Cosmic Love

Question 1

Discuss how Florence and the machine use the following musical elements in the Cosmic love
• Instrumentation
• Melody
• Harmony
• Structure									(12)

Answer 1

Instrumentation

• Cosmic love uses electronic instruments, with effects, creating multiple sounds, (largely using synth pads) Intro uses electronically produced sounds
• Drum kit is used, but is also processed with emphasis on reverb
• The prominent harp in rising and falling arpeggios is balanced by the piano, with added percussion. The song is driven by effects, including panning and reverb, with delays and careful mixing.

Melody

• The melody is centred around a few pitches, with plenty of improvisation including wordless passages.
• The Modal melody contains the descending scale motif A-G-E-D and the use of scotch snap, aeolian mode and syncopation often clashes with the harmony. This forms most of the melodic material.
• There is distinctive vocal sound with little consonant emphasis and she sings essentially the same ideas in each verse and is accompanied by recorded backing vocals, (same singer multitrack vocal layers). The use of the blues note on darkness adds to the word painting colour in the melody.

Harmony

• The harmonic language is very simple, moving largely between three chords, F, C and a minor. The flat 7th creates a modal feel (aeolian mode) which adds to the other worldly nature of the song.
• The interlude section adds the chord of E minor, shifting the modal centre for the contrasting section.
• The addition of the Eb blues note, colours the harmony before the song moves to a close on a minor with added minor 7th (a min 7th)

Structure

• The piece is in strophic form (2 verses with similar music and some variation of the melody and additional vocal harmony) with an interlude.
• It opens with an intro, followed by verse chorus structure. The phrases are balanced, the chorus begins on a weak beat.
• The middle 8, with new text, provides a contrast before chorus with slower temp and softer dynamics. The repeated vocalise draws the song to its outro.

Question 2

When was it released

Answer 2

July 2010

Question 3

Style ?

Answer 3

Indie rock

Question 4

Tonality

Answer 4

A minor but sounds modal as the raised 7th (G#) does not occur.

Question 5

Time signature

Answer 5

2/2

Question 6

Describe the riff

Answer 6

The repetition of the F major/C major/A minor chord pattern unifies the song and produces a hypnotic effect.

Question 7

Describe verse 1

Answer 7

• 4-bar chordal riff (F, C, Am, Am) played in repeated quavers by piano.
• Modal vocal melody, which contains the motif A-G-E-D, a descending scale, syncopation and scotch snap, often clashes with harmony.

Question 8

How is contrast created in the interlude ? (5)

Answer 8

• New 4-bar chord pattern – Em, F, G, Am
• Use of triplet crotchets in the accompanying harp arpeggios
• Slower tempo
• Softer dynamics
• Heartbeat effect on “I heard your heart beating”