Ithaca's Porchfest


Ithaca's Porchfest
What a fun afternoon I had attending Porchfest in Ithaca! I enjoyed many of the songs performed by the musicians on their porches, but one song quickly drew me in and by the end I found myself singing along with the chorus. I had never heard the song before, but after a few Google searches using the lyrics I remembered I found out something interesting. The song I heard was “Runaway Train”, originally recorded by the Burns Sisters Band; an American folk music band from Ithaca! I felt this song had a folk music quality; it was a slower paced song with emphasis on the melody and the storytelling lyrics. The acoustic guitars also lent a folksy feel to the music. The texture of this song was homophonic; for the most part there was a main melody accompanied by chords. The song began with the guitar playing the main melody and throughout the rest of the song the lead female vocalist sang the melody. The melody was simple, but radiated emotions of love, hope, and adventure. The vocal harmony provided by the accompanying singers closely followed the melody. The accompanying guitars provided the rhythm and beat of the music while also harmonizing with the melody. In the chorus the guitars played mainly chords, while in the main verses the guitar played both chords and different note phrases that provided interesting harmonic variation to the melody. The form of the song is very common and has the structure ABA’BC B’. The variation in the second verse is due to different lyrics and the variation in the final chorus is due to the guitar once again playing the melody alone. Although the bridge is only three lines, it provided enough contrast to make the ending chorus very satisfying, which is why I was singing along by the end. 


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