Skye Waulking Song

Question 1

STRUCTURE

Answer 1

Intro: 8 bars. 
Verse 1 
Break
Verse 2 
Verse 3
Verse 4 
Verse 5
Verse 6
Instrumental
Verse 7
Verse 8
Outro

Question 2

Harmony

Answer 2

Built around 3 main chords: G, Em and C.
Because the dominant chord is avoided, the music has a modal feel.
The harmony is very SIMPLE using only FOUR CHORDS in the whole song. The changes in CHORD SEQUENCE highlight a change of section or mood.
The intro established the chord sequence Em-G
This changes to C-G-Em-G in Verse 4 adding some harmonic interest
In verse 7, the chord sequence changes to Am7-Em-Em-G for one verse only returning to C-G-Em-C in verse 8 and alternating C-G chords in the outro

Question 3

Genre

Answer 3

Celtic Fusion – Scottish folk and pop music.
Waulking song – work song. Waulking is the pounding of tweed cloth. Usually call and response – helped the women work in time.
Text is taken from a lament.

Question 4

Instrumentation `

Answer 4

Combination of popular and folk instruments.
Donald Shaw: accordion, piano, synth; Michael McGoldrick: flutes, whistle, uilleann pipes; Karen Matheson: vocals; Ewen Vernal: acoustic and electric bass; Charlie McKerron: fiddle; Manus Lunny: bouzouki, guitar, bodhran, vocals; James MacKintosh: drums and percussion

Question 5

Texture

Answer 5

Layered texture:
Rhythmic pattern on drum kit. Bass line on bass guitar. Chords on synthesizer and accordion.
Main melody sung by voice. Countermelodies played on other melody instruments)

Question 6

Rhythm

Answer 6

Lilting feel.
Start of the song: hi-hat creates cross rhythms. Once the band enters it clearly emphasises the time signature.
Scotch Snap – short accented note before a longer one.

Question 7

Metre

Answer 7

12/8 (12 quavers in a bar, or 4 dotted crotchets)

Compound time is common to folk music.

Question 8

Melody: Vocal

Answer 8

Vocal melody:
Pentatonic.
Uses a low register of the voice.
Mainly syllabic.
Alternates between Gaelic (call) and phrases that use vocables (response)

Question 9

Melody: Instruments

Answer 9

Instrumentalists:
Short motifs & Countermelodies based on the vocal phrases.
Instruments improvise around the melody in a folk style.
Similar melody slightly different ways = heterophonic.
Sometimes weaving a complex, weaving counterpoint around the melody.

Question 10

What are vocables?

Answer 10

Vocables = nonsense syllables.

Question 11

Tempo

Answer 11

Slow and carm

Question 12

Texture (in depth) (4)

Answer 12

1) HETEROPHONIC TEXTURE is created when instruments perform a very similar melodic line together, but in slightly different ways (Uilleann pipes solo along with the fiddle in the Instrumental) .
2) There are also examples of complex improvised COUNTERPOINT around the melody and scale (G major) and the vocals improvise in COUTERPOINT during the outro.
3) Backing vocals thicken the texture when they join with vocables in between each line of lyrics (starting in verse 4).
4) The instruments tend to provide an ACCOMPANIMENT TEXTURE to the vocal parts but instruments (such as the accordion in verse 4) provide a COUNTER MELODY to the vocals

Question 13

Give an example of a contrast in texture

Answer 13

The UNACCOMPANIED last line of verse 3 serve as a link between sections and all instruments drop out of the last line of verse 7 similarly.

Question 14

Dynamics

Answer 14

The dynamics build with the texture of the song, dropping considerably in verse 7 leaving room for the intimate vocal sounds
A long FADE OUT brings the song to an end

Question 15

Tonality

Answer 15

The vocal part is sung using the scale of E MINOR PENTATONIC (or G major pentatonic) throughout