Paul Simon - Diamonds on the soles of her shoes

Question 1

Fusion song

Answer 1

Isicathamiya - African style of acapella singing
South African percussion and guitars with American horns

Question 2

Section 1 E major (Part A)

Answer 2

Moderate tempo with slight rallentando at end of section
Fusion of African and American influences of simple lead vocals and “awa awa” for 8 bars
Acapella title hook section 16 bars
Antiphonal for “ta na na” then homophonic and beautifully harmonised 5 times for “diamonds on the soles of her shoes”
One acapella group sing awa awa on E major triad in 3 part harmony
second group responds with 4 part harmony
All phrases start off-beat, all homorhythmic

Question 3

Section 1 (Part B)

Answer 3

Acapella intro repeated
Simon sings new melody which is western in style
Lead vocals have narrow range centred around tonic, mainly E and G#
Delay and reverb added to give ethereal quality

Question 4

Section 1 (Part C)

Answer 4

Opening phrase harmonised by acapella group
Other parts of group sing the phrase antiphonally
Second part of phrase in 5 part harmony
Gradual diminuendo (gets quieter)
Section ends with appoggiatura

Question 5

Section 2 - intro

Answer 5

Section opens with electric guitar solo in F major which opens with F chord followed by a descending passage from F down two octaves
Fretless bass plays 2 bar groove with leaps of octaves
Completely contrasts first section
Loosely based on folk rock
Drums play short fill on first 2 bar groove, after which bass plays on beat
Snare and hi-hat play on off-beats (hi-hat varied open and closed)
Bongos play fast rhythmic pattern including semiquavers, dotted rhythms and syncopation
Shaker plays continuous semiquavers

Question 6

Verse 1 - 24 bars

Answer 6

Three 8 bar phrases
Phrase 1 - melodic movement mainly conjunct after initial triad
Ends with descending phrase ending on tonic
Phrase 2 - acoustic guitar joins, ending phrase sung as flowing melisma, final words of title omitted, bass plays active part
Phrase 3 - Opening same as first phrase but with octave leap, guitar bass and percussion from intro continue throughout
Conjunct vocal line after initial triadic melody
Falsetto “ooh” in third 8 bars
Melisma on diamonds to contrast syllabic delivery

Question 7

Bridge - 2 bars

Answer 7

Short descending pattern on talking drum
All instrumental parts continue from verse

Question 8

Instrumental - 8 bars

Answer 8

Staccato homophonic syncopated chords played by horns
Recorded twice and panned
Delay and reverb to enrich texture
2 bar phrases
Chords 1, 4, and 5
Electric guitar plays in between horn chords
Accented strums from acoustic guitar
Drum kit expanded to include floor tom and ride bell

Question 9

Instrumental into verse 2 - 8 bars

Answer 9

fretless bass has improv solo
Falsetto “oohs” from Simon

Question 10

Verse 2 - 24 bars

Answer 10

Repeat of verse 1 but with variation in rhythm due to change in lyrics
Last 8 bars word diamonds is extended as melisma
Overlaps into bridge section

Question 11

Bridge 2 - 2 bars

Answer 11

Repeat of bridge 1 with overlapping vocals

Question 12

Instrumental chorus - 8 bars

Answer 12

Repeat of first instrumental

Question 13

Verse 3 intro - 6 bars

Answer 13

Slightly shorter than verse 3 intro
Horns play three descending chords after Simon sings “woo”

Question 14

Verse 3 - 6 bars

Answer 14

Only 6 bars

Question 15

Outro - 24 bars+

Answer 15

Long outro repeating phrase “ta na na” which is harmonised
Instrumentation from verse continues
Only vocals and bongos after 24 bars
Bongos play improv rhythms
Ends with slow fade out