Music of India

1
Music of India
2
Introduction to Indian Music

• Tradition dates back over 3000 years, making it
  one of the oldest in the world
• Developed two distinct traditions
• Karnatak in the south
• Hindustani in the north (which includes Pakistan)
• Hindustani music has Persian and Islamic
  influences
• Musicians used to have aristocratic patrons until
  1947 when India became an independent democracy

3
Performers

• Consider music to be spiritual
• Texts often have religious meanings
• Indian musicians treat their gurus as
  representatives of the divine
• Special ceremony occurs when guru accepts a pupil
• Passed down orally and by imitate
• Simple notation exists- Only to give skeleton,
  performer must ornament and elaborate on his or
  her own

4
Improvisation

• Governed by the melodic and rhythmic systems
  which limit the choice of tones, ornaments, and
  rhythms
• Musicians study for years to master basic rules
• Generally performed by a drummer and a soloist-
  lasting from a few minutes to several hours
• Instrumentalists and vocalists improvise

5
Elements of Indian Music

• Based on vocal music- pitch range is limited to
  less than four octaves
• Melody is highly embellished
• Often microtonal
• Slides between pitches provide graceful
  transitions between notes
• Melodies accompanied by a drone and a drummer
  that keeps the rhythmic structure

6
Raga

• Raga is a pattern of notes that creates the
  melodic framework
• Defined by the number of notes and the interval
  pattern
• Each has an ascending and descending form,
  characteristic phrases and tonal emphases
• Ragas associated with moods, gods, seasons,
  festivals, times of day, etc..
• Musicians may limited themselves to a few dozen
  raga
• 300 discovered in Hindustani music

7
Tala

• Tala- a repeated cycle of beats
• Range in length from 3 to 100 beats
• Common is six to sixteen
• Cycle subdivided into groups- with accents on the
  first beat of each group
• Ex. Jhaptal- 2-3-2-3
• Ex. Shutal- 4-2-4
• Beats can be sub-divided as in western music
• First note of the raga is usually on the first
  beat
• Drummers spend years mastering the tala and their
  variations

8
Instruments

• Associated with gods or goddesses
• Flute associated with Krishna
• Vinu is associated with Saravati, goddess of
  wisdom
• Instruments have become as popular as the voice
  in northern India
• Large variety of instruments

9
Sitar

• Most popular chordophone in India
• 19 to 23 moveable frets
• Seven strings- Five for melody, two for drones
• 13 sympathetic strings that lie under the frets
• Used by Ravi Shankar

10
Vina

• Plucked string instrument
• Popular in southern India
• Four strings for melodic playing
• Three strings at the side of the fingerboard for
  drones and rhythmic effects

11
Sarod

• Northern India plucked string- used with a
  plectrum (pick) of ivory or coconut shell
• Six main strings- four for melodies, two for
  drones
• 11 to 16 sympathetic strings

12
Mridangam

• Two headed drum
• Played with open palm of fingers
• One drumhead tuned to the tonic, other functions
  as a bass

13
Tabla

• Northern Indian equivalent to mridangam
• Right hand tuned to tonic, left is a bass drum

14
Tambura

• Plucked string instrument with four strings that
  plucked in succession
• Main drone instrument
• No frets- only open strings are played

15
Listening Maru-Bihag by Ravi Shankar

• Sitar accompanied by tabla and tambura
• Raga is demonstrated in the introduction
• Tala is ten beats in a 2-3-2-3 pattern
• Begins with an introductory section with the
  sitar and tambura only
• Sitar plays in free rhthym
• Entrance of the tabla marks second section
• Shankar presents the gat- short repeated,
  composed phrase