Context

Troubled Water by Margaret Bonds

Margaret Bonds (1913 – 1972) was born in Chicago, USA. Her mother taught her piano and Bonds wrote her first composition at the age of five. As a teenager Bonds studied composition with Florence Price and William Dawson before studying for her music degree at Northwestern University. She then went on to study piano and composition at the Juilliard School of Music.

Bonds wrote her piano piece, Troubled Water, based on the African American jubilee song or ‘spiritual’, Wade in the Water in 1967.

Troubled Water by Margaret Bonds

Listen For

  • In 3/4 time with an opening syncopated bass riff which will be heard throughout
  • The main melody (‘Wade in the Water’) is heard in the right hand part
  • Starts in the key of E minor and moves to the tonic major (E major) at 01:27
  • At 01:34 listen for the right-hand melody and improvisatory upper part.
  • Extended (or ‘added-note’) chords
  • Listen at 02:46 for the rhythmic bass line returning this time with prominent open fifths

As you continue listening, can you identify where the opening bass riff returns and how Bonds increases the momentum to the end?

Things To Consider

  • Bonds used a spiritual song as a basis for her composition – which songs could you use as a starting point for an instrumental solo piece?
  • Think about the syncopated bass riff that opens Troubled Water and how it is worked through the piece. Could you compose a 2-bar riff to start a composition and gradually build the texture by adding layers to it?