Darren Criss By Amanda Swinney

Born February 5th, 1987 in San Francisco, California Began violin lessons at the young age of five, already having an interest in music.

He began experimenting with music composition and wrote his first song at the age of fifteen. His first song was called Human

Criss made is professional stage debut in 1997 at the age of ten. He was in 42nd Street Moon' production of Fanny.

Criss and several of his friends founded StarKid Productions

Criss starred as Harry Potter in musical comedies based of the series by J.K. Rowling as well as many other parody, musical plays

Darren is currently on a Listen Up! tour that kicked off on May 29th, 2013.

Criss has also sung with his brother, Chuck Criss Chuck Criss is in an indie band called Freelance Whale

Criss independently produced the album, Human (EP). It was released in July of The EP has sold over 27,000 copies in the U.S. as well as reached number seventeen on the Billborad's Top Heatseekers. When asked where the EP was recorded, Criss replied that it was recorded in his room in about a week with a friend of his

Album: Human EP (debut studio album) Song: Not Alone Release: Digital release July 20, :00-0:10 Intro: Soft mp major piano chords at a slow rhythm. The pitch and volume shift higher as it leads into verse one with a musical pause. 0:10-0:30 Verse 1: Vocals begin in a major tone, creating a sad harmony with the piano. Continued slow rhythm ending with a musical pause leading into verse two. 0:30-0:55 Verse 2: Pitch heightens as piano chords ascend. There is a slight shift in vocal pitch upward that is barely noticeable. The rhythm of the piano increases and breaks for a pause before the chorus.

0:55-1:25 Chorus: Pitch ascends on the words "baby you're not alone" then repeats this pattern on "cause you're here with me." Tone is more hopeful with a softer timbre to relieve the stress of the sad tone created in the first two verses. The piano begins to descend and ends with a musical pause before beginning verse three. 1:25-1:51 Verse 3: There is a repetition of music with the pitch raised half a step. Different words form contrast in the verses. The piano chords ascend in pitch and volume leading into the chorus. 1:51-2:19 Chorus: The accompaniment repeats the chorus chords but the vocal pitch is slightly higher. The end chords lead into a faster paced rhythm into the bridge with an instrumental pause.

2:19-2:54 Bridge: Chords ascend from major to minor. The texture changes when vocals and instrumental are separated for two lines of the bridge. Then chords and vocals create a harmony once more. This repeats in the second half of the bridge. The pitch and volume ascend leading back into the chorus and back to major chords. 2:54-3:23 Chorus: Pitch and volume become a whole step higher. Switches from "you" to "I" but has the same chorus, creating form in repetition. There is an instrumental pause at "cause" as opposed to repeating the music from the other chorus'. It then continues just as the other chorus' do. The piano then ascends into the add-on of the chorus.

3:23-3:50 Add-on: Vocals ascend into minor and become more staccato on "nothing nothing nothing." Then they because more smooth once again. Pitch and volume are high then quickly descend on "and." Pitch and volume increase on "love" as chords return to major. The rhythm then slows down into the coda. 3:50-4:19 Coda: The is a slight raise is vocal pitch, the volume lowers as well as the rhythm. The last vocal note is held three beats then the last piano chord ends the song.

Album: Human EP (debut studio album) Song: Jealousy Release: Digital release July 20, :00-0:23 Verse 1: Begins at medium tempo without an intro and straight into vocals and guitar. The Melody is in the vocals accompanied by the guitar harmony. Mezzo Forte. 0:23-0:45 Verse 1: The Pitch ascends on "don't know what" and descend on "to do." The tempo speeds up with volume leading into the pre chorus. 0:45-1:06 Pre chorus: There is a slightly higher tone quality and the Guitar shifts to a higher pitch. Begins to form the composition. 1:06-1:32 Chorus: The tone shifts to a relief and back to mf. The pitch slowly ascends and then quickly descends on "jealousy." mp guitar pause and a vocal pause leading into verse two.

1:32-1:53 Verse 2: Music descend quickly into a major tone quality with staccato guitar chords creating a tense timbre. 1:53-2:14 Verse 2: There is a very small interlude of guitar strumming that is relieved by short staccato chords. Vocals vary between f and mf. 2:14-2:35 Pre chorus: You start to see the form with the repetition of music but the words are different to contrast and balance the work. 2:35-3:00 Chorus: More form is seen here with the same music accompaniment but the beginning of the chorus' words are different. This leads back into the second half of the chorus which is the same as the second half of the previous chorus.

3:00-3:11 Bridge: Pitch and volume of chords ascend into a higher timbre leading up to the bridge. There is a shift in vocal pitch to a major tone. 3:11-3:25 Bridge: Guitar pitch shifts back down to major. The rhythm slows down and becomes for staccato. 3:25-3:43 Bridge: The guitar accompaniment shifts to a nearly inaudible strums of chords with soft picking of the first string heard. Ascends into hard strumming chords and the vocal pitch rises significantly. 3:43-4:04 Bridge: Vocal pitch returns to major tone and mf. Soft guitar picking/ strumming plucking heard every few beats. Guitar picking ascends to strumming chords as the vocal volume and pitch increase.

4:04-4:28 Pre Chorus: You hear the form when the music repeats but again the words are different. The pitch and volume increase to create tension in the song with minor vocals. There is a more soulful timbre now. The song descends back to major. 4:28-4:49 Chorus: Relief is found from the pre chorus tension with a return back to the chorus. the first half is once again different words at a higher pitch. The second half repeats the same music as the other chorus' then leads into the add-on. 4:49-4:57 Add-on: The pitch and volume of the vocals descend gradually. There is a slight change in texture to a softer, relieving tone. 4:57-5:17 Coda: descends into the cods. Slightly ascending vocals and chords are relieved by the last vocal note held with fast tempo chords.

Album: Human EP (debut studio album) Song: I Still Think Release: Digital release July 20, :00-0:15 Intro: Guitar plucking at a fast tempo in staccato. Turns into upbeat chords. 0:15-0:30 Intro: Vocal and chord harmony created. The guitar uses down strums then between stanzas fast paced up down strums. 0:30-0:46 Verse 1: Up beat chords play. Vocals are staccato with every words/phrase. Stanza ends with faster tempo of chords. 0:46-0:54 Verse 1: There is a more hopeful sound in the vocals as the upbeat chords continue at the regular tempo.

0:54-1:05 Pre chorus 1: The chords are the same as the second half of the first verse. The pre-chorus ends on a held note that leads into the chorus. 1:05-1:22 Chorus: There are slower up down strums. Ends with more staccato chords on "well I still think that we're in love." Followed by a small instrumental interlude. 1:22-1:50 Verse 2: Form is created when the same chords and tempo as the first verse return with the contrast of different words. And the pitch is lower. 1: Verse 2: The Pitch heightens but in a way that relieves from the previous low pitch.

2:05-2:26 Pre chorus 2: There is a repetition in guitar chords from the previous pre chorus but the words are different. There is more excitement heard in this pre chorus. It ends with a vocal pause and slightly faster strumming. 2:26-2:43 Chorus: The accompaniment and words repeat the previous chorus. The chorus is ended with the same guitar plucking as the intro leading into the bridge. 3:16-3:45 Bridge: The bridge shifts to a more minor tone and the rhythm slows. The guitar chords become staccato once again until "I'll be" then turns back to a rapid strumming. It returns to staccato on "Playin'" but at a slightly faster pace than before. The chords descend starting on "recess" and then quickly ascend as "oh" is sang.

3:45-4:05 Pre Chorus 3: The second pre chorus is repeated at a slightly higher pitch creating a slightly more tense excitement. 4:05-4:35 Chorus + Add-on: There is a repetition in music and words. There is an upward shift in volume and vocal pitch on the add-on. 4:35-5:06 Coda: There is whistling accompanied with the same guitar picking pattern as the intro. The song ends on a down strum of a chord.

Bibliography Paul Wontorek, Show People, Interview, Broadway.com, May 2013 Monica Herrera, 'Glee's' Darren Criss: The Billboard Cover Story, Billboard Magazine, April 2011 Mallika Rao, Darren Criss On Broadway, The Huffington Post, January 2012 Darren Criss, darrencriss.com