Area of Study 3

Popular Music in Context

Jeff Buckleys Grace

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Jeff Buckley was born in 1966 in California. His mother was a classical pianist and cellist, and his father Tim Buckley was a jazz-folk musician who died when Jeff was only 9yrs old. Jeff taught himself the guitar from 5yrs old after finding his grandmothers guitar and at 19, he attended the Musicians Institute in Hollywood to perfect his guitar skills. He started working in New York at bars and clubs and quickly drew attention from the music industry. Jeffs musical influences included folk, punk, jazz, reggae and the Pakistani devotional music known as qawwali. Jeff was attracting great interest from record companies but he was wary of the music business as he regarded it as being responsible for his fathers demise. In 1992 Columbia Records offered him a record deal for 3 albums, which he accepted. The album Grace was released in August 1994 on the same day as Oasis Definitely Maybe. Grace was Buckleys only completed album. Sales of the album were slow at first but it was soon seen as a work of major importance by musicians and critics alike. He began working on his second album, provisionally called My Sweetheart, The Drunk 1996 but was not happy with the initial recordings. He tragically drowned in 1997 aged just 30 and his early death led to him being described as Rocks last great Romantic. o His songs explore complex themes of love, inner strife, and separation. His lyrics are sharply-focused, whilst revealing simple truths about the human psyche. o He was therefore a musician who loved to explore sound and somebody who was not afraid to experiment with different techniques. o The album Grace is folk rock in style and the song Grace is a rock ballad - This is a song about love in a slow tempo which is accompanied by a rock band.

Jeff Buckley, Grace from the album Grace

Bar + CD time 1 0.00 Intro 4 0.11 D major Section Key (or chords) Fmin Gmin E min Notes
Sparse texture, clean electric guitar sound playing flow of semiquavers. Tonality is unclear as the music rocks between two unrelated minor chords. Background whispers: lots of reverb + delay. Ends with loud chord of E minor: tremolo on guitar and roll on cymbal. Semi-strummed chord pattern played high on clean electric guitar. Full band: drum kit, bass, 2 electric guitars and acoustic guitar. 3rd electric guitar adds clashing C. Increased rhythmic drive. D pedal note on bass guitar with some added licks. Vocals enter, high electric guitar drops out. Melody is quite low for Buckleys voice, and mainly stepwise. The rhythm of the melody is rather syncopated. Slides between falling leaps contribute to gloomy mood, notably on die. Whispers return + other additional noises. Broken chords on electric guitar. Drum pattern focuses on toms. Acoustic guitar more prominent and quite percussive-sounding. Harmony is chromatic, with the bass power chord moving in semitones around tonic. Increase in harmonic rhythm, so feels like pace has picked up. Higher register for my fading voice...; more leaps in melody, and rhythm is less free; harmony is initially traditional I and V, and E minor is clarified as tonic. Long, falling melisma on love. Bass depicts clicking of time with duplets creating a cross-rhythm. Dorian mode in melody and harmony on love. Basic texture same as for the verse the two are clearly linked sections. For a chorus, the music does not greatly contrast with the preceding verse: it is more a continuation of it. The FEm E chords are akin to verse. Unlike the verse, the high open strings (E and B) are sounded, producing some deliberate discords. Backing vocals enter, doubling the main vocals (double-tracking); whispered voice part. Sustained violin notes used in the background to enrich texture and smooth over cracks. Drum kit uses toms less. The chorus ends with a long melisma on the word fire.

8 0.26 1

Verse 1

E minor

14 0.49

Pre-chorus 1

20 1.11

Chorus 1

25 1.30 28 1.41 2 32 1.56 38 2.19 44 2.41

Link (intro music)

Fmin Gmin Emin D major E minor

As intro, but with mandolin effect added on acoustic guitar during G minor chord. Added oh with a pitch bend on meaty E minor chord. As before. As verse 1, but melody is adapted to fit different lyrics. Additional sound effects, e.g. falling slide at 2.05 and nightmarish high-pitched violin sounds, ending with a trill. Buckley sings high E on love (cf. low E on die in verse 1) which pushes the music into the pre-chorus. As pre-chorus 1, in addition to the long sustained string notes, there is a pizzicato counter-melody. The vocal melody is more ornamented than in the corresponding passages in verse 1, and hits a top B before the chorus. As chorus 1, although guitars are a little heavier and more assertive; drum roll leads into the middle 8. CHANGE! A dramatic moment plunging onto a chord of E major suggesting a new departure; that said, the parallel harmony is reminiscent of the verse and chorus. First the chords rise in tones and then fall in semitones. Buckley sings multi-tracked wordless vocal harmonies, largely in parallel thirds. There is a drum roll leading into this section, and the drums continue more noisily, focusing on the cymbals as the music becomes less retrained; the snare drum takes up rhythm previously on the tom. Long notes on the strings, filling out chords. After a bass link, a more ethereal section, based on chord sequence and backing of pre-chorus 2. Vocal lines take different rhythms, one quietly following the steady crotchets of the backing in oohs or aahs, the other improvising an expressive line over the backing, reaching higher in Buckleys range and slipping into falsetto for highest notes. A telephone EQ effect is applied to the vocal line when the lyrics return, giving it a distant, harsh quality.

Verse 2

Pre-chorus 2 Chorus 2

49 3.00 3 Middle 8

53 3.15

60 3.41 63 3.52 67 4.07

Link (intro music)

Fmin Gmin Emin D major

Verse 3

E minor

72 4.26

Outro (chorus)

As previous link, but with added tapping sound simultaneously in steady quavers and dotted crotchets. This clicking sound is created by hitting the deadened guitar strings. Does this represent the urgent passing of time mentioned earlier? There is also the wooden sound of the acoustic guitar body being hit just before the D major section. As previous link, a bit of major respite before the band really takes off. Backing similar to previous verses, but with more use of cymbal always good when a drummer wants to make a racket. Much more impassioned vocal part, which is an octave higher than previous verses but not falsetto so sounds more strained. Crazy guitar runs in background as verse continues, notably where Buckley has a long note or end of a phrase. Mega drum fill into the outro. The chord pattern is based on the chorus (F Em E). Strings come to the fore; improvised vocal wailings are at a high register, representing the climax of the song and the release of its intense emotions. Backing vocals sing chorus hook-line at the end. Flanger is added to the electric guitar creating those charged swirling sounds, like someone whose head is racing through random thoughts but is actually so spaced out it cant settle on any of them. Yeah.

Lyrics
Verse 1 Theres the moon asking to stay Long enough for the clouds to fly me away Though its my time coming, Im not afraid, afraid to die. Pre-chorus 1 My fading voice sings of love, But she cries to the clicking of time, Of time. Chorus 1 Wait in the fire... Verse 2 And she weeps on my arm Walking to the bright lights in sorrow. Oh drink a bit of wine we both might go tomorrow, oh my love. Pre-chorus 2 And the rain is falling and I believe My time has come; It reminds me of the pain I might leave, Leave behind. Chorus 2 Wait in the fire... Middle 8 It reminds me of the pain I might leave leave behind... Verse 3 And I feel them drown my name So easy to know and forget with this kiss But Im not afraid to go but it goes so slow Wait in the fire...

Compound Time
The time signature of Grace is 12/8, which literally means 12 quaver beats per bar. But it is hard to count beats in large groups of twelve, and the quaver beat is often too fast to be felt as the basic pulse. If you group the quavers into threes, this gives four main beats, each a dotted crotchet long:

This grouping of the 12 quavers is how 12/8 differs from 6/4 or 3/2; you may recall that Electric Counterpoint exploited such metric interplay to great effect. Why are such time signatures called compound? A compound is something that has been created from more elemental parts; here it is the four mini-bars of 3/8 that have been combined to form one big bar of 12/8. Compound time signatures include those which have been combined from small groups of 3, so the upper number is always 6, 9 or 12. Other Links Compound time is frequently used in folk music the Skye Waulking Song from Area of Study 4 is one example. Miles Davis All Blues has a jazz waltz feel (3/4), but these bars are grouped in pairs, creating drawn-out 6/4 bars.

Duplets
As shown above, 12/8 involves beats being split into three sub-beats. At various points, Grace features duplets, where there are two equal-length notes in the time of three. The following example shows how duplets fit into the usual 12/8 metre. The first of each pair of duplets falls on the main beats, the second falls halfway between the second and third sub-beats (indicated by the dotted line). It actually sounds like quavers in 4/4, but conflicting with the 12/8 metre in the other parts.

Drop-D Tuning
A guitar is usually tuned to the following notes:

The six lines of guitar tablature represent the six strings of the guitar. The numbers on each line indicate which fret on that string you cover with your left hand (0 means its an open string). In drop-D tuning, the lowest note is lowered by a tone to D; this is indicated on the tab:

Strange Sonorities
By leaving the top three strings open, and moving the left hand shape up and down the neck by one fret, Buckley creates some weird sonorities in the chorus:

The resulting chords are difficult to name, but easy to play on the guitar! The E minor triad in the top three strings remains static whilst the bare 5th power chord of the lower strings moves in parallel semitone steps.

The two lines both project E minor as the home key, but do so in conflicting ways: the upper strings act like a triple drone of E minor, whilst the lower strings slowly undulate around it chromatically; the interaction of these two sets of strings creates the discords.

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Dorian Mode
One of Buckleys many influences was folk music; this is evident in his use of the Dorian mode, which permeates both melody and harmony. Tunes such as What shall we do with a drunken sailor? and Scarborough Fair are Dorian. Chords as well as tunes may be derived from this scale. The Dorian mode is essentially minor the first five notes are identical to the minor key but it is characterised by the raised 6th and flattened 7th degrees:

By using chords built from these notes (i.e. containing Cs or Ds), Buckley creates modal harmony in the pre-chorus: Bar 1 Emin B7 Bar 2 Emin Amaj Bmin Amaj Bar 3 Emin

In the tonal key of E minor, the primary triads are E minor, A minor and B major; in the Dorian mode they are E minor, A major and B minor, giving the music a different feel.

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LINE-UP Jeff Buckley: guitar, vocals Gary Lucas: guitar Mick Grndahl: bass guitar Matt Johnson: drum kit Andy Wallace: producer

STRUCTURE Grace basically has a verse-and-chorus structure, but Buckley expands this by adding a pre-chorus between each verse and chorus, an introduction to each verse, and a bridge or middle 8 after chorus 2 to provide further contrast. Rather like Chopin in the Raindrop Prelude, Buckley curtails the third verse a) because hed run out of lyrical inspiration b) because he was afraid the song would go on too long, and c) it was his turn to play Frak! on his already dated BBC computer. To end the song there is the outro or coda where he conveys his souls torment by unleashing his voices virtuosity.

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SINGER The lyrics are based on a dream Buckley had about a couple at an airport: the girl is crying on her boyfriends arm not wanting him to leave. However, this is a thinly-veiled metaphor of our mortality a subject which fascinated Buckley, perhaps because his estranged father, Tim Buckley, died when Jeff was eight years old. Wide vocal range, including Buckleys falsetto register: a vocal style where a man sings above the range of his usual singing voice. (like the alto part in And the glory of the Lord) Word-painting: using musical gestures to reflect directly the meaning of the words. In this song it is no coincidence that there is a melisma on love it gives that word emphasis and deeper expression. Other examples are included in the table. (also in Handel and Bernstein) Melisma: a group of notes sung to one syllable, e.g. love in verse 1. (also used in Handel) Backing vocals (bvox): Sung parts which accompany the main singer, they are generally in harmony and give a thicker texture. In Grace, Buckley uses multi-tracking to provide these parts himself. Vibrato: small, rapid fluctuations in pitch used by singers, string and wind players to give deeper expression to the tone of the sound. Slide or portamento: to join up two separate notes by swiftly moving through all the intervening ones.

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GUITARS Soundscapes: Gary Lucas was famous for using the guitar to create a musical landscape through the manipulation of timbre and texture rather than melodic ideas. Drop-D tuning: the lowest string on the guitar is lowered from an E to a D. Buckley creates some unusual (and dissonant) chords by exploring this alternative tuning. Drone: a note repeated or sustained across chord changes, often creating dissonance. It is a distinctive feature of folk music think the background whine of the bagpipes. Background whispers created by picking the note with volume turned down then turning the volume up quickly. Slides are created on the guitar by sliding the finger of the left hand from one point on the string to another.

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STUDIO EFFECTS AND TECHNIQUES Overdubs: the use of a multi-track recording device to layer parts. Reverb (reverberation): the reflection of sound off surfaces to give a sense of space; this can be added electronically. Delay: repetition of a sound after a short time interval, usually quieter and with fewer high frequencies than the original. EQ (equalisation): electronically cutting or boosting specific frequencies in a sound. In Grace it makes the vocal line sound a bit distorted, rather like a dodgy phone line at the end of the middle 8 section. Flange: an electronic effect where two identical sounds are combined, but one delayed by milliseconds and changing time period. The interaction of these two sounds creates a distinctive sweeping sound most notably in the outro.

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MODALITY AND HARMONY The key is mainly E minor, but the intro/link music does not establish this. The melody is based on the Dorian mode: an essentially minor scale often used in folk music with a bittersweet different character.

RHYTHM AND METRE 12/8, which is rather unusual for a rock song (most are in 4/4). Non-reliance on four-bar phrases: much folk, pop and rock music adheres rigidly to grouping bars in fours (see the Moby set work); to counter such predictability, Buckley has a three-bar introduction and a six-bar verse; his chorus is five bars long. Changing harmonic rhythm: harmonic rhythm refers to the rate of harmonic change; in simple terms how many chords per bar? In the introduction it is essentially one chord per bar; in the verse some bars have two chords; at the start of the pre-chorus the pace seems to pick up as there are four chords per bar, each lasting only a beat (the actual tempo remains the same). Cross-rhythms: whilst there is nothing as complex as Electric Counterpoint, Buckley sometimes has cross-rhythm effects using duplets (two equal notes in the time of three).

TEXTURE Use of texture to create variety: to prevent his repeating pattern of intro-verse-chorus becoming dull, Buckley changes the texture each time to maintain interest. Texture is also used to distinguish the different sections, add contrast and allow the music some space. Listen to the music focusing on how different instruments and sounds are introduced and withdrawn to vary the texture.

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Grace
Fill in the instrumentation of the song:

Jeff also used many different guitar techniques - this is indicative of his experimental nature. Drop-D tuning - Where the lowest guitar string, E, is tuned down to D Slide - A metal/glass device is used to slide from one note to another on guitars Guitar whispers - Picking the note with the volume turned down, then turning the volume up quickly Vibrato - The finger stopping the string is wobbled to vary the pitch of the note. Scoops on the tremolo arm - The metal bar on the bridge is depressed (an unspecified distance) before a note is sounded and released upon sounding.

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Music technology is used to create further effects. Fill in the missing gaps: Where it is used
Guitar and vocals Guitar - coda Intensify the sound of the coda Intensify the sound Equalisation balancing the different sound frequencies (high-mid-low) Repetition of a sound, usually at a set time with a set number of repetitions. They often fade and/or have a lower frequency content. Removes low frequencies of Buckleys voice

Effect Overdubs Distortio n Flanger

What it is

Effect it has

EQ

Final verse

Delay

Chords
Although the chords for the verse and chorus look and sound complex at times, they are actually quite simple on the guitar. They use the same chord shape that just moves up and down the guitar, keeping one or more open strings as a drone. The harmonies come from the ideas played on the guitar, not the other way round. The chords are power chords spread across three frets, played in different ways in each section. Define the term power chords and describe what effect this has on the texture ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

Structure
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Grace is in four main sections: Intro Link Middle 8 Link This type of structure is called verse - chorus Word Painting The lyrics are a very important part of Grace and Buckley emphasises certain parts of the story by using word painting to great effect in this song. Describe 4 examples of word painting in Grace ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________

Unusual features for the time The time signature is 12/8, which means four dotted crotchet beats per bar. Most rock songs are in 4/4 Unusual chord progressions - use of chromatic chords which move in parallel motion (by semitone steps) instead of the standard I-IV-V progression in typical rock songs. Considering the song was supposed to be about love, the lyrics are quite morbid!

Extra information There are no smooth transitions between the sections. The strings are held back and are added for effects, or to raise the tension by adding to the texture (textual contrast) Parts drop out, thinning texture - allowing music to breathe There are some very dissonant effects, especially in the chorus, where open guitar strings clash with the harmonies. The vocal line often clashes with the underlying chord (for example, F natural above chord of E minor at start of bridge)
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 The tonality of the song is ambiguous throughout The lyrics are said to be based on a dream Buckley had about a girl however, it is also related to death.
Buckley uses finger-picked arpeggio patterns for chords often instead of block chords (where notes sound together)

Test Yourself - Background 1) Give 4 facts about Jeff Buckleys life 1.____________________________________________________________________ 2.____________________________________________________________________ 3.____________________________________________________________________ 4.____________________________________________________________________ 2) Name three types of music that influenced Jeff Buckley ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ 3) What is the name of the section of a song which connects the verse to the chorus? _____________________________ 4) Name two bands which led the revival of Britpop _____________________________ _____________________________ 5) What was the folk revival and when did this come about? _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________
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6) What effect does the music industry have on the success of musical styles and why? __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 7) What style is this song? _____________________ 8) What year was the album Grace released? _____________________ 9) Name the 3 other people who instrument they play. _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ complete the line up for Grace and which ______________________ ______________________ ______________________

10) Who co-wrote the song with Jeff Buckley? _________________________________________

Test yourself - Grace 1) How has Buckley managed to get the voices to sound strained and in pain throughout the song? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ 2) Name and describe two Guitar effects used in Grace 1. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ 2.__________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ 3) How do the verses develop throughout the song? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________
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4) Describe how the harmony of Grace differs from that of a typical rock song ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 5) What is the range of the vocal part? ____________________________________________________________________________ 6) Is the word-setting primarily syllabic or melismatic? Are there exceptions? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ 7) How does the singer decorate the falling interval at the end of each of his first two phrases? ____________________________________________________________________________ 8) At the point where the drums and bass enter, the chord is Em. Name the two chords that alternate during the rest of the introduction. ________________ and ___________________ 9) Complete the statement using two terms from below: Compound simple triple quadruple The song is in _________________ _________________ metre 10) Give two musical reasons why you like or dislike the song 1.__________________________________________________________________________ _ ____________________________________________________________________________ 2.__________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

Extended questions - try and use as many musical examples in your answer as you can. 1. Explain how the texture changes throughout the song. 2. Describe the tonality of the song. 3. Comment on the use of rhythm and word setting in Grace. 4. Describe the chord structure of the song. 5. How does Buckley use music technology in Grace?
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Extension Prep
Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOoEYxt0PPA (Jeff Buckley Hallelujah live in Chicago 1995 uploaded by pseudodionysis) Describe the style of accompaniment Describe the tonality Describe the structure From the same concert go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xhd-zImzoiI (Jeff Buckley Dream Brother 1\13 live in Chicago 1995 uploaded by usernameRobo) Compare this song with Hallelujah in terms of accompaniment / instruments and playing techniques, tonality and structure

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FOLK ROCK MUSIC

1 2 3 4 5 6 Key Features and Facts Refers to the traditional music of a country the folk culture Often learned and performed by ear; songs are memorised and passed down through generations oral tradition The lyrics described peoples views on politics and cultural issues, and were sung in a simple and direct style This led to a folk revival in the 1950s Artists such as Bob Dylan and The Byrds combined folk with pop and rock influences, creating the genre folk rock in the 1960s Jeff Buckleys music is often described as folk rock though he was influenced by many genres. His one and only album Grace is very eclectic in style including Buckleys own version of Leonard Cohens Hallelujah and Benjamin Brittens setting of the Corpus Christi Carol. Although Buckleys style is diverse much of his music retains the folk tradition of using song as a vehicle for story-telling.

MELODY AND WORD-SETTING The vocal part has an improvised quality and a very wide tessitura of over two octaves. Most of the vocal phrases are falling, reflecting the melancholy mood of the song. In the example below there are two examples of glissando, circle them and mark them clearly. Opening of verse 1

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Most of the word setting is syllabic as you can see in the above example. There are however some long melismas to emphasise certain words such as love in the verse and fire in the chorus: Opening of chorus

As mentioned earlier the lyrics reflect Buckleys bleak outlook on love. There are many examples of word painting. Listen to the piece while following the score and indicate below how Buckley highlights these words in the music.

Word Die

Bar/Section 13

Musical Technique

Love

15
25

Fire

23

Leave

58

In the bridge there is a passage of vocalisation wordless singing in which Buckley uses falsetto. What does this mean? _________________________________________________________________________ STRUCTURE Listen to the piece again but this time focus on the structure, it is in verse-chorus form. Complete the following structural chart: Intro Bars 1-7 Instrumental Verse 1 8-19 Vocal: (Theres a Moon) Intro Bars 44Voice (Wait in the fire) Verse 3 Voice (Improvisation) Intro

INSTRUMENTATION AND TEXTURE Homework: The following words are all related to guitar and string playing, some of which are used in Grace. What do they mean? Drop-D tuning ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ 26

___________________________________________________________________________________ Flanger ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ Delay ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ Slide ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ Vibrato ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ Distortion ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ Power chords ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ Bending ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ Guitar whisper ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ Pizzicato ___________________________________________________________________________________

TECHNOLOGY/TEXTURE To help create a thicker texture the guitar parts are overdubbed this is the re- recording of the same guitar part and then mixed together. The extra vocal parts in the bridge section are also produced through overdubbing, this is also known as double tracking. EQ is used throughout but is particularly obvious towards the end of this piece in the vocal parts. EQ is basically adjusting the tone controls so therefore boosting or cutting top, mid or
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bass frequencies. At the end of the piece the top frequencies are boosted in the vocal parts so that they are clearly heard above the backing. TONALITY AND HARMONY The song is in E minor, although the tonality is often ambiguous. Look at the first two bars of the introduction. Notice the use of accidentals alongside the key signature of E minor:

Although it is in E minor the song opens with two chords not normally found in this key (F minor7 and G minor7). Both chords have an added minor seventh. This gives the ambiguous feel to the tonality it is hard to tell what key it is in. The standard I IV V chord progressions of rock music are avoided. Instead the chords are more chromatic and move in parallel motion. Can you find other examples of parallel motion chords in the score? __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ By using chromatic chords the tonality is ambiguous. Dissonance is created by deliberately allowing open E strings on the guitar to sound against an F chord and an Eb chord in bar 20 and 21.

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RHYTHM, METRE AND TEMPO

The metre is _________. There is frequent use of both syncopation and cross rhythms throughout. Indicate in the table using crosses which beat the bass and snare drum play on: Beat Snare drum Bass drum This type of beat is known as a backbeat and is characterized by: __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 1 2 3 4

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