Capercaillie: Skye Waulking Song

Question 1

What kind of texture is present in Capercaillie?

Answer 1

Layered Texture

Question 2

How is a layered texture created in this piece?

Answer 2

A rhythmic pattern on a drum kit, a bass line by a bass guitar, chords on a synth and accordion and counter melodies sometimes weave.

Question 3

What form is this piece in?

Answer 3

Strophic form (Split into verses)

Question 4

How is there contrast created in the texture?

Answer 4

Contrasts are created in the texture when acommpaniment drops out.

Question 5

Vocables are present in this piece.

What are vocables?

Answer 5

Vocables are nonsense lyrics (“oh ho”) That add to the sound

Question 6

What is the time signature of this piece?

Answer 6

12/8

This is a slow & calm tempo.

Question 7

When was this piece released?

Answer 7

2000

Question 8

What genre is this piece?

Answer 8

Celtic Fusion.

This is music that comes from Scotland, Ireland Or Wales.

Question 9

What language do they sing in?

Answer 9

Gaelic.

Question 10

Where did the band form?

Answer 10

The band formed at Oban High school, they placed for Ceilidhs (local folk dances)

Question 11

What the does the song mean?

Answer 11

The song means “My father sent me to a house of sorrow”

Question 12

What is a lament?

Answer 12

A lament is an expression of grief, this is commonly used in music, poetry and various other arts.

Question 13

Where did the lyrics of Skye Waulking Song come from?

Answer 13

The lyrics for Capercaillie came from a lament called “Seathan” (Or just “john”)

Question 14

What two Genres form Celtic Fusion?

Answer 14

Celtic Folk music and Western popular music are fused together to form this genre.

Question 15

What instruments from this piece are commonly found in Celtic Folk Music?

Answer 15

Accordion, Uilleann pipes, the fiddle (Or Violin if you want to call it that) and the Bouzouki. These combined with the instruments commonly found in the Celtic folk music create the fusion of Celtic Fusion,

Question 16

What instruments from this piece are commonly found in Celtic Folk Music?

Answer 16

Synthesizer, Bass Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Drum Kit, Wurlitzer Piano. These combined with the Instruments commonly found in Celtic Folk Music create the fusion of Celtic Fusion. Modern elements combined with Tradition instruments to create a blend of two genres.

Question 17

Who is the Solo Singer?

Answer 17

Karen Matheson

Question 18

What type of voice does the Solo Singer of Capercaillie have?

Answer 18

A very low female ALTO voice.

Question 19

How does this modern adaptation differ from traditional Waulking songs?

Answer 19

A traditional Waulking song are usually call and response, but this adaptation uses a solo voice with backing vocals

Question 20

What scale are the vocals based off?

Answer 20

The vocals are based on G Major Pentatonic sacle but the accompaniment isn’t as it contains all the notes of G major.

Question 21

What feel does the piece have?

Answer 21

The piece has a modal feel as the dominant chord D is avoided.

Question 22

What are the three unique main chords in the piece?

Answer 22

G, Em, C

Question 23

What type of harmony is this?

Answer 23

A Diatonic harmony.

Question 24

Describe the structure of this p;piece.

Answer 24

The structure of this piece:

A phrase is followed by a refrain, 2 of these together create the structure of the piece?

Question 25

What is a refrain in music?

Answer 25

A Refrain is any line that repeats in your song lyric.

Question 26

What is a phrase in music?

Answer 26

A phrase is a series of notes that sound complete when played with the main song, or when played apart from the main song.

Question 27

Why are all the verses slightly different?

Answer 27

It is considered bad luck to repeat verses so they’re all slightly different.(Extra info for essay question).

Question 28

What is a motif in music?

Answer 28

A motif is a short musical idea, for example they can be a succession of notes.

Question 29

How do the instruments contrast with the vocals?

Answer 29

The instruments base many of their motifs on the vocalist.

Question 30

What are the phrases in this piece?

Answer 30

The phrases in this piece are the Gaelic singing.

Question 31

What are the refrains in this piece?

Answer 31

The refrains in this piece are the many vocables. (examples being “oho hi oho hi”)

Question 32

How is phrase 1 different to Phrase 2?

Answer 32

Phrase 1 is sung slightly higher than Phrase 2 and is also shorter, Phrase 1 is on an higher octave.

Question 33

How are phrase 1 & 2 similar?

Answer 33

Phrases 1 & 2 Both start on the dominant D chord.

Question 34

What is syncopation?

Answer 34

A shifting or displacement in the beat.

Question 35

Where is the syncopation in this piece?

Answer 35

There is syncopation in the vocal and instrumental counter melodies.

Question 36

What kind of rhythm does the vocal part have?

Answer 36

The vocal part in capercaillie has a lilting rhythm to it

Question 37

What is lilting in terms of vocals?

Answer 37

Where the vocals have a cheery or uplifting mood to it.

Question 38

What chords are the phrases harmonized in?

Answer 38

The phrases are harmonized in G, however bar 46 is the exception to this rule, where phrase 1 has Em, however this still contains all the notes of G.

Question 39

What chords are the refrains harmonized in?

Answer 39

The refrains are harmonized in with the chord C and/or Em. However bar 45 is an exception whereby it has Am9 but still contains the same notes.