Ornamentation
A little something extra
Ornamentation is an embellishment, either with notes or rhythm, on to the original melody of the song, (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica). It is as if someone was decorating a Christmas tree. This tree has its natural beauty without any decorations, but when added in the right places, it would add to its beauty. This is similar to a song with ornamentation. It embellishes the melody or rhythm of a song to add to the overall effect. Here are some examples of ornamentation found in Western and Eastern music:
Fig. 8: Example of Melisma From "O Successores" by Hildegard Von Bingen. Cherry Creek Schools.org. https://sites.google.com/a/cherrycreekschools.org/musical-links-investigation-medieval-hindustani/melismatic-text-setting?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1
Melisma
A melisma is similar to a slide, which is a quick movement between notes, but it refers specifically to the sliding of notes vocally while on the same word or lyric.
Ghost Notes
This is a very common ornamentation in jazz, where an instrumentalist 'ghosts' a note; barely playing it so that you know it is there, but it is not important to the melody. It is also used to put emphasis on other notes that are more important.
Fig. 9: Example of Ghost-Note Notation In Music. Wikipedia Commons. 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bass_ghost_note_groove.png
Grace Notes
A grace note is a very short note or phrase played just before another longer note. It is often printed smaller, showing that it is to be played as an add on to the note ahead. It can be used to emphasize the larger note. This type of ornamentation is often seen in classical music.
Fig. 10: Example of Grace Note Notation. Wikipedia Commons. 2021. https://upload.wikimedia.org/score/i/3/i3532fbxftmzw6dytfs1tjvwsa0gwru/i3532fbx.png
Fig. 11: Example of Glissando Notation. 2021. Wikipedia Commons fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glissando
Glissando
Ornamentation in "Atchafalaya:"
Being a jazz-influenced piece, there is a lot of ornamentation during the solos, which are played by the electric guitar and trombone. In jazz music, solos are usually improvised, and the soloists in "Atchafalaya" use ornamentation in their solos to great effect. In the trombone solo at one minute and 20 seconds, he uses slides and ghost notes to add dynamics to his solo, and just to make it more interesting to the audience. Trombonists are one of the best instruments to play a slide because they actually use a slide when playing, so their instrument lends itself very well to that type of ornamentation.
Listen here to clip Atchafalaya 2.
When a soloist improvises in jazz music, he is usually playing with the same set of chord changes repeated over and over called a chorus, so every time they will try and make it a little different and exciting, creating a build each time he goes back through the chord progression. Ornamentation helps with that because they can take a lick that they used in the first chorus and change it to make it more interesting the second time they play through it. In the electric guitar solo, the reverb of the mode the guitarist is playing in sometimes muffles the following notes in the different licks he plays, creating a 'ghosting effect' that was alluded to earlier.
Ornamentation in Ishq Kameena:
Ornamentation in Indian music is often the same type of effect that is found in Western music but under different names. For example, notes sung with a Kan Swar are grace notes, or a Meend is a slide from one note to another while singing, (Hindustani).
In Ishq Kameena, these effects can be found repeatedly in the singing of the verses and choruses. While Atchafalaya had ornamentation in the instruments, this piece features it in the vocalists. On the third line of each verse, there is a melisma featured on the first word, and then a Khutka on the third word. A Khutka is similar to a melisma in that it happens on one word, but it is a smaller note that the vocalist jumps to that is often a microtone close to the note to be sung, (Hindustani). This is a feature of Indian music, whether it be classical or pop, that makes it instantly recognizable to the hearer. Another thing the singers do is bend notes, meaning they start on a note a half step above or below the 'correct' note, and then slide to the intended note. This makes the song a little less monotonous as the piece is very repetitive and gives the singer freedom of expression.
Listen here to clip Ishq Kameena 2.
Both pieces use ornamentation to change up the melody over many choruses or to create freedom of expression for the artist. Atchafalaya uses it more, as it is more often found in jazz culture in their solos, and melodies may even include written ornamentation. Ishq Kameena uses it as well, but not as frequently, probably due to the fact that this is supposed to be a singable melody, and using frequent vocal embellishments may make it harder for the audience to sing along.