• Structure
– Intro => Verse 1 => Pre-chorus 1 => Chorus =>
Instrumental (Link) => Verse 2 => Pre-chorus 2
=> Chorus => Bridge (Middle 8) => Instrumental
(Link) => Verse 3 => Outro
– Verse and chorus form: 3 verses and 2 choruses
Grace, Jeff Buckley –
–
Each verse has an intro
Bridge after chorus 2
About the singer: – Ends with climatic coda based on chorus
• Born in California, USA in 1966 – Chorus: sets refrain of lyrics; returns several times with same words used
• Died in swimming accident, age 30 – Bridge: contrasting passage, usually after 2/3 choruses
• Powerful voice with great emotional depth
– Coda: a section which comes at end of song
• ‘Grace’ comes from album with same name
• Album was the only studio album Buckley completed • Introduction
• ‘Grace’ the song is scored for two guitars, bass guitar, drums – First 2 bars for electric guitar; drums and bass enter in third bar
and synthesiser, and could be described as a rock ballad – Key = E minor, but lots of accidentals; starts with chromatic chords – Fmin7 and
• The lyrics he wrote seem to anticipate his own death Gmin7 – both have added ‘minor seventh’; ambiguous tonality
About the song: – Guitar effects: whisper, reverb, delay, scoops on tremolo arm
• 12/8; time signature unusual for pop songs
• Song is minor or modal, as most sections have tonal centre of E
• Pre-chorus
• Unusual chord progressions; harmony is non-functional – Written in E minor mode, with Dorian mode present at times
• Picking (e.g. intro) and strumming (pre-chorus and chorus) – Chord progression is very unusual with lots of chromatic chords used:
• Lots of syncopation in vocal melody and bass line Em B7/F# G6 A7 Bm / A6/9 / Em / / / <==== ???
• Use of cross-rhythms – Looking at root note of scale, they go up a note in E minor each time up to the
• Use of telephone EQ in bridge and final verse note B in the chord Bm, then going down to an A then back to E in the chord Em
• Guitar keeps 1+ strings open as drone when playing seemingly
• Verse
complex chords that are actually simple when played on guitar
• Drop D tuning gives a darker feel to the song – Chromatic harmony: Em F Em E♭
• Homophonic texture – Voice line mainly Buckley’s lower register and voice slides down at the end of
• Weird effects on strings, e,g, using ‘spiccato’ when playing in ‘col phrases
legno,’which is when you use the back of the bow – Word-paining: words reflect music
• Dynamics: intro is quiet; increase when more instruments added • Chorus
• Use of voice: wide range, falsetto, vibrato, portamento,
– Backing vocals enter and strings in background for effect
vocalisation, improvisation, combination of syllabic and
melismatic writing
– All built on ‘wait in the fire’ with long melisma on final ‘fire’
• Use of electric guitar: percussive sounds by hitting strings, – Harmony based on chord pattern, but centring on E
plucked/picked at start but strumming elsewhere, mostly clean • Bridge (Middle 8)
guitar sound, verse 3 distortion, strummed chords, pick-scraping, – First 4 bars uses chords moving in parallel motion along guitar
sliding, glissando, palm muting, hammer-ons, pull-offs – Voice part is vocalised (wordless singing); open in two parts creating rich texture
– Telephone EQ effect on vocals; multi-tracked harmonies in polyphonic texture
• Coda
– Based on repetition of chords from chorus: F Em E♭7
– Highest notes sung in falsetto = vocal improvisation very high
– Flange effect on guitar (electronic effect with sweeping sound)
– Ends on short, unaccompanied, modal phrase – ends on E
, Key words for GRACE
Key word Definition Key word Definition
Drums, bass electric Instruments used for this piece Reverb Making it sound like the guitar is
guitar, acoustic guitar, playing in a different space such
vocals as a hall (not the same as echo!)
Intro Beginning bit Col legno Playing violin with back of the bow
Verse First bit which is sung Vocal screaming Screaming and pretending its
singing
Pre-chorus Link between verse and chorus Pizzicato strings Plucking the strings on the violin
Middle 8 Only heard once Delay Echo
Link Link the intro – just instruments Drum roll Fast alternating drum strikes on
snare
Outro Like a coda to finish everything off Polyphonic texture Lots of melodies at once –
interweaving
Power chords Neither major nor minor, these Telephone EQ Adjusting frequencies to make the
chords have no 3rd in them voice sound like it is on the phone
Drop D tuning Changing the notes the strings Violining Turning the volume knob on the
are usually tuned to guitar up and down
Slide (portamento) Sliding from one note to another Flanger Swirling sound
Modal Not major or minor. Play and Multi-tracked vocal Gradually adding harmonies one
octave on a piano using all the harmonies note at a time, recording the new
white notes from D–D note each time
12/8 time signature 12 quavers per bar Crescendo Getting louder
64 bpm 64 beats per minute
– Intro => Verse 1 => Pre-chorus 1 => Chorus =>
Instrumental (Link) => Verse 2 => Pre-chorus 2
=> Chorus => Bridge (Middle 8) => Instrumental
(Link) => Verse 3 => Outro
– Verse and chorus form: 3 verses and 2 choruses
Grace, Jeff Buckley –
–
Each verse has an intro
Bridge after chorus 2
About the singer: – Ends with climatic coda based on chorus
• Born in California, USA in 1966 – Chorus: sets refrain of lyrics; returns several times with same words used
• Died in swimming accident, age 30 – Bridge: contrasting passage, usually after 2/3 choruses
• Powerful voice with great emotional depth
– Coda: a section which comes at end of song
• ‘Grace’ comes from album with same name
• Album was the only studio album Buckley completed • Introduction
• ‘Grace’ the song is scored for two guitars, bass guitar, drums – First 2 bars for electric guitar; drums and bass enter in third bar
and synthesiser, and could be described as a rock ballad – Key = E minor, but lots of accidentals; starts with chromatic chords – Fmin7 and
• The lyrics he wrote seem to anticipate his own death Gmin7 – both have added ‘minor seventh’; ambiguous tonality
About the song: – Guitar effects: whisper, reverb, delay, scoops on tremolo arm
• 12/8; time signature unusual for pop songs
• Song is minor or modal, as most sections have tonal centre of E
• Pre-chorus
• Unusual chord progressions; harmony is non-functional – Written in E minor mode, with Dorian mode present at times
• Picking (e.g. intro) and strumming (pre-chorus and chorus) – Chord progression is very unusual with lots of chromatic chords used:
• Lots of syncopation in vocal melody and bass line Em B7/F# G6 A7 Bm / A6/9 / Em / / / <==== ???
• Use of cross-rhythms – Looking at root note of scale, they go up a note in E minor each time up to the
• Use of telephone EQ in bridge and final verse note B in the chord Bm, then going down to an A then back to E in the chord Em
• Guitar keeps 1+ strings open as drone when playing seemingly
• Verse
complex chords that are actually simple when played on guitar
• Drop D tuning gives a darker feel to the song – Chromatic harmony: Em F Em E♭
• Homophonic texture – Voice line mainly Buckley’s lower register and voice slides down at the end of
• Weird effects on strings, e,g, using ‘spiccato’ when playing in ‘col phrases
legno,’which is when you use the back of the bow – Word-paining: words reflect music
• Dynamics: intro is quiet; increase when more instruments added • Chorus
• Use of voice: wide range, falsetto, vibrato, portamento,
– Backing vocals enter and strings in background for effect
vocalisation, improvisation, combination of syllabic and
melismatic writing
– All built on ‘wait in the fire’ with long melisma on final ‘fire’
• Use of electric guitar: percussive sounds by hitting strings, – Harmony based on chord pattern, but centring on E
plucked/picked at start but strumming elsewhere, mostly clean • Bridge (Middle 8)
guitar sound, verse 3 distortion, strummed chords, pick-scraping, – First 4 bars uses chords moving in parallel motion along guitar
sliding, glissando, palm muting, hammer-ons, pull-offs – Voice part is vocalised (wordless singing); open in two parts creating rich texture
– Telephone EQ effect on vocals; multi-tracked harmonies in polyphonic texture
• Coda
– Based on repetition of chords from chorus: F Em E♭7
– Highest notes sung in falsetto = vocal improvisation very high
– Flange effect on guitar (electronic effect with sweeping sound)
– Ends on short, unaccompanied, modal phrase – ends on E
, Key words for GRACE
Key word Definition Key word Definition
Drums, bass electric Instruments used for this piece Reverb Making it sound like the guitar is
guitar, acoustic guitar, playing in a different space such
vocals as a hall (not the same as echo!)
Intro Beginning bit Col legno Playing violin with back of the bow
Verse First bit which is sung Vocal screaming Screaming and pretending its
singing
Pre-chorus Link between verse and chorus Pizzicato strings Plucking the strings on the violin
Middle 8 Only heard once Delay Echo
Link Link the intro – just instruments Drum roll Fast alternating drum strikes on
snare
Outro Like a coda to finish everything off Polyphonic texture Lots of melodies at once –
interweaving
Power chords Neither major nor minor, these Telephone EQ Adjusting frequencies to make the
chords have no 3rd in them voice sound like it is on the phone
Drop D tuning Changing the notes the strings Violining Turning the volume knob on the
are usually tuned to guitar up and down
Slide (portamento) Sliding from one note to another Flanger Swirling sound
Modal Not major or minor. Play and Multi-tracked vocal Gradually adding harmonies one
octave on a piano using all the harmonies note at a time, recording the new
white notes from D–D note each time
12/8 time signature 12 quavers per bar Crescendo Getting louder
64 bpm 64 beats per minute
