Thursday 4 January 2018

R D Burman-The music composer always look out for new sound


A lot has been written about R D Burman creating sound from various sources, like a broom and a comb, a glass hit by spoon, blow wind into a bottle or beat the table or the human back. It is not important to create that sound, in my mind the genius is to apply that sound into music and make it part of the melody. 
Song from Sholay 1975
In  Mehbooba Mehbooba  song from Sholay (1975), the song begins with the sound he created by blowing from his mouth into half filled cold drink bottles. Nobody before or after him has had these ideas.
In an interview he said that even a motorcycle wheel could get him thinking of a tune. In the song Kal Kya Hoga from Kasme Vaade (1978), he used the recorded sound of a motorbike and also created it vocally himself.
Song from Warrant 1975


On stage display of the sound created from coke bottle

Botal se ik baat chali hai (Ghar, 1978) with real time bottle effect ,similarly the sound from bottle was used in the Warrant song "Ruk Jana O Jana", watch above video.
Song from Kitab 1977

Masterji ki aa gai chitthi (Kitab, 1977) with students beating the table, and which kid has not done this in his/her school days? Then the Chhoti si kahani se, barishon ke paani se (Ijaazat, 1987) with rainfall sound, these and many more are not contrived sound effects, they are natural fits – uniquely blended within the melody, something that is unprecedented and was not heard of before.


Song from Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973)

 In 'Chura Liya Hai Tumne', from Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973), the spoon-on-glass sound heard in the beginning is an actual recording of a glass being struck by a spoon.


Song from Darling Darling 1977

In the song 'Raat Gai Baat Gai', from the Dev Anand-Zeenat Aman starrer Darling Darling (1977), at one point (the 2:22 mark in the video above), a beat is heard which doesn't sound like a conventional percussion instrument. In the song's picturisation, it is Aman who is creating the beat by tapping various parts of her own body (as well as a few extras). In the studio, that beat was played by Burman, literally, on the back of one of his trusted percussionists, Amrutrao Katkar.



 In 'Dheere Dheere Zara Zara' from Agar Tum Na Hote (1983), the rhythm created by actress Rekha on screen, where she's shown tapping a piece of jewelry around her waist, was actually the sound of a bunch of keys that was used in lieu of the traditional hi-hat.


Song from Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai 1981

In the song above "Hoga Tumse Pyara Kaun" from Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai he created a sound by rubbing two sand papers for creating the sound of a train.


Song from Mahan 1983

He created a different sound by a school bell dipping in a bucket full of water,Watch the above song "Yeh Din To aata Hai Ek Din Jawani Mein" from 1983 film Mahan.See how this sound was created in the video below.


Song from Ajnabee 1974

In the song"Bheegi Bheegi Raaton Mein" from Ajnabee 1974 film,he created the thunder sound by shaking a metal sheet
In Padosan song Mere Samne Wali Khidki Mein the beginning sound was created by rubbing Comb with a grooved pipe.Same sound again  was used in "Chingari Koi Bhadke" from Amar Prem Song.
R D was very fond of new and different types of musical instruments.He introduced Thumba to Bollywood,Pancham and his group had gone for some shows in Africa. There they saw this African Instrument called Tumba. This triggered Pancham and thus he brought TUMBA to India. The legendary TUMBA played in “Aya Hoon Main Tujhko Le Jaunga” from Manoranjan is a classic example of his rhythmic playing.  
In the film Jawani Diwani in asong "Samne Yeh Kaun Aya" he invented an instrument called Pedal Matka to produce a different sound.watch this video below.

Pancham Da was always on a look out for novelty.In the following song"Bandar Salam" from Teen Murti 1982 in the beginning the sound we listen is not from any instrument but produced from the mouth 




. 
He would make music out of everything — from a bunch of keys to physically playing a beat on the back of a shirtless and bewildered session percussionist




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