Music KS3 / GCSE: Khalil Madovi on 'Short Ride in a Fast Machine' by John Adams

KHALIL MADOVI:'Listen to this music.

KHALIL MADOVI:'In your head, where are you right now?

KHALIL MADOVI:'Are you on a rocket about to lift off?

KHALIL MADOVI:'On a horse galloping across a field?

KHALIL MADOVI:'On a rollercoaster climbing higher and higher?'

KHALIL MADOVI:Or about to ride a superfast home-made car?

KHALIL MADOVI:What? You weren't really gonna expect me to stay still with this kind of music playing were you?

KHALIL MADOVI:Can you hear that pattern of sounds repeating over and over? Yeah, that's the rhythm. I like to think of it like an engine, it keeps pushing me along. Faster, faster!

KHALIL MADOVI:The musical notes become like real objects in the road, racing towards me and then whoosh, bam! They shoot straight past my ears.

KHALIL MADOVI:Can you hear those big timpani drops and the cymbals? I know the road's getting bumpy when they arrive.

KHALIL MADOVI:The rhythms never stop.

KHALIL MADOVI:And now I'm picking up speed.

KHALIL MADOVI:Swerving, ducking, dodging, racing. Faster, faster!

KHALIL MADOVI:The orchestra are playing higher notes, and they're playing them louder. It's like the wind's whistling through my wheels.

KHALIL MADOVI:Everything's shaking and shuddering. I can even hear horns. Car horns. Yo, get out of the way.

KHALIL MADOVI:This car is out of control.

STEAM HISSES

KHALIL MADOVI:No wonder this piece of music's called A Short Ride In A Fast Machine. And no wonder the man who wrote it, John Adams, said that he got the idea when he took a ride in his friend's crazy sports car and wished he hadn't.

KHALIL MADOVI:You know, that's probably why Adams wanted to create that whole effect of being on a musical ride that you just can't stop.

KHALIL MADOVI:Okay, can you hear that simple wood block beat that kicks the whole piece of music off?

KHALIL MADOVI:'It's like a ticking clock that won't stop.'

KHALIL MADOVI:'And not one of the other instruments are allowed to slow the music down.'

KHALIL MADOVI:They've all got to join in with that beat on the wood block.

KHALIL MADOVI:My ears are kind of telling me two different things at once, though.

KHALIL MADOVI:Adams seems to be using notes that sound more happy so they get me nice and excited, whilst the brass and drums are kind of spiky and jumpy so that makes me feel a bit nervous too. It's sort of like bombing down a hill with no breaks. It's great, but it can't last for long.

KHALIL MADOVI:And then all the volume starts to get louder.

KHALIL MADOVI:And that one thing that I just love is that wood block. You can still hear it, right?

KHALIL MADOVI:It's like it's forcing everybody on.

KHALIL MADOVI:I like listening to A Short Ride In A Fast Machine because I like the way that the music actually takes you on a journey.

3100:04:12:16 00:04:24:13KHALIL MADOVI:In my generation, classical music is always stereotyped as the boring music that's for old people. But if you take the time to find good songs by good composers, classical music can be pretty, pretty amazing.

MUSIC: A Shot Ride In A Fast Machineby John Adams.

KHALIL MADOVI:As you reach the end of this piece, it’s like the brass instruments start playing longer, more stretched out notes. It's like you’re leaving the ground behind or taking off.

KHALIL MADOVI:I'm a big fan of music that really makes you feel something.

KHALIL MADOVI:Woah!

KHALIL MADOVI:You know, John Adams' music definitely has me feeling things.

KHALIL MADOVI:Like you're racing along or speeding out of control. But you may feel something completely different when you listen to it.

KHALIL MADOVI:So if you were coming up with your own title for this music, what would it be?