AOS 2 Indian Classical Music
* Indian classical music has a long history of around 3000 years.
* The music is learned by ear (oral tradition) and performed from memory – typically a student will undergo a type of apprenticeship with a highly regarded performer, which as known as a guru.
* Sitar – a type of plucked string instrument with frets. It has sympathetic strings which vibrate to create a distinctive shimmery sound. The sitar plays the raga and the melody, and improvises.
* Tanpura/tambura – a plucked sting instrument with four strings used to play the drone.
* Tabla – a pair of drums.
* The melody is based on a set of notes called a raga.
* There are many different ragas and most of them are associated with a particular time of day, season and mood. Some notes in the raga will be more important than others and will be emphasised.
* Common techniques used in the melody – pitch bends, glissandos, rapid scales, ornamentation.
* As pieces progress they become more complex. Before a performance everyone will agree which raga to use and the sitar player will then improvise a melody around the notes of the raga.
* Tala – the rhythmic cycle which pieces are based on.
* There is a range of different talas, each with a set number of beats, some of which will be accented. The tabla player improvises rhythms around the tala, which gradually become more complex as the piece progresses.
* There is no real harmony in Indian classical music – instead a drone is played throughout a piece. It is based on the most important note or notes of the raga.
*There is often dialogue between the different parts, with call and response and imitation between the players.
* Alap – slow, improvised introduction in free time. The sitar introduces and explores the notes of the raga. There is a drone but no tabla drums.
* Jor – faster and more melodic.
* Gat – the tabla enters, creating a clear sense of pulse. This section is often based on a pre-composed idea, which the melody instrument uses as a basis for improvisation.
* The music builds in excitement. Jhalla – more improvisation, faster and more virtuosic. Cascades of scales and intricate rhythms.
*Other instruments – sarangi – bowed, string instrument; bansuri – bamboo flute.
* Famous sitar player – Ravi Shankar.
Listening example:
Raga DevgiriBilawal by Ravi Shankar and AllaRakha
Indian classical Sitar music by PanditHariharSharan Bhatt