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Tamil Film Music Cateogories

Topic started by Mukund (@ internet-gw1.hea.com) on Tue Mar 10 17:54:59 EST 1998.
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

I want all of us to participate in a healthy discussion to come up with reasonable definition of different kinds of music cateogories - thereby shedding more light to unexplored areas of Tamil Film Music as it is becoming more and more "international" :-) by the day. This process is simply to increase the knowledge base.

Cateogories that come to my mind are Carnatic, Western Classical, Jazz, Fusion, Flamenco, New age etc. -- :-) so many terms and so little definition.

As for Carnatic and Western Classical, their foundations lie basically in melody and harmony based approaches to music.

What are the foundations of other kinds of music ?
Are they based on the use of certain kind of instruments ?

Since TFM-DF consists of varied set of people with inclinations towards different musical tastes as well I am hoping a lot of them to contribute for this article

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Responses:

• Old responses
  
• From: Amar (@ worf.qntm.com) on: Fri Mar 20 17:33:25 EST 1998
  
  Kanchana, that was "Cool"( kind of Jazz ) stuff. Good Job and keep it flowing. We are all waiting!!!
  
  
• From: pal (@ 128.101.145.88) on: Sat Mar 21 17:13:48 EST 1998
  
  Hi,
  I didnt look into this thread until ravi pointed out to me about kanchana's great discussion on jazz...
  
  I am waiting for her WC write up. In the meantime,
  hey mukund, u remember the comment you made when I played a mozart's symphony ( #41 if I rememebr correct )?
  
  "ore tune-a vera vera volume-la vaasikkaraa maathiri irukku! vera enna irukku ithula?"
  
  :-)))))
  
  idam : N61, IISc hostel
  time : one of those lazy saturday afternoons
  
  
• From: Gokul (@ p1.echostar.com) on: Sat Mar 21 18:25:07 EST 1998
  
  Kanchana:
  
  Thanks for ur info on Jazz.
  
  "Anything goes has always been the rule with this constantly evolving form of music. Today, music from the middle
  East and the East (including India) are brought in to create new fusions. Some of the reactionaries today are:
  Arthur Blythe (alto sax), Wynton Marsalis (trumpeter), Branford Marsalis (sax), Sheila Jordan (vocal) and several
  others. "
  
  To this I would like to add 'Spyro Gyro' who
  has successfully blended Rock musical form with Jazz.
  
  
• From: Kanchana (@ ww-tk04.proxy.aol.com) on: Sun Mar 22 11:13:01 EST 1998
  
  Mukund, Amar, Pal, Gokul:
  Thank you for your positive responses and interest.
  
  Mukund:
  Let me answer your question on today's jazz scenario first.
  Fusion. The synthesis of jazz and rock starting from the late 70s (referenced by Gokul). Identifiable characteristics of fusion:
  1. electronically modified instruments;
  2. use of synthesizers by the keyboard player;
  3. basic rhythm drawing from the swing heritage, but leaning toward the (more rigid) rock beat and Latino beats. Chick Corea is an artiste who exemplifies this.
  
  New Fusion/Crossover/Studio Jazz
  Studio jazz is the latest phenom in jazz, and has caused classic jazz lovers to despair and moan that jazz has gone commercial, while others accept it as yet another change in a continuously changing landscape of jazz. Basic instrumentation is the same as the Fusion artistes, but the key differences are:
  1. Effects (signal processing) used in the recording process, to enhance the sounds of both acoustic and electronic instruments. (The same sounds are reproduced in a concert situation by applying similar techniques to the amplification system.)
  2. Rhythm Section Patterns & Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI). Electronic rhythm machines are used to create rigidly precise structured patterns and supplement/replace the live drummer. They may also be tied into electronic keyboards and synthesizers thru a computer to supply studio-like sounds; any part played by the musician is stored by the computer and can be replayed on any synthesizer at any speed.
  3. Lesser emphasis on improvisation and more emphasis on organization of music.
  4. The jazz/rock fusion in solos continue.
  
  Examples of Crossover artistes, each with his/her independent style/route: Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock, Michael Brecker, David Sanborn, Kenny G (Muzak style elevator music, IMO), Spyro Gyra, Kazumi Watanabe. Of course, the question whether some of these artistes are jazzists is being debated by "jazz purists". ["Jazz purist" is an oxymoron since jazz is already a non-homogeneous blend of Afro, Carribbean, western classical before the rock/latino/technology fusion occurred. :-)]
  
  Now for my personal opinions on today's jazz (please ignore if not interested):
  My personal preference is for vintage era jazz (1920s--60s); the depth of moods creted by this music is very different possibly because of the socio-politico-economic pressures in those days. I'm extremely selective about the jazz starting from the fusion era.
  
  I am very much a techno-buff, accept the fact that technology is an important component of creative music today, and love to see technology-based innovations in music. But, not all jazz is created equally even in the pre-tech eras, and not all jazzists use technology creatively in today's hi-tech era.
  
  Tenor saxist Michael Brecker is one artiste who stands out in the rock/jazz fusion who blends creativity and technology very well, playing with pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Jackie DeJohnette in several albums. He plays both the tenor sax and an 8-octave electronic wind instrument "Akai EWI". Brecker seems to be the 80s/90s version of yesteryears' powerful saxist Coltrane.
  
  Some eclectic and/or creative groups to check out:
  1. Turtle Island Quartet. Co-founded by David Balakrishnan & Darol Anger. Blend of East Indian, American Indian, bluegrass, and western classical.
  2. Dirty Dozen Brass Band. updated New Orleans Style. Great fun to listen to with the calypso (Carribean) beats.
  
  Mukund, since music is such a personal experience, I'll encourage you to listen to the vintage era as well as current-day jazz to understand where your tastes take you. And, remember, the only definition for jazz is that the soloist "deviates" from the band (layback) and swings. Have fun experiencing jazz!
  
  Re Western classical, I thought your comment to Pal ("orE tune-lae vERE volume-la vAsikkaRa mAdhiri irukku, vERE enna irukku idhilE?") on Mozart's Symphony original and funny [:-)], but your observation is insightful and true at one level (I'm not kidding!). This is a good segue to discussing Western Classical Symphony which is especially relevant since iLayaraja will be releasing his symphony this year.
  
  Hope you don't mind the gaps in my response due to my work demands. Will be back later....
  
  
  
• From: RV (@ nat-20.avanticorp.com) on: Mon Mar 23 00:57:45 EST 1998
  
  Sam:
  
  Bailanna ennanga ?
  
  
• From: Sathiya Keerthi (@ panorama.nus.edu.sg) on: Mon Mar 23 01:51:05 EST 1998
  
  Kanchana:
  
  Oru vaaramaa naan Jeans maattittu innOru
  thread-il kooththadichittu irundhuttEn. AngE thee
  pudichchu romba soodaagi veLiyE Odi vandhu, sari,
  maththa threads-il enna irukkunnu ovvoNNaa paaththu
  vandhaa, inga neenga Jazzy lessons padu
  cool-aa koduththittu irukkeenga! Pramaadham. I
  (like others) look forward to more. Andha MSV/TKR
  patri sollum pOdhu, you mentioned..
  They seem to have "adapted" the Benny Goodman style "Swing Era" music in quite a few songs (consistently, LRE type songs).
  If you give particular examples, that will help
  in my understanding.
  
  
• From: pg (@ gate02.merck-medco.com) on: Mon Mar 23 12:30:55 EST 1998
  
  Talking about Volume :
  
  I was listening to a Pat Metheny album yesterday (We Live Here) and in one of the pieces, volume was used as a element in music-making. The song starts with heavy bass/rhythms and piano but the piano is almost drowned out by the volume of other instruments and in the middle of the song, the other instruments reduce their volume and piano plays a melody. This to me feels like a - thani avarthanam - only the other instruments do not stop but play at a much reduced volume.
  
  Has this type of thing been done in TFM - i.e. use of volume as a element in addition to melody/rhythm/harmony ?
  
  
• From: Mukund (@ internet-gw1.hea.com) on: Mon Mar 23 19:06:04 EST 1998
  
  Hi,
  
  Kanchana: Flow of info is terrific. I have taken a printout of this thread so that I can compare the names in your discussion to ones in the shelf and buy whichever I feel like buying !!
  
  Waiting for WC writeup.
  
  A small digression:
  For guys in San Jose area there is a very good music store in Stanford Mall called Hear Music which stocks CDs/cassettes on all kinds of music cateogories one can imagine.
  
  Pal: Padupaavi !!!!. You did not show up in DF for so long and after all these years first thing he talks about me is this!! :-)). Anyway, I don't remember this so well, but I was of course capable of saying such a thing, except for "vera enna irukku ithula" which is typical stuff Pal adds to entertain listeners. :-). Rajaram will support my point, I guess.
  
  Mukund or (Mux as IISc guys are used to calling me)
  
  
• From: Mux (@ internet-gw1.hea.com) on: Mon Mar 23 19:11:52 EST 1998
  
  Kanchana:
  
  (""Re Western classical, I thought your comment to Pal ("orE tune-lae vERE volume-la vAsikkaRa mAdhiri irukku, vERE enna irukku idhilE?") on Mozart's Symphony original and funny [:-)], but your observation is insightful and true at one level (I'm not kidding!)."")
  
  Neenga oruthar thaan ennoda musical geniusa nalla purinchittu irukkeenga :-)) !!
  
  I am of course kidding. (especially with the genius part)
  Mux
  
  

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