SCAT

Can anyone tell me more about scat? Is it like the "nom-tom', or
tarana in Indian music? Since it is used in Jazz, can we expect that
it employs non-tempered scales? And, lastly, how much improvisation
in scat resembles that in Indian music?

Thanks.
Haresh.

--- In tuning@y..., "Haresh BAKSHI" <hareshbakshi@h...> wrote:

/tuning/topicId_21011.html#21011

> Can anyone tell me more about scat? Is it like the "nom-tom',
> or tarana in Indian music? Since it is used in Jazz, can we
> expect that it employs non-tempered scales? And, lastly, how
> much improvisation in scat resembles that in Indian music?

Hi Haresh.

Scat singing is pretty generally believed to have been invented
or first used by Louis Armstrong, starting in the late 1910s
and first recorded in the 1920s. I haven't studied it, so
can't give more historical info than that.

Certainly, scat singers make use of any tuning they wish, not
so much because it's jazz, but primarily because it's *vocal*.

The voice has the flexibility to sustain any pitch it's capable
of producing, and since scat singing is generally meant to be
an imitation of jazz instrumental playing, it makes liberal
use of all the bending, smearing, twisting, etc., of pitch
that jazz instrumentalists use, and perhaps uses these techniques
even *more* intensively, *because* of the freedom of the voice.

Sorry I don't know enough specifics about Indian music to offer
comparisons. Hope what I gave you helps.

-monz

--- In tuning@y..., "monz" <MONZ@J...> wrote:
>
............
> The voice has the flexibility to sustain any pitch it's capable
> of producing, and since scat singing is generally meant to be
> an imitation of jazz instrumental playing, it makes liberal
> use of all the bending, smearing, twisting, etc., of pitch
> that jazz instrumentalists use, and perhaps uses these techniques
> even *more* intensively, *because* of the freedom of the voice.
>

Hi Monz, thanks for your post. "nomtom" is the beginning part of
Drupad singing. It is performed without rhythm. It sounds like
imitation of string sounds of vina or sitar. The syllables used do
not have any meaning. When improvising in a khayal, only aaaaa is
used; in nomtom, a, aaaaa, eeeee, ooo, o, mm, Om (with a suitable
consonant like soft t, na etc.) are used. This lends beautiful
additional texture to improvisation. And there is an extensive
application of several embellishments like gamaka, meend etc. With
Dhrupad out of vogue, even nomtom has disappeared, unfortunately.

Regards,
Haresh.