Capercaillie- Skye Waulking Song

The song is in two sections

The melody is based on a pentatonic scale Its in 12/8 with four beats in a bar. The strong rhythm helped the workers keep in time Its played on a mix of traditional and modern instruments. The fiddle, pipes, whistle, accordion and bouzouki are all traditional, while the guitar, bass guitar, drum kit and keyboard are more modern. They all play in their middle range- there are no high-pitched screeching notes. It has a polyrhythmic texture- lots of different rhythms are being played at the same time. The singers part has a different rhythm to the rest of the band. At some points, the singers part is in 12/8 while the hi-hats playing 3 beats in a bar, making it feel like . It has a fade-out ending Section 1 o The first section feels very traditional, with just a simple beat o Its in E minor- the chords change between Em and G o Its quite quiet, calm and peaceful- it sounds almost subdued o None of the instruments really stand out in this section- the focus is on the singer. Section 2 o The full rhythm section (drums and bass part) play in the second section and drive it forward o Its in G major (the relative major of E minor) o Its generally much louder, though theres a quieter bit when the drums and bass guitar stop o Theres a pipe solo that uses some of the vocal melody line in its improvisation. There are harmonised backing vocals too.

The lyrics are in Scots Gaelic