Area of Study 4
Indian Music
 Has a long history of over 2,000 years
 Closely linked to Hinduism and religious philosophy.
 Hindu Gods are worshipped through performances of
Raga, both vocal and instrumental.
 The God Shiva is linked with music and dance.
 Divided into 2 categories:
 1) Northern India (the Hindustani tradition)
 2) South ( the Carnatic tradition)
 This set work is taken from Northern India.
The oral tradition
 Indian music is not written down, it is taught through
listening and playing by ear – The oral tradition.
 Indian families have a system of master-pupil teaching
known as a ‘gharana’.
 Father teaches son and the son would pass this on to
the next generation.
 Playing styles change as new techniques are added by
generations and so the process is a dual one of
consolidation and evolution of playing skills.
Elements of Raga
 3 most common elements of Indian music are:
 1) The Melody – made up of improvised notes from a
particular rag. Sung by voice or played on an
instrument such as the ‘Sitar’ or ‘Sarod’.
 2) The Drone – a supporting ‘drone’ of usually one or
two notes provided by the ‘Tambura’.
 3) The Rhythm – a repetitive, cyclic rhythmic pattern
plated by the ‘Tabla Drums’.
The Melody – the Rag
 Is the set melody on which the music is improvised.
 Like a scale a ‘rag’ ascends and descends but the
pitches differ in either direction.
 Unlike western classical music scales, the number of
notes in a rag will vary considerably. Some rags have
just 5 notes, like the pentatonic scale.
 Other rags have 7/8 notes.
 Examples are: Vibhas Rag and the Kalyan Rag
Melody – The Rag (ctd.)
 There are over 200 rags and each has a particular mood
(called a rasa) associated with it.
 Not only are there morning and night rags, but also
celebration rags, seasonal rags and some associated
with certain feelings and emotions.
 There is virtually a rag for every occasion.
The Drone
 As soon as the piece begins you will hear a supportive
drone usually based on the tonic and dominant notes
of the chosen rag.
 This is played by the tambura.
 Its function is to add a sense of tuning/intonation.
 Its ever-present sound also adds texture to the music
as a whole.
Rhythm – The Tala
 Provided by small tabla drums.
 Most common tala is the ‘teental’ (or tintal), which is
a 16-beat pattern (each beat called a matras),
organised in 4 bars as 4+4+4+4.
 Some other talas are based on 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16
beats per cycle.
 Complex rhythms called ‘bols’ are played over this and
go against the main beat creating exciting
syncopations.
Rhythm – The Tala
 These rhythms must start and end together precisely
on the first beat of the cycle, called ‘sam’.
 During performances the instrumentalist and
drummer can try to copy and ‘out-do’ each other whilst
still keeping within the cycle of beats, leading to some
very exciting performances
Structure of a raga performance
 Alap – Opening - unmetred and improvised.
 Jhor – second section of a raga – medium tempo with
improvisation.
 Jhalla – the third section of a raga – the lively tempo
and virutoso display of improvisatory skills.
 Gat – the final section of a raga – a fixed composition
with some improvised embellishments.
 Bandish – also the final section if the piece is vocal.
Instruments
 The Voice
 The Sitar
 The Sarangi
 The Sarod
 The Tambura
 Tabla
 Flute (bansuri)
 Oboe (shehnai)
General
 The rag is traditionally played at night.
 Rag Desh (country) is also known as a rainy season or
monsoon raga.
 Primary moods (rasa) expressed are devotion,
romance and longing, with origins in courtly love
songs called ‘thumri’.
 The notes used in Rag Desh are based on the indian
system known as ‘sargam’ in which the notes are
called:
 Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni, Sa (tonic note C – Sa)
Notes in Rag Desh are:
 Sa –
 Re –
 Ma –
 Pa –
 Ni  Sa
-
C
D
F
G
B
C
Ni
Dha
Pa
Ma
Ga
Re
Sa
-
Bb
A
G
F
E
D
C
3 Versions of Rag Desh
 Version 1 – Anoushka Shankar (sitar)
 Version 2 – Mhara janam maran performed by Chiranji
Lal Tanwar (voice)
 Version 3 – Benjy Wertheimer (esraj and tabla) and
Steve Gorn (bansuri)
Anoushka Shankar (Sitar)
 Instruments: Sitar and Table
 Structure: 3 mvts – Alap, Gat 1 and Gat 2
 0.00 – 0.55 – Alap
 (slow and unmetered. Sitar unaccompanied and
explores the notes of the rag.)
 0.55 – 9.27 – Gat 1
 (Sitar plays fixed composition, added decoration and
tempo is medium speed (madhyalaya)). Tabla enters at
0.58 seconds and plays the 10 beat jhaptal tala.
Jhaptal (10 beats): (2+3+2+3)

1 2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Clap
clap
wave
clap
 Tabla player adds decoration to this basic pattern. Also
flourishes and ornaments in the sitar part.
 Comprises complex patterns of scalic passages
including dialogue with the tabla in short melodic and
rhythmic improvisations
 The tihai is played to indicate the end of these
improvisations. (Tihai – A set musical pattern)
Version 1 (ctd.)
 3.55 – Sitar starts to improvise in triplets (chand).
 5.02 – Improvisations with 4 notes per beat – sitar
followed by table alternating.
 Tihai is used to mark the end of these solo sections.
 9.27 – Gat 2 – This is faster than the 1st Gat and uses
the common teental (tintal) 16-beat tala. This is
grouped in 4, 4-beat units (4+4+4+4).
 10.10 – In this final part of the rag, drone strings are
used on the sitar in strumming fashion providing
striking rhythmic effect (jhalla). Ends with a tihai.
Version 2: Mhara janam maran
 Instruments: voice, sarangi, sarod, pakhawaj, cymbals




and tabla.
Pakhawaj is a large double headed drum.
This song is a Hindu devotional song from Rajasthan
and is known as a bhajan.
Song tells off tender waiting in longing anticipation of
the arrival of Lord Krishna in the morning.
Translation – You are my companion through life
and death and I cannot forget you night and day.
My heart pines for you and I feel totally restless
when I am not able to see you.
Version 2 (ctd.)
 Structure: 2 mvts. – Alap, Bhajan (song)
 The Tal used in this piece is the 8-beat Keherwa Tal
(2+2+2+2)
1
Clap
2
3
clap
4
5
wave
6
7
clap
8
 0.00-0.50 – Alap –short intro as the sarod player , then
singer, vocalises a melody in free time based on the
notes of the rag. This is a version of the chorus.
Version 2 (end)
 0.50- end – Bhajan - This is the fixed composition, in





this case a song in verse form.
0.50 – Tabla joins in
1.10 – Short sarod solo
1.22 – Sarangi
Dynamics and tempo increase and the music becomes
fast and exciting.
The pattern is established as a verse (1.32/3.04/4.50)
followed by the first line used as a refrain (chorus),
followed by more solos for the sarod and sarangi.
Version 3: Benjy Wertheimer and
Steve Gorn
 Instruments: Bansuri, esraj, tambura and tabla.
 Esraj – a fretted stringed instrument played sitting on
the floor.
 0.00-8.35 – (part 1) – Alap – a slow unmeasured
section, Drone established by the table from the outset
on Sa (C) and Pa (G).
 The Bansuri (flute) comes in using notes from the rag
itself.
 This develops from trying out various pitches in short
fragments to a more developed melodic part.
Version 3 (ctd.)
 0.00 – 4.41 – (part 2) – Gat 1 – This is at a slow tempo.
There is a lyrical unaccompanied melody for the
bansuri and the tabla comes in at 0.31 playing the 7beat rupak tala.
 Rupak Tala: (7 beats: 3+2+2)
1
Wave
2
3
4
clap
5
6
clap
7
Version 3 (ctd.)
 0.43 – Fixed composition begins. After this the music
becomes more agitated and dramatic as improvisation
takes over around the gat, while table played also
embellishes upon the original tala pattern.
 Bansuri then plays the Gat repeatedly whilst the tala
played improvises around the tala cycle.
 3.32 – The two instruments swap function, so that the
bansuri improvises while the table accompanies.
 Several tihais are heard to mark out section ends. The
last of these leads into the second gat at 4.41
Version 3 (end)
 4.41 – end (part 3) Gat 3 – A fast tempo (drut) in
ektal tala.
 Ektal tal (12 beats: 2+2+2+2+2+2)
1 2
3 4
5 6 7
8
Clap
clap
wave
clap
9
wave
10
11
12
clap
 This is a 12-beat ektal tala. The table sets a fast tempo and
the bansuri plays an elaborate gat containing wide ranges
of pitch, scalic runs and slides. These fast scale passages are
called tans. Several tihais are heard as the music draws to a
close.
Homework:
 Revise this Piece of music!
 This piece was not in the 2011 Exam so expect it to be in the
2012 exam!