Discuss the concert music ensemble in terms of the three functional layers of musical texture—melody, drone, and rhythm (percussion). See also accompanying diagram Fig. 6.10 in Worlds of Music, p. 311

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The Melodic Layer (1)
• Principal melodic soloist dominates, for example, with solo voice, violin, veena (plucked string instrument), bamboo flute, or other instruments that have been adapted from the West (such as saxophone, orchestral flute or mandolin).
• Melodic layer also includes the melodic accompanist, often a violinist (if accompanying a vocalist as the principal melodic soloist).

The Shruti Layer (2)
• The drone, or shruti, layer consists of the sustained (continuously sounding) central tone of the composition and the perfect fifth above the central tone, either played on instruments such as the four-stringed tambura or sruti-box (small reed organ), or provided by small electronic equivalents (synthesizers) that eliminate the need for a performer.

The Rhythm/Percussion Layer (3)
• The rhythm layer is led by the mridangam—a multi-timbral, double-headed drum tuned to the tonal center of the melodic soloist which is the principal accompanying percussion instrument.
• Sometimes joined by subordinate percussion instrument(s) such as the ghatam (clay pot), kanjira (Indian tambourine), or morsang (jew's or jaw's harp)