1. ‘Skye waulking song’ by Capercaille
GCSE MUSIC Area of Study 4 (World Music)

2. WHAT IS FUSION?
Two or more musical styles mixed together

3. FOLK MUSIC Folk music is found in every region across the world.
It reflects local traditions, life and myths .
Music was generally performed by the ‘lower classes’ of society and passed on by oral tradition (by word of mouth) and is rarely notated.
Lots of Celtic folk music comes from Scotland & Ireland.
Folk tunes are fairly simple so they can be easily remembered and played by untrained musicians.
The tunes are based on pentatonic scales (using only 5 notes) or modes (very old types of scales)
Due to the scales, there are no semitones so the melodies are easy to sing and harmonise with (no clashes)

4. Skye Waulking Song
Performed and composed by a band called ‘Capercaillie’ from Scotland.
They are a Fusion Band – fusing
Celtic folk + western popular music
This song is from their album ‘Nadurra’ released in 2000.
The song is sung in Scots Gaelic.
It is a work song –‘Waulking’ is a stage of cloth making, traditionally done by women pounding & trampling on tweed cloth. It would last for at least an hour, with 1 woman singing the verses & the rest joining in for the choruses.
Title translation: ‘My father sent me to a house of Sorrow’

5. Instruments used Bodhrán Uilleann pipes Accordion Bouzouki
Accordion, Piano & synthesiser
Flutes, Whistle & Uilleann pipes
Vocals
Acoustic & electric bass
Fiddle (folk style violin)
Bouzouki
Bodhrán
Drums
Percussion

6. Important points…
The melody is based on a pentatonic scale in E minor.
It modulates to G Major (the relative)
The time signature is unclear at the beginning between 6/8 or 12/8 (2 or 4 strong beats per bar) The percussion give a feel of 3/4.
A mix of traditional and popular instruments are used – all within their middle range.
It has polyphonic texture
It has a strophic structure , with the melody the same for each verse.
Only 4 different chords used. E min, G, C & A min9

7. The Lyrics It is sung in Scots Gaelic
Each verse has 1 line of lyrics then an ‘insert’ – words which make no sense! followed by a line of lyrics and another ‘insert’.
These inserts would have been when everybody joined in.
The lyrics are taken from a 13th Century lament, about a girl who is unhappy with an arranged marriage for her.

8. Section
Description
Intro
Sustained keyboard chord – E minor
‘Tremolo’ (shaking) on fiddle and electric piano.
Keyboard, bouzouki, bass & bass drum join in,
Ambiguous time signature (no real pulse)
Very atmospheric A
Verses 1-3
Vocals rhythm different to accompaniment, still unclear time signature.
Few breaks between verses.
Use of unaccompanied singing into 2 section B
Verse 4-8
Modulates to G major
Accordion joins in
Backing vocals singing ‘nonsense syllables’
Drum part provides a clear 12/8 feel – (4 strong beats per bar)
Longer chord pattern
Instrumental section – Uilleann pipes & fiddle solo, Weaving in and out – a polyphonic texture, improvising around the vocal line.
Dynamics change with instruments dropping out, before returning of final verse.
Outro
Vocals improvising around nonsense syllables weaving (contrapuntal texture) with the instruments improvising
Alternating between chord C & G
Long fade out