Sources

Sources:

"Georgian Folk Music Instruments." Georgian Folk Music Instruments. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar.

    2014. <http://www.hangebi.ge/eng/instruments.html>.

"Georgian Voices." Georgian Voices. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2014.

     <http://www.nab.am/ywmf/Artists/georvoi.htm>.

"Jethro Tull." PopMatters. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2014.

     <http://www.popmatters.com/review/133782-jethro-tull-stand-up-expanded-collectors-

     edition/>.

"Jethro Tull | Ian Anderson." Jethro Tull. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2014.

     <http://jethrotull.com/the-attic/musical-instruments/ian-anderson/>.

Manjgaladze, Ketevan. "Varieties of Krimanchuli (Yodel) in West Georgia's Folk Songs."

     Polyphony. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2014.

     <http://www.polyphony.ge/uploads/simposium/eng2/manjgaladze_krimanchuli.pdf>.

Unterberger, Richie. "1960s Folk-Rock Overview." AllMusic. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2014.

     <http://www.allmusic.com/>.

Conclusion

      It has been fascinating to look at the similarities and differences between these two types of music. I was amazed to learn about the folk influences on Jethro Tull, and those influences greatly aided in finding similarities between these two diverse types of music. The instrumentation, which showed that, although the instruments were different (and, for me, often unheard of), the sounds were similar. It is amazing to see that, even when instruments are created in different parts of the world for different purposes, the instruments yield similar music. The melodic differences in the different types of music were incredible to compare, especially the unique vocal parts of Georgian folk music. The final similarities and differences were in the individual pieces that I analyzed, which showed that the composition of the music types is similar, even though both types of music were developed in distinct cultures. In the end, I (surprisingly) discovered that Jethro Tull boasts more similarities to Georgian folk music than I initially thought. It is my hope that you have learned something and are inspired to learn more about world music!

Locomotive Breath and Acharuli Gandagana

    

     In an effort to compare the two music types--Jethro Tull and Georgian folk music--to the best of my abilities, I decided to look specifically at one musical piece from each type. I chose a popular song from Jethro Tull called "Locomotive Breath" because it contains many of the instruments used in Jethro Tull, and I believe that it is a pretty good representation of Jethro Tull's music. For Georgian folk music, I chose "Acharuli Gandagana," performed by Basiani, because it is a traditional dance song that seems to encompass both vocal and instrumental parts of Georgian folk music.

     Both pieces begin with an instrumental introduction, which in "Locomotive Breath" showcases the bass and electric guitars and drums in a fast-paced 4/4 time. This is the norm of many of Jethro Tull’s pieces, and therefore is a decent example of Jethro Tull’s music as a whole. In "Acharuli" the introduction also includes drums, a chunriri and panduri as string instruments, and a salamuri as a wind instrument, but the time signature is 2/4. In both pieces, the instruments crescendo throughout this introduction, building tension in the music until the vocals join.

Acharuli Dance, photo by: "Georgia About."
Georgia About. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2014. 

     When the vocals do have their entrance into the music, the instruments pull back to allow these vocals a prominent spot in the music. At this point the pieces go different directions; "Locomotive" has a single vocal melodic line that is complemented by a flute countermelody. The vocal melody is supported by vocal harmonies from the other members of the band. Throughout the middle and climax of the music the drums and guitars keep the rhythm, with an occasional guitar solo part. "Acharuli" has a call-and-response line, with multiple, clearly defined, contrasting melodies. This is consistent with what I learned about the distinct vocal parts of Georgian folk music. "Locomotive" pulls back toward the end of the song only slightly before ending the song with the same fast tempo and forte dynamic. Unlike the abrupt ending of "Locomotive Breath," "Acharuli" ends with a decrescendo and a ritardando, which is a more popular way to end a song (Georgian).

   
The following links should lead to the videos that I used to analyze these songs:

"Locomotive Breath":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWubhw8SoBE

"Acharuli Gandagana":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUphzRwo17k

     

Melodies

Vocal Melodies of Georgian Folk Music  

A Georgian Folk Group, picture by "Tbilisi." - Viljandi Folk
Music Festival. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2014. 

     

    In addition to both Georgian folk music and Jethro Tull contain varying vocal and instrumental parts, the musical elements that combine the parts into one piece of music host a slew of similar and different uses. Georgian folk music is, for the most part, a voice-dominated polyphonic music ("Georgian Voices"). There are over fifty types of vocal parts, all of which have specific names and functions in the polyphony of the music. One type of voice is called "Krimanchuli," which literally translates to "yodel." The Krimanchuli voice part is called a "gutteral voice.” Despite the name, which makes Krimanchuli sound like it would be a lower voice, this vocal part is usually a high-pitched, throaty voice, and allows the singer more freedom in performing jumps and melodies in the music. What is particularly interesting about this voice part is that, contrary to how most pieces of music rely on the lighter or piercing voice part to be heard, such as sopranos or tenors in most traditional Western music, the Krimanchuli can be easily distinguished in a song ("Manjgaladze")

     An example of the polyphony used in Georgian folk music is a musical group called the Georgian Voices, a group that was begun in 1986 to preserve traditional folk and ritual songs of Georgia. This group is comprised of ten male members and performs traditional folk songs all over the world. The group is only comprised of male singers because, traditionally, it is the males of this culture who sing the folk music. Of these ten singers, three can sing in the Krimanchuli voice that was mentioned above (“Georgian Voices”). The voice parts have no English equivalent, but the voices can more or less be split into the Georgian equivalent of three first tenors (the highest parts), two second tenors (who sing just below the first tenors), two baritones (who sing between the second tenors and basses), and three basses (who sing the lowest notes.) These singers all have unique and distinct musical parts so that, regardless of what piece is sung, all of the parts can be distinguished by the audience. 

Melodies of Jethro Tull

Jethro Tull, photo by "Jethro Tull." PopMatters.
 N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2014. 

     While polyphony and a voice-dominated music are huge parts of Georgian folk music, Jethro Tull is slightly different in that their music has more supporting and lead instrumentals than Georgian folk music. The guitars, drums, and flute usually do not have separate melodies, but the few songs that this is included in could be considered similar to the Georgian folk polyphony (PopMatters). Jethro Tull is also, much like the majority of Georgian folk music, comprised of all male vocalists, so all of the harmonies that are done are in the lower range. This puts the vocals of Jethro Tull, even without the specific voice parts used in Georgian folk, at a similar range to the lower vocal parts of Georgian music (Jethro). Dissimilarly, because Georgian folk music is traditionally comprised of only male singers, the upper range of Georgian folk music is much higher than the upper range of the members of Jethro Tull

     Jethro Tull classifies itself as a folk rock band, which means that it takes traditionally folk melodies and ideas and infuses these into its songs. The idea of a folk rock band was popular in the 1960s and 70s, especially in Britain (PopMatters). This use of traditional music is similar to the use of traditional rituals and songs by the Georgian Voices, as mentioned above. Instead of large amounts of polyphony, Jethro Tull, like many other "folk rock" bands, utilizes harmonies in its music. This means that, similar to Georgian folk music, the band incorporates different voice parts to create their music (Unterberger). Different from traditional Georgian folk music, the parts of the music used to create these harmonies are more likely to be instrumental instead of just vocal. 

Introduction and Instrumentation

 Introduction to Jethro Tull and Georgian Folk Music

 Jethro Tull is a rock band from Britain that caught my attention a few years ago; it became a band that I enjoyed because of the use of a flute as a main instrument in the band. Flutes aren't usually a staple instrument in rock bands and, being a flute player myself, I began to listen to songs. Their music is a mixture of folk, traditional rock, blues, and darker themes, and is a fascinating original take on rock. The band began in the late 1960s and was originally formed by Ian Anderson, Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond, Michael Stephens, and John Evans ("Jethro Tull History"). Because the band boasted a unique sound, even in a time where folk rock bands were popular, Jethro Tull gained popularity throughout the 1970s and 80s (Jethro). Even though most of the original members are gone, the band continues to be successful and play for audiences all over the world.
      In another part of the world is the folk music from Georgia. While I was listening to various types of world music on YouTube, I found that Georgian folk music has an inviting and intriguing sound that made me want to learn more about it. Modern Georgian folk music is a mixture of traditional Georgian folk music and some modern instruments, such as keyboard instruments. Despite the many invaders of Georgia throughout the years, Georgia has managed to maintain its own language in its music, and has been able to preserve some folk melodies for many years ("Georgian Song"). Today, it utilizes a variety of instruments and vocal sounds and continues to maintain the traditional structure of Georgian music. With these two types of music fresh in my mind, I'm excited to begin to explore the parallels between them. 

  

Instrumentation

Ian Anderson and Flute; Photo by: Jackson, Martyn.
 "RUSHONROCK.COM."RUSHONROCKCOM RSS.
 N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Mar. 2014. 

    Jethro Tull's lead singer, Ian Anderson, multitasks during his performances. He switches between playing a concert flute (pictured left), a variety of guitars, mandolin, piccolo, bouzouki, and bamboo flute throughout songs. The other four band members, Martin Barre, Doane Perry, Jonathan Noyce, and Andrew Giddings, join in with their own instruments of choice. Barre uses a concert flute and electric guitar while Noyce joins with his bass guitar. Perry is the band's drummer and Giddings plays the keyboard (Jethro).

     Georgian folk music has both similarities and differences in its instrumentation of music. Both musical types include a conglomeration of strings, winds, percussion, and, in recent years in Georgian folk music, keyboard instruments. It is only the instruments themselves that differ from the instruments used by Jethro Tull (Jethro). The strings in this folk music include instruments such as the chunriri, chonguri, and bass-panduri. Winds include the reeded and unreeded salamuri, duduki, and puki, among others. The percussion are drums such as doli and diplipito drums, and the keyboard instruments are the buzika, garmon, and tsiko-tsiko (Georgian).  

Unreeded Salamuri; Photo by: ":: Reeded and Unreeded
 wind instrument - Salamuri." :: Reeded and Unreeded
 wind instrument - Salamuri. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2014. 

       Both sets of drums are used to set and maintain the rhythm of the music, and can either be used as a background instrument or as a primary sound (Daira).The winds are for the most part very diverse, as most of the conventional winds in traditional Georgian music are made out of wood and most Western flutes are made out of metal. Despite this, the salamuri proves to have a similar tone and range to a flute, and so could almost be considered the flute of Georgian folk music (Unreeded). This was especially interesting for me, because I had originally thought that the bamboo flute, which is similar in shape and the material it is made out of, would be closer in style to the salamuri. After listening to examples of the bamboo flute, I found that the tone and range of the bamboo flute is completely different from the salamuri. As for the strings, electric guitars used in Jethro Tull are very different from the panduri and chonguri played in Georgia; the panduri has three strings, the chonguri four (Chonguri), and the electric guitar usually has six (Jethro).