the early history in India and its traditional musical instruments

1. Early History in India

3. • World’s Largest Democracy
• India’s name came from the Indus River- site of
the world’s oldest civilization.
• A huge triangular peninsula of south Asia
• The capital is New Delhi
• The most famous river is the Ganges
• Variety of races:
 Aryan( Caucasian ) Origin
 Mongoloid or Negroid

4. • The dominant religion is Hinduism ( 85%) the
rest is Muslim
• There are 14 language and 831 dialects
• Hindi is the official language, but English is
widely spoken
• The early dark-skinned people called
DRAVIDIANS lower castes member.

5. • The FAIR-skinned Aryans invaded the
Indus Valley
• They spoke Sanskrit and founded and
small kingdoms
• They gave India the Vedic literature,
Sanskrit epics, Hinduisms and the caste
system.
• Vedic Literature- Vedas are composed of
hymns, prayers, rituals, magic and poetry.

6. • It has 300 million gods and goddesses
representing natural forces and personified
gods to suit human needs.

7. History of Music

8. • India is the largest country in the south asia.
• Its music is as vast as its geographic location and
as large as its demographic population.
• The music of India reflects different aspects of
Asian culture through its Timbre, Rhythm,
melody, texture, form and style.
• Indian music remains fundamental to the lives of
the people of India as a source of spiritual
inspiration, cultural expression, and
entertainment.

9. • India is the inheritor of one of the oldest and
most evolved musical systems in the world.
• Its music is considered as the oldest unbroken
musical tradition with the most intricate musical
system that contains highly developed
polyrhythm. Delicate nuances, ornamentation,
and microtones
• The center of Indian music lies in the imaginative
melodies and improvised rhythmic patterns
created by the Indian composers

10. • In India, music is called “Sangeet”, which means
the art of playing musical instruments, singing
and dancing.
• According to ancient Hindu scriptures, music was
a gift from heaven, that is, a gift from the gods
SHIVA (the destroyer), BRAHMA (the creator)
and VISHNU ( the preserver).
• The people of INDIA also have the Idea that
sound is GOD and that everything is a
manifestation of GOD.

11. Tala, Raga, Shruti and Drone:
Elements of Indian Music
• A tala is a regular, repeating rhythmic phrase,
particularly as rendered on a percussive
instrument with an ebb and flow of various
intonations represented as a theka, a
sequence of drum-syllables or bol.

12. • A raga or raag (literally "colour, hue" but also
"beauty, melody"; also spelled raaga, ragam;
pronounced rāga, or rāgam or "raag") is one of
the melodic modes used
inIndian classical music. A raga uses a series of
five to nine musical notes upon which a
melody is constructed.

13. • Shruti in Indian Music is the musical pitch.
Basically it is a note from which all others are
derived. This word is derived from the root
"Shru" means to hear, and its core meaning is
any sound that cab be distinctly heard by the
ear.

14. • It is used in Indian music and is played with
the tanpura (or tambura) and other Indian
drone instruments like the ottu, the ektar, the
dotara (or dotar; dutar in Persian Central
Asia), the surpeti, the surmandal (or
swarmandal) and the shank (conch shell).

15. • Indian music is based on three unique concepts
or elements that are distinctly indian. The Raga,
the Rasa and the Tala are basic tools used to help
indian musicians improvise music. Other
elements such as the shruti , and the drone also
contribute to the beauty and uniqueness of the
music of India.
• Practice the talas below
• You can do this by clapping or tapping the beat
on the table or an inprovised drum.

16. • Legend
X – Tap the drum
O – Wave the hands silence
- Clap hands for unmarked beats.
Dadra 1 2 3 4 5 6
X O
Tintal 1234 5678 9101112 13141516
X X O X

17. Ektal 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
X O X O X
Jhaptal 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
X X O X

18. Traditional Vocal Music of India
• Vocal music is a genre of music performed by one
or more singers with or without accompaniment.
• It is the oldest form of music in the world
because it does not require any other instrument
except the human voice.
• Vocal music is considered the most ancient of all
musical traditions.
• Samaveda, the old musical text which has crude
musical notation, is also considered important
and well-regarded in India.

19. • Vocal music in India is a medium of communication
between the worshipper and the deity. The performer
or the singer feels the presence of Brahma, the Creator,
when the Rasa or dynamics is clearly expressed. A song
is an expression of the people’s love and devotion to
God.
• For the Indians, vocalization is not just a vocal exercise
or warm up but an act of worship. They do this with
physical exercise and yoga. This leads the singer to be
confused and ready to perform the song accurately and
precisely.

20. • In northern India, the classical songs are mostly
religious and devotional. Some of these are the
Hindus’ Dhun or Kirtan, Bhajan, the Shabad for
Sikho, and the Muslims’ Kawali (qawali).
• Indian music is generally conservative and intent.
Gangal is a musical style that has a romantic and
poetic content. The style for musical education is
Lakshan Geet and the style used for pedagogy is
Swarmalika. Instead of words, sargam is used in
this style.

21. Traditional Instrument
in India

22. Tabla
• An indian musician
using his right hand to
play melody and his left
hand to play the bass of
the tabla.

24. • Non membranos
percussion (ghan)
– These percussion
instruments have solid
resonators. They are
either melodic or
rhythmic in nature.
– The ghatam (a clay pot)
Is percussion instrument
made out of clay.

26. • Another popular non-
membranous
percussion intsrument
in India is the
chimpta. It is a fire
tong with small brass
jingles. This
Instrument is played
by clicking the tongs
with the hands

28. • The classical drum of
Southern India is called
mridangam which
literally means clay-body.
It is a barrel shaped
double-headed drum
which is used in playing
the tala.
• The mridangam is
placed between the thighs
of the percussionist.

30. Wind blown Instruments
• These instruments are played by blowing air to
excite the resonators. The most commonly
used wind instrument in Southern and
Northern India is the flute. It is one of the
oldest wind instruments in India that could be
made out of different materials like bamboo,
ivory, ebony, sandalwood, or metal.
• .

31. The 2 types of flute in India are the
venu and the bansuri
• VENU- Which is found in the southern part of
India, has eight holes
• Bansuri- from the northern part of India, has
six holes.

33. Plucked Stringed Instruments (Tat)
• VEENA - These instruments are played by plucking its
strings. The most distinctive plucked instrument in
Southern India is the veena. This instrument is carved from
a single block of jackwood which continues as a long fretted
neck from which another resonator is attached. Several
strings function differently in this instrument: three strings
are used to play the drone while the remaining four strings
are used to play the melody.
• SITAR - In Northern India, the most popular stringed
instrument is the sitar. It is made of teakwood and
seasoned gourds. It has a long neck with twenty metal frets
and six to seven main strings, and it is used for solo parts in
a composition.

34. Veena Sitar

36. Sarod
• Another stringed musical
instrument that is smaller
than the sitar is called the
sarod. It has a metal
finger board with no frets.
The strings are plucked or
played with a pick made of
coconut shell. This
instrument is mainly used
in classical indian music
and is known for its deep
and introspective sound
which is contrasts with the
sound of sitar.

38. Tambura
• one of the india’s most
important plucked strings
instrument is the tambura.
It is a drone instrument made
of jackwood. It has a long
unfretted neck with four to six
tuning pegs inserted into the
upper end of the resonator.
The tambura is played by
holding it upright and placing
it on the lap of the
instrumentalist. The strings are
plucked by the forefinger and
middle finger.

40. Bowed Stringed Instruments (Vitat)
• SARINGDA
• The most popular stringed instrument that is used to
accompany vocal music in India is the sarangi. This
instrument has no frets. It is shaped like a squashed
guitar and is made from a block of hollowed-out wood
that is covered with parchment. It is played with a bow.
Its sympathetic vibrator creates a harmonious sound.
• A bowed fiddle similar to the sarangi is the
saringda. It has either a round or pointed head that is
usually one to two feet in length. It is played with a
bow made from the hair of the horse.

41. SARANGI SARINGDA

42. Sarangi

43. Saringda

44. • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tala_(music)
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raga
• http://www.indianetzone.com/55/shruti_indi
an_music.htm
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drone_(music)