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