AOS 3: Folk Rock And Jeff Buckley - Grace Flashcards
Use of technology of Grace
Modulation (adds vibrato)
Distortion (overdrive sound)
Flanging (warped guitar)
Overdubbing (one part over another)
EQ - remove lower frequencies in falsetto part
Context of Grace
Folk music refers to traditional country music
Buckley’s music is described as folk rock
He made one album before he died
Grace album was released in 1994 - with songs like hallelujah
His songs were learned by ear and memorised
He’s an American singer and guitarist
Instrumentation of Grace
Guitar Bass guitar Synthesiser Strings Drum kit Male voice
Rhythm, meter and tempo of Grace
12 quaver beats in a bar - 12/8 (compound)
Syncopated rhythms (particularly in vocal part)
Cross rhythm (different rhythms played) - straight quavers played against dotted rhythms
Bass drum plays on beats 1 & 3
Snare drum plays on beats 2 & 4
This creates the backbeat
Tonality and harmony of Grace
The piece is in minor - E minor
There are no modulations (no change in key)
There’s drop D tuning on the guitar
It uses ambiguous harmonies - the chords don’t reflect the E minor key. (F, E, Eb)
Some of the harmonies are very dissonant, especially in the chorus.
The harmony is unusual for rock as it avoids the standard rock music chord progression. Instead, many of the chords are chromatic.
Texture of Grace
The drums and guitar accompany Buckley
Synthesiser in strings drop in and out to add texture.
Different layers at different times
Structure of Grace
Introduction Verse 1 Chorus Instrumental/bridge Verse 2 Chorus Vocalisation Bridge Verse 3 Outro (CODA)
Melody and word setting of Grace
Melody: Improvised (AdLib) to the vocal part Vocal phrases tend to fall Vocalisation in bridge - no words used - male voice sings falsetto Frequent ornamentation e.g. glissando
Word painting:
‘Cries’ - falling melody (falling fifth)
‘Pain and leave’ - high, melody falls and is continuous
‘slow’ - slower tempo
