Appraisal of Greased Lightin from Grease

 The basic elements are 12 bar blues using the chords of C, F+G, it has 4 beats in a bar and uses a walking beat. The tempo of the piece is quite upbeat and fast, but at the end it slows down a lot. The pitch varies quite a bit as the singer sings quite low but the guitarist in places plays very high.

 I think the composer’s intention was to create a lively bouncy modern piece by using the traditional blues chords but jazzing them up a bit, the drums give a good beat that you can hear and get into but it does not overpower the other instruments. The guitar in the middle of the piece the is a question and answer where the guitar trumpets and tapping of performers feet all play on there own with little background music almost like a question and answer. The tambourine at the end finishes off the piece well with the slowing down of the other instruments. The song is about a teenager who wants a really cool car but he only has an old wreck and he’s imagining what it would be like to have to coolest car in the world. The overall mood of the piece is quite happy and upbeat and really makes you want to dance and tap your feet to the music.

 The structure if the piece is tree pieces you have part A with all of the instruments together, then part B with each instrument playing alternately, then back to part A which is repeated again. The composer maintains interest by adding improvisations by the instruments. There is a big improvisation in the middle of the piece, which really grabs your attention.

 My personal view on this piece is that it is very lively and is a great piece of music to listen to if you’re in a funky mood.

 BY Aimee Rendle