Anoushka Shankar: breathing under water a level music

When and where was anoushka shankar born and brought up?

Born 1981 in London.
Brought up in London, Delhi and California

Learning and first concerts

She studied sitar with father, Ravi Shankar from the age of 7.
Played tambura in his concerts at 10, first solo sitar concert at 13, first recording contract at 16

Who was the main collaborator in this album?

Utkarshsa (Karsh) Kale, Indian musician co-founder of Tabla Beat Science
He provided dance music textures, technical skills and played tabla drums and guitar.

Who are the guest artists on the album?

Sting (sings sea dreamer), Ravi (plays and co-wrote oceanic) and Norah Jones (sings and co-wrote easy)

Other collaborators

Producer Gaurav Raina
Salim Merchant (Bollywood string arranger), Jonathan Dagan (new York producer+ dance musician), vocalists Noa Lembersky (burn) and Sunidhi Chauhan (breathing under water)

When was it released?

2007

How was the score made?

From the recorded sound, some of which would have been improvised

How is the guitar part notated?

In all 3 songs guitar chords written above stave

Indian instruments

Sitar
Tabla
Sarangi
Indian- style classical vocals
Percussion- manjira (finger cymbals)
Bansuri
Veena (plucked string)
Sarod (fretless plucked instrument)

Western instruments

String orchestra (Bombay cinematic strings)
Solo cello
Programmed/ sampled drum patterns
Piano
Pop/ R&B style vocals
Bass guitar
Guitar
Keyboard (pad sounds)

Instrumentation in 'Burn'

English vocals, orchestral strings, sitar
Sarangi introduced bars 46-53
Orchestral additions- brass (94), harp (102), flute (104), cello (107)
Percussion- bass drum (14), manjira (22), drum kit (22), ride cymbal (29)
Ethereal synth pad (30)

Describe sitar solo in intro to 'Burn'

Begins in low register, rises towards bars 22-24 and falls again from 25-29. Later plays in dialogue with vocal in verses 2 and 3. 86-93 plays in dialogue with strings.

Describe the sarangi line in 'Burn'

Repetitive line between chorus and verse 2

Describe vocals in 'Burn'

Noa Lembersky- soulful jazz/ R&B style. Mainly stepwise and syllabic range of less than octave. Doubled in 3rds in chorus and verse 2.
Improvised riffing in final chorus.

What is the role of strings in 'Burn'?

Slow moving chordal textures (accompaniment). Some melodic figures prominent (eg. Bars 3-4 and 14-15). Cello solo brings song to end.

What is the style and role of the synthesiser lines in 'Burn'?

Analog- style. Bass pedal C#s with wide portamento (22-24), mid- range ostinato-like lines underlay chorus and bridge. (38 and 46)

Describe percussion in 'Burn'

Programmed beats mixed with manjira. Simple bass/ snare patterns in verse w manjira semiquaver ideas. More active in chorus w demisemiquaver hi-hat lines.

Describe texture in 'Burn'

Bars 1-21 essentially homophonic but melodic interest in strings.
Octaves in string melody (14)
Synth bass tonic pedal (articulated) begins in 22 (like drone?)
Chorus section (38) combines melodic elements polyphonically (vocal hook, lead synth, bass pedal). Sarangi line (46) creates more contrapuntal texture.
Verse 2 more polyphonic elements (vocals in thirds, dialogue w sitar+ strings)
Break down at 86 sitar and string dialogue only.
Final chorus- many layers combined.
Closes homophonically w flute and cello solos.

Describe dynamics in 'Burn'

Loudest point ff at 98
Relatively soft crescendos into new sections eg. 37

Tonality of 'Burn'

In C# minor w aeolian elements (not strict but has enough raised 7ths to sound minor.)
Ends on open 5ths D chord- inconclusive. Coda goes through A minor and F major chords
Articulated bass pedal (like drone) anchors to C# until coda

Describe harmony in 'Burn'

Non-functional, fairly static C#, rich lots of added notes
avoidance of cadences apart from near perfect at bar 73-74.
Slow harmonic rhythm
Often dissonant (not prepared or resolved conventionally)
Sus, slash and added note chords

Sitar melody in 'Burn'

Opening solo like alap, begins low and explores scale. Includes B#s to establish key of C#m.
Includes microtonal slides, crushed notes and mordants.

Vocal melody in 'Burn'

Verse features descending sequence idea and oscillations between adjacent notes.
Chorus features repeated phrase with minor 3rd and stepwise movement.
Verse extension (62-65) has upwards 5th

Structure of 'Burn'

Intro: 1- 29 slow moving unclear pulse alap then percussion and synth bass added (22) (jhala?)
Verse 1: 30-37 two four bar phrases
Chorus 1: 38-45 repetition of one bar 3 times w linking phrases
Bridge: 46-53 Sarangi solo
Verse 2: 54-5 vocals now in 3rds
Bridge: 66-77 extended and varied using motif from intro (14) and reintroduction of string melody from 18
Verse 3: 78-97 extended by sitar and strings instrumental and material from bridge
Chorus: 98-104 Climax of song thickest texture
Coda: 105-110 Change chords new timbres (flute + cello) ends on open 5th D chord.

Sonority in 'Breathing under water'

Strings, sitar, wordless vocals and keyboards.
Sitar solo plays line based on vocal line of sea dreamer. Melody decorated by ornaments:
Meend- slides
Kan- grace notes
Andolan- vibrato
Gamak- mordants/trills
Wordless vocal line used as link and harmonic filler.
String section used simply. Block chords in first 2 sections. Higher and more melodic interest in third section.

Instrumentation in 'breathing under water'

Sitar solo
String accompaniment sometimes reinforced w woodwind, horns and double bass
Female vocals
Flute
Cello
Tabla (27)

Vocal melody in 'breathing under water'

Mainly stepwise with some ornaments. Notated in C#m with major mode inflections (eg. Bar 37)
Conjunction descending lines.

Sitar melody in 'Breathing under water'

Melodic variation of vocal line in 'sea dreamer'. Very ornamented: slides, shakes mordents, trills etc.
Melody paraphrased 3 times, twice in upper register and once in lower register.
Notated in D flat major and C# aeolian.
Chromatic notes occur along w microtonal slides eg. C flat (7-8) and F flat (17)
Range of 2 octaves and a 3rd (C to F)
Improvisatory style but some phrases repeated.

Texture in 'breathing under water'

1-33 melody dominated homophony. Sitar and mostly homorhythmic string chords
34-38 short polyphonic 2-part dialogue between voice and strings (34 monophonic voice)
From 53 voice provides descant counterpoint w sitar. Strings have more melodic line.

Dynamics in 'breathing under water'

Quiet throughout
Mp/p on strings at start
Pp for voice

Tempo of 'breathing under water'

120 crotchets pm
Long held string parts make it seem slow and spacious

Metre in 'breathing under water'

4/4 throughout apart from single bar of 2/4 at 37

Rhythm in 'breathing under water'

Slow moving sustained chords in accompaniment.
Sitar line rhythmically free + anacrusic. Scotch-snaps (2), triplets (6), quintuplets (12), syncopation (5-6)

Harmony in breathing under water

Slow harmonic rhythm, non functional (only 1 plagal cadence at end).
Although in D flat major rarely any unembellished D flat chords.

Tonality in 'breathing under water'

In D flat but starts in B flat minor.
From 18-37 signature indicates tonic minor but ambiguous (modally/ Lydian inflected A)
At 38 returns to region of D flat

Structure of 'breathing under water'

Complicated- look in book.

Instruments in 'Easy'

Piano, electric guitar, warm pad, sitar, vocals (up to 3 parts eg. 23), synth bass, percussion: electronic drums, shaker, manjira.

Sonority in 'Easy'

Most Western sounding.
Sitar plays solo in intro and instrumental. Has D flat pedal in V1/2 in other places in dialogue w vocal.
Piano subtle and understated, high chords (V2), inverted D flat pedal in octaves (27-28), arpeggio figure in last 2 bars.
Vocals- Norah Jones in relaxed R&B style. Low to mid tessitura range of 10th (A flat to C). Mainly syllabic, some melisma (bar 13 V2- real)
Synth bass to emphasise guitar ostinati from verse 2 and electronic drum patterns.

Structure of 'Easy

Most conventional of the 3.
Intro 1-8 Four bar sitar melody repeated w slight variation.
Verse 1/2 (repeat) 9-20 piano and synth bass in 2nd verse.
Link 21-33 sitar solo links verses. 2-3 vocal parts song 'I know' over.
Instrumental 34-41 electronic drums added. Sitar solo continues.
Middle 8 42-49 'now I've been shown'
Verse 3 50-58 new vocal material in dialogue w sitar.
Coda 59-63 vocals drop out, sitar and piano end song

What is the main texture in 'Easy'?

Melody- dominated homophony. Sitar as main melody in intro then vocals take melody and fills on sitar.

How is the texture varied in 'Easy'?

Addition and subtraction of colouristic elements (piano chords, synth bass) and percussion.
More complex textures such as vocal harmonies in dialogue w sitar lines.
Polyphonic dialogue between vocals and sitar in middle 8.

What are the dynamics in 'Easy'?

Relatively low with few indications.
p at start, cresc. at 21, mp at 25
Accent marks in 43

Tempo of 'Easy'

84 crotchets pm

Metre of 'Easy'

4/4 apart from last bar of 3/4

Sitar rhythm in 'Easy'

Similar to other numbers, septuplets in bar 20

What is the accompaniment in 'Easy' marked by?

Syncopation and rhythmic ostinato

Features of vocal rhythms in 'Easy '

Syncopation, scotch snap, 1.5 beat anacrusis.

Sitar melody in 'Easy'

Range of just over 2 octaves from E flat below middle C to F.
Characteristic ornaments.
Notated in G flat w no chromaticism. Or some say based on transposed mixalydian mode.
Opening uses 4 bar melody repeated w variations.

Vocal melody in 'Easy'

Range is relatively narrow spanning 6th (A flat to C flat) in first verse. In 2nd verse melisma extends higher and lower
Backing vocals span 9th (F to G flat)
Frequently conjunct leaps mainly 3rds and 4ths. Octave at 44

Chord progression in 'Easy'

D flat (sus 4)- G flat (sus 2)/B flat- C flat (sus 2)
Variations of order in middle 8 and bars 42-49.

What are the results of the chord progression in 'Easy'

Stepwise rising bass. Limited chord choice results in more western pop sound.

Tonality of 'Easy'

Ambiguous. Could be D flat mixalydian or in G flat with strong pull to dominant (D flat)