What are the key features of the three tracks from Kate Bush's Hounds of Love?
Kate Bush: three tracks from Hounds of Love (Cloudbusting, And Dream of Sheep, Under Ice). Art-pop using the Fairlight sampler, drum machines, layered production, word-painting and atmospheric texture.
A focused answer on the Edexcel A-Level Music set work, three tracks from Kate Bush's Hounds of Love. Covers art-pop, the Fairlight CMI sampler, drum machines, layered production, word-painting and the atmospheric textures the appraising exam rewards.
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What this dot point is asking
This is the second Popular Music and Jazz set work: three tracks from Kate Bush's album Hounds of Love (1985): Cloudbusting, And Dream of Sheep and Under Ice. You must know its art-pop style, its use of the Fairlight CMI sampler and drum machines, its layered production, its distinctive vocal melody, and its word-painting and atmospheric texture.
Context and the art-pop style
Technology and production
Melody, harmony and word-painting
Texture
How Edexcel examines this
This set work is examined with describe/comment questions on the technology and production, the melody and harmony, the word-painting and texture, supported by the anthology. It may anchor the single set-work essay or feature in the links essay (paired with an unfamiliar pop or electronic extract). It compares strongly with The Beatles (both studio-led) and with the electronics of New Directions. The mark scheme rewards the terms Fairlight, sampler, drum machine, reverb, multitracking, layering, modal, drone, hook, located and attributed.
Try this
Q1. What pioneering piece of technology did Kate Bush use on Hounds of Love? [Knowledge recall]
- Cue. The Fairlight CMI, a digital sampler, used for sampled voices and unusual timbres.
Q2. How does the texture differ between And Dream of Sheep and Cloudbusting? [Short explanation]
- Cue. And Dream of Sheep is sparse and intimate (almost solo voice and keyboard); Cloudbusting is full and driving, with an insistent rhythmic ostinato and layered samples.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of Pearson Edexcel exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Edexcel 20198 marksDescribe Kate Bush's use of technology and texture in these tracks. (Component 3, Section A, with anthology)Show worked answer →
A Section A question on production and texture.
Technology. The Fairlight CMI sampler (sampled sounds, including the human voice and unusual timbres), drum machines and programmed rhythms, reverb, delay and layered multitracking.
Texture. Dense, atmospheric layering of vocals (often multitracked and harmonised), keyboards, samples and percussion, ranging from sparse and intimate (And Dream of Sheep) to driving and full (Cloudbusting, Under Ice). Locate an example.
Markers reward the terms Fairlight, sampler, drum machine, reverb, multitracking, layering, located in the tracks, not "she uses lots of effects".
Edexcel 20228 marksComment on the melody, harmony and word-painting in these tracks. (Component 3, Section A)Show worked answer →
An 8-mark question on melody, harmony and text setting.
Melody. Distinctive, wide-ranging vocal melodies with expressive leaps and an individual delivery; memorable hooks.
Harmony. Largely tonal and modal with added-note and colouristic chords, sometimes static or drone-based for atmosphere.
Word-painting. The music depicts the lyrics: cold, icy textures for Under Ice, a driving energy for Cloudbusting, intimate sparseness for And Dream of Sheep.
A strong answer names melodic and harmonic features and attributes word-painting to specific tracks, rather than asserting "the music matches the words".
Related dot points
- Area of Study 4 Popular Music and Jazz: the three set works (Courtney Pine's Back in the Day, Kate Bush's Hounds of Love, The Beatles' Revolver), the styles of jazz, art-pop and 1960s rock, and the techniques of riff, improvisation and studio production.
An overview of Area of Study 4 (Popular Music and Jazz) for Edexcel A-Level Music. Introduces the three set works by Courtney Pine, Kate Bush and The Beatles, the styles of jazz, art-pop and 1960s rock, and the techniques of riff, improvisation and studio production the appraising exam rewards.
- Courtney Pine: three tracks from Back in the Day (Inner State (of Mind), Lady Day and (John Coltrane), Love and Affection). British jazz fused with soul, hip-hop and reggae, improvisation, riffs, sampling and groove.
A focused answer on the Edexcel A-Level Music set work, three tracks from Courtney Pine's Back in the Day. Covers British jazz fused with soul, hip-hop and reggae, saxophone improvisation, riffs, sampling, groove and the techniques the appraising exam rewards.
- The Beatles: four songs from Revolver (Eleanor Rigby, Here There and Everywhere, I Want to Tell You, Tomorrow Never Knows). 1960s rock, studio production (tape loops, reverse recording, ADT), harmony, melody and structure.
A focused answer on the Edexcel A-Level Music set work, four songs from The Beatles' Revolver. Covers 1960s rock, pioneering studio production (tape loops, reverse recording, ADT, varispeed), harmony, melody, structure and the techniques the appraising exam rewards.
- The musical elements (melody, harmony, tonality, texture, structure, rhythm, metre, tempo, dynamics, articulation, instrumentation and technology) and the analytical vocabulary the Component 3 appraising paper rewards across all six areas of study.
A focused answer on the musical elements that underpin every Edexcel A-Level Music appraising answer. Covers melody, harmony, tonality, texture, structure, rhythm, metre, dynamics, articulation, instrumentation and technology, with the precise vocabulary and bar-referencing the Component 3 exam rewards.
- Harmony, tonality and melody as analytical tools: diatonic and chromatic harmony, cadences, modulation, chromatic chords (Neapolitan, augmented sixth, diminished seventh), and melodic devices across the six areas of study.
A focused answer on harmony, tonality and melody for Edexcel A-Level Music appraising. Covers cadences, modulation, functional and chromatic harmony, the Neapolitan and augmented-sixth chords, melodic contour and devices, with the precise vocabulary and bar-referencing Component 3 rewards.
Sources & how we know this
- Pearson Edexcel A-Level Music (9MU0) specification (Issue 7) — Pearson Edexcel (2016)
- Pearson set work support guide: Kate Bush, Hounds of Love — Pearson Edexcel (2016)