Thursday, 1 April 2021

ELEMENTS OF MUSIC

MELODY, RHYTHM & HARMONY

     This is a shot at sketching out the elements of music to a casual listener who may want to know a little more about what music is made of.
     Since the basics of music is the basis of all music, we will outline the difference between ‘Western’ music and ‘Indian’ music with reference to Hindustani and Carnatic classical music.
     All music is essentially melody and rhythm. Melody is the most memorable part of a song. Rhythm is the ‘pulse’ which makes the melody interesting. By combining the two music is created. 
     Melody is nothing without a beat to discipline it, and the rhythm or beat is nothing but a pulse without a melody to make the rhythm meaningful.
     Melody can be thought of as the top of a pyramid
     Melody is to music what a scent is to the senses” - Marcus Paus.
     Melodies or tunes, are the sweet and agreeable series of high and low-pitched tones 
that are played or sung for various durations of time that one can easily catch, hum or whistle
     Rhythm is the backbone that defines melody.
     To discipline the variations of time in which each note is played, the tune is divided into rhythmic pulses or beats. 
Music makes ‘sense’ only when melody and rhythm is combined. It’s the second element of music that makes music, music!
     Rhythm measures the movement of sound - It’s how music is systematically divided into beats, a regulated succession of strong and weak pulses that measure the motion of the tune and create symmetry through “an order of movement”.
     Rhythm is music’s pattern in time, the regular, repeated pattern of beats, meter, tempo, and speed of the beat that drives music forward.
 
  Indian classical music.
     Though Hindustani and Carnatic are considered to be the two main traditions of Indian music, there is only one music in India – the music of the raga” Raghava R. Menon – The Penguin Dictionary of Indian Classical Music.
     Hindustani & Carnatic classical music use just rhythm and melody. The music of the raga is always made by a melody maker and a rhythm maker. 
     There may be accompanists on other melody instruments such as a violin or flute or harmonium or sarangi supporting the soloist (lead melody musician), but they shadow the soloist, and support the soloist by playing the melody. 
     The only other musician and instrument on stage is usually, a tanpura, which provides the drone in the key in which the raga is being played.
     The only true accompanists are the rhythm players. Percussionists. Typically, ‘tabla’ in Hindustani and ‘mrindangam’ in Carnatic! Though very often, especially in Carnatic music, more percussion instruments are used in performances.
     In Indian classical music the rhythm or beat is called Tala (pronounced taal) and the basic rhythmic structure is very complex. Tala is a rhythm cycle which consist of a number of syllables in repeated patterns on which particular beats in the meter are emphasized. 
     Because of the use of only two elements of music, and two performers, the melody maker and the rhythm maker; both the performers can be very flexible and creative in performance, so both, the melody and the rhythm player can generate intricate patterns of very creative and exciting rhythms and melodies while playing together and while improvising on a raga. In fact, one could say there is a profound and scintillating exhibition of mathematics and science in Indian classical rhythms. 
     Harmony. The foundation of Western Music.
     Harmony is, when different voices and different instruments sound different notes simultaneously, and together are pleasing to the ear - sweet toned and harmonious. Polyphony, (in music, the simultaneous combination of two or more tones or melodic lines (the term derives from the Greek word for “many sounds”). Brittanica
     In all Western music, playing notes that are melodious and sound good together is the norm. When these notes are stacked and played together, they are called chords.
    The 12-tone scale is used in both Indian and Western music. Within the 7 natural notes in the scale and the 5 extended tones of the twelve scale degrees, the simplest harmonious notes played together are the 1st, 3rd & 5th notes in a scale, that is, Sa, Ga & Pa, or, Do, Me & So, or, C, E & G in the standard scale of C on a keyboard. 
The first voice, Sa, or Do or C, high-pitched, the second slightly lower in tone corresponding with Pa, or So, or G, and the third slightly lower at Ga, or, Me, or E, and the fourth taking the low end of the scale. In vocal music, these pitches are called Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass.
     The idea of harmony opened up whole new vistas of musical ideas and possibilities of orchestration.
Musicians began to write music incorporating all the 3 or 4 tones at the same time; composing melodies that used four voices together, and, as they went along, began to find other harmonious combinations and blends of notes or ‘chords which inspired more musical explorations with more instruments, progressing from a keyboard playing four different harmonious notes to create a single melody, to small groups of instruments playing together, to very large groups of musicians playing a huge variety of instruments in a symphony orchestra which would include several violins, violas, cellos, double basses, piccolos, flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, trombones, trumpets, tubas, harp, drums, tympani, cymbals and gongs and xylophone.
     This led to sections of instruments coming in at different timings or places in the music. Different sections of diverse instruments brought in tones, textures and timbres, and different sounds and resonances, to create balance and contrast in the music.
     This disciplined and harmonious blending of notes, and the clever balancing of the sounds of various instruments which add colour and texture to a piece of music by a whole orchestra is called orchestration. 
  
   Classical music is all about harmony and orchestration. Classical composers pre-plan every detail of the composition. The musicians do not improvise, they play their part. The whole orchestra or ensemble plays tunefully and harmoniously what the composer has imagined and written for them to play and sing.
     Harmony in western music is a hard disciplinarian. Just as rhythm is in Indian music, because the musicians always play in coordination with other musicians in large or small ensembles and still adhere to the principles of harmony within the structure of the music.  
     The rhythms of western music are rather staid compared to Indian classical music, because the musicians always play in coordination with other musicians.
     In jazz music too, while improvisation is a major component, and compositions have spaces for singers or instrumentalists to ad lib and take improvised solos, it is still a highly coordinated endeavour for musicians to play their part within the many instruments in a band and the chordal and harmonic structure of the music.
     The discipline of harmony holds true even for a solo performance, for example a guitar soloist, or piano soloist, or even if one takes a jazz piano trio, all three musicians – piano, bass and drums have to stay in harmony with others in the group and within the structure of the understood chord changes and the fixed rhythm, to synchronize and harmonize.
     Arrangement is the unheard ingredient of western music i.e., in Afro-Cuban, blues, country, dance music, European, folk, gospel, hip hop, hymns, jazz, Latin, pop, R&B, rock, rock and roll, soul, and other forms of music.  
     The arranger custom designs rhythm and harmonic structure of a well-known tune to suit the style and voice of the singer or lead instrumentalist and the backing band according to its size and the number of instruments to bring out the best of the tune and from the musicians, while give the melody musical variety.  
    
The three elements of music - Melody, the top of the pyramid. Rhythm, the backbone. Harmony, the base of a pyramid that helps support the melody and rhythm. Harmony is the foundation that gives rhythm and melody substance.


Friday, 19 March 2021

REVERIES - BY VIVEK VENUGOPAL - VISITA Imagination and wit override a strange melancholy

REVERIES OPUS 7 

Vivek Venugopal – Visita - Composer  
Shantanu Patel - Piano 
Tatiana Kritskaya – Cello 
Tomasz Pajak – Violin 

     Reveries' is an album of a new set of classical music themes composed by Vivek Venugopal, alias Visita. 
     In this set of five duos and trios for Piano, Cello and Violin, Vivek Venugopal – Visita – has composed music of novel ideas and interestingly balanced melodies that intertwine the percussive sound of the piano with the sinuous sounds of the cello and violin in a way that is harmonious and innovative. 
     It is perhaps due to the resonance of wood and strings that they share that the sound of the cello, the violin and the piano go together so compatibility, so one wonders why there are not so many classical pieces composed for this combination of instruments. 
     In my first listening of Reveries, Vivek Venugopal's compositions sounded unpretentious, yet beautiful and stimulating in their own unique way, and I was reminded of the minimalistic and mystical music of Erik Satie who entitled his sets of musical pieces with made up names like Gymnopedies and Gnossiennes. 
     All five seemingly restrained and understated compositions on Reveries sound elegant, effortless and becalming and yet have their dramatic moments. They are relaxed and pleasant to listen to, and quite dissimilar from each other, and yet, each of the compositions in Reveries shares an unusual synergy throughout the album - imagination and wit override a strange melancholy. This is truly remarkable, and, entirely alluring. 
     So just as in Satie's music, Vivek Venugopal's compositions are not easy to describe individually but can be described collectively, mainly because they do not conform to the conventional sonata form completely. So, here are Vivek Venugopal's own thoughts and ideas of each composition: 
REVERIES - OPUS 7 
1. A Vestige of Hope - Violin, Piano duet. 
     This piece is about keeping that last remnant of hope alive, expressed by a particularly drastic shift in dynamics from very loud to very soft at certain points. 
2. Serendipity - Cello, Piano duet. 
     By alternating edgy and somewhat happy atmospheres, this expresses how things tend to 'fall in place' in the strangest of ways. 
3. A Metaphysical Reverie – Piano, Cello, Violin Trio. 
     In this piece a semi-abstract, dream-like mood is created 
4. An Affective Crossroad - Piano, Cello, Violin Trio. 
    The piece has three distinct sections, though not separated as movements, they create very specific emotions and thoughts – the first section – at a 'life' crossroad - the second part, happy & chirpy, having taken a path. The third section is melancholic, but, happening in between. In the transitions are different 'intermediary moods' represent happiness and sadness for all the different paths that one could take at the 'emotional crossroad'. 
5. The Eternal Dance of the Misfits - Piano, Cello, Violin Trio. 
This piece is a dance dedicated to 'the misfits' or non-conformists. 
Expressing the music with Empathy 
     Playing new compositions require a heightened musical understanding and sensitivity to the overall design and mood of each composition. And these three musicians Shantanu Patel - Piano; Tatiana Kritskaya - Cello, and Tomasz Pajak – Violin, have interpreted Vivek Venugopal's compositions with insight and thoughtfulness that only musicians of worth can do. And all three have proved themselves musicians of worth; they have the talent and technique to articulate the right mood and style of the compositions, and most of all, they have empathised completely with the compositions. It's not easy to marry the strange melancholy, that is overridden with a witty playfulness, and infuse them with the right spirit. But that’s what they do. 
The Musicians 
Shantanu Patel is a professional Concert Pianist, Conductor/Lecturer from Ahmadabad, India. Shantanu graduated from The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and is a versatile performer, his repertoire ranging from Baroque to Modern 21st century music. , 
Tatiana Kritskaya – Cello - was born in Chishinau (capital of Moldova, USSR) and took up the cello at age six. After studying at Rachmaninoff Music Lyceum, she continued her studies with Prof Alexey Seleznev at Academic Music College of Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatorto. Tatiana career is as a soloist. She lives in Mumbai since 2014. 
Tomasz Pajak – Violin - was born in Poland in 1985, a graduate with distinction from Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice and Royal Conservatory in Brussels. Tomasz’s innovative artistic projects include collaboration with the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra for Zubin Mehta’s 80th birthday celebration and a Memorial Concert presented by Zakir Hussain. Currently, Tomasz is a faculty member and a violinist in residence at the Delhi School of Music.

You can listen to the music on YouTube though it's not live. 

A Vestige of Hope 

Serendipity

A Metaphysical Reverie

An Affective Crossroad

The Eternal Dance of the Misfits