Form Analysis

While there are some differences in the details regarding form, the overall form of these two songs is similar: a vocally repetitive section / instrumental section / return to vocally repetitive section. Thus the form of both loosely resembles A-B-A. While the Julie Fowlis example may be interpreted as either an A-B-A or A-B-A' form, the Muddy Waters example displays more variation after the instrumental section and should be called A-B-A’. Either way they are interpreted, they are both ternary form. To see the evidence of this see the chart below comparing the two songs in greater detail in relevance to their audio examples given in the introductory page of this blog (Tracks 1 and 2 respectively on the accompanying disc).

Section:	Julie Fowlis Example:	Muddy Waters Example:
Introduction	0:04 – Bouzouki and ukulele enter with main melody 0:13 – Low Irish whistle enters with same melody	0:01 – Spoken “Alright” and “Okay” 0:05 Guitar and Drums
A: Repetitive Section Including Vocals	0:24 – Julie Fowlis enters with vocal part 0:54 – Drum enters (Background vocals also enter near this point) 1:23 – Background Vocals get louder 1:25 – Ascending phrase in Bouzouki transitions to next section	0:12 – Muddy Waters on vocal part 0:15 – Harmonica ornamentation 0:22 – Piano may be heard imitating the rhythm of the percussion 1:28 – Harmonica plays more of a sliding style
B: Instrumental Section	1:28 – Fowlis enters on Irish tin whistle with same melody as the vocal part 1:42 Additions of fiddle, violin, zither, upright bass	1:59 – Harmonica solo, Harmonica mimics parts of the melody from the vocal part in the A section
A’: Repetitive Section Including Vocals Similar to the Original, But Not the Same	1:51 – Fowlis enters on vocals with same melody as in the A section (At this point the number of string instruments playing decreases) 2:18 Ends with cadence in vocal part	2:52 – Vocals return with a slightly different entrance and stronger Harmonica part accompanying 4:33 – Instrumental outro

There are some minor differences in form. The Julie Fowlis example follows a verse-chorus pattern in its vocal section or A section, while the Muddy Waters is more strictly strophic, without the chorus. NOTE: The overall form of each song remains ternary, but the A section as an individual section has a different "form" for each piece, if one were to analyze to form to that extent of detail. The Muddy Waters example also displays some variation after the instrumental section whereas the Julie Fowlis example more clearly returns to its “A” section.