Cloudbusting Flashcards
Kate Bush
Structure
Verse-chorus
Verse
Bridge
Chorus
Verse
Bridge
Chorus
Instrumental
Chorus
Outro
Texture
Mainly dominated homophony
EXCEPT
in the outro when the backup singers go ‘Ee-ay’, it is polyphonic
AND in the chorus it is polyphonic
Chord sequences are HIGHLY repetitive…
Badd9
A 6/9
With occasional C#m7
And a few F#sus4
F#sus4 is heard
- after “you’re in my head”
- “something good is going to”
Instruments heard
(Hint: mainly conventional instruments)
Singer
Baking vocals
Balalaika -> Russian folk instrument
3 Keyboards (i.e. Fairlight CMI)
2 violins + strings
Drums and percussion
REMEMBER THIS SONG IS PART OF…
A CONCEPT ALBUM!!!! So, she is telling a story
Melody range
Mid
Melody is mainly…
Syllabic with occasional wide leaps
E.g. “you’re mak-“ is a leap of a 7th
However, greatly centers around leaps of a perfect 5th
The strings, similar to Eleanor Rigby…
Play homorhythm to create a pulse
The strings play in…of chord C#m7
Root position
Key signature
C#m
The violins play a repetitive…which alongside the melody creates a…(texture)
Riff
Polyphonic feel
The drum part is
Highly repetitive and simple -> March like
What do the strings do in relation to the singer and melody
Produces a countermelody in octaves
Why does she change time signature to 6 4 in the line “world looking over the edge”
She is using speech rhythms and hence needs to fit in the words / story she wants to tell
What unusual rhythms are witnessed from time to time in her piece and why
Lombardic rhythms - influenced by folk and Irish music. Also because of speech rhythms
When does she add a bar in 2 4
“Hid my”
What is unusual in relation to the piece’s structure
Having 2 bridges
In the 2nd bridge, something important is heard. What is it and why is it so significant
Fairlight CMI producing samples
Kate Bush was pioneer of this
In b.65 the texture becomes…when…is added
Texture thickens
Choir samples are added (Fairlight)
What is strange about the outro
It lasts for 3 min . It is ridiculously long
In the outro, what are the backing vocals doing
Vocalising
What is the interval in “Ee-ay”
Rising minor 7th
What performance technique is used in the line “We’re cloud busting, Daddy”
It is spoken
What has been used to produce the steam engine effects in the end
Fairlight CMI
