1. Week 14 – The Music of India
Film on Raga in Library
n Reginal and Jamila Massey, The Music of
n India (London, 1988)
n Gerry Farrell, Indian Music and the West
(Oxford, 1999)
n Peter Fletcher, World Musics in Context (Oxford,
2001)
n Also Oxford Music online on India
n Listen to start of Rag Lilat
2. Indian Music
1. Vedic Period (2nd Millenium BC- 2 cent AD –
chanting
2. Classical Period (C2-13) – divided the ragas
into male/female and allotted them fixed times
and moods (rasas).
3. Medieval (C13-16) – distinction between North
and South appears
4. Modern (C16 onwards) recognisable as
applying to modern practice. Mogul courts and
princes.
5. British dominion (until 1947)
3. Muslim Influence
n Responsible for the separation of north
and south tradition.
n Maintains its own traditional music -
ustads (masters).
n Pakistan has comparable classical music
traditions.
n Connected with Sufi traditions and sufi
poetry. E.g. Nustrat fateh ali khan
6. Indian Origins
n Veena
n The oldest type of stringed instrument.
n Both fretted and unfretted forms.
n Can also be played with a slide.
n Origins in temple and court music.
n Instrument of courtesans.
n Temple prostitutes.
8. Raga and Tala System
n Basis of classical Indian music is a melodic
vocal or instrumental line governed by a
complex system of modes (ragas) and time
cycles (talas).
n Guru system governs all teaching activities.
n Performance always a blend of learnt and
practised patterns and improvised ideas added
to the mix.
10. Music and Hindu Philosophy
n Raga system has parallel with social structure of
caste system.
n Object of Hindu philosophy is the belief that all
forms of creation must eventually merge with
Brahman – the indivisible Supreme Being.
Music as an act of creation cannot be absolute –
all forms are regarded as one with the world
process of continuous creation and dissolution
11. General Characteristics
n The emphasis on plucked strings is like W. Asia,
though the virtuoso drumming is unique.
n Great Tradition to qualify for which the music
must be:
n 1. Governed by a authentic doctrine.
n 2. Learned through an authentic aural tradition.
n The formal term for classical music is `sastriya-
sangrit’ (scientific music), but it is commonly
known as `ragdar’, I.e. based on raga.
12. raga
n The basic mode of reference in modern
Hindustani practice (known commonly as
the shuddha - basic - form) is a set which
is equivalent to the Western Ionian mode
(i.e.. major scale) — this is called Bilawal
thaat in Hindustani music (the Carnatic
analogue would be Sankarabharanam).
13. More
n In Hindustani and Carnatic systems, the
ground (or tonic), Shadja, Sa, and a pure
fifth above, Pancham, Pa, are fixed and
essentially sacrosanct tones, making up
the twelve notes in the Western equal
tempered chromatic scale
14. Hindustani System
n In the Hindustani system, in a given
seven-tone mode, the second, third, sixth,
and seventh notes can be natural
(shuddha, lit. 'pure') or flat (komal, 'soft')
but never sharp, and the fourth note can
be natural or sharp (tivra) but never flat.
n Sa Re Ga Pa Dha, Ni, Sa Re – the basic
unaltered set.
n There are 8 basic ragas in Bilaval Thaat
16. Raga Jog
n Raga Jog omits both the second interval,
Re, and the sixth interval, Dha, making it
pentatonic, or Audav in nature. In
ascending, it uses Shuddha Ga, and in
descending, it uses both Shuddha and
Komal Ga
n Arohana: Sa Ga Ma Pa ni' Sa
Avarohana: Sa ni' Pa Ma Ga Ma Ga' Sa
17. North and South India
n Hindustani (Northern provinces, inc. Pakistan,
Bangladesh)
n Carnatic (Southern peninsula)
n Both use drones and have three separate
constituent roles.
18. Elements
n 1. Main melody (either sung, or played on
a plucked string or reed instrument).
n 2. Accompanying melody (either played on
a bowed string instrument if with a voice,
or a reed instrument). This is optional.
n 3. Independent percussion. Which has a
tuned element.
n Both North and South use raga and tala
19. Fixed Forms in Indian Music
n Drupad (vocal) - Alap, Nom-tom Alap, DRUPAD,
IMPROVISATION
n Gat (instrumental) – Alap, Jor, Jhala, GAT (slow),
IMPROVISATION, GAT (Fast), IMPROVISATION.
n Khayal (specific composition based on romantic poetry)
– KHYAL CHIZ (slow), ALAP, IMPROVISATION, KHYAL
CHIZ (fast), IMPROVISATION
n (capital letters = metered rhythm; lower case = free)
n Listen to slow alap from Drupad
20. Indian Terms
n Alap is the improvisatory prelude with drone that
explores the notes of the raga. (track 20 Raag
Rageshvari)
n Jor (= Nom-tom alap in vocal music) explores
higher tetrachords, and becomes more rhythmic
as it progresses. (track, 23 Sangi and Tabla)
n Jhala – pulsating tonic, constant stroking of
drone strings, climax in anticipation of entry of
drummer.
21. Rhythmic Cycles
n Tala refers to a specific ordering of beats,
repeated cyclically throughout a composition,
n Each tala contains a specific number of matra
(beats), grouped into avarta (sections) of equal
or unequal length.
n Example of Tintal – 16 beats – divided into 4
avarta each of 4 beats, the first of which is
stressed except the 9th beat which is unstressed.
(track 21 - Rag Bilas-Khani Todi Vilambit Gat in
Tintal). 1 2 3 4, 5 6 7 8, (9) 10 11 12, 13 14
15 16
22. Tintal
n Tintal is a 16-beat pattern used in ragas.
[2] It has sixteen beats in four equal
divisions (vibhag), the third of which is the
khali, or open division. To follow the tal the
audience claps on the appropriate beat,
which in tintal is beats 1, 5 and 13 (the first
beat in each full division). A wave of the
hand indicates beat 9, the first beat of the
khali section. It is from these three (Hindi,
"tin") claps that tintal derives its name.
23. Tintal
n It has a characteristic pattern of bols
(theka).The Theka for Tintal
n Dha dhin dhin dha |dha dhin
dhin dha |
n x 2
n na tin tin ta | tita dhin
dhin dha |
n o 3
26. Classical Indian Instruments
n Vina – Ancient long-necked lute, with 4 strings tuned in
4th/5ths, 24 fixed frets, wooded bowl.
n Bin (N) – Stick Zither, like vina, with 2 gourds.
n Sitar (N) – Long-necked lute, with 3-7 strings, moveable
frets and 12-13 sympathetic strings.
n Sarod – 6 gut strings, plucked or bowed, no frets, 12 SS
n Tambura – Long-necked lute, 4 strings used for drone
only.
n Saragi – fiddle with no frets, 3 strings and SS
n Dilruba – fiddle with frets, 3/4/strikngs and SS
34. Bibliography
n Reginal and Jamila Massey, The Music of
n India (London, 1988)
n Gerry Farrell, Indian Music and the West
(Oxford, 1999)
n Peter Fletcher, World Musics in Context
(Oxford, 2001)
n Also Grove7 on India
n George Ruckert, Music in North India,
(Oxford, OUP)
