MUSIC OF INDIA

Traces its origin to the Vedic Hymns, sacred Aryan texts.

Rig Veda is the earliest surviving example of Vedic

Hymn.India, one of the countries

in South Asia, was colonized by the British but were able to retain their culture. For

them,MUSIC is a SACRED FORM of

ART.

The study of Indian music begins with the religious chants called Veda, composed by a

tribe of nomadic shepherds. These Hymns are sung

without accompaniment.

There are two kinds of Indian Music:

a. Hindustanib. KarnatakThe art of Indian music has

been called guided improvisation, which means

that at all times, the musician must be guided

simultaneously at all times by the raga and tala.

HindustaniBelongs to the north and has a

Moslem influence

Belongs to the south and is basically Hindu.

Karnatak

There are two song notations from India that can be classified

into two forms:1. Asthai -- movable

do is applied.2. Antara -- the text of the song is about

religion.

TALA• Tala is the rhythmic time cycle of India, may total from 3 to 128 beats in length though 7 to 16 beat cycles are more common. The tempo is called laya. The laya may vary from fast(druta) to medium(madhya) or slow(vilmabita).

In Hindustani music, the unit of time is called matra and in Karnatak music, it is called akshara. The tala is divided into rhythmic groups called angas. Drone is an important element in their music.

X – represents the accented beato – represents an open or empty beat.

The shortest tala is called dradam which is composed of six beats. The tintal is a long tala composed of 16 beats

Drada 1 2 3 4 5 6

x o

Tintal 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

13 14 15

16

x x o x

Raga• The music of India uses melodies which

are based on tone structures called raga. A raga is a combination of a scale

and a melody. Each raga has its own mood such as happiness, sorrow, or

peace. The different ragas are meant to be played at different times of the day

or year.

There are two principal tones of the raga: vadi and

samvadi.• Vadi -- is the dominant swara

(musical note) of a given raga (musical scale)

• Samvadi -- the second-most prominent note of a raga

Tonal System Of India

Sa

Ri Ga

Ma

Pa

Dha

Ni Sa

D E F G A+

B C DThe smallest interval perceptible to the ear is called shruti. In western music, it is called

microtones.

IndianMusical

Instruments

There two basic drums used in

Indian music; tabla and bhaya of the north (Hindustani) and mrindangam

of the south (Karnatak.)

Tabla is the name for a pair of drums. The larger drum called bhaya, has a metal body while the smaller one, the tabla, has

a wooden body.

The mrindangam is a two-headed drum. It is laid across

the lap of the performer.

India has a variety of chordophones. In these

instruments, three kinds of strings maybe found: melodic strings, drone

strings and symphatetic vibrators.

Drone is a continous accompaniment sounded

throughout.

1. Tambura – unfretted lute, used as a drone; used by

both South and North

2. Sitar – the most popular

instrument in Northern India; in addition to four

strings and three drones, the sitar

may have as many as 13

strings.

3. Vina – instrument of the south; with four melody strings and three drone

strings

4. Sarangi – bowed fiddle melodic instruments; a Hindustani instrument

Hindustani Instrumental Ensemble

• Basuri – melody• Tabla – tala• Tambura – drone

Sometimes, the sarangi plays the melody

Karnatak Instrumental ensemble

• Vina – melody• Violin – melody• Mrindangam – tala/rhythm• Tambura – drone