2020 IB Extended Essays

The soft female vocals also add to the winsome timbre of the piece. The opening metrical feel stays constant. Whilst Collier adds a funky jazzy groove to his piece with the rhythmically adventurous drum kit part along with the equally rhythmically challenging bass guitar groove. In terms of pitch, the two pieces are in completely different keys. Whilst the Carpenter’s is in G major with its explicitly voiced harmony, Collier’s version hints at E flat Major with the bass suggesting a similar pattern to that of the original version (Ab – G 7 (with a hint of the added fourth) – G Cm). (Shown in figure 7)

Figure 7 - Jacob Collier’s Transcript (Lee, 2018)

The accompaniment’s texture in both is quite sparse. The melody (vocals) are the same apart from the obvious timbral difference relating to the sex of the performer and the final troping of lyrics in the Collier version.

The deeper voice (electronically enhanced) allows for a richer timbre in contrast to the softer higher voice producing a more ethereal sound. When comparing the transition from the Introduction to Verse 1, the long aleatoric-like introduction moving to a strong,

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