, for no apparent reason. It's very unusual, but one of those things that gives a song character!
3. It Has A Perfect Arch - Writing a good story arch, in music or otherwise, is no big mystery. Still, it is impressive how well it is done in this song, from the tentative beginning, as she builds confidence in the second verse, through the brooding bridge to the explosive last chorus and the ominous last IV chord - so well done.
4. It Sounds Icy - This is a little more subtle, but the use of bright percussion instruments and open fourth and fifth intervals gives the song a distinctly cold and icy sound/feel.
5. The Bridge - The middle of the song is where it really gets interesting. It starts on a long pedal Db (IV) but the mode is brilliantly ambiguous. See the first lick in the strings:
I love the way it drifts between major and minor thirds and sevens. Then in the next measure the percussion/piano/woodwinds take over the lick, but this time twice as fast, so it fits twice in the two measures. Makes sense, right?
Bonus: Dat Bass - I mentioned the rhythm section earlier, but it is worth listening to the song on good speakers or headphones. I love the way the bassist plays the choruses. It's not particularly clever, it just drives hard. The best part of the song might be the perfectly-placed bass gliss at 3:02, right at the climax.
I've heard plenty of people roll their eyes and talk about how tired they are of Let It Go. Maybe I'm speaking from the advantaged perspective of someone with no preadolescent daughters (though my girlfriend's obsession with Frozen would rival any tween), but I always try to find something to like in any music. When I'm burned out on a jazz standard I like to find a recording of the Keith Jarrett Trio playing it. That almost always breathes new life into the song for me. Remember, the song didn't change, you did. There's no benefit in holding a grudge against a song. Just...let it go...
I'll show myself out...
Yesss!
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