Blog 9 - Avatar

The Na'vi people are supposed to be primitive when compared to humans, but they sure do posses a music culture that, at least, makes them sound equal. Why? The music used to create the sound scape of pandora was modeled after music we have heard from around the world. The sample music comes from many of the film soundtracks composed by James Horner himself. The films include "Aliens" and "Titanic". Titanic had a lighter sounds, using more instruments that mimicked the sound of a woman's voice in that case Celine Dion. The Na'vi people tended to be represented more by these types of tones as well as vocals. Only time we hear the introduction of a heavier tonality was during time of distress for the people and when humans we present. When it come to creating a theme for the humans it resembles more so to the soundtrack of "Aliens". In the main theme for "Aliens" there is heavy drumming. And unlike the minor cords used with the Na'vi, that create some sense of awe, the minor cords that didn't resolve gave me more of a feeling of suspense or danger awaiting.
Although these are the obvious aspects of the music, there are sounds that don't relate to these two films. In the main theme of the "Avatar" sound track there is "singing". I heard something that extremely resembles melismas (if in fact there are syllables in those vocals). To create the dreamlike (but no actual dream) stage of Jake's entrance into the avatar they based it off of India's mythology, believe it or not! So who is to say some of the music didn't fall in as well.