Vol. 5 - Indian Classical Music

=Causeway Performing Arts=

GCSE Music AoS 2: Shared Music (Vol. 5)Indian Classical Musicin conjunction with www.musicdepartment.info

Ensemble musicians must work together in order to interpret the music andperform effectively as one. They have to listen carefully to each other to make sure they:

• Start together• Maintain the same tempo• Share a similar interpretation of dynamics and expression • Negotiate any changes of tempo together• Share a ‘dialogue’ with each other • Finish together.

For an ensemble it is usually essential to have many group rehearsals, to discuss the interpretation of the music and to rehearse the pieces until they flow easily, with all parts acting together as one. After sorting out the basics it is important to spend time on all the subtle details, such as:

• The articulation - for example, which notes to accent or to play staccato• Small changes in tempo - which may include pauses written in by the composer or

rubato added by the performers• The balance between the different parts - when should each musician dominate the

texture, or instead provide an accompanying role? Who should play the loudest?

HOW DO MUSICIANS WORK TOGETHER IN ENSEMBLES?

AREA OF STUDY 2: SHARED MUSIC - ENSEMBLES

This chapter:

Focuses on the second part of Area of Study 2 by looking at how musicians worktogether in ensembles. It considers five main areas:• Indian classical music• Gamelan music• Baroque and Classical chamber music • The great choral classics • African a cappella singing.

Background information is given for each genre and specific works are explored.

Indian classical music has a history that can be traced back over 3000 years (to roughly 1700 BC). It has since developed into a strong tradition that is still prominent today despite the competition from folk and popular music.This section looks at the basic elements, instruments and structures that make up the music.

Indian classical music usually has:

• A single melody line (based on a raga)• A rhythmic pattern (known as a tala)• A drone.

A raga is a set of notes used to create a melody. There are over 200 different ragas, some of which are associated with a particular time of day or season (depending on the pitches used and the way the notes relate to each other). Ragas have been memorised and handed down from one generation to another as part on an oral tradition.

Some of the notes in a raga will be more important and so will receive more emphasis than others. They might be repeated more frequently and decorated, or act as the first and last notes of each phrase. When a few notes from the raga are grouped together, they create a short phrase that begins to give character to the music. The basic raga pattern is developed by means of improvisation. As the piece progresses the melodic patterns become more and more complex.

The following example of a raga shows how the descending notes might be different from the ascending ones:

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I1 VNU II U:¥$'| IW:

Indian classical music has a history that can be traced back over 3000 years (toroughly 1700 BC). It has since developed into a strong tradition that is stillprominent today despite the competition from folk and popular music.This sectionlooks at the basic elements, instruments and structures that make up the music,

Indian classical music usually has:

I A single melody line (based on a raga)I A rhythmic pattern (known as a tala)I A drone.

A is a scale of notes used to create a meld .There are over 200 different ra as, Ya? Y EA _ Hake Sum ‘Kaga’ can also be some of which are associated with a particular time of day or season (depending on the

luscious the(Y, with all, spend

spelled ̀ raag or ̀ rag'. pitches used and the way the notes relate to each other). Ragas have been memorisedand handed down from one generation to another as part of an oral tradition,

Some of the notes in a raga will be more important and so receive more emphasisthan others.They might be repeated more frequently and decorated, or act as thecafirst and last notes of each phrase. When a few notes from the raga are groupedtogether, they create a short phrase that begins to give a character to the music.Thebasic raga pattern is developed by means of improvisation. As the piece progressesthe melodic patterns become more and more complex.

_ _ , The following example of a raga shows how the descending notes might be-different from the ascending ones:

Atala is a cycle of beats that forms the rhythmic basis of a piece of music. Theredominate ‘Tala' can also be are hundredscoffedil¥erent tala patterns in Indian classical music.V the spelled ‘taal‘ or tal',

The first beat of the tala » called the sam — is the most important one. All theperformers in the ensemble usually come together on the sam, however complexthe rhythms are within each tala. Sometimes an audience claps the sam, showingtheir enthusiasm as the improvisation becomes more and more complex.

Other beats in the tala are weaker or even silent. T`o get some idea of how a basictala pattern works, try clapping the following rhythms, with the notes marked‘x'being accented and the notes marked ‘o’ much quieter (or completely silent,indicated with just a wave of the hand):

l 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 l 0 1 l 1 Z l 3 l 4 1 5 l 6AREA 0r sour 2 Santo Music 7 ewstmates

A tala is a cycle of beats that forms the rhythmic basis of a piece of music. There are hundreds of different tala patterns in Indian classical music.

The first beat of a  tala, called the Sam is the most important one. All the performers in the ensemble usually come together on this Sam, however complex the rhythms are within each tala. Sometimes an audience claps the sam showing their enthusiasm as the improvisation becomes more and more complex.

Other beats in the tala are weaker or even silent. To get some idea of how basic tala patterns works, try clapping the following rhythms, with the notes marked ‘X’ being accented and the notes marked as ‘O’ much quieter or completely silent, indicated with just a ways of the hand:

ns work

plodded.

; a n d a

I1 VNU II U:¥$'| IW:

Indian classical music has a history that can be traced back over 3000 years (toroughly 1700 BC). It has since developed into a strong tradition that is stillprominent today despite the competition from folk and popular music.This sectionlooks at the basic elements, instruments and structures that make up the music,

Indian classical music usually has:

I A single melody line (based on a raga)I A rhythmic pattern (known as a tala)I A drone.

A is a scale of notes used to create a meld .There are over 200 different ra as, Ya? Y EA _ Hake Sum ‘Kaga’ can also be some of which are associated with a particular time of day or season (depending on the

luscious the(Y, with all, spend

spelled ̀ raag or ̀ rag'. pitches used and the way the notes relate to each other). Ragas have been memorisedand handed down from one generation to another as part of an oral tradition,

Some of the notes in a raga will be more important and so receive more emphasisthan others.They might be repeated more frequently and decorated, or act as thecafirst and last notes of each phrase. When a few notes from the raga are groupedtogether, they create a short phrase that begins to give a character to the music.Thebasic raga pattern is developed by means of improvisation. As the piece progressesthe melodic patterns become more and more complex.

_ _ , The following example of a raga shows how the descending notes might be-different from the ascending ones:

Atala is a cycle of beats that forms the rhythmic basis of a piece of music. Theredominate ‘Tala' can also be are hundredscoffedil¥erent tala patterns in Indian classical music.V the spelled ‘taal‘ or tal',

The first beat of the tala » called the sam — is the most important one. All theperformers in the ensemble usually come together on the sam, however complexthe rhythms are within each tala. Sometimes an audience claps the sam, showingtheir enthusiasm as the improvisation becomes more and more complex.

Other beats in the tala are weaker or even silent. T`o get some idea of how a basictala pattern works, try clapping the following rhythms, with the notes marked‘x'being accented and the notes marked ‘o’ much quieter (or completely silent,indicated with just a wave of the hand):

l 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 l 0 1 l 1 Z l 3 l 4 1 5 l 6AREA 0r sour 2 Santo Music 7 ewstmates

INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSIC

MELODY, HARMONY AND RHYTHM

A drone is a repeated note (or number of notes) heard constantly throughout the music. In Indian classical music, the drone usually emphasises the most important note, or notes, in the raga.

The following instruments are commonly used in Indian classical music:

•Sitar (for the melody) - a plucked string instrument with over 20 strings, although only four of them are used to play the melody, and another two or three used to play a drone. The others vibrate in sympathy which means they are not touched but they produce a sound because the main strings have been plucked, creating a distinctive shimmering sound. There are movable frets on the neck, allowing the instrument to be tuned to the notes of the raga. The strings are plucked with a metal plectrum in one hand, while the other hand presses down on the strings, or pulls them to one side to create a characteristic slide called a pitch bend. other instruments that might perform the melody includes a sarangi - a bowed string instrument, a bansuri - flute, and voice.•Tanpura (for the drone) - an instrument similar to the sitar but with only four strings, usually tuned to two different notes of the raga. The strings are plucked repeatedly to maintain the drone.•Tabla (for the rhythm) - a pair of small, single headed drums (one slightly larger than the other), played with the fingers and the palm of the hand. The drum head has a varied texture, with a black circle in the centre of the skin made from a paste of iron filings and starch. This adds a hard surface to the drum which allows a wide range of sounds to be produced by the player.

In an ensemble with just three instruments, each musician has a very obvious role: the sitar takes the melody, the tabla the rhythm and the tanpura the drone. By combining these three elements, musicians were together to create a whole piece of music. However, each role is not completely separate or clearly defined, and this overlap allows the musicians to enter into a dialogue with each other. For example, a tabla player can change the way he strikes the drum to create different pitches, which means that he can imitate the melody played on the sitar. In contrast, the sitar player might choose to imitate the rhythms played on the tabla.

INSTRUMENTS

The musicians sit cross-legged on the floor, and often facing towards each other. Musicians learn and perform Indian classical music without notation, which makes it easier for them to interact with each other in performances. With experience, the players develop an understanding of the basic ingredients of the music and learn to improvise accordingly, responding to each other's ideas and energy.

A typical raga performance is usually into four sections with the entire performance lasting anything from 30 minutes to many hours:

Opening section

The raga scale is introduced by the sitar or melody instruments, followed by some simple improvisation. The tabla player is silent during this section, allowing the sitar player to explore the raga scale in a free rhythm, without being constrained by the rhythmic accompaniment. The tempo is slow and there is no regular beat. The sitar melody is accompanied by the drone.

Middle sections

The pace gradually increases and there is a greater sense of the metre. There is more elaborate improvisation and ornamentation of the raga.

Final section

The tabla player enters and gives a rhythmic structure to the music. This section is based on a fixed composition. Towards the end the music becomes very fast, with complex rhythmic and melodic ideas. The sitar and tabla player usually have an energetic dialogue that involves question and answer phrasing and imitation.

Two of the most internationally famous performers of Indian Classical Music are:

• Ravi Shankar - a sitar player who influenced many different performers, including George Harrison from The Beatles and western violinist Yehudi Menuhin.

• Alla Rakha - a tabla player whose technique amazed the famous American jazz drummer Buddy Rich.

Shankar and Rakha often performed together. The fact that they came from different religions (Shankar was a Hindu and my Rakha a Muslim) made the musical collaboration all the more significant. Their obvious rapport, developed through the highly imitative musical dialogue, became so impressive that they toured the world with their music from many years.

STRUCTURE

PERFORMERS

Listen to the following performances by Ravi Shankar aaa Alla Rake on YouTube:

Ravi Shankar, AIla Rakha - Tabla Solo in Jhaptal. At the start of this video clip Ravi Shankar explains what a tala is and Alla Rakha introduces a few basic sounds on the tabla. Alla Rakha then performs a tabla solo, based on a basic 10 - beat tala (2 beats, 3 beats, 2 beats, 3 beats), which Ravi Shankar claps throughout. Alla Rakha improvises more and more complex rhythms as the piece progresses. Notice how the two musicians watch each other throughout most of the performance.

Ravi Shankar, AIla Rakha - Rag Charukeshi. Firstly, the raga is explored slowly with a free rhythm. Notice the added ornamentation and how some of the pitches are bent by pulling the strings sideways.The sympathetic strings on the sitar add to the background drone created by the tanpura. After the introduction the tabla enters with the tala, giving structure and regularity to

the rhythm. Gradually the sitar part becomes more rhythmic as well. Observe how the two players are obviously listening to and watching each other throughout the performance, responding to each other’s improvisations.

Performing Ideas

Using Indian classical instruments or suitable western alternatives create an ensemble in which you:

• explore the melodic possibilities of the basic raga• explore the rhythmic possibilities of the basic Tama• add a drone.

Because Indian classical music is largely improvised, there are many ways in which you could combine Indian instruments with jazz instruments to create a fusion of styles. Try to include the following as the music progresses:

• A relaxed feel between the performers, which allows the music to develop in an unhurried way

• imaginative improvisation• a controlled increase in tempo• rhythmic drive, adding excitement to the music• an increasing complexity of melody and rhythm• communication and dialogue between the performers.

Listening Ideas

Listen to and compare as much Indian classical music as you can. You can access many examples of music via YouTube by simply typing Indian classical music into the search box. Think about and discuss following points

• meter and tempo - when does the music settle down into a regular meter? Does the tempo increase throughout the performance?

• Melody - how is the melody developed out of the basic raga?• Rhythm - can you work out how long the tala is, and how it is improvised?• Instrumentation - what instruments are being played?• Texture - does the texture become more complex as the peace progresses?• Stylistic features - can you hear any examples of slides or pitch bends?• Structure - if the piece follows the typical structure given above can you work out

where it moves from one section to the next?

Test yourself

1. What is a raga?2. What is the basic rhythm pattern called in Indian Classical Music?3. Name the instrument used for:

• the melody, • the rhythm • the drone.

4. How do musicians work together in Indian Classical Music?