Graceland

Metre

Quadruple time 4/4; occurs throughout

Texture

Melody and accompaniment, where the melody is distinct from the backing; occurs throughout

Backing vocals added in Verse 2

Name the uses of sonority in Graceland

Fretless bass, pedal steel guitar, reverb, features of country music, drum kit, shaker, claves

Sonority: Fretless bass

American pop instrument that can play slides (gliss.); characteristically heard in introduction

Sonority: Features of country music

E.g. slap back echo; heard in the phrase “Memphis, Tennessee”

Sonority: Pedal steel guitar

Plays a syncopated, triadic rhythm; in verse 1

Sonority: Reverb

An ambient acoustic effect throughout the whole song

Sonority: Drum kit

Bass drum plays on all 4 beats while snare drum and hit-hat play on the offbeats

Sonority: Shaker

Plays continuous semiquavers from the beginning of the song

Sonority: Claves

Play on beats 3 and 4 in the introduction

Rhythm: Typical American country lyric rhythms

Almost spoken lyrics; “who calls herself a human trampoline”

Rhythm: Sampled hand claps

Play on the off beats 3 and 4 from the repeat of the introduction

Rhythm: Syncopation

In the pedal steel guitar in the introdution

Rhythm: Anacrusis

An unstressed note before the first beat of a bar; used when Paul Simon starts singing

Rhythm: Interesting rhythms

Triplet quavers and dotted rhythms; start of verse 2 “tell me she’s gone”

Rhythm: Free vocal rhythms

Follows natural rhythm of words; “who calls herself a human trampoline”

Name the rhythmic devices in Graceland (5)

Spoken, free rhythms, syncopation, anacrusis, interesting rhythms

Name the melodic devices in Graceland (6)

Repeated patterns and riffs, limited range, syllabic writing, short vocal phrases, conjunct movement, mbaqanga

Melody: Repeated patterns and riffs

Constant rhythmic drive; 12 bars before voice comes in

Melody: Limited range

Pentatonic in verse 1

Melody: Syllabic writing

One note per syllable; throughout

Melody: Short vocal phrases

In verse 1, the vocals are in 2 bar phrases

Melody: Conjunct movement

Stepwise movement; “everybody sees you’re blown apart”

Melody: Mbaqanga

Bass line plays similar patterns to the melody; occurs in the first chorus

Tonality

E major throughout

Tempo

Moderato (118bpm)

Name the harmonic devices in Graceland (5)

Concordant, pedal notes, added vocal harmony, blues turnaround, E mixolydian

Harmony: Concordant

Only primary chords and vi are used throughout

Harmony: Pedal note

A sustained note played by the fretless bass in the introduction

Harmony: Vocal harmony

Multi-tracking allowed Paul Simon to sing his own harmony in Chorus 2

Harmony: Blues turnaround

Ends in V-IV-I; found in choruses

Harmony: Hints at E mixolydian

Use of bVII in choruses