Breathing Under Water

Dynamics

• Generally quiet

• Very little dynamic range

• Entry of voice → increases richness, likely perceived as louder

Rhythm, Tempo & Metre

• 120 bpm (quite fast), rit. at the end

• Pulse: present but sounds fluid

• Metre:
  • Mainly 4/4
  • Bar 37 → 2/4 → generates rhythmic interest

• Rhythmic features:
  • Lots of complexity → triplets, dotted rhythms, varied note values
  • Contrast with strings → mainly playing minims

• Overall effect: feels free & complex

Texture

• Melody-dominated homophony
  • But strings add counter-melodic interest

• Bar 1: Monophonic opening

• Vocals adds new layer, richer &a more complex texture

Structure

Its an extended introductory song(Alap) to Sea Dreamer

4 sections, all melodic material comes from Sea Dreamer, elaborated & developed

• Section 1 (bars 1–36):
  • Bars 1–8 → Verse material (from Sea Dreamer, though not really a verse)
  • Bars 9–17 → Chorus material (from Sea Dreamer)
  • Bars 18–36 → Sitar solo

• Section 2 (bars 36–53):
  • Repeat of Section 1

• Section 3 (bars 53–68):
  • Same as Section 1 but octave lower (mandra saptak)

• Section 4 (bars 69–end):
  • Coda

Melody

• Elaborations of Sea Dreamer melodies

• Despite ornamentation:
  • Melody is conjunct
  • Range = generally higher tessitura → makes it stand out vs strings

• Vocals :
  • Use of microtones
  • Quite conjunct

• Strings:
  • Some melodic interest (mostly minims)
  • Gently rising & falling motion

• Sitar:
  • Ornamentation(Alankara) :
    • Kan - grace note
    • Meen - Slide/glissando
    • Gamak - Trill

Instrumentation

• Indian instruments:
  • Sitar (briefly Sitar 2 at bar 73)
  • Female voice
  • Tabla

• Western instruments:
  • Strings (Bollywood-style)
  • Woodwind
  • Horns
  • Flute
  • Cello

• Ornamentation also relates to instrumentation choices

Tonality

• Tonal centre is ambiguous
  • Could be D♭ major or B♭ minor
  • Final cadence ends in D♭ major

• Bar 18 modulation:
  • From D♭ major/B♭ minor → E major or C♯ minor
  • Ambiguity: there are no clear E major or C♯ minor chords
  • Likely A Lydian (due to presence of A chords)

• Tonality remains uncertain throughout

Harmony

• Wide mixture of chord types:
  • F minor chord → G♭sus2
  • Extended chords, added notes
  • B♭sus2add4 (bar 38) → cluster chord
  • Slash chords
  • Triads & inverted triads

• Ending cadence: Plagal (distinctly Western, stands out to listener)