MUSICANDCULTUREOFINDIA

ARYANSCAMEANDSETTLEDININDIAFROMTHE NORTHWESTTHRUTHEHINDUKUSHRANGEBORDERING INDIAANDAFGHANISTAN. THEYSETTLEDFIRSTINTHEINDUSVALLEYFIRST. ThesettlersfromcentralAsiadescribetheirworldviewinpoemswhich constitutedthefourVEDAS.ThewordVedameansknowledge. TheoldestoftheVedas,SOMAVEDA, wascomposedinaformwhichwasrecited inmelodicchantsbaseduponTHREE tonalaccents.Theyarestillrecitedinreligious ceremoniewbypriestsinHindu temples.

THESANSKRITWORDFORMUSICISSANGEETAWHICH REPRESENTS Geetasong Vadyainstruments Nrtyadance Musicisdividedintotwocategories: GandharvaorCelestial Desiorfolkform EarliestTreatiseonperformingarts:NATYASHASTRAofBharatamuni 2000yearsago! Importanceofmusicanddanceisveryvisibleinthesculpturesadorning thetemplesandinpaintings.

HINDUISMTHEOLDESTOFINDIANRELIGIONS GODORBRAHMANHASTHREEMAINASPECTS
MALEFEMALE

Creation Processofliving Destructionordeath

Brahma Vishnu Siva

Sarswati Laxmi Parvati

MusicalInstrumentsareassociatedwithgodsandgoddesses FluteinthehandsofKrishnaincarnationofVishnudivinelove VeenainthehandsofgoddessoflearningSarswati Damaru(atypeofdrum)inthehandsofSiva,representingthe danceoflifeanddeath. Religiousmusicconsistsofrecitationsandsongsofdevotionor BHAKTI.Theyaresunginverycatchyrhythms.

INDIANMUSICOFTODAYIS,HOWEVER,QUITE DISTINCTIVEHAVINGDEVELOPEDRICHSTYLIZED STRUCTURECONTAININGMANYMUSICALFORMS. BasicformsofIndianmusicwasdocumentedintreatisesgoing backsome1000years.Somenotabletexts: SangeetRatnakarofSarangaDevaand NatyashastraofBharata. Currentmusicperformancesreflectmoremoderndevelopment. Developmentoverthelast700years! NORTHINDIAN INDIANMUSICTRADITIONS SOUTHINDIAN

Northern

Southern

INDIANMUSICALSCALE:OCTAVEISDIVIDEDINTO22NOTES INDIANMUSICISNEITHERPOLYPHONICORHARMONIC ITISBESTDESCRIBEDASMODALMUSICWHICH ISLINEARRATHERTHANPARALLELINSTRUCTURE THESCALEISTIEDTOABASICPITCHCALLEDTHETONIC THEMAINNOTESOFTHEOCTAVEARE12,HOWEVER THEREARE10OTHERNOTESCALLEDSRUTISFORA TOTALOF22INTERVALS.

Scaleinstaffnotation

Frequencyratios

THEMAINNOTESOFTHESCALEHAVENAMESSUCH ASSA,RE...EACHNOTEISASSIGNEDASPECIAL QUALITY.THISISSHOWNBELOW: 1.Saorthetonic(ofchosenfrequencyf)CryofthePeacock 2.Re(9/8f)themooingofacow 3.Ga(6/5f)thebleatingofagoat 4.Ma(4/3f)theheron'scry 5.Pa(3/2f)thecuckoo'ssong 6.Dha(405/240f)thehorse'sneigh 7.Ni(432/240f)theelephant'strumpet Inadditionthereareotherhalfnoteswhichcanbeused,though sparinglyandeachhavetheirowndesignations.

Paintingrepresenting RaginiSorathi

RagaMalkauns
ThemusicofthisRagaiscompared totheseetnessofadishcookedwith sugar!Theusualpictorialformula showsacoupleeatingsweetenedrice fromthesameplate.Notethedepiction ofaroyalroomwithitscurtains, hangingcarpetsandvariouschinapieces. Alsotheclothesfromtheera. ThisisBasohlimniaturefromaround 1580.

UstadVilayatKhan

Bridge

Sitar

THEBASICSTRUCTURESINWHICHCOMPOSITIONSAREMADE ARECALLEDRAGAS: THEWORDRAGAMEANSTHATWHICHCHARMSOR THATWHICHCOLORS ITISDISTINCTFROMTHEWESTERNFRAMEWORKOFAKEY, OFSAYCMAJOR. ThescaleofaRAGAconsistsoftwosetsofnotes: onetobeusedwhileascendinginthescaleand theothertobeusedwhiledescending. Alsotheorderandemphasisofhowthenotesare tobeusedisalsoprescribed. Anycompositionmustrespecttheserulesandevoke themoodoftheRAGA.

AcompositionmustfollowtherulesofdevelopmentofaRaga, creatingthemood,emphasizingtheimportantnotesinthescale. EssentialdifferencebetweenwesternandIndianmusicisin thewaynotesaredevelopedbytheperfomer.Itispermitted tomovefromonenotetoanotherinasmoothfashion(legato) calledMeedinsitarplaying.Intonatingnoteswhicharenever usedinwesternmusicduringthetransition(useofShrutis) andvibratingaroundanotelikeavibrato(calledGamaks)makes Indianmusicdistinctfromwesternmusic. Thereareassignedtimesofdayandseasonsoftheyearfor eachRagaandtheymustevokespecialfeelingsandmoods.

THERAGABHAIRAVI

ThegreatpoetssingofBhairavi,theconsortofLordBhairava(Siva), worshippingherLordseatedonacarvedcrystalonthepeakof MountKailasawithsoftleavesoflotusflowers.Sheholdsthe cymbalsinherhandsandeyessparklewithyellowishglint. Bhairaviistobeperformedinthelatemorninginapeaceful, seriousandoccaisionallyalsoinasadmood.

MUSICALPERFORMANCE Cantakeplaceinmanysettings: Atreligiousfestivals Atweddings Informalgatherings Concertssalontypeorlargeopenairconferences IndianClassicalmusicishighlystylized: TherearerulesfordevelopmentoftheRaga,thechoiceofcomposition, thechoiceofrhythmandthestyleofperfomances. Compositionsaregenerallyarrangedbytheartist,althoughtheymaybebased onwellknowncompositions.Theleadmusician,whetherhebeavocalistor aninstrumentalistcreatesthemusic.Hedevelopsit,embellishesitandbrings outthebeautyoftheRagaaswellasthestyleofcomposition.Itmaybesaid thatIndianMusicisofandbytheartistratherthanofandbythecomposer.

THEENSEMBLE: Tanpura
Tonicordrone

LeadArtist
VocalistorInstrumentalist

Harmonium
Accompaniment

Sarangi or violin

TablaorMridangum orPakhavaj
Rhythmpercussion

ImprovisationessentialsomeresemblencetoJazz

Tanpura

Mrindagam

Rudraveena

STYLESOFINDIANMUSIC VOCAL: Khayal:AfullrichdevelopmentofaRagainslow rhythm,culminatinginrapidmovementsorphrases depictingthefullcharmoftheRaga.Generally sungin12(ektaal)or16(teentala)beats. Thumri:Alightercomposition,withwellarticulated poeticcompositionsettoaRaga.Itsprimary qualitiesaregraceandflexibility.Itisperformedin sixoreightbeatrhythm.Wordsofthelyricare importantandformanessentialfeatureof thepresentation Bhajan:SongsofdevotionorBhakti.

INSTRUMENTALSTYLES Instrumentalperformanceisgenerallydividedintothreeparts.

Thefirstpart,calledAlaap,isafreedevelopment oftheRagawithoutdrumaccompaniment. Itisfollowedbyaslow(Bilampit)compositionandvariations Culminatedbyafast(Drut)composition.

Typicalrhythmiccyclesare7(rupak),8(kehrawa),10(Jhaptal)or 16(Teentaal).

Concertisgenerallyendedbyplayingacomposition baseduponafolkmelodyusuallyinsixoreightbeats.

HOWISINDIANMUSICLEARNEDANDPRESERVED? IndianmusicislearnedfromanUstadorGuru(Teacher)whoisan accomplishedmusicianwithamusicallineage.Itislearnedthrough personalinstructionofthetechniquesandmusicalstylesofthe Ustad'sHOUSEorGHARANAovermanyyears.

ReallearningtakesplaceatthefeetoftheGuru.Although,written musicdoesexist,thewrittennotationdoesnothavethedetailsneeded fortranscribingallthedelicatedecorationsandinnuendosthatare suchanintrinsicpartofIndianmusic.Youlearnthestyleofthe GharanaoftheGuru.YouhavetobecomeaShagritataspecial ceremonywhereyouareacceptedasafamilymemberoftheGharana. MyownstyleofplayingiscalledtheIndoreBeenkarstyle.

MyUstad:MohammedKhanBeenkarofIndore

MAJORINSTRUMENTS TheDroneInsturments:TanpuraandSurmandal Pluckedinstruments: SitarandSarod VeenaRudraandSaraswati MandolinandGuitar Violin Sarangi Dilruba BlownInstruments: Flute Shehnai Nadswaram PercussionInstruments Tabla Pakhavaj Mridangam GotuVaduam Manjeera BowedInstruments:

SarswatiVeena

Sarangi

Tabla:BayaandMadeen

Mridangamor Pakhavaj

UstadAliAkbarKhan
Sarodnofretsbutwithsympatheticstrings