Fusions - Shankar - Breathing Under Water - MELODY/HARMONY

Question 1

Features of the sitar melody in Breathing Under Water

Answer 1

• notated within scales of Western Db major and C# Aeolian
• microtonal slides and chromatic notes
  e. g. Cb (bar 7-8) and Fb (bar 17)
• sitar melody in higher tessitura than Burn (mainly treble clef)
• sitar range = 2.33 octaves
  ( Db below C to F 1.5 octaves above)
• overall impression of improvisatory freedom
  BUT
• Some melodic phrases repeated
• ornamentations:
  
  • mordents
  • crushed notes
  • glissandi (inc microtonal slides)

Question 2

Features of vocal melody in Breathing Under Water

Answer 2

• melody written in C#minor BUT with major mode inflections
• first vocal melody characterised by conjunct descending line spanning 6th, then 4th
• contrasting conjunct line in Db major later
• microtonal slides - Eastern influence
• appoggiatura (Gb) in final bar

Question 3

Features of string melody in Breathing Under Water

Answer 3

bars 54 - 67 strings have clearer melodic line in minims, mainly by step

Question 4

Features of harmonic writing in Breathing Under Water

Answer 4

• slow harmonic rhythm
• absence of cadential harmony until closing plagal cadence
• root position chords
• slash chords
• sus4 chord
• added note chords
• some parallelism