Week 20 16-05-14 Old Delhi (re-visit)

To finish this block we re-visited the Henri Texier piece Old Delhi. 

Rhythm:

The piece is in a fast 4/4 but with a strong '2 feel'. The trombone and baritone solos are over a '4 feel' with a fast walking bass ('time no changes') and the alto solo goes into a '6 over 4 feel' - the '2' pulse (where you would naturally tap your foot) remains the same throughout. We have looked at this topic before (last year 15-03-13 on Louise Elliott's composition Going Home - my notes and info sheet are duplicated below). '6 over 4' is a wonderful rhythm and Steve has agreed to go over the Dave Wickens 'rhythm tree' with the group at some point in the near future.

The section at letter E featured a 2 bar rhythmic 'call' inviting a 4 bar 'response'. There are two challenges here: 1) the soloist should be able to keep a strong sense of the time in what they play; 2) the rest of the ensemble should be able to keep the pulse going in their head regardless of what the soloist plays OR to listen and interpret the implied time from the soloist (experienced players do this often - I still find it slightly scary!*) 

* The classic situation for this is counting through (and at the same time 'interpreting') a drum solo where the drummer is really stretching out - do you just count? do you just listen? I won't mention any names but from time to time I get to play with a brilliant Brighton-based drummer (clue: a good tune for him to play would be The Preacher) and I still find coming in after one of his solos very challenging.

Harmony:

The harmony in this piece is modal, centred around concert D phrygian (sections A and C) and concert G phrygian (section B). Later in the piece the various soloists often refer to mixolydian b9 b13 (aka fifth mode of harmonic minor) - see below for more information on this. 

D phrygian 1  b2  b3   4   5  b6  b7   8

D mixolydian b9b13   1  b2   3   4   5  b6  b7   8   (= G harmonic minor)

G phrygian 1  b2  b3   4   5  b6  b7   8

G mixolydian b9b13   1  b2   3   4   5  b6  b7   8   (= C harmonic minor)

Improvising:

Improvising over 'time no changes' can be great fun. As there are no chords the soloist is free to play anything they wish (arguably this is also the case when playing WITH chords.) Some players love this format while others find the lack of harmonic structure a challenge. Playing 'time no changes' does not preclude the soloist from using a structure of their own devising (made up on the spot or pre-planned). Rhythmically, playing in 4 and 8 bar phrases is often desirable; harmonically, having a pre-agreed tonal centre or pedal point is a common device.

If you look at my transcription of the opening few bars of the baritone solo you will see that the bass starts out from a concert G tonality and the soloist uses the blues scale  1  b3  4  #4  5  b7  8  (in concert: G blues scale = G  Bb  C  C#  D  F  G ). The bass line however, does not stick with the G sound for long but explores a wonderful rising chromatic line, weaving about most ambiguously - this is a big feature of 'time no changes' (over to Terry for more on this … ) I would like to explore more of this type of improvisation in the future.

Ropetackle Archive 15-03-13

Going Home – is it 6 of one or 4 of the other? This African / Township inspired piece by Louise Elliott offers another chance to explore 3 over 2 (aka 6 over 4). I think the ‘two’ pulse (or ‘four’) is usually the underlying feel and the ‘three’ pulse (or ‘six’) is secondary. However, both pulses are important – they need each other to create this wonderful cross rhythm.

The question of writing down these rhythms is a tricky one. Should you favour the ‘two’ pulse (aka ‘four’) as I have done, or the ‘three’ pulse (aka ‘six’)? The crucial factor is the ‘feel’ (or underlying groove) – in other words: which pulse would you dance (or tap your foot) to?

Even having chosen the ‘two’ or the ‘three’ pulse there are still a number of notation possibilities. If you have a look at the handout entitled 6 Against 4 you will see three options for notating Going Home (all based on the ‘two’ pulse).

Hope you have a good break and for those of you who are up for some more musical madness and mayhem (!) I look forward to seeing you on June 13th when we shall be looking at the Chick Corea composition Armundo's Rhumba (parts will be available in due course).

Cheers Mark