Oliver Schroer – Chel's Bells

Chel’s Bells is the 6th track of Oliver Schroer’s Hymns and Hers, which he recorded in 2007 after being diagnosed with leukemia. Below are a few thoughts on the tune’s form and instrumentation, as well as some comments on the A and B sections. I encourage you to check out my full transcription.

Form

Here’s the first full pass through the tune:

Chel’s Bells has two main sections, A and B, each of which is repeated four times during a single pass through the tune. The A section is varied slightly on successive repeats, while the B section has two distinct variants, which I’ve labelled B and B’. The tune also features two 4-measure transitions, one from A sections to B sections, and one from B sections back to A sections. The A section and the A-to-B transition are in 6/8, while the B section and the B-to-A transition are in are in 9/8.

Section(s)	Meter	Number of Bars
A x2	6/8	12 (6x2)
A x2	6/8	12 (6x2)
Trans.	6/8	4
B x2	9/8	8 (4x2)
B’ x2	9/8	8 (4x2)
Trans.	9/8	4

The entire tune is played three times, with each repetition featuring more instruments and a thicker texture. The first repetition features fiddle, acoustic guitar, and 5-string bass. The second repetition features fiddle, guitar, bass, and a swirl of fiddle countermelodies. The third repetition features the same instruments, with the addition of a trumpet, which doubles the rising bass line during the A sections and contributes to the nebula of countermelodies in the B sections.

A Section

The A section is based on an ascending, 5-note D major scale. The first three notes are clearly evident as low points in the fiddle line, while the last two notes are less obvious: the fourth note is in the middle of a measure, and the fifth note is shifted down by an octave.

The bass plays this ascending line each time, and in the third repeat of the entire tune, the trumpet also doubles this line.

The B Section

Harmonically, the B section oscillates back and forth between B minor and G major chords, with A major chords in between: ||: Bm - A - G - A :||. This harmonic progression is clearly outlined in the melody, with the fiddle playing an ascending arpeggio at the beginning of each measure with the root of the chord on the downbeat.

The varied B section (B’) features more notes in its ascending arpeggios, and less even rhythms. In my transcription, I’ve chosen to limit myself to 16th-notes and 2-tuplets, but these rhythms are treated loosely, and there could be more going on here.

Final Thoughts

As usual, there’s much more that could be said about this tune, particularly the countermelodies in the 2nd and 3rd passes through the tune and the rhythms in the B’ section. If you have any thoughts, questions or comments, I encourage you to get in touch!