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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: Kanchana (@ ww-tp03.proxy.aol.com) on: Tue Mar 24 17:06:20 EST 1998
  
  RV:
  Baila is a beatsy, SriLankan (folk?) dance music with verses typically in sinhalese and thamizh. The one I remember from my undergrad days is surAngani.
  
  Keerthi:
  One example of Swing Era type music adapted by MSV-TKR: the western music interlude in ANdondRu pOnAl vayadhondRu pOgum from policekAran magaL. Throw in a few more jazz chords and a larger band with a better rhythm section, and you actually will have a Benny Goodman type number. Swing Era music (pre & post World War II) was basically dance club music with large bands and lesser improvisation versus other eras. MSV adapts this type of music for dance numbers as well as BGM..(imagine the smoldering hero entering the nightclub which is the hide-out for that villainous snake who has kidnappped his mother, sister & girlfriend, the club's band is playing this music, dance couples swirling around.....] I'll be back with a longer list after I dig up some of my old cassettes.
  
  PG:
  Can't think of volume usage as in the Pat Metheny piece you've mentioned (like thani Avarththanam) right now. But, Rahman seems to have used volume dynamics and tempo together very effectively in strawberry kaNNE from minsArak kanavu to achieve a dramatic, operatic effect appropriate to the exaggerated (comedic) emotionality in that scene.
  
  "Genius" Mux:
  Hope your CD store is like ours here (which carries upto carnatic music) which lets its members listen to a particular CD before buying it; another idea is for you to check out some of these CDs from your public library, decide what you like and then invest $.
  [Hope you & Pal continue your malarum ninaivugaL, so all of us get to know more funny details about you both--that adappAvi was a nice touch :-) ]
  
  Western Classical Symphony
  I'll focus on the 18th century Classical Era in western music here, and will not cover the medieval/renaissance/baroque preceding the Classical Era nor 19th century the Romantic Era following the Classical Era. Two music forms came out of the Classical Era: the Viennese Symphony and the Italian Opera.
  Since TFM composer iLayarAjA is expected to release his symphony this year, I'll focus on symphony first.
  
  DEFINITION: A symphony is a musical piece written for the entire orchestra. Typically, it is rather long and divided into movements which are large, independent sections of instrumental compositions.
  
  HISTORY: Haydn, called the father of the symphonies, wrote about 104 symphonies out of which only about 16 are played today. Mozart composed 50 symphonies out of which 10 are played today. In the next generation, Beethoven composed 9, and all of them are played today. Two generations later, Brahms wrote 4 and all 4 are being played today. Haydn and Mozart wrote shorter, lghter symphonies while Beethoven and later-day composers saw their works as long, serious efforts.
  
  MATERIALS OF MUSIC:
  Melody. The unifying thread or plot of a long musical work--also called a theme.
  
  Texture, Counterpoint, Harmony.
  Counterpoint. When two melodies are sounded at the same time while retaining their independent rhythms or when the same melody is sounded at different times as in "row, row, row a boat". A TFM example discussed before: iLayarAjA'a en kaNmaNi from chittukkuruvi(?). There are multiple ways of achieving counterpoints.
  Harmony. Introduces the impression of "musical space" by providing a background and support to the melody.
  Counterpoints and harmony help in enriching the texture of the music.
  
  Rhythm. Controlled movement of music in time, which in a larger sense controls all the relationships within a composition.
  
  Tempo. Pace of the music which carries emotional implications. Some common Italian markings for various tempos:
  solemn (very, very slow): grave
  broad (very slow): largo
  quite slow: adagio
  slow: lento
  a walking pace: andante
  somewhat faster than walking: andantino
  moderate: moderato
  moderately fast: allegretto
  fast (cheerful): allegro
  lively: vivace
  very fast: presto
  very, very fast: prestissimo
  
  Words which indicate a change of tempo are:
  getting faster: accelerando
  getting slower: ritardando
  return to original tempo: a tempo
  
  Dynamics: Musical Volume Degree of loudness or softness tied to the emotions, and along with tempo, used by the composer for effective musical expression.
  
  Main dynamic indications are:
  very soft: pianissimo (pp)
  soft: piano (p)
  moderately soft: mezzo piano (mp)
  moderately loud: mezzo forte (mf)
  loud: forte (f)
  very loud: fortissimo (ff)
  
  Of importance are the directions to change the dynamics:
  growing louder: crescendo
  growing softer: decrescendo
  sudden stress: sforzando (forced)
  
  THE ORCHESTRA:
  1. String Section: violin, viola, cello, double bass
  2. Wind Section: Flute, piccolo, oboe, english horn, clarinets, bassoon, sax.
  3. Brass Section: french horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba
  4. Percussion Section: different types of drums, etc.
  5. Other (as necessary): piano, harp, organ.
  A typical big city orchestra today has roughly about 60+ players in the Strings, 12+ in Wind, 14+ in Brass and 3+ in Percussion.
  
  THE ART OF ORCHESTRATION:
  Important to note that the composer does not write the music for "main instrument" first and then for the rest of the orchestra. Rather, he hears, visualizes, feels the music for the entire orchestra as a whole in detail and writes it down as such.
  
  THE SYMPHONY:
  Since Pal & Mux referred to Mozart's Symphony No. 40, I'll use the same to discuss the structure of a symphony very briefly.
  
  First Movement.
  Has three parts:
  1. Exposition: the two themes are presented or exposed with violins, Wind & Brass, with a "transition" piece when moving from one theme to the other.
  2. Development: the themes are developed & presented in different musical ways. Mozart works only with the first theme here and does the following: (1) he repeats the first half of the theme three times in different keys, (2) adds a counterpoint where the violins and the lower strings actually exchange plaing the theme and the countermelody in different keys, (3) fragments the theme in such a way that the notes are tossed back & forth between the flute, clarinet and the violins.
  3. Recapitulation: Mozart literally returns to the theme which began the movement, with exact repetitions first and then changing.
  
  Second Movement
  Usually the second movement of a symphony is slow and melodious. Mozart uses two themes here also, starts in andante and proceeds with a gentle rocking melody.
  
  Third Movement
  Begins at a moderately fast speed (allegretto) in strings, wind, violins and bassoon. The theme reappears with violins. [some technical structures here like the minuet and trio which I'm skipping because I'm not 100% sure myself--memory malfunction! :( ]
  
  Fourth Movement
  Lively and brilliant, this rapid paced allegro provides a great finish to the symphony. Two themes again which go thru the exposition, development and recapitulation phases with appropriate transitions.
  
  Mux, I'm sure it's clear why you thought it sounded like the same "tune" playing in different volumes. Within each movement the same themes repeat in different keys, played by different instruments, embellished with counterpoints and other variations.
  
  I'm no expert in music, but just shared what I know here, so if there are errors in my definitions or analyses I hope experts will jump in and educate me. Several of these classical concepts have been used by our TFM MDs. Loosely speaking, iLayarAja seems to think "symphonically" often even in TFM, with his interludes being mini-movements by themselves and his orchestral emphasis is on strings and flute in his richer works like andhi mazhai pozhigiradhu (vasanthA rAgam). He also has continued to use harmony, counterpoints and other techniques effectively. Naturally, I'm curious about his "real" Symphony which is yet to be released.
  
  Coming to Rahman, I thought I saw some classical--symphonic "touches" fused with Indian tribal music in veerapANdik kOttaiyilE from thirudA thirudA and classical--operatic "touches" in his strawberry kaNNE from minsArak kanavu.
  
  Since I'm "fading" quickly, I'll finish here and hope the real music experts in DF (which I am not) will jump in and point to more TFM examples.......
  
  
  
  
  
  
• From: pal (@ 128.101.145.88) on: Tue Mar 24 19:33:18 EST 1998
  
  mux ( thanks for getting back to your original ),
  
  sorry da... I didnt mean to say anything bad abut you.... the fact, I never could answer your q!!!! not only that I did have such an openion myself... :-) hope you understand...
  
  
• From: pal (@ 128.101.145.88) on: Tue Mar 24 19:59:54 EST 1998
  
  Kanchana,
  It was a great discussion indeed...
  These are my views and I would like everyone's comments :
  
  The WC exploration of a theme usually involves a journey in various keys. This somehow is not so much done in TFM. May be songs are too short.
  
  a typical romantic era composer use a lot of dynamics which are not really meant for a studio art form like TFM.
  
  So I feel IR is very realistic in choosing baroque style of improvisations more for his songs.
  
  I feel the song 'putham puthu poomi vendum' has lot of symphonic touches. But then it also has choral touches and a beautiful summing up in the end.
  
  IMO, etho mogam is a wonderful example of baroque style improvisations. But I cant find examples for romantic era composers. Not even their style of improvisation in any of the TFM song, I know of. But may be there are influences in the BGM which I dont know.
  
  
• From: pal (@ 128.101.145.88) on: Tue Mar 24 20:04:57 EST 1998
  
  talking about journey in various keys, the song 'vaanam kezhe vanthaal enna, poomi mElE ponaal enna' in thoongathe thambi thoongathe ( ?) is a great example. ANymore such examples?
  
  But use of dynamics is great in 'engE nimmathi', isnt it?
  
  
  

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