Excerpt+21

= Track 21: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan – ‘Dhyahar-eh-ishq meh (2:05) =

This music comes from Pakistan a. Describe the layers of sound at the beginning of the excerpt. b. Describe the vocal melodies throughout the excerpt. c. Discuss how the solo vocal line interacts with the other sound sources.

**Leighton H. Triplow** 

The response has been separated into the three sections accordingly

Part A: The excerpt commences with layers of sound that come to form an accompaniment for the lead male vocalist. A repeated rhythmic pattern is set up through the reiteration of the opening phrase which is clearly in a simple duple metre. Here, the accordion-like instrument plays a repeating line with swells in a consonant non-Western minor sound. A tuned percussion instrument joins in the repeated rhythmic pattern. A group of people can be heard clapping the steady beat in the accompaniment and this helps to set up a consistent tempo for the rest of the excerpt.

Part B: The melody is sustained by a male vocalist. The singing quality commences at a hushed dynamic level, and the line is directed in a half-voiced/half-spoken way. The notes are embellished with many turns and this gives the static line more of an improvisatory effect. The melody is very stepwise and moves around intervals that are no larger than a third. An unexpected leap soon interrupts this otherwise consonant motion. The octave is reached by the vocalist who emphasises the ‘surprise’ with accented articulations. The melodic rhythm is initially straight forward with some free rhythmic effects. However, as the vocal delivery becomes more passionate and in a wider range, the rhythms also become more complex. At one point, continuous semiquavers are sung by the vocalist for a frenzied effect. The vocalist has an emotive vocal quality and this is emphasised by a ‘natural’ vocal delivery. The singer does not always stick to a diatonic key and often slides between notes in this largely winding contour.

Part C: The solo line is always at the forefront once it enters after the instrumental opening. The line is clearly placed above the accompaniment line, exaggerated by the louder dynamics and more expressive musical ideas. The main vocalist occasionally engages in a call and response with the backing vocals. He will sing an extremely improvisatory line above the other singers that conform more to the initial melodic ideas. This whole time, the accompaniment lines remain consistent underneath and move the vocalists along with their clear, stable pulse.

Response by Leighton H. Triplow, 2010 **//Sue's comments://** //A very comprehensive response to all three questions Leighton; well done 10/10.//

CLAIRE DI LALLO

From the beginning of the excerpt, there is a strong emphasis on the offbeat made clear by the regular accented beats 2 and 4 by a percussion instrument. This continues throughout the excerpt and provides a regular, steady pulse. A solo instrument, sounding similar to an accordian, plays a melodic line which repeats. It outlines a non-western tonality and is qutie virtuosic and improvisatory in style, making use of complex and fast scalic passages. The vocal entry sits in the middle of the male singer's register, and is of a limited range. He sings repeated notes, and the contour is almost always stepwise. His vocal delivery is expressive, making use of melismatic passages where there are many notes to one syllable, another aspect of the virtuousic style. In the background, the accompanying instruments are playing at a much lower dynamic level so as to clearly indicate the singer as soloist. Backing vocalists fill harmonies and likewise fill the texture, creating a fuller, richer sound. The tempo of the excerpt at this point increases, also increasing the level of excitement. As the backing vocalists continue, the lead vocalist improvises above them in a much higher register. His scale improvisations, moving up and down the scale, are very virtuousic. There is a certain aggressiveness in the tone colour of his vocal delivery due to a passioante, intense singing style. Interaction is evident between the vocalists and the instrumental melodic line, which imitate each other sharing melodic ideas. At times, the accordion-sounding instrument plays in unison with the singers, thickening and further intensifying the sound.

**//Sue's comments://** //A very detailed response Claire. You could also see Leighton's response for a little more detail. Think about the different tone colour created by the group of voices creating a more raw, unblended sound; also separate the three questions out into a, b, c .Well done 8/10.//

Grace Went A. Melody is played by an accordian like instrument. It is highly ornamented. The rhythm section is made up of a number of different instruments playing ostinati in a simple quadruple feel. Beats 2 and 4 are emphasised by hand clapping. Rhythm is very simple and repetitive and the most obvious ostinato is simply quavers. This becomes the accompaniment for the vocal solo which follows.

B. The vocal melodies use a non-western scale. To begin with, the melody uses very small intervals, much melisma and a relatively small range. Much ornamentation is used. As the song develops, a higher register is used and a more expressive tone. The range increases and a higher register is used. Obligato like solo lines enter as well as the main melody. The main melody is iquite repetitive with a comparitively simple rhythm. The obligato lines become more complex. There are sections with less use of melisma, where the melody is defined by the pattern of speech. It is more syllabic. The fist seciton of the melody is more stepwise, the obligato lines have more leads. Near the end the voices sing a number of differend melodies at the same time and of equal importance. The layered vocal melodies create a polyphonic texture. Previously the voices sung together to create a heterphonic texture.

C. The vocal solo is a more embelished version of the accordion-like instrument's melody. It adds ornaments and melisma to create complexity and thick texture. The accordion continues under the vocal melody, playing long notes but based around the focal notes of the melody. This creates a heterphonic texture. As the excerpt continues, this relationship becomes more distant. The accordion splits into counter melodies, while the vocals continue the melody. Sometimes the vocal lines create a melody out of a rhythmic ostinato. The sections of the melody which are syllabic rather than melismatic are accompanied with the same rhythm on a repeated note in the accordion. Often the rhythmic accompaniment strengthens the vocal line by catching its accents. The vocal melody (doubled by accordion) uses melisma to create a long, winding phrase. This is contrasted in the short percussive nature of the rhythmic accompaniment. This contrast between layers creates a sense of tension and is typical of this non-western style of music.

**//Sue's comments://** //A very detailed response Grace. You could also see Leighton's response for a little more detail. Think about the way the solo voice interacts with the group of singers.Well done 9/10.//


 * // Sue's response: //**

// a. //

// At the beginning an accordion introduces the main melody, accompanied by hand clapping and a rhythmic pattern played on the tabla (drums). The tabla player repeats a simple osinato consisting of quavers in quadruple or duple time, while the hand claps occur on beats 2 and 4. The main melodic idea is simple and repetitive with some ornamentation on individual notes, then at the end of the phrase it becomes more ornamented and ascends into a higher register just before the singer enters. //

// The main vocal melody is introduced by a male singer. This melody consists of a repetitive refrain which alternates with sections of highly ornamented and improvisatory melodic ideas. This melody sits an octave above the accordion melody, which is mostly a simpler version of the vocal melody, creating a heterophonic texture. The first section of each phrase is very declamatory and it is clear that the words tell a story. The repeated refrain is based on a minor mode, and it has a range of about a 6 // // th. // // The intervals are mostly major seconds and minor thirds until the singer suddenly jumps up an octave at the end of the phrase. On the same note in each phrase the singer performs a ‘shake-like’ technique. After the first verse a group of singers enter and the texture becomes heterophonic; the soloist performing long, winding improvisations which consist of a wider range of note values while the group continue to sing the main melody underneath. The soloist begins each phrase with the same melodic line as the group, but he then ascends into a higher register to perform improvised melismas which are highly ornamented and sit in the foreground of the texture. The texture is also thickened by the accordion adding chords at particular times to provide emphasis. The heterophonic texture continues throughout as the non tuned ostinato continues throughout the excerpt. ﻿ //
 * b. **

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