Translate

Showing posts with label 138. IMPROVISATION FOR MEDITATION WITH A MELODY IN A SCALE ACCOMPANIED WITH THE ROOT OR A SINGLE NOTE OF THE SCALE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 138. IMPROVISATION FOR MEDITATION WITH A MELODY IN A SCALE ACCOMPANIED WITH THE ROOT OR A SINGLE NOTE OF THE SCALE. Show all posts

Sunday, October 28, 2018

138. IMPROVISATION FOR MEDITATION WITH A MELODY IN A SCALE ACCOMPANIED WITH THE ROOT OR SINGLE NOTE OF THE SCALE

(This post has not been written completely yet)



This type of improvisation is of the simplest and beautiful ones. Practically no chord accompanying of the melody is used. The only simple harmony is the continuous sounding of a single note which is usually the root of the scale. For this single not accompanying is used usually a monochord string instrument, but it could be used a guitar and other instrument making a conscious trill or repetitive hitting of one note.

Here are examples of it by Shastro with bansuri flute

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7YsFn22F1g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mi2WtNfmfJI&list=PLV1q2ZPK3-lCbyLxCrLC3v8HmBB3B8s8o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjLZujyt-Dw&t=542s
etc

The characteristics of this type of improvisation are:

1) The monotone continuous background sounding of the root of a single (diatonic) scale

2) Rather slow e.g. 58 beats/min (like whales or dolphin whistles) suggesting an ocean feeling.

3)  Melodic themes, of this single diatonic scale that are mainly independent and integrate their meaning by themselves and not by the plot and combination of them.

4) The beauty of the total melody is the statistics of its "Dolphin words" (order-topological shapes of melodic themes) 

Extensions of this type of improvisation are if instead of a single note we repeat a single interval of pure 5th or single triad chord.



 If one wants to add more clear harmony inside the scale, he could "walk" all the sequence of chords by 4ths"  iii7->iv7->ii7->V7->I7->IV7->iii7 etc

ONCE ONE HAS MASTERED THSI SIMPLE FORM OF IMPROVISATION HE WILL PROCEED TO THE MORE GENERAL METHOD AS IN POST 296 ABOUT MODES AND LONGITUDINAL CHORDS.