Turkish Makam Influences in Jazz Improvisation

Artistic Research Report for the AR2 examination Student name: Meric Calisan Main subject: Jazz Vocal Main subject teacher: Bart de Win, Harjo Pasveer, Francien van Tuinen Research domain: World Music / Crossover Research coach: Michalis Cholevas Title of the research: Turkish Makam Influences in Jazz Improvisation Artistic Research Question: How can I integrate elements such as phrasing, melodic development, glissando, structure by analysing selected sarkı,pesrev and semai in hicaz, huseyni makams into my vocal improvisation of jazz pieces, arranged folk songs and my compositions? Analysed Pieces: Hicaz Pesrev-Refik Fersan Hicaz Pesrev-Neyzen Salim Bey Huseyni Pesrev-Andon Efendi Huseyni Sarkı-Ben bir kucucuk sevdalı kustum-Bilge ozgen Huseyni Semai-Cecen Kızı-Tanburi Cemil Bey Transcription of Cinucen Tanrikorur’s Transition taksim between huseyni and hicaz Arrangements and compositions Nardis - Miles Davis Uzun ince bir yoldayım - Asık Veysel Into the night - Meric Calisan Keywords: Jazz improvisation, makam, makam influence in jazz improvisation, vocal improvisation, hicaz, huseyni, phrasing, melodic development,glissando,structure, sarkı,pesrev and semai, arranged folk songs, jazz pieces. Date of submission: 23rd March 2020 Date of AR examination: 20th May 2020 Table of contents 1 Abstract 3 2 Introduction 3-4 3 Research findings 3.1 Presentation of the artistic result 3.2 Documentation of the artistic result 3.3 Explanation of progress during the research process 3.4 Assess and expert feedback 3.5 Conclusion 5-8 5 5-6 6 7 7-8 4 Documentation of the intervention cycles 4.1 First intervention cycle 4.1.1 Overview of first intervention cycle 4.1.2 Reference recording 4.1.3 Reflect & assess 4.1.4 Data collection 4.1.5 Intervention 4.1.6 New reference recording, assess and expert feedback 4.1.7 Reflect on your progress since the first/previous reference recording 4.2 Second intervention cycle 4.2.1 Overview of second intervention cycle 4.2.2 Reference recording 4.2.3 Reflect & assess 4.2.4 Data collection 4.2.5 Intervention 4.2.6 New reference recording, assess and expert feedback 4.2.7 Reflect on your progress since the first/previous reference recording 4.3 Third intervention cycle 4.3.1 Overview of second intervention cycle 4.3.2 Reference recording 4.3.3 Reflect & assess 4.3.4 Data collection 4.3.5 Intervention 4.3.6 New reference recording, assess and expert feedback 4.3.7 Reflect on your progress since the first/previous reference recording 9-40 9-20 9 9 9-10 10-18 18-19 19-20 20 21-31 21 21 21-22 22-27 28-29 29-30 30-31 31-40 31 32 32 33-37 37-38 38 39-40 5 Reference list 41-44 6 Network 45-46 Appendices Appendix 1: List of all recordings included in report 1 47-102 47 Appendix 2: Critical media review Appendix 3: Full feedback on reference recordings Appendix 4: Transcription of interviews Appendix 5: Transcriptions/annotated scores/analyses 2 48-58 59-63 64-69 70-102 1 Abstract Improvisation, the art of creating at the moment, is the main reason that I started singing jazz. It allows me to express my musical thoughts, while being the biggest struggle in my musicality. I was suggested by many of my mentors and colleagues that my ideas were nice but needed to be connected. These artistic needs introduced me to taksims, improvisations based on melodic development. In this research, I demonstrate how elements such as phrasing and melodic development can be integrated into vocal improvisation of jazz and arranged folk songs by analysing selected pieces in hicaz and huseyni makams. In this context, the recordings from Refik Fersan, Salim Bey, Andon Efendi, Cemil Bey and Tanrıkorur analysed and the stylistic elements implied into my daily practice with exercises. These exercises made my improvisations more solid and consistent by prioritizing melodic development. My findings, i.e. exercises and technical explanation, will help musicians, particularly vocalists who would like to apply the makam practice into their improvisation skills. By application of this process their musicianship will profit from the linear melodic approach, odd meters and the technique. 2 Introduction I’ve always been curious about crossover projects. When I was first introduced to jazz music, I was lost in the beauty of this genre and amazed by the richness of the harmony, rhythm and improvisation that gives freedom to the musicians. After studying and practicing jazz music for a while, I’d seen Tigran Hamasyan performing. At that moment, I knew that I was going to do a crossover project in one period of my life. During my undergraduate studies, I’ve travelled a lot to perform and attend workshops. Playing with musicians from different cultures made me realize about my own culture and music, which is Turkish. The reason I was not initially interested in Turkish music was because of the cultural and social biases against this genre. Turkish music and instruments, especially ney, have been associated with Islam and Sufism. They are heavily used in Islamic themes, which has created the idea that Turkish music was Islamic music and nothing more. Because of my personal beliefs, I deemed that Turkish music was not up to my personal and political preferences. As I discovered how these biases were unwarranted, I revised my ideas about Turkish music. As I learned more, I started to see the richness of Turkish music. Therefore, my interest and curiosity about doing crossover between jazz and Turkish music had become a need for my artistic development. My goals are: -To benefit from melodic development of makam approaches and to be able to apply them to my vocal improvisation. - To explore and apply odd rhythms in my arrangements. - To become more free and confident in various styles. - To encourage young generations to listen and perform Turkish music. Although there is an abundance of instrumental crossover projects, I can’t say the same for the vocal performances. Because of this, my research field is rather underdeveloped, with so few resources to work with. It was very challenging to find resources that directly related to my research. In addition to this, within the Turkish music field the most beneficial resources for me as a performing artist were the recordings by the masters of the Turkish music. In my first attempts for media review, I’ve found and read some papers related to makam approaches in the polyphonic environment, including my research coach Michalis Cholevas’s master thesis, which became a guide for my arrangements. While arranging my jazz 3 standard repertoire, I’ve also been inspired to rearrange Turkish folk songs in a jazz environment with the encouragement of one of my main subject teachers Francien van Tuinen. I would like to give a short definition of Turkish music and its genres. Based on the definitions I found in my resources about this area, I could say that there are two essential genres in Turkish music: Turkish art and Turkish folk. These genres have differences in melodic developments, rhythmic elements and makam approaches. Makam is a system of melody types used in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cultures. Each makam specifies unique intervallic structure and melodic development. More explanation can be seen in further chapters. My motivation and my goals bring my research question into existence, which is ‘How can I integrate elements such as phrasing, melodic development, glissando, structure by analysing selected sarkı, pesrev and semai in hicaz, huseyni makams into my vocal improvisation of jazz pieces and arranged folk songs?’ Hopefully, this report will be helpful for jazz singers and musicians who want to integrate Turkish makams into their improvisation. 4 3 Research findings 3.1 Presentation of the artistic result https://tinyurl.com/wuyf9u9 Into the night - Meric Calisan Vocal - Meric Calisan Backing track - Rustam Rahmedov 17th March 2020 5.40 minute 3.2 Documentation of the artistic result I’ve recorded my composition, Into the Night, where I implemented makam practice and transition of the makams that I worked on as a final artistic result of my research. Besides the final result, I monitored each cycle’s achievements. By doing so, the improvement can clearly be followed step by step. I would like to summarize the evolution of my artistic development as well as my artistic choices during interventions. The artistic choices lead me to my first result ❖ Different vocal technique ❖ Legato singing ❖ Using flavours of the hicaz family First achievement Nardis Arrangement + free hicaz intro with lyrics https://tinyurl.com/r4v9ns4 The artistic choices lead me to my second result ❖ Longer phrases ❖ Connections with vibrato ❖ Connections with glissando Second achievement Huseyni improvisation in Uzun ince bir yoldayım https://tinyurl.com/tz44vlj The artistic choices lead me to my final result ❖ Smooth transition between huseyni and hicaz ❖ Using and simplifying the carpma ornament ❖ Difference in the vocal technique for application of carpma ornament. Third and the final achievement Into the Night (own composition in western style with a makam influenced improvisation including a transition between hicaz and huseyni.) https://tinyurl.com/wuyf9u9 Transcription/the annotated scores of recordings can be found in the appendix 5. In addition, the detailed comparison of each improvement can be found in each intervention and reflection of the progress part. 5 For the last recording, the artistic result I would like to point out some differences. ● Stylistic elements, ornaments varied such as carpma, glissando and vibrato. ● Melodic and linear development can be seen. ● Transition between hicaz and huseyni was used. ● Phrases were rhythmically varied. ● The range was directly correlated with the development of the melody. 3.3 Explanation of progress during the research process In this research, my main goal was to extend my improvisation language by using melodic development and ornaments in Turkish music, while learning huseyni and hicaz makams in theory and practice. By doing so, I would be able to use these colours in my improvisation, compositions and arrangements. As a result of analysing, interviewing, experimenting and practicing for two years, I believe that I found a way to implement these elements in my performance. I constructed my research from three intervention cycles, where I worked on these elements separately and I tried to get a product out of each cycle. Briefly, in the first intervention cycle, I worked on hicaz makam and its possibilities in its flavours. As a result, I had the Nardis arrangement with a makam influenced free intro. In the second intervention cycle, I worked on huseyni as well as vibrato and glissando, because I realized the importance of the ornaments in terms of reflecting the style by the end of the first cycle. I put ornaments into my daily warming up exercises to make them exist in my muscle memory. Therefore, these ornaments started and continued developing automatically until the end of my study. The most relevant development was the stylistic difference in my singing and also linear approach in my improvisations both in jazz and Turkish music genres. You can find detailed comparisons of the recordings in each cycle; but in short, I can explain the development with a table below. These changes mostly implemented with the daily warming up exercises. These exercises can be found in the appendix. 6 3.4 Assess and expert feedback In general, the feedback that I got from experts was positive in many ways. I would like to show you the feedback of the improvement with a table. By considering those aspects above, the one thing that the experts such as Dick de Graaf, Barbara Varassi Pega, Mustafa Fındık and Rustam Rahmedov agreed on was how this study helped me to find my own voice in the jazz field. Now, rather than spreading all ideas that pop up in my mind, I am selecting them carefully and could connect them easily with the tradition and way of thinking that I got from Turkish music. All experts agreed on the improvement of the sound, technique, and intonation. By implementing stylistic elements, I was more coherent in my improvisation. Yet, sometimes getting used to legato singing can affect me when I sing other genres. I need to be aware of the place that I am using legato lines. Of course, Turkish music is a deep and endless genre as many of the other genres. The end of this research is the beginning of a new chapter and a dimension in my musicianship. 3.5 Conclusion This research has shown how the elements such as phrasing, melodic development, glissando and structure can be integrated into vocal improvisation of jazz pieces, arranged folk songs and compositions by analysing selected sarkı,pesrev and semai in hicaz, huseyni makam. In other words, it’s a creation of a tool kit for vocal improvisation, based on the artistic need. For me, a tool kit is similar to the analogy of learning a new language. As we learn new words, we start to express ourselves better in that language. Everything we are, everything we have is limited by the words that we know and this study simply taught me new words for my musical dictionary. If you are researching about a genre that has not a lot of academic or theory sources and even the ones that are either conflicting with each other or not working in practice, you need to listen and analyse recordings as much as you can and learn from them about tradition. Because of this, in this period of two years, I’ve transcribed analysed pieces, recordings as well as my own improvisation and interpretation. By doing so, I’ve come to some artistic choices regarding my technique and phrasing. I implemented these choices in my daily practice and I monitored my development in each cycle by comparing the transcribed and analysed scores of my reference recordings. On top of this, I experimented with the ornaments and possibilities of the flavours to develop myself as much as I can in this short period. 7 At first, I was so distracted and obsessed with flavours that I couldn’t see the key elements would solve the problem in my improvisations in makam practice such as ornaments and dynamics. By the end of the first cycle when I was reflecting my progress by transcribing and analysing my own solo, I realized the change in my vocal technique and interpretation and decided to work on them more. In May 2019, the question ‘What I’ve changed in my vocal technique’ of the jury in my Ar1 examination made me research the Estill Voice training system, because I wanted to explain what I changed in my vocal technique. All summer, I’d tried to find the logic and explain the technical part of this journey to myself, because then I would be able to tell others. With the gathered information about Estill Voice Training Systems and with the guidance of my vocal technique teacher, finally I was able to explain it. The feedback I got from experts in each cycle helped me not to get out of point and stay in my path with minimum distraction. In the second cycle, I worked even more with the vibrato and added glissando ornament while learning huseyni makam. The literature I’ve read and reviewed has mostly helped me to build my background in this genre. In the third cycle, my plan was to use these two makams in my improvisation. Then, I composed a tune called Into the night which is completely western but this was the opportunity for me to try and show how to make this crossover work in such a situation. To make the transition work I put a groovy vamp with no minor or major character in the solo part to be able to use both huseyni and hicaz colours. I transcribed and analysed a transition taksim solo by Cinucen Tanrikorur and realised that there were a lot of carpma ornaments used. This made me experiment and implement this element into my singing. I consulted about the technique and worked on the carpma with my fellow musician friend Burak Savas. To conclude, not only the makam and stylistic elements were integrated into my improvisations as a tool, my improvisations, technique and interpretation has gained another dimension by being able to use a linear melodic approach. As we all know, it’s a really short time to get in a new genre, learn and use some elements from them. I think by now, I have a relevant and acceptable result that can continue to develop in my following studies. I hereby would like to add a few words of Codarts Artistic Research Competition Jury about this study in verbatim; ‘’Meric showed how she arrives to find her own voice within the jazz field. Her data collection as well as her contextualization are strong: varied, well documented, and precise. She presented an engaging and high-quality performance of her own arrangement of Miles Davis’ “Nardis”. Potentially a great contribution both for the jazz and makam domains.” 8 4 Documentation of the intervention cycles 4.1 First intervention cycle 4.1.1 Overview of first intervention cycle I’ve selected two makams for my research: hicaz, huseyni. My idea is to divide them into cycles in order to work with them in more detail. Thus, I’ve started with the hicaz makam and selected a jazz standard which is suitable for this makam. In my first intervention cycle, I selected the jazz standard Nardis by Miles Davis and I arranged it in 5/4 time signature, wrote Turkish lyrics, extended the B part and added a free intro with using hicaz makam. The focus of this intervention cycle was to create an atmosphere to make myself comfortable with hicaz makam and also to add some phrases from hicaz makam to my improvisation. 4.1.2 Reference recording https://tinyurl.com/uowvl3h Nardis – Miles Davis Vocal – Meric Calisan Piano – Miran Noh 5th November 2018 4.39 minute The reason I started my research with this piece is because the melody of this song is formed by using hicaz makam. Since I wanted to improvise with hicaz makam, I believe it helped me to get used to the vibe during improvisation and I also enjoy singing this piece. 4.1.3 Reflect & assess Reflection: ❏ Lack of musical phrases. ❏ Repetition of phrases. ❏ Rhythmic clashes(Getting used to improvising in 5/4) ❏ Lack of rhythmic elements in phrases. ❏ Intonation. Feedback: ❏ Don’t mix it with other scales*, sing only hicaz and change the chords in A. ❏ Work on vibrato, try to imitate wind instruments like ney and duduk. ❏ Find a concept for arrangement. 9 ❏ Be authentic in A, go back to jazzy style on B. ❏ Lack of musical phrases. From these feedback and my own reflection I have ended up with these questions: ★ How can I vary my phrases? ★ How can I avoid repetition in improvisation? ★ How can I be more comfortable in 5/4? ★ How can I vary my phrases rhythmically? ★ How can I develop myself in vocal technique for imitating wind instruments? *Complete feedback on the reference recording can be found in Appendix 3. 4.1.4 Data collection 10 In order to answer my questions, the most important things are building, developing my background in Turkish theory and practice with attending Turkish theory classes, watching lectures online, reading papers and listening masters. In my first intervention cycle, I used Case Study as a strategy. What is the case? + To be able to improvise with hicaz makam in Nardis. Desk Research (Literature): For desk research, I started off with reading several papers which are listed below that may help me with my research. I’ve written reviews and summaries for several of them. They can be found in appendix 2. - Harmonic analysis of the ensemble and singing pieces from Erdal Tugcular as an educational music composer - H. Bozkurt & S. Kose (2016) - Integrating harmony and microtonality by playing heterophonic Turkish Art and Folk Music in harmonic environment- M. Cholevas (2009) - A transcultural journey : Integrating elements of Persian Classical Music with Jazz - K. Pass (2013) - Jazz and the Composer - K. Dommett (1964) Analyses: In my proposal, I was planning to analyze a taksim but with the feedback I got from the coaches, I decided to start with a pesrev. I analysed two hicaz pesrev by Refik Fersan and Neyzen Salim Bey which you can find in the appendix 5. By analysing these pesrevs, I started to understand modulation between makams and this gave me an idea for my experimentation part of this intervention. Hicaz pesrev by Refik Fersan was composed in the 20th century, so it has more complicated transitions between other makams compared to Neyzen Salim Bey’s pesrev. Neyzen Salim Bey’s pesrev is more basic structured and not going so far from the main makam. I learned that these differences occur due to the time differences between them. After analysing pesrevs, especially the complex one, which is Refik Fersan’s, I was confused with the modulation between makams. By the suggestion of my research coach Michalis Cholevas, I did a diagram for the hicaz family and possibilities of flavours. 11 Here you can find a small diagram. The blue colour represents the hicaz family. Hicaz makam is a very broad makam and it’s one of the most popular makams that is known in western cultures as an oriental music. Rather than a diagram, I also want to show you how I figured out relations between hicaz and other makams. For Hicaz Uzzal: It is formed by combining the hicaz tetrachord at the bottom and the ussak pentachord on the top. 12 For Hicaz Humayun: It is formed by combining the hicaz tetrachord at the bottom and buselik pentachord on the top. For Hicaz Hicaz: It is formed by combining the hicaz tetrachord at the bottom and rast pentachord on the top. For Zirguleli Hicaz: It is formed by combining the hicaz pentachord at the bottom and hicaz tetrachord on the top. It is the only one that uses a leading tone when conclusion to the tonic. 13 Experimentation: Since my focus of analysing has changed from taksim to pesrev, I decided to experiment with the modulation between makams while improvising. In my first reference recording (01 Reference Recording 01), I also realized that I am singing a single scale with almost the same melodic line. Although it takes time to do a proper taksim improvisation, I intended to speed up the process. In order to get rid of the monotony, I practiced singing each makam you see below. Rather than just singing the scale, I tried to sing around the scale and tried to develop the melody with going step by step to the degrees. To be more clear, I formed melodic lines from 1st degree to 7th degree step by step. As Cinucen Tanrikorur stated in his lecture makam is: MAKAM = scale + MD (melodic development) %10 %90 After singing each of them along, I tried to connect them with each other by using the transitions that I remembered from the pieces that I listened to such as sarkı, gazel and pesrev. Parametric Experiment in Hicaz Family a) Melodic Possibilities For hicaz 14 For humayun For uzzal 15 For zirguleli b) Harmonic Possibilities https://tinyurl.com/ulq2yht https://tinyurl.com/rjkxdjs 16 https://tinyurl.com/yx7ch9yf https://tinyurl.com/rps879m https://tinyurl.com/u565k3p 17 My parametric experiment of II V I progressions didn’t help me to compose or form something yet. I am still searching for methods on how to use them. I can say that it was a theoretical experiment and unfortunately it didn’t work in practice. But this trial showed me that rather than using proper progressions, focusing on the melody and harmonizing might be more useful for me. On the other hand, in my melodic parametric experiment, I realized some of my habits were causing difficulties for me, while I was improvising. In order to improve, I wrote some melodic exercises to practice on. I determined some guidelines for myself while improvising. The recording of my melodic parametric experiment can be found in appendix 1. Interview: I’ve also done two interviews in the beginning of the first semester with my main subject teacher Francien van Tuinen and my colleague from Turkey, Cemre Yılmaz who is currently studying jazz vocal in Germany. These interviews were in the decision period of my research. I asked them about their thoughts and feelings about my subject. The summary and the full interviews can be found in appendix 4. In addition to this I’ve worked with one of my main subject teachers Harjo Pasveer about my vocal technique and sound in high registers. I am happy to tell you that now I am fully capable of using my voice in 3.5 octaves. 4.1.5 Intervention After my data collection and the classes I’ve attended in Turkish Music Department, I am more familiar with the genre and feel more secure about my ideas and practice. Watching lectures and reading the sources that I’ve found made me more knowledgeable about the subject. This led me to make some artistic choices for my performance. Choices made ( what, why, when, how ) Writing lyrics for the free improvisation introduction part I decided to rearrange my arrangement for jazz standard ‘Nardis’ by Miles Davis for a quartet. At the recommendation of my research coach, Michalis Cholevas, I wrote lyrics for the free intro part in order to make it more natural. As you can see in the last reference recording (04 Reference Recording 02), it sounds much more natural and musical with words compared to my first reference recording. In my trials with the master ensemble classes, my ensemble coach, Dick de Graaf, also told me that I could consider my decisions for syllables in improvising. This is why I needed to find syllables which fit the most with my improvisations. Every language has its own rhythm and pulse. Because of this, I’ve written Turkish lyrics for providing coherency, catching the flow between melody and the lyrics. There is no method for me to write lyrics, but I always create a story in my mind then start improvising with lyrics to reflect that story. Vocal technique I often saw examples of climax lines in the taksims; because of that, I wanted to add similar lines to my improvisation. Thus, I worked on my falsetto and vocal range with some technical exercises. Here are the tips for working on high register: *Ambulance siren imitation with ‘i’ vowel with hysterical smile on the face. Go up as far as you can. *Working on your lower notes also affects your high register. *It’s easier to use more open vowels when I go higher but it’s really interesting that I’ve found that ‘i’ and ‘a’ are the most comfortable vowels for me. *Posture and the position of your head is really important for quality of sound. You need to make sure that your muscles are relaxed and your head is straight, not forward. 18 Try to use the different flavours of the hicaz family: After doing a parametric experiment with hicaz family flavours, I’ve written down some guidelines for myself in improvisation that you can see below. Guidelines Hicaz improvisation: -In the beginning, take your time and don’t go directly to neva or huseyni. You can either go below dugah the tonic with zirgule flavour or just can keep hicaz. -After taking some time around tonic and maybe going below and coming back to tonic. Now, you can introduce the subdominant or dominant depending on which flavour that you want to use. For instance, you can do a jumping movement from dugah (a) to huseyni (e) and use uzzal flavour. - For using different flavours, I can explore a bit with ussak flavour on huseyni, rast or buselik on neva. Of course there are lots of possibilities, it’s not limited. Thus, masters used a lot of different flavours, sudden makam changes in the past, but I am capable of using the colours that I learned till now. -While you are improvising keep your movements connected with each other. How? In the beginning of the journey, singing legato phrases was looking like the key to a connection between phrases. However, you can also use ornaments, glissando, vibrato even taking a breath could connect the musical ideas to each other. Some other options for connections: A )Legato singing to connect the musical thoughts: One musical phrase could be heard differently when you use legato and don’t use legato. For example; https://tinyurl.com/r783klw B) Question and answer: Using phrases as question-answer in other words call and respond helps you to connect your ideas. For example; https://tinyurl.com/r783klw - When you are finalizing your solo try to come back to dugah (tonic) slowly. ! Remember the most important thing is how you reach the note not the note itself. I improvised up on a drone with using these guidelines in my practice session. When I got it into my system and muscle memory, I tried not to think about the guidelines and improvise in the moment. I experimented this in Nardis arrangement and many others in odd rhythms with my quartet (Scores and the recordings can be found in appendix). Finally, with the influence of hicaz, I composed an original called Desert (Sand Storm). The piece formed from 8 bars of intro 2ABA and 8 bars of outro. You can find the score and the recording in the appendix 5. 4.1.6 New reference recording, assess and expert feedback https://tinyurl.com/r4v9ns4 Nardis - Miles Davis Vocal - Meric Calisan Piano - Murat Ali Cengiz Double bass - Baris Ofluoglu Drums - Rodrigo Ballesteros 11th April 2019 Thursday, 6.41 minute 19 Reflection: First of all in this piece, especially in the beginning and the end, breath control is very important. When I watched the video, I realized that I could be more in control with my breathing in order to have a stable intonation. It is very obvious that the intonation problems arise from breathing. For the solo part, I could use silence and the space as well as the flavours. In addition to this, I could soften the syllables. ❏ ❏ ❏ ❏ Intonation due to the breathing control Choices of syllables Using the silence and space Monotony in phrases Feedback: To begin with, all the experts agreed that the introduction part should be more interactive with the band but without random fillings. They told me about the improvement of my vocal technique and range, but we all agreed that I still needed to control my breathing intentionally. They told me that my phrases improved. On the other hand, if I use transitions between makams, my improvisation will be more effective and will be saved from monotony. Also, they gave me advice for not to use all colour options of my voice together. ❏ Breathing control ❏ Don’t use all the colour options in your voice ❏ Use transitions to get rid of monotony 4.1.7 Reflect on your progress since the first/previous reference recording I am happy about my progress in this intervention. If I compare the first recording with the last one, I can clearly see that I started delivering more clear ideas musically. In the first reference recording (01 Reference Recording 01), I sang and scatted more like a jazz singer which was normal. However, for the last one (04 Reference Recording 02), I think it started to get different. At least, I can see the hicaz influences in the improvisation and the interpretation. Of course I still have a lot to learn. I was unaware of how big and rich is the makam world. To be more precise, I specified the comparison below. - First of all, the free intro part was improved a lot. I am glad that my research coach, Michalis Cholevas, gave me the idea to write lyrics to the free intro part. - Second, I was rhythmically more comfortable with the song. - Third, I think my improvisation has improved, but I still needed to develop it slowly, step by step with using the spaces. It can be clearly seen in the first recording my improvisation part has only the hicaz tetrachord to give the hicaz flavour and it’s only given by singing the scale rather than doing musical phrases. On the other hand, in the second recording, there were some melodic phrases using the makam approach without just singing the scale with different flavours. In addition to this, in the second reference recording there were some stylistic elements that came into my interpretation such as glissando and carpma. - Last, the development of my vocal range and my technique was the most pleasing progression for me in this intervention cycle. *You can find annotated scores for my improvisation in both of the reference recordings in the appendix 5. 20 4.2 Second intervention cycle 4.2.1 Overview of second intervention cycle In the second intervention cycle, I’ve worked on the huseyni makam which is a quite popular makam in the Turkish music genre especially in the folk music style. I’ve selected a folk piece ‘Uzun ince bir yoldayım’ by Asık Veysel and arranged it for double bass and voice. The main reason for doing this song as a duo with double bass is to give me the space and the freedom to improvise with huseyni makam without any help and influence of any harmonic instrument. In other words, I wanted not to be supported and inspired by any other instrument rhythmically and harmonically in my solo except the root note for the reference. The main focus of the second intervention cycle is to train myself in huseyni makam and to be able to use it in my improvisation. In addition to this, because of the result of my first intervention cycle, I strongly believe that glissando and singing legato is very important for interpretation of makam more than I thought before. For this reason, I worked on my glissando and technique for legato singing. 4.2.2 Reference recording https://tinyurl.com/sa48kea Uzun ince bir yoldayım – Asık Veysel Vocal – Meric Calisan Double bass – Barıs Ofluoglu 4th October 2019 3.45 minute As I explained in the overview part of the cycle, I’ve arranged Uzun ince bir yoldayım by Asık Veysel for double bass and the voice. The reason I selected this piece is that it has a simple and beautiful melody which reflects the huseyni makam and also can guide me in my improvisation for the first step. The song is generally in 4/4 but in 4th and 8th bar of part A, the time signature changes into ¾. Originally, it was composed in 4/4 without any harmony as a typical folk song. That's why I put the harmony on the melody first, then I wrote a counter melody for the double bass. You can find the sheet in the appendix. 4.2.3 Reflect & assess Reflection: ❏ The drone that double bass is playing is not suitable for the makam (Huseyni) that I was trying to imply in my improvisation. It could be something else without going to dominant chords such as 13-4-5 degrees. ❏ I like the way I was singing the melody. I think I didn’t change anything about that. Especially the glissandos and legato singing. ❏ We should work on the dynamics. It sounds static. ❏ Intonation was good. ❏ I can’t hear typical huseyni phrases in the improvisation part. It’s obvious that I didn’t have so much information about the makam itself. 21 Feedback: ❏ The drone was not suitable for huseyni. ❏ It’s good that you started hearing segah. ❏ You could use longer lines to make the solo fluent. ❏ You can write lyrics as you did in the 1st cycle to help you with the syllables. ❏ Intonation was stable and the way of interpretation of the melody was also compatible with the style. ❏ You can listen to taksims to get new ideas about phrases, dynamics and glissando. *Full feedback on the reference recording can be found in the appendix 3. My reflection and the feedback that I got from my network helped me to come up with the following questions. ★ What could be a good drone for my improvisation part? ★ How can I avoid repetition in improvisation? ★ How can I sound more natural with just syllables without using lyrics? (Writing lyrics is also a solution but It is a positive step to be able to sing naturally with using proper syllables.) ★ Are there any other possibilities of glissando for me to use while improvising? ★ How can I develop my solo with using huseyni makam? 4.2.4 Data collection 22 In my second intervention cycle, I did a case study using three strategies which are desk research, experimentation and analyses to see the subject from different angles. What is the case? +To be able to improvise with huseyni makam in Uzun ince bir yoldayım with using glissando and legato phrases. Desk Research (Literature): What is Huseyni? The very first definition of huseyni was made by Kantemiroglu and Abdulbaki Nasır Dede who are the musicologists also claimed the importance of huseyni perde in this makam. Gokcen (2018) ,Tura (2011). From time immemorial, people believed and used music for curing illness. For example ‘Standing by the bed of a Cypriot patient who has just undergone vascular surgery, Dr Bingur Sonmez consults a screen monitoring pulse and blood pressure. Then, a colleague pulls out a flute and starts playing a popular Turkish tune. If that appears an unusual approach to modern medicine, [then so be it]. However, according to doctors at the reassuringly modern Memorial hospital in Istanbul, it is producing results. Here, Sonmez and his colleague, Dr. Erol Can, are reviewing traditional Islamic music therapy, a form of medical treatment that is almost 1,000 years old. And they are convinced that, if used as a complementary therapy, ancient Arabesque scales and modes can produce significant psychological and physiological outcomes.’(Guardian 2011) For huseyni makam, people believe in its positive effect for confidence, relaxation of the muscles and autism patients. For Gokcen (2018), huseyni is one of the oldest makams in Turkish music. We can easily see that in the Turkish Folklore. It has an elegiac ambience. We often come across huseyni in Anatolian folk songs. It’s quite popular in Anatolia. It also has some similarities with acem asiran makam. 23 If we speak more about the structure and the behaviour of this makam. Huseyni pentachord on dugah. Ussak tetrachord on huseyni Huseyni is a makam formed from Huseyni pentachord on dugah + ussak tetrachord on huseyni on the top. It has an ascending, descending character. It takes huseyni ( E ) as dominant, dugah ( A ) as stopping point and rast ( G ) as leading tone. As all the makams, huseyni has it’s of characteristic movements in seyir. It’s common to start seyir with dugah and directly jump to huseyni perde. Because if it moves around dugah (A), there is a risk of shifting to ussak makam. Generally, it goes to karar without leading tone. If we extend the makam which is usually higher, there are 3 possible extensions: 1) Buselik on muhayyer 2) Huseyni on muhayyer 3) Huseyni on huseyni As you can see above, in all huseyni scales, the second degree has reversed flat. The note’s name is ‘segah’. Although in theory it is quarter tone lower than actual B note, in practice it doesn’t work like that. There are lots of discussions about segah because every time it’s played differently by musicians. In this case for practice accurate place of the segah is open to discussion. I started with reading several papers which are listed below that may help me about my huseyni approach and also for explaining my vocal technique. I’ve written reviews and summaries for several of them. They can be found in the appendix. - The effect of polyphonization of Huseyni makam melodies within modal jazz harmony and dorian scale on in piano education - O. Eroy, O. Zahal, E. Gurpınar (2016) - A Programmed Introduction: Anatomy of the Vocal Instrument. Santa Rosa, California: Estill Voice Training Systems. - J. Estill (1997). - VOICECRAFT: A User’s Guide to Voice Quality. Volume Two: Some Basic Voice Qualities. Santa Rosa, California: Estill Voice Training Systems. - J. Estill (1995). - Primer of Compulsory Figures, Level Two: Six Basic Voice Qualities. Santa Rosa, California: Estill Voice Training Systems. - J. Estill (1997). - Estill Voice Model Applications in voice therapy. 27th World Congress of the International Association of Logopaedics and Phoniatrics. Copenhagen, Denmark. - M. McDonald Klimek (2007). - Voice Work: Art and Science in Changing Voices. Wiley-Blackwell. - C. Shewell (2009) - Singing and Teaching Singing: A Holistic Approach to Classical Voice. San Diego: Plural Publishing. J. Chapman (2006). - Huseyni Makamı - Prof. H. Gokcen. (2018) - Turkish doctors call the tune with traditional musical cures. - Guardian (2011) 24 Analyses, Transcriptions and Annotations: After my first reference recording, I’ve transcribed my own solo to see my note choices, phrasing, glissando, dynamics in concrete. Firstly, I’ve analysed my own solo and annotated the dynamics, flavours and the sequences that I’ve used. Despite the fact that huseyni makam has the behaviour of going around the fifth, I think that in my solo it’s a bit too much. Moreover, I think that until bar 17 there is not an obvious sign of huseyni flavour apart from the movement to fifth. By transcribing and analysing my own scat solo, made me concretize the subject which was a helpful step to understand melodic development and the phrases. Except for the fact of not reflecting the character of huseyni, I am happy with the way the solo develops, it’s consistent when I compare it with my scat singing in the beginning of the master studies. After transcribing and analysing my own solo, I analysed huseyni pesrev by Andon Efendi to see the way the melody develops and which flavours could I use in huseyni makam. After that, I wanted to check different forms for analysing. Because of that, I’ve analysed the melody of the folk tune that I arranged named ‘Ben bir kucucuk sevdalı kustum’. Later, I’ve moved to a form called oyun havası. The piece’s name is Cecen Kızı. These analyses made me more familiar with the huseyni makam. Because of the glissandos that I often heard when I am doing my listening routine, I wanted to annotate a ney taksim to identify and see the direction of the glissandos. Analyses can be found in the appendix 5. [ from page 57 ] 25 Experimentation: Identifying glissandos and annotating them gave me an idea for my experimentation part. Generally in music, there are various ways of playing a note or notes in order to provide a deeper, more moving performance and greater musicality. In Turkish music, there are some ornaments that make this music differentiate from other genres. When I listened to my first reference recording for the second intervention cycle, one of the things that I realized was that I started using glissandos. Realization of the glissandos in my performance made me go deeper on this aspect. In the dictionary, glissando is explained as a continuous slide upwards or downwards between two notes. The term comes from Italian language as many of the music terms. Yavuzoglu explained glissando is as a run between two notes, either diatonic or chromatic, in which all the notes are heard in his book Uygulamalı Muzik Teorisi 1 (p.202). Glissandos are demonstrated by a wavy line in between two notes, in Turkish music they have generally diatonic nature. Notation As heard https://tinyurl.com/yxxfp948 A glissando also can be used for emphasizing a single note Notation As heard https://tinyurl.com/v797rmn 26 Parametric Experiment 1 in glissando : Parameters: - Slow - between 2 notes. - Fast (portamento) - for emphasizing one note - Ascending - Descending I have 23 = 8 As I heard and realised from many recordings that I could identify these parameters above in glissando. I’ve recorded myself while I am singing a phrase with these parameters. ( Recordings of the possibilities can be found in the appendix. ) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Slow - 2 notes - ascending Sow - 2 notes - descending Slow - 1 note - ascending Slow - 1 note - descending Fast - 2 note - ascending Fast - 2 note - descending Fast - 1 note - ascending Fast - 1 note - descending Apart from glissando, to be able to use ornaments such as thrills and carpmas, clearly the development of the vibrato is important for the voice. Vibrato is a simultaneous oscillation of two different pitches which happens as a result of a change in the air pressure and cord tension. It usually happens when vocal coordinations are engaged and then relaxed. The presence of vibrato adds an expansion, vitality and warmth to the sound. When we discussed vibrato with my vocal technique teacher, Harjo Pasveer, he showed me that I can either use my diaphragm or use my jaw to simulate the vibrato. After this conversation and trial with Harjo, I decided to experiment with my vibrato too. Parametric Experiment 2 in vibrato: Parameters: Diaphragm movement Jaw movement slow fast end of the phrase beginning of the phrase Both I have 2 x 2 x 3 = 12 possibilities which can be seen below. Each of the recordings can be found at the link in appendix 1 coded as in brackets. 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) 11) 12) Diaphragm - slow- end of the phrase ( d-s-e ) Diaphragm - slow - beginning of the phrase ( d-s-b ) Diaphragm - fast - end of the phrase ( d-f-e ) Diaphragm - fast - beginning of the phrase ( d-f-b ) Jaw - slow - end of the phrase ( j-s-e ) Jaw - slow - beginning of the phrase ( j-s-b ) Jaw - fast - end of the phrase ( j-f-e ) Jaw - fast - beginning of the phrase ( j-f-b ) Diaphragm - fast - both ( d-f-b ) Diaphragm - slow - both ( d-s-b ) Jaw - fast - both ( j-f-b ) Jaw - slow - both ( j-s-b ) 27 4.2.5 Intervention Choices made ( what, why, when, how) The difference in the vocal technique such as the place and the laryngeal position: a) Power support: I often use aspirated onset1 in jazz singing, but when it comes to the Turkish music I am using classical onset2 more often, because I need more air to be able to sing longer phrases. b) False vocal chords3- released. c) Plane (position): I use horizontal for jazz singing most of the time. Besides, for the traditional singing I use a position neither horizontal as chest voice nor as pulled up as falsetto. d) Larynx4: I use closed position for jazz, the dropped position for Turkish music. e) Pharynx5: Wide f) Tongue: Compressed For example if I sing the same musical fragment with jazz technique it sounds like https://tinyurl.com/tvxyjgu on the other hand, the same fragment sounds like https://tinyurl.com/vggo56s in Turkish music technique. *The more detailed explanation can be found in the appendix 2 [page 35]. 1) Using glissando usually from low to high, except the glissando on segah note. Because glissandos are often used in Turkish music in order to introduce a note (perde). It’s more important that how you go to a note (perde) than the note itself. I made this choice when I annotated glissandos in the ney taksim. 2) After getting my feedback from my research coach, he advised me to write lyrics on the improvisation part again. In order to be able to sound more natural without using lyrics in the solo part, this time I’ve chosen to find syllables by imitating ‘ney’ sound and phrases with using vowels such as ’ i,a,e,u,o’. I am using these vowels because they are capable of a closed sound. I can use them all together without changing my mouth positions. This gave me an advantage of having a coherent sound. It’s also a matter of taste. 3) I use longer phrases with legato connections. The reason that I tend to use longer legato phrases is in Turkish music, there is only melody without any chord progression; in other words, harmonic changes. This means that, usually nothing happens behind, either supporting the melody or filling the spaces and making the music flow. In order to make the music flow, you need to connect the musical ideas. There are many ways to do that. Playing or singing legato is one of them for helping you to connect your ideas with each other. I decided to use longer phrases with legato connections in the beginning of the 2nd intervention cycle shortly after I went back to the 1st cycle to transcribe and compare both of my reference recordings. How did I apply my choices to my practice? In order to work on these elements, I applied them on my daily warming up exercises. You can see some exercises with the explanations below. - Breathing Exercises: I did a couple of breathing exercises for supporting my technique to be able to perform with legato lines and also for my vibrato. You can find the listed exercises with explanations at the end of the appendix 5. 1 Aspirated onset is the power support which is the onset that you hear air in the voice. Classical onset is the power support which is that you use less air that needed to make sound. 3 False vocal cords are the upper pair of vocal cords that are not directly concerned with speech production. 4 Larynx is the upper part of the trachea that contains vocal chords. 5 Pharynx is the membrane-lined cavity behind the nose and mouth, connecting them to the oesophagus. 2 28 - - Vibrato Exercises: I practiced with holding long notes and added vibrato at the end. Try to slow it down as much as possible because when you can do it properly the fast one is easier. Glissando Exercises: As you can see below, there are a couple of exercises worked for me in terms of glissando in my daily practice. I use these with different vowels such as ‘i-e-a-u-o’. In addition to these, I often sing along with ney recordings and imitate their sound. I think this really helped me to reflect the style that I have now. 4.2.6 New reference recording, assess and expert feedback https://tinyurl.com/tz44vlj Uzun ince bir yoldayım – Asık Veysel Vocal – Meric Calisan Double bass – Barıs Ofluoglu 18th November 2019 - 4.10 minute Reflection ❏ I am happy to see the compositional development and consistent connections in my improvisation part. ❏ Even though I like the way of my singing the melody in the 1st reference recording of this cycle, now I can see that it’s been improved too. ❏ I have a clearer mind for using glissandos and legato phrases much more logically. ❏ I could find an alternative harmonic progression. ❏ Intonation is decent. ❏ I could explore more about the flavours in the improvisation but I’d like this piece to be minimalistic and functional. 29 ❏ There are some ornaments such as carpma, but they are combinations of the similar ornaments all the time. I can go more deeply on it to find new ornamentations. Feedback ❏ Structure of the solo is improved. ❏ You could use an alternative harmony to create a tension in the melody part. ❏ Place time and the quality of glissando is better. ❏ Interplay between bass and vocal has improved during the solo part, which is nice. ❏ You can also add an intro using your makam approach. 4.2.7 Reflect on your progress since the first/previous reference recording In order to reflect on my progress I transcribed and annotated my second reference recording to compare the recordings. The full annotated score can be found in appendix 5. The score you see below is the first 8 bars of my improvisation of the first recording. As you can see that there is almost no trace of the huseyni flavour rather than emphasizing the fifth and also not so much stylistic elements. Huseyni flavour comes in only after the 17th bar so we only have it for the last 8 bars of the solo. https://tinyurl.com/sa48kea (Time code: 1.33m - 1.55m) On the other hand in the second reference recording, you can see I already started giving the huseyni flavour in the first eight bars. Also phrasing and the ornaments are more consistent if you compare it to the first one. https://tinyurl.com/tz44vlj (Time code: 1.39m - 2.05m) 30 Briefly, If I compare the aspects, these are the improvements can be seen: ● Interplay ● Well-structured improvisation ● Carpma ● Glissando ● Vibrato ● Intonation ● Developing the same idea with alternating and using the flavour of the huseyni makam ● Simple and effective phrases ● Dynamics The aspects that still needs to improve ● Harmonic language ● Variation of the ornaments ● Muhayyer could be used 4.3 Third intervention cycle 4.3.1 Overview of third intervention cycle Jean-Jacques Rousseau describes music as '’art de combiner les sons d'une manière agréable à l'oreille [the art of combining sounds in a way that is pleasing to the ear]'’. (Kalender, n/a) In the third intervention cycle, my main focus was bringing huseyni and hicaz makams together in my improvisation. For this reason, I recorded my reference recording on a drone that can give me space to explore my possibilities on improvisation. As you can realize from the data from the previous cycles, hicaz and huseyni are basically two different flavours. What I meant by that, on one hand huseyni has a minor character and on the other hand hicaz has a major character. In makam practice, it’s very important not to do sudden mood or flavour changes. From my interviews and small talks with experts, I learned that this feature is exactly the opposite of what we do in jazz improvisations. As jazz musicians, we often try to surprise the audience with our phrases and notes. Thus, sudden mood changes are one of the common characteristics of a well-played jazz improvisation. On the other hand, when you’d like to do a transition between two makams you need to prepare the audience for the following flavour. As my research coach Michalis Cholevas once explained with a nice metaphor: ‘If you are taking an audience from a beautiful seaside to a mountain, you need to do it without freaking them out.’ For this reason, this part of my research seems to be the most practical part of the entire cycles. In this cycle, I reviewed a paper about modulations by Dr. R. Kalender to understand the logic behind modulations. I interviewed Burak Savas and Mustafa Fındık. I analysed a huseyni taksim and also a transition taksim by masters between hicaz-huseyni makams where I looked for the common features between them to make a connection. When I was analysing the transition taksim by Cinucen Tanrıkorur, I’ve realised that he used carpma a lot as an ornament. Since I didn’t search and work on carpma as an ornament before, I decided to learn about it and experiment with that. 31 4.3.2 Reference recording https://tinyurl.com/t7qvlmm Free improvisation on A pedal by using transition between huseyni-hicaz Vocal – Meric Calisan 25th January 2020 - 2.03 minute 4.3.3 Reflect & assess Reflection: ❏ Different flavours could be used, such as muhayyer. ❏ Phrases could be longer and rhythmically varied. ❏ Although the transition between huseyni and hicaz was smooth, I could spend more time in hicaz and show different flavours of hicaz. ❏ There are dynamics and glissando which are nice because they make the stylistic difference in singing. On the other hand, I could also focus on different ornaments such as ‘carpma’. Feedback: ❏ In general, the structure of the solo has improved compared to the previous intervention cycles. ❏ Be careful of the velocity and quantity of vibrato. You can choose to use wider (larger) and calmer vibrato’s. Suggesting to use vibrato as an expression tool. ❏ Be clearer about the dynamics because sometimes you disappear. Make it as a statement and be clear. In the recording it’s uncertain. ❏ There are some nice phrases but they are not sufficient to prepare the audience to the sudden climax which comes at 1.40. ❏ Think simple. Don’t be too sophisticated. My reflection and the feedback that I got from my network helped me to come up with the following questions. ★ What are the common characteristics of huseyni and hicaz? ★ How can I develop a solo with a smooth transition between these two makams;* ★ What ate the other ornaments that I can use to reflect the style? 32 4.3.4 Data collection 33 Literature: Before starting my analysis, I’ve searched for the papers about modulation between makams to be more precise in my analysis. Although there is almost no paper about this subject and it took me a while to find a related paper about this subject, I found a paper by Dr. Ruhi Kalender which explains modulation with given examples including the scores. After my transcription and analyses on the transition taksim of Cinucen Tanrıkorur, I’ve realized that he used a lot of ‘carpma’ ornamentation. This is why I started to search papers about ornamentations and reviewed the article by Gulcin Yahya Kacar that was published in Gazi University Education Faculty Magazine in 2005 under the ‘Ornamentations and Non-note Based Performances in Traditional Turkish Art Music ‘ title. The reviews of the papers can be found in the appendix 2. 34 Transcription and Analyses: Based on my knowledge, I transcribed and analysed my own improvisation in the first reference recording of the third cycle 35 Regarding the feedback and my own reflection, I pointed out some bullet points for myself to improve in this cycle. - Explore hicaz flavours more - You can use muhayyer - Varying Ornaments After transcribing and analysing my own improvisation, I started searching for transition taksims between huseyni-hicaz that were played by masters. However, there is almost no recording except Cinucen Tanrikorur’s oud taksim. I transcribed it with the help of my fellow musician friend Burak Savas in Turkish Music Department and analysed it. Analysis of the taksims could be found in the appendix 5. After my analyses, I realised that there are lots of repetitions as well as carpmas in this particular taksim. Unlike the ney taksims that I’ve been analysing and listening for a while, this particular oud taksim has more rhythmic phrases. These implications led me to the experiment of my third intervention cycle. But before that, these actions raised revealing questions that I need to answer before doing my experiment and moving to intervention. So I interviewed Burak Savas and Mustafa Fındık. Interview: My analysis for Murat Salim Tokac and especially Cinucen Tanrıkorur’s taksim raised important questions about my next steps as well as my artistic choices. This made me do an interview with makam experts in my network. I interviewed Mustafa Fındık (oud player), Burak Savas (violin player and singer) and I also had a chance to ask some of my questions to Kutsi Erguner when he was visiting the school for classes. The complete version of interviews can be found in the appendix 4. Experiment: After interviews, I moved to the experiment part of my data collection. I wanted to do an experiment with the ornaments that I have found in my analyses of taksim transcriptions. The other reason that I wanted to experiment with these ornaments was Santiago Cimadevilla’s suggestion in the second feedback session. Whether the scale and the melodic development is important, I was taking no account of the ornaments till the second and third cycle. Since then, I realised how important they are to reflect the stylistic elements of makam practice and to see the whole picture. I did a parametric experiment with recording myself while trying the possibilities of carpmas that I learned from Burak Savas in one of our meetings. Carpma is a kind of flourish that occurs as a result of a fast tap on the first tone above or below the main note herewith emphasizing the main note. Parametric Experiment in Carpma: Possibilities in terms of technique: 1. Carpma by movement of the mouth/jaw. 2. Carpma by movement of the larynx. (up-down) Possibilities in terms of velocity: 1. Slow 2. Fast Possibilities in terms of number of notes: (Although there might be other possibilities according to the musicians technical ability, I am restricted with these two for now.) 1. One 2. Two 2x2x2=8 possibilities 36 After trying out these parameters. I recorded a short gazel example and I realized that I still need to work on carpma ornament in order to make it sound natural. Because that will take time, I came up with a temporary solution and I simplified the carpmas that I used and finally ended up with a more natural sounding recording. Recordings can be found in the appendix 1. 4.3.5 Intervention Choices made ( what, why, when, how ) 1) The vocal technique is varied such as the place and the laryngeal position: The difference in the vocal technique was the same with the previous cycles, but what was new in the techniques was the demonstration of the carpma ornament. It took me a while to learn and apply it to my practice. I realised that I need to move my larynx up and down quickly to make the carpma ornament. 2) The main purpose of using the ornaments became connecting the ideas and supporting the linear melodic approach: Early on, all of my concerns were about the using the ornaments in my improvisations but in this cycle I’ve realised that the place that you used the ornaments is a lot more important. Because there is always a reason why you use ornaments and it’s either connecting ideas or give a point that you are going to stay or resolve. 3) Simplification of the ornaments due to the technical difficulties and taste: When I was working with my fellow musician friend Burak Savas, I wanted him to give me some examples about the ornaments and gazels. When I tried to imitate his way of singing the ornaments and record myself, I realised that there was something missing in the flow of the melody. The carpma ornaments that he used were complex and when I sang them because I had limited time working on the carpma ornament I was not fast enough to sound the ornament naturally. That's why after working on it for days, I came up with an idea which was the simplification of these ornaments. When I sang with the simple versions, it sounded more natural. In addition to this, it was still in the style. Before simplification; https://tinyurl.com/t8439nz , after simplification; https://tinyurl.com/uymasgj 4) My choice for transition flavour was huseyni and hicaz uzzal because of the similarities. Although there are a lot of possibilities I could use and there are no boundaries, the suggested way by experts was that at this level. It means that the more I learn, the more flexible I will be in the future. How did I apply my choices to my practice? As I’ve done in my 2nd intervention cycle, I put new technical aspects to my daily warming up exercises in order to make them in my muscle memory. In this cycle, as a technical aspect, I mostly worked on carpma as an ornament and in some cases I’ve mixed it with glissando. You can see the exercises that I included in my daily warm up in order to be able to perform carpma. - Breathing Exercises: I kept doing the breathing exercises that I was doing in 2nd cycle for supporting my technique to be able to perform with legato lines and also for my vibrato. You can find the listed exercises with explanations at the end of the appendix 5. - Vibrato Exercises: I practiced with holding long notes and added vibrato at the end. Try to slow it down as much as possible because when you can do it properly the fast one is easier and it helps the ornamentation of carpma because the movements are similar in both. - Carpma Exercises: I mostly focused on 2 types of carpma that are done by larynx movement(up-down) by using 2 and 3 notes. I practiced these 2 with starting from a slow tempo and accelerating it while moving from low to high and the opposite. 37 https://tinyurl.com/vlmoab7 https://tinyurl.com/qklsp7v https://tinyurl.com/ror48y3 The velocity, number and the variation of the carpma can change due to the need, taste and technical ability. Although I've given ‘carpma’ a place in my daily warming up exercises, I was still missing the natural flow of it. In order to solve this problem, I simplified the ornaments that were affecting the flow. 4.3.6 New reference recording, assess and expert feedback https://tinyurl.com/wuyf9u9 Into the night - Meric Calisan Vocal - Meric Calisan Background music - Rustam Rahmedov 17th March 2020 5.40 minute Reflection ❏ The composition worked out well with the makam improvisation. ❏ Generally my statements/phrases became clearer. ❏ The transition was smooth enough. ❏ It would be better to take risks and do a longer solo to explore more possibilities and see the vulnerable sides of my improvisation. ❏ The breathing support became stronger. Feedback ❏ The idea of using makams in a groovy pattern worked and it helped you to develop you solo rhythmically as well. ❏ You can try to use carpma fewer. ❏ Improvisation is generally coherent and consistent. ❏ Sometimes you sing something between huseyni and buselik, be careful about that. ❏ The falsetto you used is fitting with the style and your transition between chest voice and falsetto is smooth and consistent. ❏ You used your breathing well and because of that the statements are clearer. 38 4.3.7 Reflect on your progress since the first/previous reference recording The idea was to implement two makams (hicaz-huseyni) in my improvisation of my own composition with doing the transition between them. By the end of 2nd cycle, I’ve composed a groovy tune that has 2A-B-A form. A has minor character and B has the major character. The reason is to make a contrast between parts and also reflect the transition which has been done in the improvisation. I think the idea of improvising with groovy worked well. The contrast between the head and improvisation made a different kind of crossover. By doing so, I showed myself that there is no limit. In other words, this improvisation tool could be used in different kinds of compositions, it doesn’t have to be an arrangement with odd meters or a folk tune. The statements and the ideas are clearer than the first recording and the dynamics, the use of the range and ornaments help the ideas to flow and connect with each other. In order to reflect on my progress, I transcribed and annotated my second reference recording to comparison. The full annotated score can be found in appendix 5. -The improvisation in the second reference recording is more melodic than the first one. -New ornament, carpma, implemented in the second reference recording. For instance; - Breathing support has improved. - There is a crossover work in the second reference recording. A western composition has been composed and makam transition improvisation implemented in it without changing anything in the environment. - Syllables are much more fluent with the phrases in the second recording. - In the second recording, the repetitions were for referring to the previous one and developing the idea while the ones in the first recording were mostly random. Here is an example from second recording; https://tinyurl.com/wuyf9u9 (Time code: 2.18m - 2.54m) 39 -Sequencing was done by using a short pattern for building a shorter phrase. For instance; https://tinyurl.com/t7qvlmm (Time code: 1.32m - 1.42m) - By contrast with the first recording, sequencing was done with longer patterns and for leading the climax point of the improvisation. in the second recording. For instance; https://tinyurl.com/wuyf9u9 (Time code: 3.39m - 3.46m) -The phrasing is much more varied in the second recording due to the improvement in the improvising language. -Melodic development is much more linear. Fragment from first improvisation; Link for the full melodic spectrometer video of the first improvisation https://tinyurl.com/wuss6r7 Fragment from second improvisation; Link for the full melodic spectrometer video of the second improvisation https://tinyurl.com/ujfz3nz 40 5 Reference list 1) Literature Aydemir, Murat. Turkish Music Maqam Guide. Istanbul: Pan Publishing, 2010. The book includes the theoretical and practical knowledge of 60 Maqams. By reading and understanding it, I am developing my knowledge of makams which are related to my research. In addition to this, there is a CD in it which explains the maqams by playing. With this CD. I believe I can easily train my ear. ‘Chapman, J. Singing and Teaching Singing: A Holistic Approach to Classical Voice. San Diego: Plural Publishing, 2006. Davis, Steve. The Magic of Miles Davis. New Albany, Indiana: Jamey Aebersold Jazz, 1994* This is a songbook which includes sheets of the compositions of Miles Davis that I used Nardis for arranging. ‘Estill, J. A Programmed Introduction: Anatomy of the Vocal Instrument. Santa Rosa, California: Estill Voice Training Systems, 1997 ‘Estill, J. VOICECRAFT: A User’s Guide to Voice Quality. Volume Two: Some Basic Voice Qualities. Santa Rosa, California: Estill Voice Training Systems, 1995. ‘Estill, J. Primer of Compulsory Figures, Level Two: Six Basic Voice Qualities. Santa Rosa, California: Estill Voice Training Systems, 1997. İlerici, Kemal. Bestecilik Bakımından Turk Muzigi ve Armonisi. Istanbul: Milli Egitim Basımevi, 1970. This book is about composing in Turkish Music genre using harmony. It is one of the guidance that helps me to put harmony on Turkish melodies. ‘McDonald Klimek, M. Estill Voice Model Applications in voice therapy. Copenhagen, Denmark: 27th World Congress of the International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics, 2007 Salgar, M.Fatih. Maqam/Usul and Seyir Examples in Turkish Music. Istanbul: Otuken Nesriyat, 2017. This book includes the knowledge about makams in different point of views than the one i mentioned above. ‘Shewell, C. Voice Work: Art and Science in Changing Voices. ( n/a): Wiley-Blackwell, 2009 Signell Ph.D.,Karl L. Modal Practice in Turkish Art Music. Sarasota, Florida: Usul Editions, 2008. This book includes modal practice examples in Turkish Art Music. Waters, Keith. "Modes, Scales, Functional Harmony, and Nonfunctional Harmony in the Compositions of Herbie Hancock." Journal of Music Theory 49, no. 2 (2005): 333-57. www.jstor.org/stable/27639403 This review helped me to understand the modal jazz structure when I apply makam to my improvisation in a modal jazz tune. Toz, A.İslam. Niyazi Sayın: A Detailed Transcription of his Taksims. pg. 31-35, Istanbul: Pan Publishing,2014. 41 This book includes the explanation of the stylistic elements and detailed transcriptions of Niyazi Sayın’s taksims. *The two songbooks that I mentioned above are my practical supporters. ‘These sources that I mentioned above were for my text to explain vocal technique and differences in vocal technique between genres. 2) CDs and DVDs These CD’s were useful in the practice process. Aydemir, Murat. Turkish Music Maqam Guide CD. Pan Publishing 2010, 2 compact discs. As I mentioned above with this CD, I trained my ear. Aebersold, Jamey. The Magic of Miles Davis Play along CD. Jamey Aebersold Jazz, INC.,1976, 1 compact disc. Jamey Aebersold Jazz with Dave Liebman Group. Contemporary Standards and Originals Play along CD. Jamey Aebersold Jazz, INC 2015, 1 compact disc. Focan, Onder. Swing Ala Turc. Kalan Music, 2005, 1 compact disc. Swing Ala Turc is a great example for a jazz album with the Turkish Music features. 3) Article in Journal Bozkurt, H. & Kose, S. ‘’Harmonic analysis of the ensemble and singing pieces from Erdal Tugcular as an educational music composer.’’ Global Journal on Humanities & Social Sciences. 03, no.N/A (2016): 519531.https://tinyurl.com/wqbxw9g This paper was helpful for me to see the way of harmonization and analyses that Erdal Tugcular used in traditional songs. Eroy, O., Zahal, O., & Gürpınar, E. ‘’Huseyni makamı içerikli ezgilerin modal caz armonisi ve doryen dizi kapsamında çokseslendirilmesinin piyano eğitiminde başarıya etkisi.’’ Journal of Human Sciences 13, no.3 (2016): 5471-5491. doi:10.14687/jhs.v13i3.4096 This paper enlightened me for my second cycle with the definition and the examples of using modal jazz harmony for the melodies that has huseyni flavour. Kacar Yahya, G. ‘’Ornamentations and Non-note Based Performances in Traditional Turkish Art Music.’’ Gazi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi 25, no.2 (2005): 215-228 https://tinyurl.com/v74yoo3 Manuel, P. “Modal Harmony in Andalusian, Eastern European, and Turkish Syncretic Musics.” Yearbook for Traditional Music 21, no. N/A (1989): 70–94. www.jstor.org/stable/767769. Since I am trying to integrate makam and the harmony together I need to see different sources about similar works. 42 4) Master and PhD Theses Cholevas, M. ‘’Integrating Harmony And Microtonality By Playing Heterophonic Turkish Art And Folk Music In Harmonic Environment.’’ Master thesis. Codarts Rotterdam, 2009. https://tinyurl.com/y25yhpuy This is my research coach, Michalis Cholevas’s master thesis which has some similarities to my research question and enlightened me with his work and also to understand the makam world’s philosophy. Pass, K. ‘’A transcultural journey : integrating elements of Persian classical music with jazz.’’ Bachelor thesis. Edith Cowan University, 2013. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses_hons/116 This link helped me to find out if there is any connection between similarity of Turkish Music and Jazz similarity of Arabic Music and Jazz. 5) Internet Gokcen, H. Huseyni Makamı. 2011. https://tinyurl.com/ve7tna4. Accessed 23/03/2020 Kalender, R. Turk Musikisi Makamlarında Gecki. n/a. https://tinyurl.com/wg6k848 Accessed 23/03/2020 Mann, I. Review of Blue Maqams, 2018 https://tinyurl.com/rlhjvgr. Accessed 23/03/2020 This link is for a review about the Anouar Brahem’s Album ,Blue Maqams. It helped me to listen to the recording deeper and understand it with the writer’s point of view. Sanlıkol, M.A. An Afro Semai. 2013. https://tinyurl.com/y64z48gp Accessed 23/03/2020 This link is a performance video of Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol who has been doing crossover music between Turkish music and jazz, and has a lot of musical information in his music for my research. Tanrikorur, C. Makam & Taksim (Improvisation) in Turkish Music. New England Conservatory, 1994. Part 1 https://tinyurl.com/y3rpaeke Part 2 https://tinyurl.com/yxgruwkk Part 3 https://tinyurl.com/y55ynppt Part 4 https://tinyurl.com/y6qobe8o Part 5 https://tinyurl.com/y6kafk73 Part 6 https://tinyurl.com/y4p99o82 Part 7 https://tinyurl.com/y4bt6lcu Part 8 https://tinyurl.com/y3nlybpt Part 9 https://tinyurl.com/y3zymnc2 Part 10 https://tinyurl.com/y2fqwdz7 43 Part 11 https://tinyurl.com/yytktrmh Accessed 23/03/2020 These links are the parts of a lecture about Makam and Taksim (Improvisation) in Turkish music given by Cinucen Tanrikorur in New England Conservatory 1994. The lecture helped me to build my background in makam and taksim. 6) Article in magazine or newspaper Letsch, C. ‘’Turkish doctors call the tune with traditional musical cures.’’ The Guardian, 2011, https://tinyurl.com/rnbet68 This article has interesting information about how makams related to medicine. I believe that to include this kind of information will attract the reader and make the subject more interesting. 44 6 Network Alexandros Papadimitrakis is an oud player and my teacher in Turkish Music Theory class. He helped me to build my background in Turkish theory. Barbaros Bozkır is a musicologist and my teacher in Turkish Music Theory class. He helped me to build my background in Turkish theory. Bart de Win is my main subject teacher who guided me to choose my repertoire and improvisation during my research. Burak Savas is a singer and a violin player who helped me with the singing technique, taksim improvisation and application of the stylistic elements to practice. 45 Dr. Dick de Graaf is composer, saxophonist and the artistic research coach of jazz improvisation domain master of music Codarts Rotterdam. Francien Van Tuinen is my main subject teacher. She guided me to choose my repertoire and interpretation during my research. Harjo Pasveer is my main subject teacher who taught me to be able to go beyond technical difficulties in singing during my research. Juliano Abramovay is a multi-instrumentalist and alumni of Codarts master of music. My research coach Michalis Cholevas introduced me to him to get feedback and ask questions. Kutsi Erguner is a master of traditional Mevlevi Sufi music and is one of the best-known players of the Turkish ney flute. He informed me about the history of the makam music and its philosophy. Michalis Chovelas is multi-instrumentalist playing the ney, yayli tanbur, tarhu and saz as well as my artistic research coach. He guided me to design my domain question and artistic design during my research. In addition to this, he enlightened me in makam theory and practice. Mustafa Fındık is my colleague from Turkey. He is a professional oud and violin player. He contributed to my work with my makam approach in my improvisation. Prof. Guherdal Cakırsoy is a piano professor and an experienced educator who shared her wide academic experience about theses, reports etc. with me. Randy Esen is my mentor in Turkey. She is a specialist in sound projection of vocalists. She gave me feedback about my sound. Rustam Rahmedov is a pianist/composer/conductor. He enlightened my point of view with his vast experiences through genres. 46 Appendices Appendix 1: List of all recordings included in report 01 Reference Recording 01 https://tinyurl.com/uowvl3h 02 Work in Progress Melodic Experiment Recording 01 https://tinyurl.com/sehs65s 03 Work in Progress ‘Original song recording’ 02 https://tinyurl.com/so4u37u 04 Reference Recording 02 https://tinyurl.com/r4v9ns4 05 Examples for the Legato and Call/respond https://tinyurl.com/vgv994q 06 Reference Recording 03 https://tinyurl.com/sa48kea 07 Work in Progress Glissando Parametric Experiment https://tinyurl.com/wx47847 08 Work in Progress Vibrato Parametric Experiment https://tinyurl.com/uqv35zd 09 Reference Recording 04 https://tinyurl.com/tz44vlj 10 Reference Recording 05 https://tinyurl.com/t7qvlmm 11 Work in Progress Carpma Experiment https://tinyurl.com/rhpj2x4 12 Audio examples for glissando and carpma https://tinyurl.com/seeq9s7 13 Melodic spectrometer videos https://tinyurl.com/ty7pch3 14 Work in Progress Into the Night Composition https://tinyurl.com/ttwkjl8 15 Reference Recording 06 https://tinyurl.com/wuyf9u9 47 Appendix 2: Critical media review Lecture about Makam and Taksim at New England Conservatory by Cinucen Tanrıkorur (1994) Cinucen Tanrıkorur was an oud master, musicologist, music journalist and one of the most esteemed composers of Turkish classical music. He was the director of Turkish music at Ankara Radio and he also taught music at Selcuk University. This essay is about one of his lectures which was given at New England Conservatory in 1994. With the recommendation of my artistic research coach, Michalis Cholevas, I watched the lecture. Now, I’ll summarize the context of it. The lecture started with the introduction of Cinucen Tanrıkorur. Before he started his lecture, the place of Turkish music in Turkey and Turkish culture was mentioned by the speaker. In Turkey, there are a considerable amount of musicians who are studying and playing western classical music. On the other hand, Turkish classical music still exists as a side-line and has been played by masters since the Ottoman Empire. After this brief speech, Tanrıkorur was invited for his lecture. He started with the explanation of his first name, Cinucen which means dominant, victorious and continued with the explanation of his surname Tanrıkorur, protected by god. There are two main genres in Turkish music: folk and Turkish classical (art) music. Musicians usually were playing and singing at the same time in both genres in the past. As time passes by, folk musicians keep the tradition but it disappeared in classical music because musicians started playing with ensembles. Tanrıkorur stated that he is the only one who plays and sings at the same time in Turkish classical music tradition. After this, he performed. He started playing with a taksim improvisation and sang a song composed by Mustafa Nafiz Irmak in huzzam makam. Later on, he talked about makam and taksim which are two important characteristics of Turkish music. He draws an analogy between the practice of taksim, jazz and flamenco because of the existence of improvised music in all. The word ‘Makam(Maqam)’ comes from Arabic origin and it means to sit and stand up in Quran. In music, it is the combination of certain musical scale with certain musical development. After his description, he wrote an equation at the board: MAKAM= scale+MD(melodic development) %10 %90 and mentioned how important is the role of melodic development which gives makam it’s character. He wrote this scale to the board which can be seen below 48 and added that this scale is used in several makams: ussak, beyati, ısfahan, acem. He stated that this is only a scale because we don’t know the rules of the seyir. Seyir is the movement of the makam, there can be 3 types of seyir: ascending( from tonic step by step to the middle degrees), descending(step by step to the tonic), central region seyir (starts around 4th or 5th degree of the scale). He explained the value of the reversed flat by singing in order to explain how lower it is. Then he explained the seyir and characteristics of ussak makam by singing and describing the movement which is ascending. He mentioned that ussak makam likes the lower degrees. Turkish music likes symmetrical phrases, motives. Melodic development of beyati is descending from upper degrees to the lower degrees with binary steps. For makam ısfahan, we can say that it loves the Bb and D. It descends to the tonic before the very end. For makam acem, the most important note is F(acem). In acem, there are 3 perfect 4th superimposed. 49 He continued with the types of makam: Basic and Compound. There are 587 makams in Turkish music. This number seems to be exaggerated. So, why are there too many makams? In the Ottoman Empire, sultans hold a competition to encourage musicians to invent new makams. He claimed that %40 of these 587 makams are tasteless. Today, 100-150 of these makams are being used. He added that he also composed his invention of makam to create a new feeling and a scale. On the other hand, there is taksim which is kind of an improvisation with using makams in Turkish music. Taksim is also used in Indian, Persian and Arabic cultures but in Turkish music taksim practice is different. Taksim is like a conversation and it dies at the moment that it is born. We can say that it is a continual giving birth to a new musical creation. It is very personal, depends on the personal talent of the musician and it is related to the musician’s capacity to compose in the moment. It also follows some rules of the composition. The structure of taksim is Beginning+Development+Resolution+Modulation(to neighbour makams or very far,it depends on the talent of the composer.) After giving a description of the taksim, he invited his fellow musician friends to do taksims individually. First, Fahrettin Cimenli who is a bowed Tanbur player, did a taksim in Makam Hicaz. Second, Bekir Reha Sagbas who is a Kanun player and was the student of Tanrıkorur, did a taksim in Huseyni Makam. Third, Dr. Murat Salim Tokac who is plugged Tanbur and Ney player, did a taksim in Nihavend Makam. Nihavend makam is the closest makam to the Western scale. Basically it is like a G minor scale. Fourth, Ahmet Calısır who is a reciter of Quran (Hafız), sang a Kaside (based on a mystical poem) in Huzzam composition by Tanrıkorur. After that the audience asked for one more performance and then they played Segah Pesrev. To sum up, I recommend everyone who is interested in Makam and Taksim Practice to watch this lecture. There were a lot of points that strengthened my knowledge about Makam and Taksim practice. Apart from that, the lecture was in 1994 and I was 1 year old at that time. I am literally impressed by the fact that after 24 years, we still watch this lecture and learn from it. 50 Review of Michalis Cholevas’s Master Thesis Microharmonics Since my research question is about using Turkish makams in a jazz environment. Beside developing my knowledge about Turkish music, I am trying to make individual arrangements for the songs in my repertoire in order to provide myself a comfortable environment to improvise while using makams. Nowadays, my personal interest is reading related papers and figuring out ways to polyphonic approach on heterophonic Turkish music. For this reason, I am also interested in my artistic research coach Michalis Cholevas’s Master Thesis: Microharmonics. The paper starts with introducing Turkish art music and Turkish folk music which are the two big genres in Turkish music. They have a considerable amount of differences between them such as melodic development, rhythmic features, different divisions in scales. In my opinion, this introducing part is essential for the audience who are not familiar with Turkish music. Cholevas proceeds with the definition of makam which is ‘a notion that has a dynamic shape which keeps reformulating throughout the centuries and thus is hard to put into words. In fact, there are many books written for makam theory but there is not any unambiguous definition or exegesis for it so far.’(M.Cholevas 2009) According to his point of view which I also agree, every makam has a unique sound of colour. Every makam has some structural elements and contain information about the scale, the seyir (movement for ascending and descending directions), accidentals, the structure of the scale, transitions to other makam and gravity centers. The fact that he stated about evolution of the makam theory through an oral tradition and musical practice, was interesting. Hence, not all the theoreticians and musicians agree on how makams should be performed nor it’s properties. If I call myself a rule-bound person, I could say that this fact convinced me to be more open about makam practice and theory. If we move forward to the elements of makam music(In Turkish art music), we could say that there are some important elements that create difficulties against the polyphonic approach such as moveable notes and seyir with respect to the Cholevas’s statement. So, what are these elements? In practice, notes of the makam can be played with in clump depending on the movement of the melody (whether its ascending or descending), the phase or the functional character of the phrase and indeed the choice or the taste of the performer. The melodic development of a piece or an improvisation is called seyir. The meaning of seyir in Turkish dictionary is journey, movement, pace. Turkish music is linear music. The development is in the movement of melodic lines which made me interested in the first place. It is so rich that it has all the attraction even without harmony. While I am still struggling with developing my improvisation in jazz music, this characteristic of Turkish music attracted me to do research about it. Moreover, in the following chapter of the paper, Cholevas tells the reader about the linear structure of Turkish music and why there is no harmony. Likewise, the review I wrote previously about ‘Harmonic analysis of the ensemble and singing pieces from Erdal Tugcular as an educational music composer’ by Hasan Bozkurt and Seval Kose, Cholevas mentions the Ilerici’s system and Yarman’s system. He seems to be not satisfied with the fact of their ignorance for the differences between Turkish art and folk music and the effect of the moveable notes while creating their systems. In addition to this, the practical examples that he made for harmonic approaches of Erkan Ogur, Antonis Apergis, Incesaz, Erdal Erzincan were really helpful for me to move forward. The next steps of Cholevas include the knowledge beyond me that it took me a while to understand. First, he programmed the synth and re-tuned it according to the intervals of sultaniyegah makam and made a 51 chord selection for it. Also, he tells about development in an electronic environment which he seems to find unnatural. According to his try-outs, he categorized the positive and negative points of the choices he made and experimented. This part also enlightened me about my choices. At least, I have a more clear mind. Without a doubt, this paper enlightened my way through my journey. In my opinion, there were a couple of things that made this paper different from the others in a good way. First, the metaphors and comparisons with other science fields such as physics. Second, Cholevas’s good sense of humour made me enjoy while reading. Review of the paper Harmonic analysis of the ensemble and singing pieces from Erdal Tugcular as an educational music composer In this early stage of my research apart from learning the makam theory and practice, I am searching to find ways to apply makam practice in harmonic structures. Because of this need, I am highly interested with this paper which is ‘Harmonic analysis of the ensemble and singing pieces from Erdal Tugcular as an educational music composer’ by Hasan Bozkurt and Seval Kose. This paper analyses pieces harmonically. For this purpose ‘Osmanım’ folk song and ‘Road tunes’ piece selected as samples. -Essay made with harmony triad system. -Essay made depending on the traditional Turkish Art Music’ tone system. -Essays made with harmony quartet system. -Combined essays made without depending on a certain system and using different Western composition techniques. It is possible to categorize the Turkish music polyphony approaches into 4 groups. These can be listed as harmonies in trio systems, harmonies in quartet systems, harmonies made with the sound system of our traditional music and harmonies made with combinations. (Albuz, 2011) Since Turkish music tunes’ stable-unstable and ascending-descending characteristics and thus their musical characters are different from the tonal music, the harmony used in Turkish music is a special form of harmony. Because stable-unstable progressions mostly between the 1st and 3rd degrees, in this harmonic structure chords are created with 1st, 4th and 5th degrees of the mode. This form of harmony is called the quartet system and also ‘Kemal Ilerici System’ which predicates on the huseyni scale. The reasons that Ilerici selected huseyni as a main scale are listed below. -It’s possible to create all Turkish scales from huseyni mode. -Huseyni mode encompasses all of Turkish music intervals in addition to its variations. -We can solve all our melodic and harmonic problems related to our musing with the huseyni mode. -It is a mirror of the character of our nation; Turkish nation enjoys and likes it while performing most of our Uzun Hava and Kırık Hava’ (Ilerici, 1981). Second part of the paper is about the composer of the pieces Erdal Tugcular. In the third part of the paper, we can see the harmonic analyses of the ‘The Road Tunes’ piece is in the key of A and in hicaz makam (Its meter is (2+3) 5/8.) and ‘Osmanım’ folk song in the key of D. It is in karcigar makam and passes to huseyni makam (The meter of the first four measures is (2+2+2+3) 9/4 and the song continues in 4/4 meter till the end). As a result of reading this paper and to the best of my understanding, I’ve realized that I’d been already used the quartet system in one of my arrangements without knowing it. I believe that I could use some of the findings from these analysis in my future compositions and arrangements. 52 I can also consider arranging folk songs with jazz harmony after this paper. Review for ‘The Effect of polyphonization of Huseyni makam melodies within modal jazz harmony and dorian scale on success in piano education’ by Ozan Eroy, Onur Zahal, Engin Gurpınar This study intends to monitor the effect of polyphonic performance of Turkish music melodies which contains huseyni makam with modal jazz harmony on undergraduate piano students. In this stage of my research, as my second intervention cycle, I am working with the makam, huseyni. If I define huseyni makam, I could say that the scale that is used in huseyni makam is associated with dorian scale. In contrast to dorian, we have a quarter tone in the second degree that also could be variable due to the interpretation of the musician. In Turkey, fine arts faculties for piano education are mostly focused on western classical resources. There are few resources in use for Turkish music pieces. It’s important to use sources,pieces in Turkish music in order to improve students' knowledge in Turkish music genre (Toptas, 2012). In addition to this polyphonization of makam practice is a deep and old study field. In this study, modal jazz harmony is used instead of trio and quadral systems for polyphonization of Turkish makam pieces. As Monson acclaimed in 1998, we may think that quadral system and modal jazz harmony is similar because they both use quad chords. However, in jazz and modal harmony chords are formed with triad , quadrad and their inversions. In quartet systems based on only the quadral scheme of the chords. In jazz harmony you may also see triad chords even if it’s not often. Modal harmony is defined as ambiguous, static and colour in informal definitions. However; when it is discussed analytically, It is seen that the structure has four different characteristics. 1. Extended pedal points, 2. Suppression of standard functional harmonic approaches, 3. Slow harmonic rhythm, 4. Common seven notes for each harmony, these structures (modes) offer the performer a large pool of accompaniment and improvisation (Waters, 2005). Later on, to make the subject clearer modes, chords and its constructions are defined by giving examples. After defining these basic information they also included the explanation and examples for common chord progressions in jazz music such as II-V-I, V-V, Tritone substitution[1]. The main reason that I am interested in this paper is because they’ve harmonized two huseyni folk pieces which are Garsa Giderim, Yârimin Kaşları Kalem” with using modal jazz harmony. In addition to this, they’ve composed two etud’s similar to rhythmical structures of these pieces. Although the quadral chords are appearing in the first degrees of the pieces which are similar to the quatral structure in Ilerici’s system, the polyphonization method used in the research is the modal jazz approach. The difference is called “polychord” (example: A flat major # 11 13), major seventh and extended versions (example: B flat major 7 9) with minor seven (example: A minor 7) and altered chords derived from symmetrical sequences (example. : A altered ) reveals the difference with the quadral (Ilerici) system. The similar chords used in first and second degrees such as the minor seven sus4 chords are used by Bill Evans at the beginning of “So What” on Miles Davis’ 1959 album “Kind of Blue”. In addition, different four chord constructions are used by jazz musicians in jazz music. [1] Tritone substitution is when a dominant 7 chord is substituted for the dominant 7th chord a tritone away. 53 Technical Aspects of Singing in Different Styles What is happening in my body when I sing Jazz and traditional Turkish Music? It was obvious in the reference recordings that I was using different technical styles while I was singing jazz and Turkish music. With the intention of explaining these differences to other singers, I did a small research about my instrument which is my body, vocal cords and also biological realities about making sound with the help of my technique teacher Harjo Pasveer. The information I gathered below is depending on the research, Estill Voice Training System[i], was founded by Josephine Antoinette Vadala who was an American singer, singing voice specialist, and voice researcher. People use three essentials to make noise: power, source and filter[ii]. In order to make a sound, lungs must produce sufficient amounts of airflow and air pressure to vibrate the vocal cords. Without air, there will be no sound at all. That’s why we call air pressure power. There could be three possibilities for air pressure which are glottal onset, aspirated onset, classical onset(coordinated). Glottal onset is an aggressive air pressure type where the vocal cords are opened after the tone is initiated.( Position of the vocal cords is the position where the air pressure begins) In aspirated onset, the voice comes out with breath which causes airy voice. The onset between glottal and aspirated is called classical onset. You use air but not as much as aspirated onset[ii]. Regarding this information, I can say that I use aspirated and classical onset depending on the piece when I sing Jazz. On the other hand, I use classical onset rather than aspirated onset when I sing Turkish music. On the source the sound is already existing. We have vocal cords, false vocal cords and larynx as source. Position of our false vocal cords could be closed, constricted or released[iii]. When you are laughing, yawning and surprised your false vocal cords are released. This position is often used in classical and soulful singing. When it's closed, there will be no sound rather than a sound like you are straining to do physically Constricted false vocal cords often used in pop music. I realized that I often use the released position for both of the styles. In addition to this there is another thing called Plane in source. Plane is about position and it could be horizontal for speaking or pulled up for falsetto. I believe I use horizontal for jazz singing most of the time. Besides, for the traditional singing I use a position neither horizontal as chest voice nor as pulled up as falsetto. For the mass of the sound we can identify three properties: thick, thin and stiff. Thick mass sounds like hooligan on the street, thin mass sound weak and stiff is for classical singing, which is powerful but beautiful.[iv] As I mentioned above, there is also larynx as a source. Position of the larynx could be closed like in speaking, dropped down like in classical singing, moved upwards like in pop 54 singing[iv]. In this case I can say that, I use closed position for jazz , the dropped position for Turkish music. We have a bunch of muscles around the source which I’ll call filter. Filter can change the sound but it has nothing to do with the vocal cords. Palate, posture, pharynx, tongue, tweng (epiglottis) are our filters. Palate could be totally open, closed or in between. When it's totally open sound, the soft palate is on the tongue and the sound goes through your nose. If you close your nose, the sound will stop. In the closed position, the sound goes through your mouth. In between, sounds come through your mouth and nose.[iv] I often use closed position in jazz singing, while I am using in between position in Turkish singing. Posture could be relaxed or active. Active, in other words, a big posture is recommended in every singing style. On the other hand we have pharynx as a filter which can be wide or small. When pharynx is small, the sound is like a witch’s sound. When it’s wide , the position is the same with the yawning. Wide position is the position for both of my singing styles. Another important filter is tongue. It could be low, high or compressed. You will sound like a hooligan with low tongue, while you will sound like you have the flu with high tongue. I tend to use compressed tongue for jazz and Turkish music. Because you sound bigger when you use compressed tongue.[iv] To sum up, this is basically how our instrument works through different styles. Hopefully by explaining what actually happens in my body, this paper will help and guide singers from other styles to sing jazz and Turkish music. I would like to thank my vocal technique teacher Harjo Pasveer for his support and guidance. [i] Estill, J. A Programmed Introduction: Anatomy of the Vocal Instrument. Santa Rosa, California: Estill Voice Training Systems, 1997 Estill, J. VOICECRAFT: A User’s Guide to Voice Quality. Volume Two: Some Basic Voice Qualities. Santa Rosa, California: Estill Voice Training Systems, 1995. Estill, J. Primer of Compulsory Figures, Level Two: Six Basic Voice Qualities. Santa Rosa, California: Estill Voice Training Systems, 1997. [ii] McDonald Klimek, M. Estill Voice Model Applications in voice therapy. Copenhagen, Denmark: 27th World Congress of the International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics, 2007 [iii] Shewell, C. Voice Work: Art and Science in Changing Voices. ( n/a): Wiley-Blackwell, 2009 [iv] Chapman, J. Singing and Teaching Singing: A Holistic Approach to Classical Voice. San Diego: Plural Publishing, 2006. 55 Review of Ornamentations and Non-note Based Performances in Traditional Turkish Art Music by Gulcin Yahya Kacar After analysing the transcription of Cinucen Tanrıkorur’s oud taksim which is a transition between huseyni and hicaz, I saw some other flavours that can be used as well as a different ornament that I never thought of using . It’s called ‘ Carpma’ (The taksim also has saba and bestenigar flavour in the transition). Especially in this taksim, it’s almost everywhere. Taking into account that I experimented with glissando and vibrato in the previous cycle, I thought why not experiment with carpma too. Therefore, I strongly believe that in Turkish music ornaments are essential to reflect the style. Before experimenting with carpma, I was in need of more information thus the only information I had was from the recording, transcription and analyses. I searched for literature, then I ended up reviewing the paper of Gulcin Yahya Kacar that was published in Gazi University Education Faculty Magazine in 2005 under the ‘Ornamentations and Non-note Based Performances in Traditional Turkish Art Music ‘ title. In this paper Kacar has explained the ornaments by using examples of comparisons between transcribed notations of recordings and original notation. As we already know that Turkish music is not played just as it’s written, these examples were quite clear for me to understand how to use them. In addition to this, It was really remarkable to realize that there were way more ornaments than I might know. So, why were these ornaments not written? Let’s think about jazz music. If you pick a song from a real book and play it as it’s written, of course it’s not going to sound as it is supposed to be. Because there are many parameters which are not written on the sheet that effect the playing such as swing, back phrasing and ghost notes. In Turkish music, it’s similar and yet the music is limited with melody because there is no harmony. I believe the fact that the lack of harmony itself invites the performer to use much more ornaments to make it attractive and long lasting. In the past, Turkish music was taught by the mentor system and they didn’t use notation. Students memorized what they’ve been taught by their mentor and this caused differences in interpretations of the pieces. In this system the most important qualification of the musicians was the number of the memorized pieces. Therefore, the written notations were just for memorizing the piece not for performing. In this study the interpretation of masters such as T. Cemil Bey, Udî Nevres Bey, Refik Fersan, Yorgo Bacanos, Ş.Muhittin Targan, İzzettin Ökte classified under two titles as ornaments and non-notated interpretation. Ornaments such as çarpma, mordan, tril, grupetto and tremolo are not effecting the usul of the piece. These are the small notes that are used for emphasizing the main notes which are before or after them. On the other hand, non-notated interpretations are engraving notes (movement notes), adding notes before or after the main notes which are not ornaments, filling in between two notes with nonrelated notes, dividing long notes to shorter values, using double notes and arpeggio. Carpma is defined as short notes which take their value from the note before or after. It has been said in traditional Turkish art music carpmas usually the ones that take their value from note before. Mordan is defined as a double carpma that comes before or after the main note. Trill is defined as an ornament which consists of a sudden shift between two neighbour notes. (usually semitone or whole tone) Grupetto is defined as an ornament which starts from below or up from the main note and consists 3-4 notes. Tremolo is diving a note to small repetitive values. 56 Rather than these ornaments as I’ve mentioned before there are also ornaments called as non-notated interpretations; engraving notes (movement notes), adding notes before or after the main notes which are not ornaments, filling in between two notes with non-related notes, dividing long notes to shorter values, using double notes, arpeggio[1] . After reading this study, I have more information about the different ornaments however I am a bit surprised because there was nothing about glissando and vibrato. On the other hand the information and the examples of carpma enlightened me to do my experiment confidentially. [1] Arpeggio is the ornament consists the chord tensions Review of the Paper of Dr. Ruhi Kalender about Modulation of the Turkish Makams In my third and the last intervention cycle, I decided to work on the Modulation between huseyni and hicaz makams. Before doing that I’ve searched for some papers that could help me on the way of searching for possibilities and knowledge about modulation. In this period my steps are more practical than the last two cycles, however, I want to be sure about my knowledge about modulation between huseyni and hicaz. For this reason, I thought this paper will give me some essential information that I could use in practice. In this paper, Kalender starts with defining the modulation. Basically, modulation is going from one makam to another. Every modulation expresses a musical movement and a statement. Kalender states that only one makam could cause a monotonicity as well as the sudden and continuous modulation could tire out the audience's ear. He adds that the main reason behind a modulation is to express beauty, variety or a special feeling. The relation between 2 makam can be specified as two types. 1) To a further makam : If the two makams have no relation and common characteristics, the modulation between them is described as a modulation to a further makam. For instance, S. Arel’s piece ‘Ben mest-i canan olmusum.’ There is a modulation from huzzam on nim zirgule to cargah on buselik. 2) To a closer makam : If the two makams have some common characteristics and relation, the modulation between them can be described as a modulation to a closer makam. For example, modulation between ussak-beyati, huseyni-muhayyer. As Kalender stated and explained, there are six types of modulation: temporary, conclusive (permanent, exact), continuous, discontinuous, distant (outside) and near. Kalender represents and describes the modulation with examples from different pieces which helped me to identify the type of the modulation between huseyni and hicaz. I could state that the type of the modulation was near. Because they have common notes on their scales. Not every scale of the hicaz family but for instance, hicaz uzzal has the same tetrachord on the top with huseyni . 57 In my opinion Kalender explained the modulation very clearly for any musician and we can understand the logic behind it with the help of the examples that he provides. Regarding the knowledge that I got from this paper and reviewing analyses of modulations which were represented in the paper, now I believe that I understand the logic of modulation and am ready for my own analyses. 58 Appendix 3: Full feedback on reference recordings Feedback for the 1st Intervention Cycle’s 1st Reference Recording: Mustafa Fındık (oud player) At first he told me that he loved the idea of starting the song with a free improvisation on pedal. He said I started with zirguleli hicaz which is okay but ended with the harmonic minor which he didn’t prefer and I wasn’t aware of it at that time. In the head part, he said I could use some variations on the melody line. I’ve written Turkish words and use the existing English words for the melody line. He loved the Turkish words but I forgot some of the English words so he suggested me to write my own English words. In the improvisation part, he suggested me to analyse hicaz taksims to vary my phrases. Rustam Rahmedov (pianist / composer) His opinion about the free improvisation at the beginning was to make it longer and more varied and not mixing it with other scales. He said I could use my vocal processor for different sounds and suggested that I work on my vibrato. He told me to find a concept for the song and suggested changing the chords at A part. For the melody line, he agreed with the oud player Mustafa Fındık. In the improvisation part, He said I could be more rhythmically varied. He suggested that I think about the improvisation like writing a composition. He added ‘Play without thinking but keep in mind you are telling a story. Don’t say everything you want to say right away. Let the music lead you to your journey.’ Feedback for the 1st Intervention Cycle’s 2nd Reference Recording: Prof. Guherdal Cakırsoy (pianist / academician) I’ve sent my second reference recording by email to Prof. Guherdal Cakırsoy. After giving a short brief about my research and goal of my first intervention cycle, I asked her if she could give me feedback. She told me that she got excited when she listened to the recording and also told me that she found the arrangement successful. But there was a point that she mentioned about musicality which was her expectation about piano to be more active on the free intro part. To say more clearly, she expected conversation between me and piano like a question and an answer. She mentioned if there is a conversation that supports me rather than a pedal, my phrases and in between notes will be more intense for the audience. Apart from that, she was happy about my progress in my technique, intonation and musicality. Rustam Rahmedov (pianist / composer) I’ve sent my second reference recording by email to Rustam Rahmedov and asked for his feedback.He has already given feedback for my first recording in the first semester. Nevertheless, I reminded him of my goal for this intervention cycle. He started with mentioning my development on my vocal technique and range. He added that my voice has been grown but since I am able to use more colours and different techniques in my voice, I am trying to use and show all the colours which can be tiring for the listener. He suggested me to plan my performance step by step to be more effective and clear and also not to use head voice everywhere. In addition to this, he told me that we could use subdivisions(32nd notes) in the groove because in the recording, the song was not moving forward. In the free intro part, he suggested me to focus on my breathing in order to keep the intonation stable and also suggested the band plan their attacks, not to do random noises. 59 Harjo Pasveer (main subject teacher) I’ve shown my reference recording to Harjo in our lesson and asked for his feedback. Before playing the recording, I’ve explained my reflection about the recording. He told me that he liked the arrangement because it never stops. By saying it never stops, he was implying that the arrangement is directly diving into the groove after the free intro. However, he suggested that if the bass player uses the bow it’ll fit more to the concept. He also liked my attitude of using lots of possibilities for the colour of my voice even if I told him that I didn’t like throwing all the colours into the song. He said that I can now choose and work on them more precisely in the next intervention cycles. For improvisation, he told me that if I could use more rhythmic phrases, it would help me to develop the improvisation. He also told me that he found the communication between me and the band quite effective. Mustafa Fındık (oud player) I’ve sent my second reference recording by email to Mustafa Fındık and asked for his feedback. He has already given feedback for my first reference recording in the first semester. Also he is playing an important role for my progress in this cycle. He enlightened me by answering my questions during this semester. About the reference video, we are sharing the same opinion about my breathing which effects my intonation in the beginning. Overall, he is happy about the piece and the performance compared with the first reference recording. He suggested that now I could consider applying transitions between related makams. I’ve done an experiment about it. However, it’s still a work in progress. Feedback for the 2nd Intervention Cycle’s 1st Reference Recording: Harjo Pasveer (Main subject / technique teacher) + I like the way you sing the melody. Ornaments such as quarter notes come in the right time and place. - Try to use longer phrases in your improvisation and make them connect with each other. -You can work on your vibrato and glissando. An experiment could be helpful to discover your possibilities. - Bass line in the improvisation part is not helping you. Think of an alternative line. + It’s good that you are singing with only bass. It gives you freedom and space to explore and not to be supported by or influenced from harmony and rhythm. Juliano Abramovay (guitarist) +The glissandi are well structured and the song sounds good. - I feel that, for the improvisation, you could push harder to get more of the phrasing typical to this music. There are a lot of vibratos and phrasing styles that could be explored. Singing improvisations from other musicians might help you in that sense, especially if you select from instruments that have a similar range and technique as the voice, such as yaylı tanbur and classical kemenche. -When the bass played the natural D it really makes it difficult to hear segah and takes us out of the makam. My suggestion would be for him to avoid that note at all, because it either clashes with your note or it makes you go to his note. -If the idea was to explore the huseyni makam, the bass line for the improvisation is not the best one because it has a natural B that is not part of this madam. +I like the way that you alternate from makam language to more jazz feeling during the improvisation. 60 Michalis Cholevas (AR Coach) + Your understanding of the style is improving. I could spot elements of carpma and glissando coming in your performance. Very nice. - You can profit as well from prolonging and connecting your phrases to make larger ones that keep the feeling of continuity. This is a characteristic of the music. You could easily do that for example in the first two phrases of your performance. -I am not sure whether the double bass on this moment can be of help for you. Your colleague might need more time to assimilate elements and support you. Right now, neither the tuning nor the lines behind your line seem to be functional. It would be much better to simplify the background for now. The fact that you are trying to work on the segah tuning and he is playing statically is one more element of uncertainty. - Be careful with using a leading tone in this piece. Originally the piece and the makam come with a subtonic (rast instead of zirgule) by adding a leading tone (and subsequently a dominant chord on the fifth at 1:42 and throughout your solo) you are altering completely the character of the piece: a) Segah can’t work because the dominant chord works with a perfect fifth from the low huseyni b) the ‘natural’ harmony of the piece based on diatonic harmony and a major chord on the subtonic (rast) is changing dramatically with the addition of the leading tone. *I have the impression that by adding lyrics to your solo you could get closer to a modal character solo. *As a suggestion I would tell you to first sing the song and ask your bass player to play only drones on dugah, rast, huseyni and neva and try to choose the drones that always support the melody. Then, start choosing your harmony for the piece and build up the arrangement. Rustam Rahmedov (pianist / composer) - The bass and vocal are far from each other. When writing a bass line for the pieces in this kind of style, you need to avoid the 3rd interval. You can use the 4th-5th or octave as intervals. - You can find a progressive rhythmic figure. - Bass could change to pissicatto. - It’s important to use glissandos in the right place and time. + Playing as a duo provides you more space. Feedback for 2nd Intervention Cycle’s 2nd Reference Recording: Rustam Rahmedov (pianist / composer) + Interpretation of the melody is in full taste. Completely in balance for me. + My favorite part is the improvisation part, it’s minimal and reasonably authentic. Improved a lot. + Style of the singing is improved. -Difference reharmonization could be used. You should put some harmonies which will work like gravitation. Because, now there is no resistance to the center ( tonic ). There is a good resistance in your voice but not in the harmonic language. You can try to find some harmonization with a minimalistic approach such as half step or some pedal notes could create resistance to the center. But they should be placed at the right time. Guherdal Cakırsoy (pianist / academician) +- The song choice is nice. It goes along beautifully with the colour of your sound but the tempo could be a bit faster. - Bass accompaniment could be more active. After the solo it was better. +The improvisation part was well structured. 61 ? Maybe you can think about adding something in the beginning. + I am happy to see the phases of your artistic improvement. Now, your voice is much clearer and mature. Juliano Abramovay (guitarist) +-I like your tuning and the way you use legato lines and glissandos inspired on the ney. It would be nice to see these elements being pushed even more, for glissandi and legato but also for elements like vibratos, which are an important part of the idiom and that I feel that are not as steady and secure as they could be. -+During the first part of the memory, the bass is still doing the 2nd degree as a buselik, which I feel that disturbs your approach to the ussak flavour. During the improvisation, this is better compared to the other recording. Feedback for 3rd Intervention Cycle’s 1st Reference Recording: Rustam Rahmedov ( pianist / composer ) -Be clearer about the dynamics because sometimes you disappear. Make it as a statement and be clear. In the recording it’s uncertain. -+There are some nice phrases but they are not sufficient to prepare the audience for the sudden climax which comes at 1.40. - Think simple. Don’t be too sophisticated. - Use your breathing effectively. - The volume of the drone is too high. Mustafa Fındık (oud player) - The quantity and velocity of vibrato could be wider and more relaxed/calm. +- Avoid jumping through notes and find a way to connect your ideas as you did in the previous cycles. - Take you time and develop the improvisation step by step. - Don’t think too much about flavours, don’t make sudden changes. Harjo Pasveer (Main subject / technique teacher) +First of all, I am happy to see your development step by step. You are doing a good job. -Use your breathing more effectively, singing piano doesn’t mean weak. You can still support yourself with you breathing. -+ You have a nice fast vibrato, you can use it for your ornaments like carpma. Feedback for 3rd Intervention Cycle’s 2nd Reference Recording: Rustam Rahmedov (pianist / composer) + Well done! The improvisation and the head are fluent. - Maybe it’s better to wait a bit before going to head again. + It’s nice that you developed improvisation step by step and used head voice in the end with the climax. + Your statements are clear and improvisation is more coherent. + Now you have layers in your musical ideas. Guherdal Cakırsoy (pianist / academician) + I am really happy that every recording you send me is more mature and improved. + Your transitions are smooth, clear and well-constructed. - I suggest you also think about how Turkish makams are related with emotions. 62 +The falsetto you used is fitting with the style and your transition between chest voice and falsetto is smooth and consistent. Mustafa Fındık (oud player) : + Beautiful composition. + I think the idea of using makams in a groovy pattern worked and it helped you to develop your solo rhythmically as well. - Because you were working and experimenting on carpma you use it a lot, maybe you can try to use it a few times. Burak Savas (violin player / singer): - + You are doing something different than what we use to hear as a traditional carpma but I like how it sounds. - Improvisation is generally coherent and consistent. - Sometimes you sing something between huseyni and buselik, be careful about that + I like the groovy idea, we should try it together. Dr. Dick de Graaf (composer/saxophonist) +I enjoyed it very much. Your implementation of makam practice in your improvisation as a jazz vocalist, this time with lyrics in the English language, sounds even more intense compared to your performances using the Turkish language. +The cool and laid-back rhythmic groove of the backing track allows you to develop a very tasteful and dynamically interesting narrative throughout your improvisation. +Your use of the huseyini as a first layer on the groove works out very well. Then, as you switch smoothly to the hicaz at 3:13, this serves as a second layer in the build-up of the solo. + From 3:31 you start singing an ascending line which develops into a very much authentic sound, I would say a palpable notion of makam. +At 4:00 the head out brings the listener back to the Western musical world and the harsh reality that you also manage to express very well with your (out of necessity) home recording. +What a great achievement, my compliments. Francien van Tuinen (main subject teacher) +Thanks for your recording, I enjoyed it a lot! I have some comments, maybe you can use them to work on the live version for your exam. -Pronunciation: I cannot hear all your lyrics clearly. I think it has something to do with not completely pronouncing the last consonant of the word. Listen to your recording and check it and find out which words need more consonant at the end. -Sound: I believe your long notes can use a bit more of intention. Try to really dive in your long notes and develop them with your sound. It will make your long notes more alive I think. +Good belt in the first theme, beautiful! Don't be afraid to show that belting sound, you can do it and it gives your song more projection. -+Solo: I like the use of the makam, it sounds very authentic but also a good match with your tune, Brava! You build the solo, good dynamics, but don't be afraid to make it bigger. Experiment with how far you can go with dynamics. It feels right now that you are holding back a bit. Maybe because you are in your room and you don't want to make too much noise, I can imagine that but, when you will play it with the band keep this in mind. +Overall: Very nice tune, beautiful atmosphere but, I really want to hear more of the lyrics, so maybe you can send them to me for reading and I think if you work a bit on that part you can fix it easily. Good job! 63 Appendix 4: Transcription of interviews 1)Summary of Interview with Francien Van Tuinen Firstly, I did an interview with my main subject teacher Francien Van Tuinen who is a jazz singer and educator at Codarts. The title of the interview is “Improvising and interpreting in modal jazz standards.” We started with a personal question which was the meaning of the improvisation and interpretation for her. We carried on with her thoughts about changing the original melody excessively. We also discussed the relation between lyrics and the melody, different styles of singing when improvising and we talked if it is a good idea to use makams in improvisation in modal pieces. To sum up, interviewing with Francien was so much fun and helpful for me. 2)Summary of Interview with Cemre Yılmaz Cemre is my friend, a jazz singer from Turkey but she currently lives in Germany for jazz education. So we did this interview by using Skype. In this interview, I used the same questions that I used with Francien. Because I am trying a method which is going to show me the different point of views of an experienced mature jazz singer and a young developing jazz singer. In addition to this, they are coming from different countries. 3)Summary of the Interview with Burak Savas In order to get ready for the experimenting part of my third intervention cycle, I’ve interviewed Burak Savas, violin player and singer specialized in Turkish music. I’ve asked questions about carpma and the vocal technique he uses for carpma ornament. During the interview, we also tried out different technical approaches to carpma ornament. 4)Summary of the Interview with Mustafa Fındık Mustafa Fındık is one of the Turkish music experts in my network. He is an oud player specialized in Turkish music and violin player specialized in jazz. Although I’ve consulted him for many things during my research, this is the first formal interview that I’ve led with him. The interview mainly consisted of my general questions about the transition between two makams. *You can find the complete texts further. Interview with Francien Van Tuinen Interpreting and Improvising in modal jazz standards To begin with as you know I am a first year master student in Codarts jazz. In this interview, I would like to discuss improvising and interpreting in modal jazz standards because this topic will give me a point of view of a jazz singer and a mentor about improvising in modal pieces and it will help me to answer some of the questions about my research. 1) In jazz improvising and interpreting the melody takes up a large place for musicians. What is your idea about improvising and interpreting? What does improvising and interpreting mean to you? Francien: For me, I started singing jazz at a very young age, around 16. It was actually the only thing that I am interested in jazz like the horn players who only want to do solos. After that, I started to appreciate the song as it is more and more. I still really enjoy improvising. I mean not only scatting also with the phrasing but, I want to honor the song also more, that’s probably because I am older now. So, it means that I’ll never be bored with this music. 64 2) What is your opinion about changing the original melody excessively? Francien: It’s nice if you first sing the song and you take another chorus for it. It’s playful and also not every song is suitable for that. It has to fit with lyrics and everything. I also like to do that, but also respect for the song in itself. 3) Do you use the relation between melody and the lyrics when you sing? Francien: Yes of course. It’s possible to give some layers to the lyrics with the melody. 4) What are the points that singers have to pay attention to when interpreting? Francien: I think it really should add something. I mean of course it’s so good that you try to pull the song towards what you think and how you can give your own interpretation. So that’s very important to make it personal. But the same with the improvisation it needs to make sense. So just doing wild things when it doesn’t have any relation to the original then maybe it’s not good. It’s so personal. You can put your mark to your improvisation. 5) How do you build the relation between phrases when you improvise? Francien: I just try to stay in the story of solo. You need to be aware of what you do, where you are, intonation. It’s actually very much being in the moment and reacting to what you sing and the reactions of musicians. Another important thing is concentration. You have to find the concentration for reacting to musicians and yourself in the moment. 6) Do you like improvising? Is it necessary for a jazz singer or Is it a choice? Francien: Yes, of course. For me, a jazz singer can have freedom in many ways. I know too many singers who don’t want to scat but they can be free with the phrasing. That’s also improvised in the moment. How far you want to go as a jazz singer, I think that’s personal. When a singer sings everything the same and I feel like it’s not jazz because we are on an adventure. 7) Does a jazz singer should use a different style of singing when improvising in modal pieces? What are the differences in styles for you? Francien: You need to add something else because otherwise there is nothing there so use other colours, dynamics, different ways of singing “aaaa” like this and some Arabic scales. It depends on the style of the song. A singer has to use everything possible to be a part of that music. If it’s beneficial for the atmosphere, use it. 8) Is it a good idea to use makams in jazz improvisation? If you were an audience, would you be interested in that kind of approach? Francien: Why would you not use it? There are lots of people doing that. If that’s suitable for the piece, go for it. Yes, I would be very much interested in that kind of approach. Thank you for your time. *This interview transcribed from the original recording. 65 Interview with Cemre Yılmaz Interpreting and Improvising in modal jazz standards To begin with as you know I am a first year master student in Codarts jazz. In this interview i would like to discuss about the improvising and interpreting in modal jazz standards because this topic will give me a point of view of a jazz singer and a friend about improvising in modal pieces and it will help me to answer some of the questions about my research. 1) In jazz improvising and interpreting the melody takes up a large place for musicians. What is your idea about improvising and interpreting? What does improvising and interpreting mean for you? Cemre: To me one of the most important tasks of a jazz singer is to project the lyrics, and the story behind it. I personally find it very exciting to hear a vocal jazz performance, where as a listener I feel introduced to the actual or personal story. That includes the careful interpretation of the melody of course. Besides I truly believe it is equally important for the instrumentalists to understand the mood and the context of the story to be able to benefit from the melody to the full capacity. Interpreting a melody to me is to reflect on the actual mood and adding a unique and personal touch to it. Which is supplied by the improvisation skills -either with words or with the scat syllables. 2) What is your opinion about changing the original melody excessively? Cemre:I find changing the melody excessively is a necessary treat in jazz, looking at the performance of signature names or the more recent artists. It somehow became a tradition I suppose. And changing the melody requires a very good understanding of the original melody I think. 3) Do you use the relation between melody and the lyrics when you sing? Cemre: As I mentioned in the answer of the first question, I give a lot of importance to it. I always take exclusive time to study the lyrics and the original melody. Writing subtext and underlining certain words or phrases is a beneficial work for me. I like to think of myself as a singer more like a storyteller. 4) What are the points that singers have to pay attention to when interpreting? Cemre:I think as a singer who wants to bring the story forward, it is important to internalise the meaning of the lyrics and somehow -directly or indirectly- relate to them. At this point it would be a nice idea to check out the origins of the tune and take a look at the historical era it was written at. Meaning, if it’s a broadway song or an original composition written as a reflection to a historical event. I find it important to respect and pay tribute to the composer/lyricist. 5) How do you build the relation between phrases when you improvise? Cemre: As a listener, I enjoy to hear improvisers creating thoroughly composed and well structured phrases. During my studies, I learnt a few exercises to approach phrasing. (ex: 4-3-2-1 phrasing and call & response etc.) Listening to soloists (for instance like Dexter Gordon or Clifford Brown, who play quiet singable phrases) will make it possible to understand the jazz language and tradition, which is a good basis for understanding the concept and creating phrases alike. Jazz is most of all a language like other music styles and it is highly recommended by many artists to learn the jazz cliches. 6) Do you like improvising, Is it necessary for a jazz singer or Is it a choice? Cemre: I mostly enjoy taking another chorus of the 'head’ and improvising on the lyrics. I appreciate it a lot when I hear a vocalist who has built equal skills on improvisation as an instrumentalist, but I don’t find it a must for a singer to take a solo chorus. I believe it must be a choice of the performer, instead of a general expectation or pressure. There are many signature vocalists in history who didn’t necessarily scat on their records or live performances, but still made their names into history. 66 7) Does a jazz singer should use a different style of singing when improvising in modal pieces? What are the differences in styles for you? Cemre:In my opinion, it is essential first to listen excessively to the important recordings of the given style and learn the basics of it before moving to the next steps. Every genre is created with a different attitude and purpose, so technically it is necessary to understand the desired sound. Modal jazz is yet another branch of jazz and it is played with a different timbre than other styles of jazz. So in this case, of course while sticking to the style, the singer should be encouraged to find the right colour of sound and technique to vibrate with the music. 8) Is it a good idea to use maqams in jazz improvisation? If you were an audience, would you be interested in that kind of approach? Cemre: Jazz originates from American heritage but as well is a genre of music that allows the musician to freely express themselves. I believe jazz supplies the necessary space for the performer to echo their personality, hence their heritage. Therefore, in terms of improvising or composing, I find it refreshing and interesting to hear ethnic music well applied in jazz. In the recent years, fusion of ethnic music and jazz brought a new breath to the scene and commercial success to the artists, so yes! Thank you for your time. *This interview transcribed during the Skype conversation. Small Interview with Burak Savas about Carpma (25th February 2020-Schiedam Centrum/ Rotterdam) Although I gathered information about carpma from articles and recordings, I also wanted to consult an expert about the practical info which is the most important thing for a performer. What is carpma and are there types of it? Burak: Carpma is an important ornament to reflect the Turkish classical music style and yes there are styles of it. I can identify 4 types such as • Carpma done by mouth ( I don’t suggest this one because it’s not aesthetically appropriate for Turkish classical music. ) • Carpma done by laryngeal movement which is the best for Turkish classical singing. You can see lots of examples from recordings of Hafız’s . • Carpma done in large intervals: You can see the examples in Iranian music. This one is different and a bit harder. You can listen to Baman Sanama’s singing and he uses it a lot. • Carpma done in small intervals: You can see the examples of it in Turkish music a lot. What is the purpose of using carpma and where it is usually used? Could you show me some examples? Burak: Carpma is an ornament to reflect the style but other than that the purpose of using it is to emphasize the note. It’s usually used for coming back to tonic or in a suspended cadance. 67 We listened to some examples of gazels by Hafız Burhan, Kemal, Saadettin Kaynak, Munir Nurettin Selcuk. Then he showed me how to imitate that with using my laryngeal movement. The explanation of the movement is to move the larynx up and down while singing the two notes. He added that when I developed my technique, I could add more notes and raise the agility of it. I showed him one of my recordings https://tinyurl.com/yx3jvrpk and he identified carpma’s done by mouth which could be more impressive by using laryngeal movement.We tried out 2 types of carpma using laryngeal movement. Now, I believe that I have enough information to experiment with! Mustafa Fındık interview 1) How could you describe the transition between two makams ? In Turkish music tradition, the pieces which are in the same makam played one after another. This is called as a group/team culture. In the old days, when a musician found a makam, he/she had to compose a team of songs to prove that makam exists (ritual). When there is a performance of a makam that number of songs(team) are played. If the musician wanted to move to another makam, there has to be a taksim in the middle in order to connect these different makams to each other and to familiarize the audience’s ears with the new makam as well. 2) Is it true that transition gets smoother when you get better? In tradition, the performer who does the transition taksim had to make this transition so smoothly that the audience didn’t even realize there was a transition. So, the smoother transition means the better musician. Think about jazz music when you do sudden changes and make the audience surprised. It shows how good you are. It is the exact opposite in Turkish music. 3) What do you think about Cinucen Tanrıkorur’s transition taksim between huseyni-hicaz? As we listened, first it goes to Saba and bestenigar then it goes to zirgule. Is it so common or rare ? because for me I would go to huseyni-muhayyer then hicaz uzzal? For you, you need to plan your improvisation. If you think about a transition between huseyni and hicaz, yes you are right the closest flavour would be hicaz uzzal. The more you improve your knowledge and practice in makam world, you will start to use other flavours in between as Cinucen did in his taksim but he is one of the masters so it’s better that you know the possibility. First you need to try out direct transition to uzzal. On the other hand it also depends on the duration that you are going to improvise. 4) Is there any piece that they both used? There must be. I recommend you to check pesrev’s 3rd hanes and meyan part of the sarkı and semais. Do not restrict yourself with instrumental or vocal music. Listen to all of them. 5) Is it possible to make a generalization like ‘the characteristic of makam is found in the first penta or tetrachord’? It depends on the makam so you can’t do generalization. For instance; in rast its called rast because it’s tonic is the note rast and the makam concludes on the rast perde. In huseyni makam, huseyni is the name of it’s dominant. The melody develops around huseyni perde and that is the reason the makam is 68 called huseyni. On the other hand, if we talk about bestenigar, there is no perde named bestenigar. Also in buselik and nihavend they use same scale and development but their tonality is different. Because of the emotion and timber they are accepted as different makams. 6) There are lots of carpmas in the Cinucen Tanrikorur’s oud taksim compared to the ney taksims in general. Is this related with the nature of the instrument? Yes and no. Although the nature of the instrument affects the usage of the ornaments, it mostly depends on the artist's style. If you listen to Yorgo Bacanos, you’ll hear carpmas even more.. 69 Appendix 5: Transcriptions/annotated scores/analyses/exercises 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 Glissando → 88 89 90 My harmonization and the arrangement for the ensemble formed from piano, double bass, drums , voice. 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 Breathing Exercises BEFORE STARTING SQUEEZE ALL THE MUSCLES IN YOUR BODY AND RELEASE, RELAX! *Feeling the spaces of your body -Inhale with moving your arms starting from front to sides and top of your head -Exhale when you are moving your arms downwards through sides Do it 10 times *1-2-3 Exercise Count to 3 1 Breath in 2 breath out 3 breath out Do it till get tired :) Important*** You can feel dizziness because of the oxygen. Stop the exercise immediately when you feel it. *Yawn for relaxing your jaw muscles Exercise through the wall *Breathe in and breathe out immediately with A sound. (Imagine you are throwing something to the wall. ) Try to feel the resonance. *Head voice exercise with the hysterical smile and doing circles above your head with your finger at the meantime. Carpma Exercises You can see tree variation of carpma below. Try to sing each one moving half step both up-down is as much as your vocal range allows by using various tempo’s. I suggest you start slower than make it faster step by step. 101 102