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GCSE Music: GraceBy Gordon Yam(Notes Contributor)

Its time to dig into one of my favourite pieces of the GCSE anthoogy ! Grace" #ets

begin by outining the general context$ %Grace comes from the abum %Grace& sung by 'eff Bucey

ther tracs from the abum incude %*aeu+ah and %#ast Goodbye

,he abum is reeased in -../

It is a roc baad& or fo roc (0o music is traditiona music of a country that is

often earned and performed by ear& passing do1n the music through the

generations)

STRUCTURE

,he structure of %Grace is rather compe2& though generay a verse and chorus

pattern is used throughout the song3 Before each verse& an instrumenta section of

the introduction is incuded to ead the music3

,he verses and pre4choruses are -/ bars ong& 1here the choruses have fe2ibe

engths in different parts of the song3 5 of the instrumenta intros are -/ barsong3

5fter the second chorus& the song progresses to a 66 bars bridge 1here the cima2

is buit3 It then punges bac into the instrumenta intro& foo1ed by an ateredsection of the origina verses3 ,he song finishes 1ith repetitions of Buceys

improvisation based on a chromaticay faing chord pattern3

HARMONY AND TONALITY ,he harmony of the song is 7uite discordant and compe2& as Bucey

e2periments on different chord patterns3 ,he song contains mutipe ey changes

and unusua chords& particuary to1ards the end of the song in the choruses andbridge3

5scending pattern of minor chords is used in the introduction& creating a sight

confusion in the ey of the song3 ,he ey of E minor cannot be confirmed untithe first verse3

5 ot of chromatic movement is used in the chord pattern throughout the song&

and this is comparativey unusua for pop and roc music3 ne e2ampe of

chromatic chords is the verse& 1ith the pattern %Em ! 0 ! Em ! Eb3

8uite often there is a bend of t1o chords at the same time& creating a deiberate

sense of dissonance3 ,he chromatic scaes and semitone progressions in theharmony maes a poytona effect throughout the song3

MELODY

,he instrumenta sections are mosty based on chord accompaniment& other than

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the guitar riffs that pay a meody in the introductions3

In the verses& the voca meody moves argey in steps and se7uences& beginning

in a reativey o1er voca range3 Buceys voice moves to a higher range in the

pre4chorus& and continues to ascend throughout the song3 ,he bridge incorporates

his use of high fasetto range3

%Grace is based on the ey of E minor& though Bucey 1as e2tremey

e2perimenta in bending different modes and scae systems together3 ,he pre4

chorus is 1ritten in E minor mode& 1ith the 9orian mode present in times (E ! 0:

! G ! 5 ! B ! C:! 9 ! E)3

GUITAR TECHNIUES AND DIGITAL E!!ECTS

Bucey 1as argey infuenced by fo music& 1hich he incorporated in the piece

1ith the use of the acoustic guitar3 5 fo theme is aso created through the

eectric guitar riffs in the introduction& 1here it uses a cean guitar to refect fo

roc sounds3

;o1er chords are used 7uite often in the song& incuding the first verse& 1here thechord payed ony consists of root notes and fifths3

9istortion is used on the eectric guitars to create an overoad feedbac in the

sound& maing it ampified and fu time3 ,his is a popuar metre used in fo music& and is 7uite

unusua for pop music to use3 It has a moderate tempo& though the 7uicy moving

guitar rhythms cause the music to seem fast3

,he vocas generay move so1y in a steady pace3 It often incorporates crush

notes and syncopated rhythms& meaning beats are stressed occasionay to ie on

the offbeat3 ,here is an e2ampe of syncopation in the meody ine of the firstverse3

,he drum it is the main rhythmic force in the trac& though occasionay the

acoustic guitar 1ors together 1ith the hi4hat rhythmicay3

In most of the trac& the drums carry a steady compound rhythm 1ith the bass

drum& snare& hi4hat& as 1e as the use of cymba cashes3 5s the music progresses&

the drum it deveops by using more cross rhythms& compe2 fis& and cymba

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cashes3

INSTRUMENTATION

,here 1ere four musicians 1ho payed in the trac& though the song sounds a ot

thicer because the instruments 1ere often muti4traced& thicening the te2ture

of the music3 Guitar& @ocas ! 'eff Bucey

Guitar ! Gary #ucas

9rums ! Aatt 'ohnson drums

Bass ! Aic Grondah

,he drum it drove the rhythmic force of the trac& eeping a steady compound

rhythm in the song3 Aore cymbas are used in the cima2 to intensify the rhythmic

features of the trac3

,he bass mosty payed the root notes of the chord accompaniment& occasionay

using ascending scaar patterns3 Syncopated rhythms are aso found in the bassine3

,he ead guitar pays an ascending pattern of broen minor chords& foo1ed by a

repeating riff using a cean guitar sound in the introduction3 It then becomes part

of the accompaniment 1ith ong& so1 moving notes that contribute as thebacing of the trac3

,he eectric guitar mainy pays a chord accompaniment using various techni7ues

such as chromatic movement and po1er chords3 ,he fanger effect is used in thetrac& giving the eectric guitar a doubed 1hooshing effect3 ,he t1o guitars pay

1ith open strings to create an intentiona dissonance3

,he acoustic guitar sometimes 1ors 1ith the hi4hat from the drum it

rhythmicay3 In different introductions& various effects are appied such as theAandoin and percussion effects3

,he eading meody is in Buceys voca parts3 It uses a ot of techni7ues such as

chromatic movements& fasetto and meisma throughout the song3 Buceys

vocas are often muti4traced to thicen the vocaisation te2ture and to create

harmony3 In the fina section of the song& the vocas improvise eaboratey over a

faing chromatic chord pattern& 1ith the 1ords centring on the hoo of the song&ait In ,he 0ireD3 ,he trac ends 1ith Bucey 1aiing in a pure voice& imitating

a reigious chant3

Strings synths are added after the first chorus to thicen the overa te2ture& 1here

the trac begins to buid up to its cima23 It occasionay pays 1ith sides and

tris& as 1e as pi

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Grace (E2tract)

5t the beginning of the e2tract& 1hich of the foo1ing statements best describes theroe of the bass

5scending octave +umps

9escending octave +umps

5scending scaic pattern

9escending scaic pattern

*ere is the meody for the first ine of the e2tract3 Compete the four missing notes(the rhythm is sho1n above the stave)3

Name the t1o sections heard in this e2tract3Identify the t1o 1ays that the guitars are payed during the e2tract3

Compete the foo1ing sentence$ The three chords used in the chorus are F maj 9,

__________, and Eb major.

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