-The different rhythmic layers include the piano, trumpet, saxophones, congas, vocals, tambourine, electric guitar, bass, drums
-There are many accompanying rhythmic layers where repetition is a feature for example the bass line has a repeated rhythmic figure, other instruments which have a repeated sequence include the electric guitar, bass, drums.
-The introduction is repeated twice
-The pulse is rhythmically driven
-Majority of short rhythmic values
-Syncopation in the bass and melody parts. The congas use strong syncopation.
Texture
-The texture is homophonic
-The main melodic role is the male vocals and the other instruments are accompanying.
-The texture is constantly changing with the addition and subtraction of the instruments.
-The texture builds, although it is always homophonic.
-The texture becomes less when the verse begins sue to the brass and woodwind instruments being subtracted. Then the texture then increases when the backing vocals come in.
-When the lyrics say “ pretty little thing, let me light your candle” is when the texture becomes monophonic because only the vocals are heard.
-The instruments are playing strong, full, accented sounds which add to the overall texture of the song.
Wednesday 15 June 2011
Indian classical music
-Principally based on melody and rhythm, not on harmony, chords and the other basics of Western classical music
-To Indians, music can be a spiritual discipline on the path to self-realisation; for we follow the traditional teaching that sound is god.
-The ancient Vedic scriptures teach that there are two types of sound. One is a vibration, the upper or purer air near the celestral realm .The other sound is the vibration of air in the lower atmosphere closer to the earth.
-The tradition of Indian classical music is an oral one. It is taught directly by the guru to the disciple, rather than by the notation method used in the west.
-The very heart of Indian music is the raga: the melodic form upon which the musician improvises. The framework is established by tradition and inspired by the creative spirits of master musicians.
-Ragas are difficult to explain, though Indian music is modal in character, ragas should not be mistaken as modes that one hears in the music of the middle and far eastern countries.
-A raga is a scientific, precise, subtle and aesthetic melodic form with its own peculiar ascending and descending movement consisting of either a full seven note octave, or a series of six or five notes in a rising or falling structure called the Arohana and Avorohana. IT is the subtle difference in the order of notes, an omission of a dissonant note, an emphasis on a particular note, the slide from one note to another, and the use of microtones together with other subtleties that demarcate one raga from the other .
Raga anandi Kalyan – Ravi and Anoushka Shankar
Pitch
-Melodic ornamentation, pitch bends and slides
-It does not sound as though it is using a normal western scale structures
-There are repetitions of ascending scale runs
-The pitch is fairly high
-The melody incorporates both leaps and steps
-There is a repeated tonic note used as underlying sound
-The three layers include the Citar, and the accompanying citar. There is also a table which is a un-tunned instrument although has a pitch range. The way the drum is played gives different pitches.
Within our class we performed our own Samba Batucada at Musicale. We based our performance on the score below:
The instruments that we used within this piece are similar to the orignial score although more westernised.
These instruments include:
- Timpani
- Snare drum
- Cow bell
- guiros
- Shakers
- Marraccas
- Congos
- Ago-go bell
- Piccallo snare drum
- Bongos
- cajon (box)
The structure included:
- a call and response introduction
- samba (all in)
- Pause
- call ad response section
- samba (all in)
- crescendo and accelerando to finish
To create interest we also:
- had variations in rythmic patterns
- had a variation of tone colours
- change in tempo
- change in dynamics during middle call nd respone section
-Mbira: the national instrument of Zimbabwe. The mbira is in the lamellophone family of musical instruments, and is made of a small board or block (called a gwariva or soundboard) with attached metal strips
Drums are always associated with dance and can be used for various dances.
Mhande Drums
Shauro- used for the lead rhythm
Tsinhiro- used for the response rhythm
Dinhe Drums
Mhito- used for the lead rhythm
Mitumba miviri- used for the response rhythm
Chokoto Drums
(these are two headed)
Genres
-Jit: This is a highly danceable form of music that Zimbabwe is best known for, it gained exposure during the 1980s. It is characterised by fast guitar riffs and rapid-fire drumming. It is also influenced by Tanzanian guitar
-Shona music: This is the traditional music of the Shona people of Zimbabwe. There are several types of instruments Shona music includes such as The Mbira, singing,the Hosho and drumming. The music is often accompanied by dancing. This form of music will often be heard in religious ceremonies.
-Chimurenga music: This is a popular music genre within Zimbabwe. The word Chimurenga means “struggle” in a Shona Language. The music is based on the struggle for human rights, political dignity and social justice.
-Sungura: This is very popular genre in Zimbabwe that involves heavy guitars, and the songs generally have reggae feel. This genre had its peak in the mid-1990s and is still going strong today.
Social and Historical Context of Zimbabwe Music
-The music of Zimbabwe is based on the rhythms and melodies of the Mbira, this instrument is associated with the ancestors.There is also pop music in Zimbabwe that incorporates their indigenous instruments. Although the mbira is traditionally played as ceremonial music to call spirits
-Traditional music of the Mbira would promote the feeling of solidarity in the struggle for independance within Zimbabwe.
-Music groups would be formed in Urban areas and the lyrics would contain political messages that promoted Africa
-In all African cultures, dance, music, and song help define the role of the individual and the group within the community
-Historically, the music of Zimbabwe was representative of every aspect of life in Zimbabwean culture, from birth, through the trials and events of living, to death.When colonization occurred in Zimbabwe, it brought with it Christian values, beliefs and music that changed the way traditional lyrics and music were written and performed. This also brought new genres.
Outside influences:
-Other influences on popular music include church music, gospel, Zairean rhumba, and South African mbaqanga and mbube
- Western influence has forced the music and performance art of Zimbabwe from being used to celebrate the religious beliefs and communal practices of its people to having to make a statement about the social conditions and hardships brought upon them
Analysis of “Munondizvidza”by the Four Brothers- This song comes under the popular genre of Jit within Zimbabwe.
Duration:
-Very fast tempo
-the time signature is 4/4
-There is rhythmic repetition used by the electric guitar throughout the whole song
-The rhythm is a variation of straight and syncopated notes; this is created by the multiple electric guitars that are playing completely different rhythms.
-The different rhythmic layers includes the two electric guitars, the vocals ( more than one voice) and the drum
Pitch:
-tonality is major
-The melody of the vocals moves in a series of steps and leaps at different intervals
-The accompaniment of the guitars to the vocals moves mainly in steps
-The range of the melody is fairly small
Texture:
-there are three major layers of sound
-the vocals are the main part, the electric guitars both provide an accompanying melody, although during an interval one of the guitars has the main part where it uses rhythmic repetition.
-The texture is homophonic
-The texture is quite dense
-The texture becomes thinner when the vocals are not involved. When they drop out it is just the two electric guitars playing.
Tone color:
-the instruments involved are vocals, electric guitars and a form of drum
-Both the guitars are plucking the strings
-The sound can be described as very lively and light
Dynamics and expressive techniques:
-There is not much dynamic contrast, the dynamics are consistent the whole song- moderately loud
-By plucking the strings, the guitars create a staccato
-The vocals are very free, sometimes almost spoken
Structure:
-The structure is hard to determine in this song because there is no real tempo changes, dynamic changes or melodic changes
-There are not distinct verse, chorus structures seen in this song
-There are various sections where the vocals and the guitar has new melodies.
Analysis of “Mudzima” by Ephat Mujuru and Dumisani Maraire
Duration:
-the tempo is fast
-the time signature cant be defined as the Mbira is using a variety of rhythmic patterns that don’t necessarily fall on the same beats
-There is two Mbira parts within this song where they are both using rhythmic repetition.
-There are two rhythmic layers
-There are two continuous rhythmic ostinatos which are played constantly throughout the entire song with only slight alterations
Pitch:
-The tonality cant be defined
-One of the melodic roles has a part which moves down in a scale, the other part uses leaps
-The accompaniment is the Mbira part which is lower and has a less complicated melodic role
-The whole song is made up of melodic repletion as the two Mbira parts both have a continuous ostinatos
Texture:
-There are two layers of sound
-The song wouldn’t be classified as polyphonic, although it isn’t really homophonic either as there is a part that is slightly more important than the other, although the second part doesn’t necessarily play an accompanying melody.
-The texture is fairly dense
Tone Colour:
-the two instruments playing are both Mbira’s
-While playing, the little finger of the right hand is placed through a hole in the bottom right corner of the soundboard, stabilizing the instrument and leaving thumb and index finger of the right hand open to stroke the keys in the right register from above and below.
-The sound is light
Dynamics and expressive techniques
-The song is mf throughout the whole song
-The dynamics don’t change throughout the entire song
-The sounds are short and detached which is staccato
Structure
-There is a small introduction which then leads into the main part of the song which continues until it fades out at the end
-There are no defined sections as each part is constantly repeated for the entire song.
Analysis of a typical Chimurenga song
Duration:
-the tempo is andante
-The time signature is 4/4
-The rhythm is straight
-There is rhythmic repetition seen in the vocals, electric guitar, drums and the brass instruments
-There are continues ostinatos used by the guitar and brass instruments
Pitch:
-The tonality is major
-The melody moves in a variation of steps and leaps
-The accompaniment moves in steps
-There is melodic repletion used by most of the instruments
Texture:
-There are 5 layers of sound
-The female vocals are the main melodic role
-The texture is homophonic
-The texture is dense
-The texture becomes lighter in the section when the male vocals has the main melodic role
Tone Colour:
-female vocals, choral backing vocals, electric guitar, drums, brass instruments, male vocals
-The sound is lively and when it changes to the middle section, rich.
-The male vocals uses a form of scat singing, using his vocals as a percussion instrument which alters the tone colour to a richer sound
Dynamics and expressive techniques
-the dynamics are quite loud
-there is no variation in dynamics
-the vocals used by the female are very loose and she uses a variations of melismas
-the male vocals use a form of scat and could almost be distinguished as a form of rapping
Structure:
-there are 2 different sections: the main section is first which constantly repeats itself until the second section where the male vocals come in, then after this the female vocals come in and the main section repeats again.
The South African Choral group has been together for over forty years, combining the sounds from their traditional culture and Christian Gospel Music.They assembled in the 1960s in Durban South Africa by Joseph Shabalala.Ladysmith is the name of Josephs hometown, Black refers to the Oxen which is the strongest farm animal and Mambazo is the Zulu word for axe which represents the vocal group’s ability to chop down any singing rival they may come across.
Their first record contract came about after a 1970 radio broadcast, and to this day they currently have made 50 records. Their Philosophy within the studio is preserving their musical heritage as well as entertaining.
They have been invited to perform in many special occasions including a performance for the Queen of England and the Royal Family at the Royal Albert Hall in London. They have also performed at two Nobel Prize ceremonies, for the Pope John Paul II in Rome and the 1996 Summer Olympics.
They have an album coming out in 2011 called “Songs from a Zulu Farm” which expresses the experiences of many of the older members who grew up in Ladysmith.
Analysis of I Disagreed - Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Tone Colour:
- Many layers of vocals
- Lead vocals and backing
- All male vocals
- Call and response
- Call almost spoken
- Higher and lower male vocals harmonise
- Clicking sounds created
- Tenor, bass and baritone vocals
- Lead vocals are nasal, response is smooth more melodic and pitch is more defined
- Backing bend pitch up
Texture:
- Homophonic
- Call and response
- Response is the accompaniment
- Used to provide contrast, call is thin, response is dense
Dynamics and Expressive Techniques:
- Vibrato, Rhythmic almost spoken
- Nasal in delivery of call
- Pitch bends
- Dynamic shaping - crescendos
- Response is smooth, legato
Viva Voce: A musical analysis of the songs "Zebra" and "Revolution' by John Butlet Trio
Zebra
Tone Colour:
- repeated ostinato played by a variety of different instruments throughout the song
- guitar uses technique of plucking strings to accentuate notes
- vocal techniques are loose, free, almost shouted.
- regae feel created by instrumentation and accentuated off beat
Duration: - syncopation used by drums and in the instrumentation, guiat plucks the off beat in verse 1 ( creates the regae feel)
- continuouse rhythmic ostinato
Texture: - rythmic ostinato, accents and staccatos make the song sund richer when its actually fairly thin
- homphonic texture: main melodic role is shared between the guitar and vocals
- instrumental has thin texture
- As song goes on, the texture in verses increases becuse of more complicated rhythmic and melodic ideas
Dynamcs and Expressive techniques:
- Guitar uses a form of distortion in the instrumental.
- Not that musch dynamic contrast
- crescendo into chorus, decrescendo into instrumental
- variety of accents used
Pitch: - main melody has narrow range
- backing vocals in chorus create contrast with staccato
- ostinato provides melodic repetition
- melody moves in steps
- melodic repetition in verses by chorus.
Revolution
Tone colour:
- more alternate sound in comparison to Zebra
- the strength of the sound increases in chorus. its airy in the beginning and then changes in the chorus to a stronger sound
- airy sound created by synthesizer
- vocals use shouting technique
Duration: - guitar provides rhythmic role by playing short notes on the beat
- accents placed on beats 2 and 4- accentuated by guitar and drums
- vocals have rhythmic role in the bridge due to the technique of shouting on the beat.
Texture:
- texture increases a lot in chorus due to more complicated rhythmic and melodic roles
- homophonic texture with the main melodic role being the vocals
- the bridge has numerouse vocal parts which create thicker texture
Pitch: - melodic repetition used by the vocals
- greater vocal range that moves in steps
- melodic repetition also used by electric guitar
- use of harmonies
Dynamics and expressive techniques:
- use of distortion of guitar in instrumental part
- crescendo into the chorus
accents on beats 2 and 4
Structure: - intro, verse, chorus structure
- synthesized sound leads into a new melodic idea within the song
