An analysis of "Tightrope"by Janelle Monáe ft Big Boi

Ethan HeinAdvanced Audio Production

Released February 11, 2010

Length: 4:23

Tempo: 83.81 bpm

Label: Wondaland Arts Society/Bad Boy Records

Writers: Nathaniel Irvin III, Charles Joseph II, Antwan Patton, Janelle Monáe Robinson

Produced by Nate "Rocket" Wonder, Chuck Lightning & Janelle Monáe

Recorded by Control Z and Roman GianArthur at Wondaland Recording Studios, Atlanta, GA

Mixed by Phil Tan at Soapbox Studios and Christopher Carmouche at Farmhouse Studios, Atlanta, GA

Additional Engineering: Damien Lewis

Mastered by Larry Anthony at COS Mastering, Atlanta, GA

Composed & Arranged by Nate "Rocket" Wonder

Lyrics: Janelle Monáe and Chuck Lightning

Additional choral arrangement: Roman GianArthur

Additional vocals: Big Boi

Backing vocals: Janelle Monáe, Big Boi, Nate "Rocket" Wonder and Chuck Lightning

Bass: Nate "Rocket" Wonder

Guitar and ukelele: Kellindo Parker

Strings: The Wondaland ArchOrchestra (violin & viola: Alexander Page, cello: Grace Shim)

String arrangement: Nate "Rocket" Wonder

Horns: Hornz Unlimited

Horn Arrangement: Nate "Rocket" Wonder, Jason Freeman, Jerry Freeman

Moog: Nate "Rocket" Wonder

Drums: Wolfmaster Z

Turntable: DJ Cutmaster Swiff

IntroBB: Monae and LeftfootJM: Whoaaa, another day, I take your pain away

Verse 1Some people talk about ya like they know all about yaWhen you get down they doubt ya and when you tippin' on the sceneYeah they talkin' bout it cause they can't tip all on the scene with yaTalk about it, t-t-t-talkin' bout itWhen you get elevated, they love it or they hate itYou dance up on them haters, keep getting funky on the sceneWhile they jumpin' round ya, they trying to take all your dreamsBut you can't allow it

Chorus 1Cause baby whether you're high or low, whether you're high or lowYou gotta tip on the tightrope, t-t-t-tip on the tightropeWhether you're high or low, baby whether you're high or lowYou got to tip on the tightrope, now let me see you do the tightropeAnd I'm still tippin' on it

Verse 2See I'm not walkin' on it or tryin' to run around itThis ain't no acrobatics you either follow or you lead, yeahI'm talkin' bout you, I'll keep on blaming the machine, yeahI'm talkin' bout it, t-t-t-talkin' bout itI can't complain about it, I gotta keep my balanceAnd just keep dancin' on it, we gettin' funky on the sceneYeah you know about it like a star on the screenWatch me tip all on it

Chorus 2Then baby whether I'm high or low, baby whether you're high or lowYou gotta tip on the tightrope, yeah, tip on the tightropeBaby, baby, whether you're high or lowBaby whether you're high or lowTip on the tightrope, baby let me see you tightropeAnd I'm still tippin' on it

Rap, BB:You gotta keep your balance or you fall into the gapIt's a challenge but I manage cause I'm cautious with the strapDo damage to your cabbage that a doctor cannot patchSee why you don't want no friction like the back of a matchbookDaddy Fat Stacks will fold you and your MacBookClose shows, shut you down before we gon' go backwardsAct up, and whether we high or low we gonna get back upLike the Dow Jones and Nasdaq, sorta like a thong getcha ass crack, c'mon

Verse 3, JM:I tip on alligators and little rattle snakersBut I'm another flavor, something like a terminatorAin't no equivocating, I fight for what I believeWhy you talkin' bout it, s-s-she's talkin' bout itSome callin' me a sinner, some callin' me a winnerI'm callin' you to dinner, hey you know exactly what I meanYeah I'm talkin' bout you, you can rock or you can leaveWatch me tip without you

Chorus 3N-N-Now whether I'm high or low, whether I'm high or lowI'm gonna tip on the tightrope, mmmmmmBaby, baby, baby whether I'm high or low, high or lowI got to tip on the tightrope, now baby tip on the tightrope

BridgeYou can't get too high, I said you can't get too lowCause you get too high, now you'll surely be low, 1, 2, 3, HAM!

Horn breakYeah, yeah, now shut up, yeah, yeah, now put some voodoo on itLadies and gentlemen the funkiest horn section in MetropolisYeah, yeah, yeah, OH! We call that classy brass

Turntable breakDo you mind if I play the ukulele, just like a little ladyDo you mind if I play the ukulele, just like a little ladyAs I play the ukulele, if I play my ukulele, just like a little lady

OuttroHappy birthday, happy birthday

Song Structure

There are essentially two sections to the song: the verse form on F minor and the more harmonically complex chorus form. The intro and bridge use the verse form. The rap uses the chorus form. The horn break uses the second half of the verse and the chorus. The turntable break and outtro both use the chorus form.

Sound Sources

The rhythm section instrumentation is unusual in that there is no snare or cymbals anywhere in the track. The snare's role is played by handclaps and the cymbals' role by tambourine. In usual hip-hop style, the drums and percussion are looped, with muting and unmuting in place of fills.

The track also features the distinctive sounds of ukelele and a theremin-like Moog synth. These are hinted at briefly during the rap section but do not enter fully until the turntable break at the very end of the song.

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mp

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f

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RDL

Dynamic Contour

Sound Quality Perceived Performance EnvironmentKick, rim, toms Absence of cymbals makes for an unusual tribal

qualitySmall room, quite dry as is typical hip-hop practice

808 kick Huge, sinusoidal Extremely dry and synthetic, no particular spatial cuesTambourine Richly tonal; sampled but with a loose feel within

the samplesNatural sound; nearby in the room

Congas Several overdubs, blended with drum kit tonally Slight natural reverb; multiple layering and panning creates hyperreal feeling

Handclaps Multiply layered Layering and slight reverb creates a feeling of being closely surrounded

Lead vox (JM) Not much compression; dynamic level remains steady through careful mixing

Digital delay on an otherwise dry and present vocal creates a confusing spatial image

Backing vox (JM) Some segments EQed strangely to bring out highs; some segments with classic gospel quality; some segments built from samples of verses

Reverb creates some distance but it is difficult to visualize the space specifically

Lead vox (BB) Multiply layered Same with other lead vocalBacking vox (BB) Sampled and delayed Electronic-sounding; hyperreal in typical hip-hop style

Guitar Sharp, angular, percussive Very slightly removed due to mixing, but no spatial quality otherwise

Bass Rich, natural-sounding, possibly doubled Front and center, probably direct with no effects except slight compression

Horns Extremely distant and washed-out Located far away in a conspicuously artificial and enormously reverberant space

Strings Compressed and artificial-sounding Large, reverberant spaceUkelele Doubled, strummed brightly and rhythmically Some natural-sounding reverb; hard panned left and right

Moog Pure sine tone playing smooth portamento Dry electronic tone; no spatial environment except slight distance implied by low mix

Turntable High-pitched, clean, tonal Wandering rapidly from left to right, implies a dreamlike atmosphere more than a physical space

MusicalBalance

PerformanceIntensity

p

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mf

f

ff

p

mp

mf

f

ff

Bass

Bvox

Ldvox: BigBoi

Gtr

Bass

HornsStrings

Uke

Moog

Turntable

Bvox

Bvox

Ldvox: JM

Bvox

drums

drums

Bass Bass

Bass Bass Bass

Horns

Horns

Horns

GtrLdvox: JM

StringsStrings

Strings Strings Strings

Uke

Moog

Turntable

Acapella track amplitude

I included this image to illustrate how little variation there is in the actual dynamics of the vocal tracks, in spite of the wide variety in performance intensity.

CongasCongasCongas

Tambourine

Left

Right

Center

Horns

Gtr

808 kick

Uke

Moog

Handclaps

JM bvox

Guitar

Kick, rim, toms

BassBB

Strings

Horns Horns

Lead vox (JM)

Bass Bass BassBB

BB

Horns

Kick,rim,toms

Lead vox (BB)

Kick,rim,toms

Kick, rim, toms

Strings

JM bvox

808 kick

BB bvox

Lead vox (JM)

Ukelele

Ukelele

Turntable

Turntable

JM bvox

Moog

Handclaps Handclaps

Stereo Image

Bass

drums

Bass Bass

Strings

Turntable

Proximity

Near

Far

Horns Horns

Ld vox: JanelleMonáe

Gtr Gtr

B vox:JM

StringsStringsB vox:

JMB vox:

JMB vox:

JMB vox:

JM

Gtr

B vox: Big Boi

Horns

Ukelele

Moog

Ld vox: JanelleMonáe

Ldvox: BigBoi

Distance

Turntable Break

Pitch Area and Density - Turntable Break

drums2

Ld vox: JanelleMonáe

3B vox: Big Boi

4

Bass3

Ukelele4

B vox: Janelle Monáe 1

Strings4Moog

2

Turntable5

5) Very dense 4) Dense 3) Moderately dense 2) Sparse 1) Very sparse

B vox: Big Boi

4

B vox: Big Boi

4

Vocal Spectral Content - Turntable Break

B vox: Big Boi

4

B vox:Big Boi

B vox: Big Boi4

Ld vox: JanelleMonáe

Spec

tral

Enve

lope

Spec

tral

Con

tent

Dyn

amic

Con

tour

Janelle Monáe's "Michael Jackson Scream"

p

mp

mf

f

p

mp

mf

f

ff

high

mid-upper

mid

low-mid

RDL

Pitc

hD

efini

tion

pitched

non-pitched

3:49.500 3:51.000

ld vox

delay

Spec

tral

En

velo

peSp

ectr

umR

eflec

tions

Janelle Monáe's "Michael Jackson Scream"

p

mp

mf

f

p

mp

mf

f

ff

very high

high

mid-upper

mid

low-mid

RDL

3:49.500 3:51.000

direct sound

single-tap digital delay

Vocal Melody - Verse

Vocal Melody - Chorus

Vocal Melody - Bridge

Vocal Melody - Turntable Break