Indian Classical Music

Indian Classical Music

 

A small bit about

Indian classical music is spread throughout India which consists of two different traditions. Great Tradition (Hindustani) from the north of India and Little Tradition (karnatic) from the south. Great Tradition is spread throughout India which is recognized as the musical language for the Indian people like the western music system to European musicians. Where as Little Tradition is limited to certain regions and considered a folk and religion based traditional music. A lot of the instruments and stylistic elements used on the instruments In Indian classical music are extremely difficult to learn and play such as the Sitar, in some ways similar to the guitar but notoriously takes a great deal of commitment, time and study to master the arts of playing. It is better for Indian Classical musicians to start learning the music from a very young age for this reason. Singers in Indian Classical Music differ to western singers such as pop singer Maria Carey, with the largest vocal range in pop music, because Indian musicians only usually sing on 3 octaves/saptaks, where as with a lot of western musicians, it is not uncommon for them to range between 8 ocvates. Diva Devotee (2013).

Traditionally, the musicians perform in a very relaxed and focused manner. Western audiences compensate and stay quiet whilst absorbing the music, making acts of appreciation in between compositions such as applauding. In western pop music, musicians tend to move around a large stage, making an energetic performance for the crowd where as traditional Indian musicians sit on cushions with legs crossed which makes for a much more
relaxed performance. So I guess there's no wonder the crowds not "going wild". The video below is Raga composition (a certain style of Indian Classical music) which shows a good example of how the musicians perform. It also features young female Indian Classical musician Anoushka Shankar, daughter of Ravi Shankar, whom was described by George Harrison, The Beatles Guitarist, by Andy Kershaw (2000, p. 109) to be "The godfather of World Music".

Anoushka Shankar - Concert for George (ganchans, 2006)

Instruments Used

Indian classical music uses a variety of instruments. Some of which may be found in other types of world music such as the violin, also known as the fiddle. The main instruments used in Indian classical music are:

   
• The violin (played in the carnatic style)
• The Tabla
• The Sitar
• The Tambura (The very important Drone instrument which always plays the Tonic note)
• The Flute

(Anoushka Shankar Sitar) (Tabla - Indian Classical Music Instrument)

Indian Classical Theory

Indian classical music is not written in western music theory form. Very little is written down unlike in western music. Indian Classical musicians traditionally learn to play their instruments orally along with the concepts and elements of Indian classical theory handed down by veteran musicians of their culture which is unlike western theory and western instrument tuition where commonly, you can access endless written tuition and compositional scores from thousands of resources. This does not mean to say that Indian Classical Music is NOT scored, just very little is by tradition. Some Western musicians have taken it upon them to score the music themselves which is not simple when comparing the differences between structural, melodic and harmonic elements of both Western music and Indian classical music.

Indian classical theory has its own scales with their own names and concepts. The scale used has 7 notes which is similar to the major scale using what could be seen as the Indian version of the Doe Rae Me western system that may have been learnt at junior school which goes;

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Then back to Sa which would be the next octave in Western music. The full names of the notes are Shadja, Rishabh, Gandhar, Madhyam, Pancham, Dhaivat and Nishad. Each note is called a "Swar" or "Swara".

 Indian Classical Music usually uses only 3 octaves which are called Saptaks. They all have names in order of pitch which are Mandra Saptak (lowest pitch), Maddhya Saptak (mid pitch/speaking octave) and Taar Saptak (the highest octave). However, other octaves are used in Indian Classical Music which are indicated with the word Ati before the octave name which indicates "higher than" or "lower than". for example, Ati Mandra Saptak means the octave lower than Mandra Saptak and Ati Taar Saptak means the octave higher than Taar Saptak. The image below shows the Indian System and the equivalent notes in Western music on a keyboard diagram.


                                                (a rajenjani.wordpress.com Image)

When five or more of these "swara/swar"s are put together, they can form a mode called a Raga. Though a Raga is the name for an Indian Classical mode, the word can also be used to address a certain composition, a "Raga". Used in context, it would be, "They are playing a Raga", or "Well shall compose a Raga". As mentioned, a Raga is a certain type of composition just like a pop song is a type of composition in western music. A pop songs usually have a standard AABA or ABAB form structure in western music. To a certain degree, it is possible to use western musical language to analyse and dissect Indian classical music. A Raga (the type composition) follows an AB form. In Indian classical music language, the first section (Section A in Western form) is called the Apal section. This section consists of usually just 2 musicians, one playing the Tambura and one playing the Sitar. The Alap section of a Raga starts with the Tambura player whom is a key part of the ensemble as he/she plays what is known as the "drone note" throughout the whole composition which is the tonic note of the raga mode they are using. Also known as the root note in Western language or the note Sa or the full name Shadja in Indian classical music language. Alap section starts at a very slow tempo. Shortly after the Tambura player begins, the Sitar player begins to improvise a melody using the rage mode. Commonly, the Sitar player will commonly start with just 2 notes of the raga mode and build up to using the whole octave/saptak. Due to the very slow tempo of the Alap/A section and the slow build up determined by the Sitar player, the movement from using 2 notes and the whole octave can take a considerable amount of time unlike the usual 4 or 8 bar A section in pop music, Alap can take much longer.

Similar to western music beats and bars rhythmic structure formula. Ragas use what are called beat cycles. Beat cycles are counted in quarter notes in cycles from anything small like 8 beats to something very large, over 100 beats, depending on the composition. This just demonstrates the skill through great practice Indian classical musicians achieve in their lives as musicians. Different to Western musicians whom are never usually expected to count beat sections any larger than 16 beats. A 6 to 8 beat percussion rhythmic pattern starts to emerge which is a que for the Jhala section (B section in Western music). This rhythmic pattern is called the Tal or Tala. This starts very lightly towards the end of the Alap/B section and gradually, the dynamics/volume rise until the Tal pattern dominated the improvised melody of the Sitar player. This section is usually introduced by a Tabla player. Tabla players communicate musically, the beginning of the Tal which leads to the Jhala/B section, tells the other musicians in the ensemble to leave the Alap/A section. In the Jhala section, the tempo is raised considerably and the composition becomes lively introducing other musicians and instruments such as a flute player and violinist. The flute player and violinist, like the Sitar player, get there turn to improvise a melody over the drone as section B continues on to the end. A typical ensemble for a Raga in Indian classical music consists of a Tambura, a Sitar, a Percussionist (usually playing the Tabla), a violinist and a flute player. This shows the composition of a typical Raga ensemble and how they all work together in chronological order and how they create and perform a composition together. The beginning of a Raga is based and driven entirely by improvised melody which needs no strict rhythmic pattern or template. The Alap depends entirely on the melodic members of the ensemble to drive the music forward, building tension and musical complexity by adding musical notes/swaras to the melody, In the Jhala section where all the musicians slowly start to work together, the piece needs a rhythmic pattern which the musicians can follow to keep them together which is why the Jhala section introduces the rhythmic Tal.



The origins
The two traditions, Big and Little, represent the origins of Indian Classical music. Little Tradition (Karnatic) came first which is the traditional music of Hindus in India before the 13th century when India was invaded by Muslim conquerors says Andy Kershaw (2000, p. 71). Northern India became predominantly Muslim ruled which had taken it's influences on the society in the region followed by the music which is where Big Tradition comes in. Big Tradition is the widely spread form Indian Classical music heard all over the world and in films which has been forged by both Hindu and Muslim influences where as Karnatic remains unharmed from influences made by other religions and culture.

The influences it's made on the west
From Indian Classical music, a Highly influenced western genre called Raga Rock sprung from the Indian style of playing music. Raga Rock was recognised as one of the first genres to produce music in the west that was not predominantly influenced by western music. However, Love To You by The Beatles is a great example of this breakthrough genre. \In the 1950's The Beatles began to write songs influenced by India, using stylistic elements that you would find in Indian Classical compositions. The Telegraph (Dean Nelson 2010) Tells of how they met Ravi Shankar in person at an LSD party which both influenced Ravi Shankar and the western artists, The Beatles in musical and cultural ways. Ravi Shankar experiences British hippie cultur,. No doubt sharing musical ideas too which is where the main influences from Indian music had came from in the 50's when Indian Classical music had taken off in the west. The clash between Ravi Shankar and The Beatles is the forefront in the era that brought Indian Classical Musical elements in to the Western form as we hear today. Their guitarist, George Harrison, was so caught up in the magic that Indian Classical music had to offer. He had taken a massive interest in the context and creation of the music that he even played
sitar on one of his songs on the album "Rubber Soul". The song was called "Norwegian Wood". George Harrison learnt to play Sitar by Ravi Shankar. As stated by Michael B. Bakan (2012) George Harrison became a student of Ravi Shankar in an effort to learn the ways of Indian Classical music.

Reference List

Andy Kershaw (2000). World Music The Rough Guide. 2nd ed. Short Gardens, London: Rough Guides Ltd. p. 71, 109.

Asia-Pacific (2013) Tabla - Indian Classical Music Instrument, Available at: http://globalaccessibilitynews.com/2012/03/15/indian-classical-music-instrument-tabla-compositions-now-in-braille/ (Accessed/Downloaded: 12/12/2013)

Dean Nelson (2010) 'Beatles introduced to Ravi Shankar's music at LSD party, Bryd's singer reveals', The Telegraph UK 19th April

Diva Devotee. (2013). Maria Carey -Vocal Profile/Range. Available: http://www.divadevotee.com/2009/03/blog-post.html. Last accessed 19/12/2013.

Ganchans (2006) Anoushka Shankar - Concert for George (2003). Available at:https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3HqQoLq5c2c (accessed: 19/12/2013)

 IavMusic (2008) The beatles - Love You To. Available at: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MF90rX43VpE (Accessed: 11th October 2013).

Michael B. Bakan (2012). World Music Traditions and Transformations. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill. 115.

Only HD Wallpapers (2013) Anoushka Shankar Sitar, Available at: http://onlyhdwallpapers.com/tag/sitar/ (Accessed/Downloaded: 12/11/2013)

Rajen Jani (2010) Three Saptaks, Available at: http://rajenjani.wordpress.com/tag/mandra-saptak/ (Accessed/Downloaded: 12/11/2013)