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The song I have chosen to analyze and rearrange is ‘Billie Jean’ composed and produced by iconic artist and performer Michael Jackson. Co-produced by Quincy Jones. Both Jackson and Jones did not agree on the fundamental elements of this piece, yet built the bridge in which ‘Billie Jean’ was created for the classic song that it is.
In 1983 ‘Billie Jean’ was released by Epic Records, which was placed in ‘Thriller’ Jackson’s sixth studio album. According to reports, Quincy Jones believed it was too weak of a composition to be featured on Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ album.[footnoteRef:1] Though both Jackson and Jones did not have the same stylistic ideas for ‘Billie Jean’ during the process of production, they managed to overcome and Michael Jackson steered the track in the right direction. Thus, the elements that made a widely recognized throughout the decades. [1: Macdonald, A. (2018). ]
I chose this song, due to its popularity and genres that I don’t practice or listen to often. The lyrical theme and musicality are unique and interesting, further, the fusion of genres and instrumental elements is a blend that I wanted to delve into.
Ultimately, I chose this iconic piece, for its influential impact on audiences and styles. ‘Billie Jean’ has had many variations and renditions due to its musical characteristics being memorable, which appealed to me for my arrangement.
Identification of musical devices in original work
Michael Jackson’s ‘Billie Jean’ is a fusion of genres such as post-disco, funk & rhythm, and blues, composed with fundamental instruments such as; vocals, guitar, piano (synths), bass, and drums. Within the fusion of multiple genres, it maintains physical instrumentals which the repetitive bass and drum line are the most predominant instruments throughout the song and carry throughout.
This piece is filled with repetitive elements, which allow easy recognition to a listener’s ear.
Ultimately creating a riff that is easy to recognize; full of variations, syncopation, and melodic, and harmonic devices is effective in how the audience responds.
The elements and devices throughout Jackson’s song can be seen in the examples provided.
The track opens with a 4/4 drum beat, which this very standard in pop, along with a strong bass line a characteristic of funk. A standard hi-hat enters the piece at the first bar, then which is joined by the bass line in the third bar creating a strong rhythmic component at the beginning of the piece.
Both the drums and bass line are as recognizable as the melodic and harmonic devices throughout. Figure 2, includes the bass line in the key of F sharp minor.
Billie Jean is recognizable not only melodically but also rhythmically. Its instrumentation is minimal but not limited, this allowed the production to be experimented on due to its initial fusion and for audiences to recognize the distinct instrumentation.
The melody passes over the tonic in which a synth bass is introduced. The plucked strings enter the song before the vocals join. The instrumentation at the beginning of the piece holds a strong progression throughout as a contrast to Jackson’s vocals which are not strongly established.
The lyrical themes within this piece, are based on real-life social events regarding composer and performer, Michael Jackson. This piece’s theme depicts the
“There never was a real ‘Billie Jean’. The girl in the song is a composite of people my brothers have been plagued with over the years. I could never understand how these girls could say they were carrying someone’s child when it wasn’t true.”[footnoteRef:4] [4: Jackson, M. (1988) ]
Michael Jackson’s vocal range within ‘Billie Jean’ has a distance between tenor and a low-range falsetto throughout the verses. This is unlike his other songs and repertoire which have a strong and higher range of vocals.
Michael Jackson is known for his lyrical fillers, for example, “hee hee” and open vowel fills. Such vocal fillers are evident and can be heard throughout, which is quite a prominent feature not only within the song but also throughout his music.
I took Michael Jackson’s ‘Billie Jean’ and steered it in a direction towards a folk ballad. I originally felt it was best to re-arrange this piece in a genre within my comfort zone, which is RnB & neo-soul. Yet, I felt that it wouldn’t be a great enough comparison to the original. Further, I wanted to originally re-arrange a song by either Bob Dylan or Johnny Cash. Thus, the re-arrangement follows my process of having ideas and their make-up/composition.
My inspiration for focusing on my instrument (vocals) was inspired and influenced by artists such as; Lauryn Hill, Jorja Smith & Kiana Ledé.
The musicality influenced throughout, came from artists such as; Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash & Angus, and Julia Stone.
The vocal line I created differs slightly from Jackson’s version but doesn’t stray from the original contour and tonality. I kept a similar melody just as I kept the time signature the same as Jackson’s version.
I also kept the chord progression throughout my work simple, allowing me to experiment with alternative melodies and then add improvisation within a verse due to no distinct bridge that changes keys or overly melodic intonation.
The use of improvisation is used for a slight difference between the melodic structure of the verse and chorus.
I created a simplistic rhythm, just like the original that stayed constant and steady to carry throughout. A characteristic of folk music, is a steady and constant rhythm to accompany the melody.
Further, creating a bassline that was subtle without overmovement or intonation. My process for the bassline’s movement was inspired by Bill Withers's ‘Just the Two of Us’.Our unfamiliarity with bass movements and intonation, made me try and find small movements that fit my structure without overcomplicating the movements.
The devices used within my re-arrangement contain layers and elements of instrumentation such as; vocals, guitar, keys, bass, and drums. The layers included, are arranged to construct and reflect characteristics within folk to carry the theme of the original.
The original ‘post-disco, funk & pop’ genre to a folk ballad, the characteristics reflect a contrast between the genres, yet not straying too far from the melodic devices composed in the original.
The chord progression, seen in Jackson’s version moves swiftly and at a moderate pace. This is constant and steady, just as in the re-arrangement of the strings used to accompany and fill around the melody.
In regards to textual characteristics and tonality, I kept the instrumentation light. In a comparison of the original composition and my re-arrangement, I intentionally haven’t strayed too far away from the minor intensity of the original and lyrical themes.
In conclusion, the original Michael Jackson’s ‘Billie Jean’ has held acclaim to success yet iconic musical status through its musical and social themes.
From my personal view, my knowledge and ideas in my rearrangement may lack a high standard of skill, but reflects my thought process and ability to understand the devices and dynamics through the original piece of ‘Billie Jean’. Not only throughout this course, but within this task I have been greatly interested in genres that I am not overly too familiar with. Thus, Soul & Rhythm, and Blues have been my most influential genres and repertoire, and I have used my known knowledge and skill to reflect such influence.
Yet, I believe that my re-arrangement fits the level of arranging and reflects the artist and performer that I am.
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