Work Booklet

Name:

Target Grade:

GCSE Music

Area of Study 4

Set Work 2

Since You’ve Been Gone

Russ Ballard (Performed by Rainbow)

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Contents Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………… 4

Context ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 5

Structure …………………………………………………………………………………….. 6

Band Members …………………………………………………………………………….. 7

The 3 T’s ………………………………………………………………………………………. 8

Lyrics ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 9

In Depth Analysis

Intro bars 1-4 …………………………………………………………………………. 10

Intro bars 5-10 ……………………………………………………………………….. 11

Verse 1 ……………………………………………………………………………………. 12

Pre-chorus 1 ……………………………………………………………………………. 13

Chorus 1 ………………………………………………………………………………….. 14

Verse 2, Pre-chorus 2, Chorus 2 ……………………………………………….. 15

Bridge ……………………………………………………………………………………… 16

Chorus 3 ………………………………………………………………………………….. 18

Outro ………………………………………………………………………………………. 20

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Context

Rainbow was a Rock Band formed in 1975 by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore

(formerly of Deep Purple)

The band had a number of different members before they recorded their album

‘Down to Earth’ in April 1979. This album featured the hit song ‘Since You’ve

Been Gone’ which is one of our GCSE Set Works.

The album was an instant success, selling 120,000 copies in the UK in its first

week of release.

‘Since You’ve Been Gone’ reached number 6 in the UK singles charts.

Since You’ve Been Gone

Composed by Russ Ballard

Performed by Rainbow

Recorded in 1979

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Structure Listen to ‘Since You’ve Been Gone’ and complete the table below to show

the structure of the song.

Intro

Pre-chorus

Outro

Instruments

Name all of the instruments you can hear in the song:

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Band Members

Name Role

Graham Bonnet Vocals/backing vocals

Ritchie Blackmore Guitars

Don Airey Keyboards

Roger Glover Bass/percussion

Cozy Powell Drumkit

The musicians performing in Rainbow’s version of ‘Since You’ve Been Gone’ were as

follows:

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The 3 T’s (Tempo, Texture, Tonality)

Tempo

In the score stipulated by the exam board, the words ‘Moderately bright Rock beat’ are

written at the beginning of the music. These words can therefore be used to describe

the tempo if you are asked to do so in the exam.

Alternatively, you could also say that the tempo is around 120bpm (beats per minute)

Texture

Throughout this song, the texture can be described as:

Homophonic/melody and accompaniment

It is described as homophonic because rhythmically the parts are generally moving

at the same time as each other.

It is also described as melody and accompaniment because there is obviously a

main melody (the vocal line) which is the the most important part. The other in-

struments are accompanying that melody.

** For more help with texture refer to the knowledge organiser in your folder**

Tonality

The tonality of the piece is major throughout.

The key of the piece is G major

There is a modulation into A major for the final chorus.

This technique of modulating up a tone for the last chorus is very common in popular

music.

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I get the same old dreams same time every night Fall to the ground and I wake up So I get out of bed, put on my shoes and in my head Thoughts fly back to the breakup

Since You’ve Been Gone

These four wall are closing in Look at the fix you put me in

Since you been gone Since you been gone I'm out of my head can't take it Could I be wrong But since you been gone You cast your spell so break it Oh oh, oh oh, oh oh Since you been gone

So in the night I stand beneath the backstreet light I read the words that you sent to me I can take the afternoon, the night time comes around too soon You can't know what you mean to me

Your poison letter, your telegram Just goes to show you don't give a damn

Since you been gone Since you been gone I'm out of my head can't take it Could I be wrong But since you been gone You cast your spell so break it Oh oh, oh oh, oh oh Since you been gone

If you will come back Baby, you know you'll never do wrong

Since you been gone Since you been gone I'm out of my head can't take it Could I be wrong But since you been gone You cast your spell so break it Oh oh, oh oh, oh oh, oh oh Ever since you been gone

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In-depth Analysis

Intro (Bars 1-10)

Bars 1-4

Begins with famous four bar riff which mixes on and off-beat quavers and includes

some syncopation from bar 33- 42

The riff is played by the electric guitar using distortion

The keyboard very faintly doubles the guitar in the background— it is barely audible

The chord sequence is very simple:

Vocabulary

Riff A short repeated musical phrase

Syncopation ‘Off-beat’ rhythms

Distortion An effect on a guitar which creates a

‘fuzzy’ or ‘growling’ sound

Doubles When an instrument plays exactly the

same part as another, they are

‘doubling’ that part

G D Em C G D Em C D

I V vi IV I V vi IV V

All of the chords are played in root position

With the exception of both G chords and the first D chord, all of the other chords

are power chords

Root position When the ‘key note’ is the low-

est note in the chord e.g. in G

the lowest note would be G.

Power Chord A guitar chord that only con-

tains the root and the fifth note

of a chord. (Usually chords have

the root, the third and the fifth).

Often the root will be doubled

up or down an octave.

Power chords are often written

with a 5 e.g. G5 Em5 etc.

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Intro continued

Bars 5-10

At the end of bar 4 there is a descending glissando on the bass guitar as well

as a single hit of the snare drum on bar 44

The whole band joins in on beat 1 of bar 5 playing the same chordal riff.

The keyboard doubles the guitar part

The bass guitar plays the root notes of the riff, an octave lower

The drum part is extremely simple.

The tambourine plays semiquavers

There are handclaps on every beat

There is a change of time signature at bar 8 to 2/4

The time signature returns to the usual 4/4 one bar later

In bar 9 there is a long, sustained D chord which is held for two bars (8 beats)

This is an imperfect cadence (Chord I to Chord V)

The drums and hand claps stop

Over the sustained chord, there are two layers of backing vocals singing the

word “Woah”

The vocals are a combination of step-wise/

conjunct movement and an arpeggio of D7

Vocabulary

Glissando A slide up or down a

series of notes

Imperfect

Cadence

Chord I to Chord V

See Knowledge Organ-

iser for more detail.

Arpeggio A broken chord

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Verse 1

Bars 11-18

Bar 11

15

12

16

13

17

14

18

Chord G D/F# Em D6 C G/B A D

Instrument Role

Vocal The lead vocal starts on a G (the tonic), and sings a descending stepwise line

that follows a G major scale in bars 11 and 12, before breaking free in bars 13

and 14

The setting of the words is syllabic throughout the verses

Each short phrase starts on an off-beat and is syncopated

It is very common in pop and rock for vocal lines to follow the rhythms of

speech

Guitars Plays ascending arpeggios, without distortion, using an effect called Chorus

instead

A second guitar part (with distortion) plays supporting minims

Keyboard Plays quavers throughout, using inverted chords and following the chord

pattern almost exactly (e.g. in bar 14, it follows the bass by moving to the D

chord a quaver before beat 3)

Bass Plays the roots of the chords, usually on the beat

Uses a mixture of dotted rhythms and minims, with occasional quaver

patterns for decoration

EXCEPT in bars 11 and 13 where it plays the 3rd of the chords on beat 3—this

allows the bass line to descend in stepwise motion, down a G major scale

Drums and

Percussion

A very simple two crotchet fill-in leads into the verse

The drums then play a very simple rock beat

The tambourine plays on beats 2 and 4 with additional quavers in bars 14 and

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The verse consists of two musically identical 4-bar phrases with chord changes every two beats.

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Pre-Chorus

Bars 19-22

Bar 19 20 21 22

Chord Eb F Eb F/A Cm7 D

Instrument Role

Vocal The voice sings two 2-bar phrases that could be described as a sequence if we

ignore the slight changes of rhythm to fit the lyrics

The phrases are syllabic

In bars 21 and 22 we hear the highest note of the song so far—a top C.

Guitars The guitar adds an effect called flanger

Joins the bass guitar and left-hand of the keyboard in resting for 4 1/2 beats

and then playing a syncopated pattern.

Keyboard Plays quavers throughout, using inverted chords and following the chord

pattern almost exactly (e.g. in bar 14, it follows the bass by moving to the D

chord a quaver before beat 3)

Bass Follows the guitar part in playing the syncopated pattern above

Drums and

Percussion

The drums stop playing the regular beat and follow the rhythm of the guitar/

bass part, marking key accents with the crash cymbal

A single snare drum hit on the 4th beat of bar 23 leads us into the Chorus

There is no percussion at this point

This is a short, 4 bar passage that precedes the Chorus

Harmony

Instead of resolving back to Chord I at the end of the verse, the dominant chord resolves up-

wards to Eb major and F major, the flattened 6th and 7th in the key of G major. These are very

common in rock music.

In bar 22 the chord Am7(b5) is used. This is also known as a ‘half-diminished’ chord which are

common in Jazz and Musical Theatre but not in Rock music

The harmonic rhythm (the speed at which the chords change) has now halved to once per bar

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Chorus 1

Bars 23-34

Bar 23 27 31

24 28 32

25 29 33

26 30 34

Chord G D Em C G D Em C D

The Chorus is 12 bars long. It is made up of the riff from the intro played three times

The harmonic rhythm increases back to two chords per bar

Instrument Role

Vocal

and Backing

Vocals

The lead vocals enters on a top B, on the beat, singing the hook of the song

The second half of this phrase follows the syncopated part of the guitar riff

(bars 253 –261)

The backing vocals join in, filling out the harmonies of the chords under the

lead vocal, in rhythmic unison

Bars 23-30 and bar 34 are entirely syllabic, whereas bars 31-33 are melismatic

(on the word “Oh!”)

In bar 34, all vocals are in rhythmic unison with the riff

Guitars The guitar plays the main riff from the Intro three times

Keyboard The keyboard plays the main riff from the Intro for the first eight bars (bars 23

-30) then reverts to a quaver pattern based on the keyboard part from the

verse for the final four bars (bars 31-34)

Bass The bass plays the main riff from the Intro three times

Drums and

Percussion

The drums revert to the basic Rock beat from the verse

Extra percussion is added here: semiquavers on the tambourine and regular

crotchets for the handclaps and cow bell (with occasional slight deviation for

the handclaps e.g. bar 26)

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Verse 2, Pre-Chorus 2 and Chorus 2

Apart from the lyrics and the exact rhythms of the lead vocal, these sections are identical to Verse 1,

Pre-Chorus 1 and Chorus 1 with one exception:

In the repeat of the chorus Graham Bonnet (vocal) sings a descending line down from top D, in-

stead of singing three B’s as he did in Bar 27 (the corresponding part of Chorus 1)

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Bridge

Bars 35-45

Bar 35 40

36 41

37 42

38 43

39 44

45

Chord G Am7 G/B C G/D B Em G7/D C Am7 D7sus Dsus4 D

B/D# C Am7 D5

The Bridge is built of two almost identical 5-bar phrases, with an extra bar at the end (bar 45)

The main differences are:

i) Graham Bonnet (lead vocals) only joins in on the second time through (bar 40 onwards)

ii) The lead guitar plays an octave higher in bars 40-45 than in bars 35-39

Harmony

The Bridge is the most interesting section of the song, harmonically

It uses a variety of inverted chords such as a first inversion (bars 60/65), two second inversions

(bars 59/64 and 61/66) and even a third inversion (bars 62/67)

As in the verses, this use of inversion creates the opportunity for the bass line to play a rising G

major scale (bars 59-61)

There is also an extended chord in bar 61/66: B7(b9)

The Bridge is more harmonically advanced than the rest of the song. This makes an effective con-

trast with the Choruses on either side of the Bridge.

The extra bar, bar 45, sees the whole band play five chords, in rhythmic unison, using the same

rhythm as the riff.

The guitar plays a D5 power chord, but the keyboard plays two Dsus4 chords before resolving to D

major for the last three chords.

The lead vocalist lets out a grunting sound to fill the gap.

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Instrument Role

Vocal

and Backing

Vocals

The lead vocal sings nothing for the first five bars of the Bridge, coming in on

bar 40

This vocal line is an imitation of the lead guitar melody below.

It is in a much lower tessitura than the Choruses that surround it

A single backing vocal joins in in bar 42, singing a 6th higher than the lead vo-

cal (except for the final note of bars 44-45)

This is a much softer style of singing, with the highest note of each phrase

being sung in a gentle falsetto.

Guitars There are two guitar parts in this section of the song

The lead guitar plays a gentle legato melody which rises from the tonic of G

before falling in triplets in a sequence, then rising an octave at the end of the

phrase

When the vocal joins in (bar 41) this guitar line is repeated an octave higher

There are mordents in bars 36, 37, 41 and 42

Keyboard The style of the keyboard part completely changes in this section—it includes

a series of virtuosic arpeggios, outlining the chords, supported by minim

chords in the left hand

In bar 45 the keyboard part has two Dsus4 chords before resolving to D major.

Everyone else just plays D or A.

Bass The bass plays an ascending G major scale, playing roots and other notes of

the chords creating inversions as described earlier.

Drums and

Percussion

The drums are in Half Time: instead of playing the back beat on the snare

drum twice per bar, on beats 2 and 4, he now only plays it on beat 3 of each

bar giving the feeling that the song has slowed down when in fact the pulse is

identical.

The tambourine plays the same as the snare drum: on beat 3 of each bar

which adds to the feeling of Half Time.

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Chorus 3

Bars 46-60

Bar 46 50

47 51

48 52

49 53

Chord A E F#m D A E F#m D E

Without warning the Chorus comes back in after the Bridge a tone higher in A major

For the first eight bars of the usual 12-bar Chorus the chords follow the same pattern

In bars 78-79 the chord sequence changes as the stepwise movement of the bass guitar creates

effective chordal inversions again.

A new chord is heard in this chorus: F major, which in A major is bVI

This is repeated with different inversions in bars 80-81

The Chorus finishes with a perfect cadence into A major. The tonic chord is held for two bars as

the drums play a simple fill-in and the lead guitar begins to play a solo

Bar 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

Chord A E F#m F A/E E F#m F A/E E A A A

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Instrument Role

Vocal

and Backing

Vocals

The vocals are the same as in Chorus 2 but a tone higher, meaning that in bar

50 he sings a top E, the highest note in the song

An extra backing vocal is added in the first four bars of Chorus 3 singing an

octave lower than the lead vocal, creating a 4-part vocal texture

Guitars The rhythm guitar plays the usual Chorus riff (now in A major) and in bars 54-

59 plays power chords to follow the harmony.

The lead guitar begins to play a solo, but it is very deep inside the texture and

can barely be hear at first

Fast picking with the plectrum creates a tremolo effect in bars 46-49 as the

line imitates the lead vocal line.

In bars 51-59 the lead guitar part gets busier including several references to

the melodic hook of the song (e.g. bars 50, 54 and 56) and a virtuosic

ascending arpeggio in bar 57

In bar 62, the lead guitar plays a one bar pick-up to the Outro

Keyboard For the first eight bars of Chorus 3 (bars 46-54) the keyboard plays the same

part as in previous choruses, but in A major

In bars 55-59 it plays the same repeated quaver pattern from Chorus 1 but

following the new harmony.

A 2 beat descending glissando leads into the Outro

Bass The bass follows the pattern of previous Choruses and plays a descending

pattern in bars 55-59

Drums and

Percussion

The drums and percussion play exactly the same as in previous choruses

The drums mark the long tonic chord in bar 60 and a simple fill-in leads to the

Outro

The tambourine shakes for the final two beats of this Chorus, adding to the

texture

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Outro

Bars 61– fade

This final section is a variation on previous Choruses as it uses the same riff

Instead of playing the full Chorus it loops the first four bars

This allows Ritchie Blackmore (lead guitar) to solo over the top

The song starts to fade out starting around bar 95

Instrument Role

Vocal

and Backing

Vocals

The lead and backing vocals rest for the first eight bars of this section (bars 61-

68) coming in again at bar 69

The lead singer then sings the first four bars of the Chorus twice as the song

fades

Guitars The rhythm guitar plays the usual Chorus riff

The lead guitar plays a solo

The solo continues under the vocals as they come back in at bar 69

Keyboard The keyboard plays the repeated quaver figure from previous choruses

A second keyboard part is now added, to thicken the texture. This plays a var-

iation on the original riff, working with the rhythm guitar, bass guitar and left

hand of the original keyboard

Bass The bass follows the pattern of previous Choruses

The only difference is that, in places, the bass plays notes an octave lower

than previously to create variation

Drums and

Percussion

The drums and percussion play exactly the same as in previous choruses