Nepal / Tibet / Himalayas
Listen to, and discuss, what you hear in the video clips below:
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Nepal is a country in South Asia. It is located mainly in the Himalayas. Music of Nepal refers to the various musical genres played and listened to in Nepal. With more than fifty ethnic groups, the music of Nepal is highly diverse. Musical genres from Tibet and India have greatly influenced Nepalese music.
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‘Nepal: Mountain Music’ is an audio-visual experiment, which stemmed from an ad-hoc adventure around Nepal. We wanted to immerse ourselves in a different country and culture, and find a way to appreciate it in a creative way. This video is a snapshot of just a few of our experiences in this diverse and beautiful country.
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Nepal is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is located mainly in the Himalayas. Music of Nepal refers to the various musical genres played and listened to in Nepal. With more than fifty ethnic groups, the music of Nepal is highly diverse. Musical genres from Tibet and India have greatly influenced Nepalese music.
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Tibetan Buddhism is the most widespread religion in Tibet. Musical chanting, most often in Tibetan or Sanskrit, is an integral part of the religion. These chants are complex, often recitations of sacred texts or in celebration of various festivals. Yang chanting, performed without metrical timing, is accompanied by resonant drums and low, sustained syllables. Individual schools such as the Gelug, Nyingma, Sakya and Kagyu, and even individual monasteries, maintain their own chant traditions.
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Ain't No Mountain High Enough
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VERSE 1
If you need me, call me, no matter where you are, No matter how far - don't worry, brother. Just call out my name, I'll be there in a hurry, You don't have to worry, ’cos baby there CHORUS Ain’t no mountain high enough, Ain’t no valley low enough, Ain’t no river wide enough To keep me from getting to you, babe. VERSE 2 Remember the day, you set me free, I told you you could always count on me. From that day on, I made a vow, I'll be there when you want me, Somewhere, somehow. ’Cos baby there CHORUS Ain’t no mountain high enough, Ain’t no valley low enough, Ain’t no river wide enough To keep me from getting to you, babe To keep me… from getting to YOU! | ||
Listen up!
Tactics
Extended activities
Did you know … ?
- Listen to the whole performance track. There are four bars of introduction before the singing begins. This introduction sets the lively tempo and style.
- Follow the words and the rhythms carefully for the ‘verse’ section.
- Listen out for the percussion accompaniment, particularly the tambourine.
- There are two echo tracks to help you learn the parts, one for the melody part and one for the harmony part.
Tactics
- Begin by learning the chorus section, taking care with all the syncopations – (make sure the words ‘high’, ‘low’ and ‘wide’ all come just before the strong beat).
- Clap a steady beat of four and say the words of the first chorus (‘If you need me call me … ’) in rhythm a few times to really get the syncopations, especially in bars 4, 5 and 7. Practise this rhythmic feature by working with and without the audio tracks, to make sure you have really internalised the rhythms.
- Do the same with the rhythms in the second verse (‘Remember the day you set me free … ’), saying them over a steady pulse of four beats.
- The harmony part will add ‘authenticity’ to the chorus - have a go (use the harmony echo track for help). The lower part begins on the same note that the verse finishes on (G) and then just moves in steps.
- Make sure you work on the ending and all stop singing at the same time.
- Try to keep your diction clear and precise.
- Now have a go at learning the signing for this song (watch the tutorial video and copy the actions).
Extended activities
- Add some of your own percussion accompaniments - in the classroom you could use body percussion, or furniture percussion (rulers as beaters on the desks or chairs) - in the music room, you could use tambourines and a drum kit.
- Can you come up with your own actions for the chorus?
Did you know … ?
- This R&B song was first made a hit by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell in 1967, recorded for the Motown label. It was then covered in 1970 by Diana Ross. The original recordings are below - have a listen:
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