September 4th, 2009
Slate has a piece up about silence in music. The author, Jan Swafford, even includes samples. For better or for worse, Swafford focuses attention on Western classical music. It’s a nice article and I have to admit that I never knew about Haydn’s Opus No. 33, a.k.a. – “The Joke”, where he teases listeners with multiple false endings.
So, what rock songs utilize silence like Bach, Haydn, and Beethoven?
“Thank You” by Led Zeppelin comes to a complete stop followed by a bit of silence before the organ kicks in again. At least that’s how I remember it.
There’s a brief pause in “Supper’s Ready” by Genesis just before the “Willow Farm” section.
Surely progressive rock is littered with dramatic silences. I just can’t think of anymore right now.
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