Four-cell Entities

Comparison
     ofPolly Put The Kettle On,Mary Had A Little Lamb, andLondon Bridge Is Falling Down-
These three songs all have the same first cell ( / '), the same as inAura Lee,
     but the ensuing results are quite different.
(a) The three songs will have four cells (contrary to the two cells ofAura Lee)
     on account of theF=on the Beat of the second cell, theLanger Hinge.
(b) This feminine rhyme at the second cell will impose identical first and third cells in the three songs
     (cell-symmetry).
(c) The differences between the three songs occur in the Off-beat of the second and fourth cells,
     and, to a lesser extent, in the Beat of the fourth cell.
(d)Polly Put The Kettle Onis the only song to repeat theK2in the Off-beat of the second cell
     creating the triple ObOb-symmetry of the first, second, and third cells and
     imposing the change (in this caseK1) in the Off-beat of the fourth cell.
(e) BothMary Had A Little LambandLondon BridgehaveF=in the Off-beat of the second cell
     (a ObB-symmetricalF=F=cell), but the similarity ends there.
(f)Mary Had A Little LambhasK2in the Off-beat of the fourth cell,
     creating a triple ObOb-symmetry in the Off-beats of the first, third, and fourth cells,
     conveniently avoiding excessive repetition by the presence of a different Off-beat (F=) in the second cell.
(g)London Bridgehas theK1(ofPolly Put The Kettle On) in the Off-beat of the fourth cell
     and theF=(ofMary Had A Little Lamb) in the Off-beat of the second cell,
          but it is not obliged to have both (one is enough to avoid excessive symmetry).
     There is therefore less symmetry and repetition in it than in the other two,
          possibly on account of itsF-ending which leaves it "unfinished"
               and thus a little less tightly structured.

Split Cells

Once we established the concept of Split Cells
          (probably after examining and analysingOh, When The Saints),
     we were surprised to see how popular they were and in how many songs they appeared -
          from only once (in various places of the melody),
          to constantly (every single cell being split).
     We will present them in groups, according to their frequency of appearance.

One Split Cell

When a split cell only appears once in a complete pattern,
          it will not always be at the same place -
     we will start with the cases where it is closest to the beginning of the melody.
We placeJingle Bellsfirst because -
          its split cell, at the beginning, has no pick-upsFF KM KF pKM.
     It's 4-cell pattern is divided into 2 Melo-rhythmic Entities, with a Feminine Rhyme in the center of each -
           FF KMin the first entity andKF pKMin the second.
On the other hand,Oh, When The Saints
          has anpick-up everywherepMpM pKM pKF- pKM.
     It's 4-cell pattern is composed of 4 Melo-rhythmic Entities, a 2-layer MI-MI-MA, with
          two EntitiespMpMin the first (split) cell,
          one EntitypKMin the second.cell, and
          one EntitypKF pKMin the third and fourth cells, with a Feminine Rhyme in the middle.
Now, in bothMary Had A Little LambandLondon Bridge Is Falling Down, the second cell is split -
           KF FF KF pKMinMary Had A Little Lamband
           KF FF KF K1F-inLondon Bridge Is Falling Down.
     In each case, the 4-cell pattern is composed of one single Melo-rhythmic Entity, with
          the Feminine Rhyme of its split cellFFplaced in the center of the melody.
InShe'll Be Coming Round The Mountainthe third cell is split -
           pKM pKM pF+pF+ pKMwith "double rebounds" in thepF+pF+.
     It's 4-cell pattern is composed of three Melo-rhythmic Entities, a 1-layer MI-MI-MA, with
          one EntitypKMin the first cell,
          one EntitypKMin the second.cell, and
          one EntitypF+pF+ pKMin the third and fourth cells,
               with the Feminine Rhyme of the split cell in the middle.
InAura Lee, the fifth cell is split -
          theFFinKF KM KF KM FF KM KF KM.
     The 8-cell pattern of the song is composed of four Melo-rhythmic Entities, each a member of an AABA,
          with the split cell at the beginning of the Bridge (B)FF KM
               quite similar to the beginning ofJingle Bells.
          This split cell creates the required Melo-rhythmic diversity between the four Entities.
It is interesting to note the variety of positions possible for one, isolated split cell in a melody.

Two Split Cells

When split cells appear twice in a complete pattern,
          it might be under quite different circumstances,
     from part of the time (here 2 out of 6 times) to all of the time.
InDer Tannenbaum, the first and fifth cells are split -
          thepFpFinpFpF pKF pKF pKF pFpF pKF.
     The 6-cell pattern of the song is composed of three (weak) Melo-rhythmic Entities,
               each a member of an ABA,
          with the split cell at the beginning of each ApFpF pKF
               contrary toAura Leewhich has its split cell in the Bridge (B).
InDown In The Valley, both cells are split -
          inpFpM pFpM.
     The 2-cell pattern of the song is composed uniquely of fused split cellspFpM
          which places the song, to a certain extent, in the following category.

Four Split Cells

When all the cells of a pattern are split,
          here again, there will be a considerable variety of possibilities.
In the chorus ofNever On Sunday, there is no fusion whatever,
     either within or between the cells
          with exactly the same (unfused) cell everywhere4x (pMpM).
     The only variation is in the pick-up which we will see in the next Commentary.
In the chorus ofAutumn Leaves, there is fusion between cells -
     between the first and the second and between the third and the fourth,
          producing two 2-cell Entities2x (pMpF- pMpM).
     Here, the pick-ups are constant, all.
Quando, Quandois very similar toAutumn Leaves,
     with cells fused two by twopMpF- pMpM, this time an A in a large AABA
          consisting of2x (pMpF- pMpM) pMpM pMpM pMpF pMpM
     The Bridge (B) has no fusion2x (pMpM)
          very much like the chorus ofNever On Sunday.

Sub-division of p3

We thought it might be interesting to observe various manifestations of a very popular pick-up
          composed of the last three eighth-notes before the first bar-line,p3,.
     These manifestations consist of various degrees of subdivision of the eigth-notes into sixteenth-notes.
          Some songs are consistent once the choice is made, others are not.

The Basic

The first three songs maintain the basicpick-up throughout -
           Oh, When The Saintswithp3Mp3M p3KM p3KF- p3KM,
           Tarara-Boom-Diaywithp3F-p3F- p3F-p3F- p3F-p3F- p3F-p3M, and
           Autumn Leaveswith2x (p3Mp3F- p3Mp3M).
     However, the surrounding Melo-rhythmical surroundings are completely different -
          InOh, When The Saintswe have a 2-layered MI-MI-MA
               in which thep3,appears twice in the first cell, only once in the other three cells.
          InTarara-Boom-Diaywe have one 4-cell entity
               withF-Feminine Rhymes everywhere, twice per cell, except for the very end.
          InAutumn Leaveswe have two 2-cell Entities
               withMMasculine Rhymes everywhere, except on the Beat of the first and third cells.

So far we have found only one song which usescombined with,
          none which useexclusively.
     The chorus ofNever On Sundaywith4x (p3Mp3M)
          starts withonce, followed bythree times,
               forming an Entity of two split cells, half of the 4-cell, 2-entity Melody.

Here is a song which combineswith-
     InTres Palabras (Without You)withp3Mp3F- p3Mp3F- p3KF- p3M3pF-,
          we have an AABA within the Melo-harmony of the complete circle, a most unusual choice,
               with each A composed ofp3Mp3F-, an antecedent split cell as inAutumn Leaves,
               and the Bridge (B) composed ofp3KF-, a normal antecedent cell.
          Each A cell has -
               apick-up before the Masculine Off-beat, \ _ ', and
               apick-up before the Feminine Beat, \ _ '.
          The B cell has apick-up before the kinetic Off-beat.
     In the chorus ofNever On Sunday-
          the undivided pick-up came first, the divided followed,
          but here, the divided pick-up comes first, with the undivided following.
     Is this caused by the particular choice of antecedent split cells?
          We may some day find out.

Finally, a song which combineswith-
     InQuando, Quandowith2x (p3Mp3F- p3M3pM) p3M3pM p3M3pM p3M3pF- p3M3pM,
               we have a normal AABA with the same Melo-harmony for each A,
          each A havingfour times in its two split cells,
                \ _ ' / _ ' \ _ ' / _ ', and
          the Bridge (B) havingthree times andthe fourth time, in its two split cells.
                \ _ ' / _ ' \ _ ' / _ '
          In the Bridge, the less divided pick-up comes first and the more divided comes later.

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