1. 目覚め (See The Light)
Bass
line greets us with A, D, D, Lower
D. The bass provides a sparse feathered
anchor of tonality, never deviating but peeking its head every now and again
through the composition. It’s such a
COZY timbre, as if being blanketed with cotton soft ethereal clouds, warm as
sun.
Synth
pad undulates below us, subtle layer of fog as we fly above. Synth pad steadily air currents on a drone of
A, D, A. This is an approximation, but
there are certainly no chordal texture notes here, just some combination of the
Root and the perfect 5th.
So far
both the bass and the synth pad are giving us a similar flavor; airy whipped
mist with a delicately light palate.
Synth
lead comes into being as if from out of nowhere, parks it on an F#, the major 3rd
of the implied harmony from the bass and pad!, and proceeds touch on A, C#, to
D, outlining the full D major 7 arpeggio.
There it is, tonal harmony of the tune fully established in one blessed
whisper.
After
the bass line, synth lead follows suit, C# down to A, then G to A, playing with
a modal flavor (the relative A mixolydian, AKA a subtle outline of an A7
chord), then resolves down to F#.
Next line:
F#, G, A, C#, D, G, A, F#.
The lead
continues like this for the duration of the song. Miyashita is playing with an Indian Raga
feeling, sticking to a reduced D major scale.
He’s specifically using the notes, D, F#, G, A, C#. Harold Budd also plays like this. The limited note choice helps zone in on a
specific feeling or color. The use of
the G note in this scale is what gives is that Indian flare. Tension is created by holding on the C# or
the G notes, D is the ultimate resolve, F# and A partial resolves.
Fun to
try at home! If you play guitar, tune to
drop D (DADGBE) and play with this scale while occasionally hitting the Low D
note. Let it breathe, take your time and
FEEL each note. Don’t be afraid to go
slowly, let the music unfold naturally.
It is totally normal to lose track of time and fall into a wormhole.
2.
朝の祈り (Morning Prayer)
Bass
: F, C, F, D, High A.
Synth
Pad: Combination of F and C.
Chimes
: F, G, A, Low D. Then F, G, A, C.
We see a lot of similarities
here. Tonal center is some kind of F
major, as depicted by the bass and synth pad.
This time the bass plays more of a harmonic role, in that it outlines a
fuller scale.
A
slight deviation with the synth lead!
Starts out playing a riff like F, Bb, A, G, A. Pretty much outlining F major tonality, We see a lot of Bb in here, the suspended 4th. It’s weird that the melody doesn’t often play
the D note, but the bass does every time.
Also worth noting, the scale is note as confined as the first song. The lead plays the full spectrum F Major
scale; F, G, A, Bb, C, D , E, F, though it doesn’t emphasize the E or D notes
as much. So it’s not totally exclusive
in its note selection like the previous song.
That riff, F, Bb, A, G, A, seems to be the main theme that’s built on. Interesting how plaintiff the theme is and
the song is titled “Morning Prayer”, a beckoning to the Gods.
Big ideas for Miyashita’s “White
Morning”:
-Soft
tones
-Slow
breathing pace
-Limited
note selection within key
-Static
harmony, interest is within melodic meanderings
