Jimmy Page
And
Indian Classical
Music
Comparison
India
Located in Mumbai, this monument is the “Gateway to India” for many
visitors. It was built to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen
Mary. Ironically, this symbol of colonialism has become more of a tourist
attraction because tourists believe it to be authentic Indian architecture.

India’s
Demographics
Population : India’s population is estimated to be 1,129,866,154 ; making it
the 2nd most populated country in the world.

Ethnicities: There are many diverse ethnic groups among the people of

India. The 6 main ethnic groups are as follows: Negrito , Austrics,
Mongoloids, Mediterranean, Western Brachycephals, Nordic Aryans
It has been invaded from surrounding countries many times and has
absorbed and changed these influences to produce a remarkable racial and
cultural synthesis.
Land Mass: 3,287,590
square kilometers
Indian Culture and Music
•Religion: With the origins of Hinduism and
Buddhism in India, religion is considered to
be extremely important.
•Indian history yields knowledge that can be
gleaned only from the oral literature
embodied in the Vedic hymns, prayers, and
philosophical speculation, and from the
epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.
Through music we can learn the most about
India.
Indian classical Music


Indian classical music has one of the most complex and complete musical
systems ever developed. Like Western Classical Music, it divides the octave
into 12 semitones of which the 7 basic notes are Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa, in
order, replacing Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do. However, it uses the just intonation
tuning (unlike most modern Western classical music, which uses the equaltemperament tuning system).
Indian classical music is monophonic in nature and based around a single
melody line, which is played over a fixed drone. The performance is based
melodically on particular ragas and rhythmically on talas.
The Sitar

Sitar is a long necked instrument
with an interesting construction. It
has a varying number of strings but
17 is usual. It has three to four
playing strings and three to four
drone strings. These strings are
plucked with a wire finger plectrum
called a mizrab. There are also a
series of sympathetic strings lying
under the frets. These strings are
almost never played but they
vibrate whenever the
corresponding note is
sounded. The frets are metal rods
which have been bent into
crescents. The main resonator is
usually made of a gourd and there
is sometimes an additional
resonator attached to the neck.

Tabla

Tabla is a pair of drums. It
consists of of a small right hand
drum called dayan and a larger
metal one called bayan.
The tabla has an interesting
construction. The dayan (right
hand drum) is almost always
made of wood. The diameter at
the membrane may run from just
under five inches to over six
inches. The bayan (left hand
drum) may be made of iron,
aluminum, copper, steel, or clay;
yet brass with a nickel or chrome
plate is the most common
material. Undoubtedly the most
striking characteristic of the
tabla is the large black spot on
each of the playing
surfaces. These black spots are
a mixture of gum, soot, and iron
filings. Their function is to create
the bell-like timbre that is
characteristic of the instrument.
Indian Sheet Music and Idiom
Sabr ka phal mitha hota
hai =The fruit of
patience is sweet
Meaning: Patience is
virtue
James
Patrick
Page
Jimmy Page
In the 1960’s, many composers and pop artists were influenced by Indian
Classical Music. This was the age of psychedelics, and Indian Music
sounded psychedelic and offered sounds never heard before. People from
the West were awe struck by this music. One of the first composers and
performers who utilized this was Jimmy Page, the guitarist of the two well
known bands, The Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin.
Biography
Jimmy Page was born on January 9th,
1944 in a small suburb near London. He
began taking an interest to music at the
age of twelve, getting his first guitar. He
began playing in small clubs at the age
of 16 and slowly moved up the ranks. At
the age of 19, he began doing session
work for well known record labels and
was on many hits of the time. In 1966 he
joined The Yardbirds, continuing the
band after the breakup in 1968 to form
The New Yarbirds, later called Led
Zeppelin. In Led Zeppelin he became
known worldwide and gathered a
following. Til this day he continues to
perform solo projects and things.
Influence
During the 1960’s many of the pop
artists that were composers, took trips
to India so they could see firsthand what
it was all about. Ravi Shankar was the
main artist they looked to for advice.
Page was one of the earliest musicians in
England to acquire a sitar-“I had a sitar sent
over from India before any other people in
pop,” he claimed, noting, “I’d been to see
Ravi Shankar years before he became
fashionable. …I explained that I had a sitar,
but didn’t know how to tune it. He was very
nice to me and wrote down the tunings on a
piece of paper.” The case has even been
made that Page introduced the instrument to
the Beatles’ George Harrison, whose
popularizing of its exotic drones would lead
to the whole sub genre of “raga rock”.
“White Summer”
While in The Yardbirds,
Jimmy Page wrote a tune
called “White Summer”.
This tune contains the
drones and rhythmic
structures of Indian
Classical Music. Tabla
was used in the
recording.
Comparison
http://www.youtub
e.com/watch?v=4
gWCiLexilY
-Indian Classical music contains
the same basic tones of the major
scale: Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa.
-It uses drones
just like in most
Indian Classical Music.
-The guitar is tuned to
DADGAD, which is a sitar
like tuning.
-Indian music has drones that are
constantly being plucked, ringing while the melody
is being played.
-It contains semi tones that are not
part of western music.
-It contains the same rhythmic
Structure, utilizing the Indian Tabla
drums.
http://www.youtub
e.com/watch?v=wr
vfMSYNqBg&featu
re=related
14
Works Cited








www.amazon.com/Eastern-IdiomsWests.../lm/3VNIRCSUJMGVR
http://home.att.net/~chuckayoub/jimmy_page_biograph
y.htm
http://home.att.net/~chuckayoub/jimmy_page_biography.ht
m
Pg.34 Jimmy Page: Magus, Musician, Man
http://chandrakantha.com/articles/indian_music/sitar.ht
ml
http://indian-idioms.blogspot.com/2006/08/sabr-ka-phalmitha-hota-hai.html
Provisional Population Totals : India . Census of India
2001, Paper 1 of 2001
http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/india/religion.htm
15

















library.duke.edu/blogs/music/2008/02/ - Ravi Shankar Picture with White Hair
http://wikipedia.org –All India Pics
http://www.washingtonbanglaradio.com/images/Ravi-Shankar.jpg Ravi Shankar PIC 2
http://www.rocklibrary.com/images/EntityImages/1300/1348/JimmyPage.jpg -Jimmy Page 1
http://fizzingbanana.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/the_yardbirds.jpg -The Yardbirds
http://media.photobucket.com/image/jimmy%20page/freundlich_2008/JimmyPage.jpg -Jimmy
Page 2
http://www.the-presidents.org.uk/images/JimmyPage.jpg -Young Jimmy Page
http://www.dv247.com/assets/news/dv247/JimmyPageGibsonLesPaul.jpg -Jimmy page Black
Beuty Les Paul
http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/09_02/zeppelinLL1209_468x331.jpg -Zeppelin
http://www.crystalinks.com/indiamusic.gif -Indian Culture
http://www.jaqueshouse.com/pictures/tabla-2.jpg -Tabla Drums
http://www.sulekha.com/mstore/v-s-gopal/albums/default/v.s.gopalakrishnan%27s%20TABLA%20PLAYER%20scan0007.jpg –Tabla PlayerWoman
http://www.laughinsam.com/SuperStars/PageImages/jimmy-pageHeart.jpg -Jimmy Page Heart
http://cubanology.com/Top20RockGuitar/images/JimmyPage20.jpg -Jimmy Page 20
http://www.thetrickismusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/yardbirds-afro-300x263.jpg -Perm
Hair Jimmy
http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/shop_image/uploads/Image/jimmy_tele.jpg -Jimmy with Telecaster
http://www.learn-about-led.com/images/jimmy-page.jpg - Early Old Pic Of Jimmy with Tele
16