MUSICAL

DISCOVERY
THE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER ON NEW FOUND MUSICAL LINKS

CLAUDE DEBUSSY
He was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first
Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He
was among the most influential composers of the late 19th and early
20th centuries.

MEHDI HASSAN KHAN

He was a Pakistani ghazal singer and playback
singer for Lollywood. One of the greatest and most
influential figures in the history of ghazal singing, he
is famously known as the "King of Ghazal" or the
"Shahanshah-e-Ghazal".

HASSAN AND DEUBUSSY

IS THERE REALLY A LINK BETWEEN TRADITIONAL NORTH
INDIAN MUSIC AND THE IMPRESSIONIST MUSIC OF
DEBUSSY?

A new discovery has been made of a strong tonal link between too
extremely different works! The traditional Hindustani ghazal Jab Tere Nain
Muskurate Hai by Mehdi Hassan and Jimbo's lullaby, the second
movement of Claude Debussy's suite Children's Corner both employ the
use of the whole tone scale as well as rhytmical ostinatos.
Don't believe me? Read more for further proof and examples.
 

01 Link: Whole tone scale

Example: Raag Sahera

"A raga, or raag, is a mood, a cosmic feeling, an atmosphere, that

enraptures the mind, filling it with aesthetic delight." Nonetheless, it is also
important to note that a raga is derived from a scale and works similary as
a prescribed set of notes. When looking at the Raag used in Jab Tere Nain
Muskurate Hai it froms identical intervals and the same set of prescribed
notes as the western whole tone scale.
     
FIGURE 1
AN EQUAL-INTERVAL INDIAN OR WHOLE TONE SCALE (6
INTERVALS, 7 NOTES)
The C Raga Sahera uses seven notes per octave. Because of this same reason it is a
member of the so called Heptatonic -scales that have Seven-notes (or Seven-tones).
The interval between the notes in this scale is whole tone or full tone. Svaras taken
by this raga are Sa, Chatusruti Ri, Antara Ga, Prati Ma, Sudha Dha, and Kaishiki Ni.
Because there are no semitones, all thirds are major, and thus all triads are
augmented. FIGURE 2
These notes within the scale are identical to the western whole tone scale. Although WHOLE TONE SCALE IN TREBBLE CLEF
it may sound different as the Hindustani tuning is not the same as classical western
tuning, the sound frequency and intervals remain the same.

02
Link: Whole tone scale

Example: Jimbo's lullaby

Jimbo's lullaby, although written For a newsletter that people will

in the key of B flat, it alternated
diatonic with whole tone
passages. A prime example of this
is in the measures 19-28 as shown
below in Figure 3. In bar 19 the f
and the g are a major second
appart. Similarly, the
accompanying left hand also plays
two notes simultaneously in a
major second. This major second
interval is also used in the whole
tone scale.
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FIGURE 3
MEASURES 19-28 OF JIMBO'S LULLABY BY CLAUDE DEBUSSY
03
Link: Rhythmical ostinatos

Example: Taal keherwa

In the ghazal Jab Tere Nain Muskurate Hai, a taal with 8 beats is used.
This taal is played on a tabla as visible in figure 4 and it can be
researched to see which base taal is used in the music. A taal with 8
beats is known as Keharwa. This taal is usually used in Ragas and has
has eight beats in two equal divisions (vibhag). The period between
every two beats is equal. The first beat out of 8 beats is called "sam"
and the fifth beat out of 8 beats is called "khali". Sam is the first
Division. Khali is the second Division. To exhibit the Keherwa, the
audience claps on the first beat and then shows that fifth beat is
waived (not clapped).

FIGURE 4
A TABLA BEING PLAYED, TRADITIONALLY SAT DOWN

The standard theka of a taal is only its simplest version. There is usually a lot of variation within the framework of the theka in many scenarios.
At very slow tempos, for instance, you will hear detailed versions of the same taal as the tabla player improvises to fill in the long gaps
between the beats. Nevertheless, the tabla player will always return to this rhythmical ostinato, even if improvisation between occurs.

04
Link: Rhythmical ostinatos

Example: Jimbo's lullaby

Jimbo's lullaby relies heavily upon its left hand to accompany the
main melody which is usually played on the right hand. The left hand
uses a series of different rhythms which are repeated as the right hand
plays the shifting melody. In figure 5 and 6 we see the use of an eighth
followed by a quater note and an eighth rest. This rhythmical ostinato FIGURE 5
is then repeated to form a loop. Although as demonstrated in figure 6,
the notes do change, the rhythm is constant and thereby created the MEASURE 47-48 OF JIMBO'S LULLABY BY DEBUSSY
feel of rather clumsy walking. Figure 7 demonstrates debussy's
development of this ostinato. He keeps the first section the same but
instead of repeating the rhythm to fill the remaining 2 beats of music
in the bar, he changes this to a half note.

SUMMARY OF DISCOVERY FIGURE 6

Although both pieces appear extremely different when basing judgement MEASURE 49-50 OF JIMBO'S LULLABY BY DEBUSSY
purely on listening to them, once having further investigated and done some
research, it is notable that they are based uppon very similar foundations. The
scale or raag used is identical in terms of intervals (major second). Both pieces
are rhythmically different but can be compared in terms of their repetition. The
taal used in the Hindustani gzahal by Musstad Hussain Khan relies heavily
uppon this ostinato in order for the singer to then improvise his melody.
Similarly, the ostinato used in measures 47-52 of Jimbo's lullaby by Debussy also
provide basis for a more experimental right hand melody.

WHOLE TONE SCALE & FIGURE 7

RHYTHMICAL OSTINATOS MEASURE 51-52 OF JIMBO'S LULLABY BY DEBUSSY
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
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WORKS
Claude Debussy, Jimbo’s Lullaby the Children’s Corner Elementary Piano Sheet
Music (Lulu Press, Inc, 2015)
Musstad Hassan Khan, Jab Tere Nain Muskurate Hai, Shahad, Vol 1, 1986