Beats Me
Melody: Part 28
The Second Pass
In this part of the Melody series, we’ll be decoding the rhythms of our 5 melodies.
If you’d like a refresher on melodic time, take a look at the Melodic Time Primer.
Solutions to the Previous Part
Before we jump into rhythm, here are the loudness contours of the 5 melodies as promised in the previous part:
Melody No. 1: Netru Illaatha Maatram
Ha Ya Ya Ha Ha Ya, Ha Ya Ya, Ha Ya Ha,
Ya Ya Ya Ha Ha Ya, Ha Ya Ya, Ha Ya Ha.
Melody No. 2: Jab Se Tumi San Laagali
Ha Ya Ha Ya Ya Ya Ya Ya, Ha Ya Ha,
Ha Ya Ya Ha Ya Ha Ya, Ha Ya Ya Ya,
Ha Ya Ya, Ha Ya Ya Ya Ya.
Melody No. 3: Symphony No. 25
Ve Ve Ve, Ve Ve Ve, Ve Ve Ve, Ve Ve Ve Ve,
Ve Ve Ve, Ve Ve Ve, Ve Ve Ve, Ve Ve Ve Ve,
Ve Ve Ya Ha Ya Ve Ve Ve,
Ve Ve Ya Ha Ya Ve Ve Ve,
Ve Ve Ya Ha Ya Ya Ya Ya,
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha.
Melody No. 4: Pehla Nasha
Ha Ya Ha, Ya Ya Ya Ya Ya,
Ha Ya Ha, Ya Ya Ya Ya Ya,
Ha Ya Ha, Ya Ya Ya Ya Ya,
Ha Ha Ya Ha,
Ya Ya Ya Ya Ya Ya Ya Ha.
Melody No. 5: Mamma Mia
Ya, Ha Ha Ha, Ha Ha Ha Ha,
Ya, Ha Ha Ha, Ha Ha Ha Ha,
Ya, Ha Ha, Ya Ya Ya Ya Ya Ya Ya Ya,
Ha Ha Ha Ha, Ve Ve Ve,
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha,
Ya, Ha Ha, Ha Ha Ha Ha, Ha Ha Ha Ha.
The Gear You’ll Need
To make it easier to focus on the timing of each melody’s pitches, we’ll turn every pitch into the same Sa, at the same loudness Ya, and while using a slower tempo.
In addition, we’ll also assign a different (instrument) sound to each Sa depending on which inner beat (Ta, Ka, Di and Mi) the corresponding pitch begins.
With these modifications, a pitch that begins on Ta will sound different compared to a pitch that begins on Mi, even though both will have the same pitch Sa and same loudness Ya in the modified melody.
This is what the 4 inner beats Ta, Ka, Di and Mi will sound like, in order:
This is our beat dictionary. Coupled with the modified version of each melody, this will be all you’ll need to name the timing (rhythmic position) of each pitch: Ta, Ka, Di or Mi.
Make sure to also listen to the original melodies by heading over to the Part 26. This will help you in contextualising the modified versions that you’ll find below.
One last thing: it would be well worth your time to revise both long duration naming and duration tail labelling before attempting to decode the rhythms of our 5 melodies.
These concepts get used quite heavily, so if you’re clear on both of these, naming durations (and understanding the hints) won’t be confusing.
Let’s begin!
Long, Short and In Between
Here are the 5 melodies we’ll be decoding:
Melody No. 1: Netru Illaatha Maatram (approximately 0:28-0:40 of the linked video), A.R. Rahman
Hint:
Ta_ _Mi i_Mi, _ Ta_, _ _Mi-i-i-i,
_ _ _ _ iKa_, Ta Ta_, _ _Mi-i-i-iT.
Melody No. 2: Jab Se Tumi San Laagali (approx. 1:25-1:36 of linked video), traditional Khayaal composition
Hint:
TaDi _ _ Ta_ _Di, i_ iDi Ta-a,
_ _ _ TaDi _ _, _ _ _ _,
Ta_ _, _ _ _ _ TaT.
Melody No. 3: Symphony No. 25 (approx. 1:34-1:46 of linked video), W.A. Mozart
Hint:
Ta_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ TaKaDiMi,
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _,
TaKaDiMi _ _ _ _,
_ _ _ _ Ta_ _ _,
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _,
Ta_ _ _ TaT.
Melody No. 4: Pehla Nasha (approx. 0:47-1:00 of linked video), Jatin-Lalit
Hint:
TaMi _, a_ _ _ i_ _,
_ _ Ta, aKa_ _ i_Mi,
_ _ _, a_ TaKaDiMi,
_ _ _ _,
a_ _ _ _ _ _ _TaT.
Melody No. 5: Mamma Mia (approx. 1:03-1:20 of linked video), ABBA
Hint:
Ta, Di i_ _ _, iKaMi iKa,
_, _ iKaDiMi, i_ _ i_,
_, _ _, Mi iKaDiMi _ _ _ _,
i_ _ _ _, _ _ _,
_Mi TaKaDiMi,
Ta, _ _, _ iKaDiMi, _ _ _ _.
Moving Forward
The complete solutions to these 5 challenges will be available in the next part. Also, we’ll be decoding the pitches of these 5 melodies.
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