WL: Fusions

Question 1

Shankar: BUW

The Beatles: “I Want to Tell You”

Answer 1

• Uses Indian-style melismatic vocals on top of western harmonic backing vocal in close harmony

Question 2

Shankar: BUW

John Mayer: “Raga Music for Solo Clarinet”

Answer 2

• Wide range of modes used throughout
• Emphasised by monophony.

Question 3

Shankar: BUW

John Mayer: “Indo-Jazz suite”

Answer 3

• Typical jazz Quintet, plus a flute, sitar and tabla.
• Combination of tabla (Indian hand drums) and jazz rhythm section.
• Tambura replaces typical chordal accompaniment.

Question 4

Shankar: BUW

Kula Shaker: “Govinda”

Answer 4

• Fuses Indian with rock
• Use of Indian influenced melody throughout the song
  -> Sung entirely in Sanskrit
  -> Tabla and tambura instrumentation
• Non-instrumental sounds (bird song)

Question 5

Shankar: BUW

Ravi Shankar: “West Meets East - Raga Piloo”

Answer 5

• The opening is an improvised sitar line (Breathing Under Water)
  -> Indicative of an alap from traditional Indian music as texture is stripped back completely
• Lack of pulse, no percussion, improvisatory dialogue between the two musicians
• Sitar + violin (influence of western classical)
  -> Same scale, but sitar has all the traditional ornamentation

Question 6

Shankar: BUW

Salim Merchant: “Namaste India”

Answer 6

• Bhangra -> upbeat, Punjabi popular music
• Fusion - Indian instruments (sitar, tambura) with Western electronics
  -> Vocal distortion/autotune
  -> Electric guitar
  -> Drum machine
  -> Synth
  eg. Talvin Singh: “Butterfly” (synth pad)

Question 7

Shankar: BUW

The Beatles: “Across the Universe”

Answer 7

• Collaboration with Ravi Shakar
• Western harmony, structure and rhythm + strings
  -> Like Shankar with Western-style chords
• Combined with Indian instruments, tambura, sitar

Question 8

Shankar: BUW

The Beatles: “Tommorow Never Knows”

Answer 8

• Tambura drone - Indian instrument - Drone also on sitar
• Mixolydian mode (Easy)
• Bass riff remains unchanged throughout the song (Burn)

Question 9

Shankar: BUW

Rolling Stones: “Paint it Black”

Answer 9

• Use of sitar -> more melodic
  -> Heterophonic with the vocal line in the verse

Question 10

Shankar: BUW

Polo Norte: “Pura Inocencia”

Answer 10

General Fusion of Traditional + Modern:
- Fado + Pop

Question 11

Debussy: Estampes (P+LSDG)

Debussy: “The Girl with Flaxen Hair”

Answer 11

P:
- Pentatonic start
- Parallelism
-> Parallel fifths

LSDG:
- Spread/rolled chords
-> Flamenco

Question 12

Debussy: Estampes (P)

Debussy: “The Submerged Cathedral”
+
Liszt: “Mephisto Waltz”

Answer 12

• Parallelism
• Virtuosity
  TSC: Comes not from rapid movement, but the wide range and large tessitura
  MW: Comes from large, rapidly repeated chords

Question 13

Debussy: Estampes (P+LSDG)

Debussy: “Prelude a l’apres-midi d’un faune”
+
Debussy: “Voiles”

Answer 13

Pal’a-md’uf
- Whole tone
- Free use of dissonance
-> C# - G tritone

V
- Whole tone scale
-> In major 3rds, vs. 4ths/5ths (LSDG)

Question 14

Debussy: Estampes (P)

Holst: “Japanese Suite”

Answer 14

• Fusion of East and West
  -> Orchestral
  -> Using transcribed Japanese folk melodies

Question 15

Debussy: Estampes (P)

Lou Harrison: “Philemon and Baukis”

Answer 15

• Gamalan fusion
  -> Tuned percussion and violin (melody instrument)

D:
- Gong: Pedal notes
- Tuned Percussion: Rapid demisemiquaver movement

Question 16

Debussy: Estampes (P+LSDG)

Beethoven: “Sonata Pathetique”

Answer 16

• Hand crossing
  -> Punchy contrast (LSDG), vs. the flow it gives Pagodes

Question 17

Debussy: Estampes (P+LSDG)

Bizet: “Carmen Suite: Habanera”

Answer 17

• Homorhythm
  -> Habanera rhythm (eg. LSDG)
  eg. Ravel: “Piece en Forme d’Habanera” - also uses parallelism

Question 18

Debussy: Estampes (P+LSDG)

Wagner: “Tristan und Isolde”

Answer 18

• Ambiguous/non-conventional
  -> Non-functional vs. the colouristic/impressionistic harmony of Debussy

Question 19

Debussy: Estampes (P+ LSDG)

Debussy: “La Mer”

Answer 19

• Descriptive
• Pedal point
  -> Cb, as well as articulated pizz. pedal