Jeff Buckley Grace Analisys GHFR

GCSE Music: Grace
By Gordon Yam (Notes Contributor)

Its time to dig into one of my favourite pieces of the GCSE
anthology Grace! Lets begin by outlining the general context:
Grace comes from the album Grace, sung by Jeff

Buckley
Other tracks from the album include Hallelujah and Last

Goodbye
The album is released in 1994
It is a rock ballad, or folk rock (Folk music is traditional

music of a country that is often learned and performed by
ear, passing down the music through the generations)
STRUCTURE
The structure of Grace is rather complex, though

generally a verse and chorus pattern is used throughout
the song. Before each verse, an instrumental section of
the introduction is included to lead the music.
The verses and pre-choruses are 14 bars long, where the

choruses have flexible lengths in different parts of the
song. All of the instrumental intros are 14 bars long.
After the second chorus, the song progresses to a 22 bars

bridge where the climax is built. It then plunges back into
the instrumental intro, followed by an altered section of
the original verses. The song finishes with repetitions of
Buckleys improvisation based on a chromatically falling
chord pattern.
HARMONY AND TONALITY
The harmony of the song is quite discordant and complex,

as Buckley experiments on different chord patterns. The
song contains multiple key changes and unusual chords,
particularly towards the end of the song in the choruses
and bridge.
Ascending pattern of minor chords is used in the

introduction, creating a slight confusion in the key of the
song. The key of E minor cannot be confirmed until the
first verse.
A lot of chromatic movement is used in the chord pattern
throughout the song, and this is comparatively unusual

for pop and rock music. One example of chromatic chords
is the verse, with the pattern Em F Em Eb.
Quite often there is a blend of two chords at the same

time, creating a deliberate sense of dissonance. The
chromatic scales and semitone progressions in the
harmony makes a polytonal effect throughout the song.
MELODY
The instrumental sections are mostly based on chord

accompaniment, other than the guitar riffs that play a
melody in the introductions.
In the verses, the vocal melody moves largely in steps

and sequences, beginning in a relatively lower vocal
range. Buckleys voice moves to a higher range in the prechorus, and continues to ascend throughout the song. The
bridge incorporates his use of high falsetto range.
Grace is based on the key of E minor, though Buckley

was extremely experimental in blending different modes
and scale systems together. The pre-chorus is written in E
minor mode, with the Dorian mode present in times (E
F# G A B C# D E).
GUITAR TECHNIQUES AND DIGITAL EFFECTS
Buckley was largely influenced by folk music, which he

incorporated in the piece with the use of the acoustic
guitar. A folk theme is also created through the electric
guitar riffs in the introduction, where it uses a clean
guitar to reflect folk rock sounds.
Power chords are used quite often in the song, including

the first verse, where the chord played only consists of
root notes and fifths.
Distortion is used on the electric guitars to create an

overload feedback in the sound, making it amplified and
fuzzy. It is also known as overdrive, and is commonly
used in rock songs.
Flanger is frequently used in the electric guitars,

especially towards the end of the song. It is an effect that
doubles the sound, changing its pitch and strength to
create a sweeping effect. This is also extremely common
in rock music, particularly in electric instruments and
sometimes vocals.
Delay is also used, where a sound is repeated after a set

time interval at a lower volume. Equalisation (EQ) is often
applied to the guitar, where certain frequencies of the
sound are boosted or reduced.
RHYTHM, METRE, TEMPO
The track is recorded in 12/8 compound quadruple metre,

though some versions may notate it in 6/8 time. This is a
popular metre used in folk music, and is quite unusual for
pop music to use. It has a moderate tempo, though the
quickly moving guitar rhythms cause the music to seem
fast.
The vocals generally move slowly in a steady pace. It

often incorporates crush notes and syncopated rhythms,
meaning beats are stressed occasionally to lie on the
offbeat. There is an example of syncopation in the melody
line of the first verse.
The drum kit is the main rhythmic force in the track,

though occasionally the acoustic guitar works together
with the hi-hat rhythmically.
In most of the track, the drums carry a steady compound

rhythm with the bass drum, snare, hi-hat, as well as the
use of cymbal clashes. As the music progresses, the drum
kit develops by using more cross rhythms, complex fills,
and cymbal clashes.
INSTRUMENTATION
There were four musicians who played in the track,

though the song sounds a lot thicker because the
instruments were often multi-tracked, thickening the
texture of the music.
Guitar, Vocals Jeff Buckley
Guitar Gary Lucas
Drums Matt Johnson drums
Bass Mick Grondahl
The drum kit drove the rhythmic force of the track,

keeping a steady compound rhythm in the song. More
cymbals are used in the climax to intensify the rhythmic
features of the track.
The bass mostly played the root notes of the chord

accompaniment, occasionally using ascending scalar
patterns. Syncopated rhythms are also found in the bass

line.
The lead guitar plays an ascending pattern of broken

minor chords, followed by a repeating riff using a clean
guitar sound in the introduction. It then becomes part of
the accompaniment with long, slow moving notes that
contribute as the backing of the track.
The electric guitar mainly plays a chord accompaniment

using various techniques such as chromatic movement
and power chords. The flanger effect is used in the track,
giving the electric guitar a doubled whooshing effect. The
two guitars play with open strings to create an intentional
dissonance.
The acoustic guitar sometimes works with the hi-hat from

the drum kit rhythmically. In different introductions,
various effects are applied such as the Mandolin and
percussion effects.
The leading melody is in Buckleys vocal parts. It uses a

lot of techniques such as chromatic movements, falsetto
and melisma throughout the song. Buckleys vocals are
often multi-tracked to thicken the vocalisation texture
and to create harmony. In the final section of the song,
the vocals improvise elaborately over a falling chromatic
chord pattern, with the words centring on the hook of the
song, Wait In The Fire. The track ends with Buckley
wailing in a pure voice, imitating a religious chant.
Strings synths are added after the first chorus to thicken

the overall texture, where the track begins to build up to
its climax. It occasionally plays with slides and trills, as
well as pizzicato, where the strings are plucked on a
string instrument. The strings become more prominent
towards the end in the climax.
Practice Examination Question

Listen to the following extract four times and answer the
following questions.
Grace (Extract)
At the beginning of the extract, which of the following
statements best describes the role of the bass?
Ascending octave jumps
Descending octave jumps
Ascending scalic pattern
Descending scalic pattern
Here is the melody for the first line of the extract. Complete
the four missing notes (the rhythm is shown above the
stave).

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What are some of the musical techniques used in Grace?

What are some of the musical techniques used in Grace?

How is the structure and harmony of Grace described?

How is the structure and harmony of Grace described?

GCSE Music: Grace

By Gordon Yam (Notes Contributor)

Grace comes from the album Grace, sung by Jeff

Other tracks from the album include Hallelujah and Last

The album is released in 1994

It is a rock ballad, or folk rock (Folk music is traditional

The structure of Grace is rather complex, though

The verses and pre-choruses are 14 bars long, where the

After the second chorus, the song progresses to a 22 bars

HARMONY AND TONALITY

The harmony of the song is quite discordant and complex,

Ascending pattern of minor chords is used in the

A lot of chromatic movement is used in the chord pattern

throughout the song, and this is comparatively unusual

Quite often there is a blend of two chords at the same

The instrumental sections are mostly based on chord

In the verses, the vocal melody moves largely in steps

Grace is based on the key of E minor, though Buckley

GUITAR TECHNIQUES AND DIGITAL EFFECTS

Buckley was largely influenced by folk music, which he

Power chords are used quite often in the song, including

Distortion is used on the electric guitars to create an

Flanger is frequently used in the electric guitars,

Delay is also used, where a sound is repeated after a set

RHYTHM, METRE, TEMPO

The track is recorded in 12/8 compound quadruple metre,

The vocals generally move slowly in a steady pace. It

The drum kit is the main rhythmic force in the track,

In most of the track, the drums carry a steady compound

There were four musicians who played in the track,

Guitar, Vocals Jeff Buckley

Guitar Gary Lucas

Drums Matt Johnson drums

Bass Mick Grondahl

The drum kit drove the rhythmic force of the track,

The bass mostly played the root notes of the chord

patterns. Syncopated rhythms are also found in the bass

The lead guitar plays an ascending pattern of broken

The electric guitar mainly plays a chord accompaniment

The acoustic guitar sometimes works with the hi-hat from

The leading melody is in Buckleys vocal parts. It uses a

Strings synths are added after the first chorus to thicken

Practice Examination Question

Ascending octave jumps

Descending octave jumps

Ascending scalic pattern

Descending scalic pattern

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