Shackles (Praise You) by Mary Mary
Bringing back the times when you dance like no one is looking
This one will have you dancing around your kitchen, throwing your hands in the air and shaking your booty. And whilst you abandon yourself to the music like there’s no-one looking, at the same time you momentarily feel part of a community - of who knows who? -but in the moment you and everyone who likes this song belongs.
How do they do that?
As always, there are lots of elements that combine to create the overall musical effect. The one I’ll focus on here is the structure of congregation v soloists, derived from this song’s roots in gospel music. Creating music that anyone can learn easily by ear and singalong to is hugely important in music for religious settings where you want the congregation to join in confidently (and hopefully tunefully). So the melody needs to be simple and repeat frequently so that it is easy to memorise in probably just one hearing. In this piece, the melody comprises just three notes that are next to one another in the scale. Therefore, easily within anyone’s vocal range and leaving little room for error. Really great for being memorable, but if the song were just this, it would soon get boring. So the verses, sung by a soloist, a real good singer, use a far more complex tune and wider range of notes to create contrast and interest. Each time the chorus returns and the congregation get to join in again, ever-increasing florid turns are added by the soloists giving all of us that sense of being part of a bigger, more awe-inspiring expression of joy!
Hope you enjoy it or feel inspired to listen to something new today.
