Release – Afro Celt Sound System Cheat Sheet

Melody:

1.) Male and Female singer

2.) Vocal melody is highly repetitive

3.) Some parts of the vocal melody are spoken and there are some vocal samples

4.) There is also some vocalisation eg: ooohs and aaahs and improvisation

5.) Melody lines are short phrases

6.) Solos are played by the Uilleann pipes, whistles and the hurdy gurdy

7.) Male range is larger than female range

8.) Vocals use glissandos and ornamentation

9.) Fiddle uses double stopping

Rhythm and Metre:

1.) Time signature is 4/4

2.) Lots of repeated riffs and ostinatos

3.) Syncopation is used throughout

4.) Repeated rhythms are usually 2 to 4 bars long

5.) Use of triplets and sextuplets

6.) Some of the semiquavers are slightly swung

7.) Some notes are accented to make them sound louder than others

Instrumentation / Sonority:

1.) African Instruments: Kora, Talking Drum

2.) Celtic Instruments: Hurdy Gurdy, Uilleann Pipes, bodhran, fiddle, whistle, accordion

3.) Western Dance Music Instruments: Vocals, Synthesizers, breath samples, drum machine, electric
piano, shaker, tambourine

4.) This piece is made from looping ideas which is commonly used in dance music

5.) Reverb effects, Panning, EQ

Texture:

1.) Main texture is homophonic

2.) Texture is built up with layers, so it is constantly changing all the time as layers drop in and out

3.) Heterophonic feeling during solos

4.) Monophonic feeling at the end

Structure:

1.) Full Structure: Intro, Verse 1, Verse 2, Solos, Verse 3, Build, Outro

2.) Verse Structure (no choruses)

Tempo:

1.) The start of the piece is in free time, but when the bodhran enters there is steady time

2.) The piece is set at 100bpm

Tonality:

1.) The piece is in the aeolian mode (modal) which sounds like C minor

2.) Tonality is modal but the key is C minor

Harmony:

1.) Repeating chord progressions

2.) Harmony is static as it works around the drone of C

3.) Harmony is mostly diatonic

4.) Some chromatic notes are used in the low synths

5.) Use of extended chords

6.) Harmonic rhythm is slow