Music from nonWestern Cultures Sitar Tampura Sarod Tabla Shehnai Vēṇu Harmonium Melody in Indian Music Traditional Indian music is generally melodic though it is known for a heavy use of drones to fill in the space behind the melody ID: 303336
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Slide1
World Music
Music from non-Western CulturesSlide2
SitarSlide3
TampuraSlide4
SarodSlide5
TablaSlide6
ShehnaiSlide7
VēṇuSlide8
HarmoniumSlide9
Melody in Indian Music
Traditional Indian music is generally
melodic
, though it is known for a heavy use of drones to fill in the space behind the melody.
Traditional Indian melodies are called
Ragas
. Ragas differ between Carnatic music and Hindustani music (South and North India respectively).
Most Indian music is identifiable by its use of semitone motion in melody.Slide10
Indian Harmony
As previously mentioned, Indian music is heavily reliant on melody. Harmony is provided though a harmonic resonance field, called a drone. Instruments such as the tampura or the harmonium fill this field.
Similar to the Western “
Do Re Me Fa So La
Ti
Do
”, Indian music utilizes a diatonic scale. In India, the degrees (
Swara
or
Solf
è
ge
) are “
Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma, Pa, Da,
Ni, Sa
”. The drones that fill the space behind the melody is based on the “
Sa
” degree. In a Western perspective, it`s like having the root chord always being played in the background.
Indian
music does not utilize the Western idea of Harmony, so it would be pointless to look for a Western style harmony in Indian music.Slide11
Smaller than Semitones
Indian music incorporates
tones called
śruti.
Śruti
is a way of utilizing microtones, tones smaller than semitones. Many instruments from around the world can achieve this.
In Western notation, we might look at it like this:Slide12
An Example of Indian NotationSlide13
An Example of Indian NotationSlide14
Tala
Tala
is the way of measuring meter in Indian music. Different types of
talas
have different numbers of beats, and these beats can be counted in a number of different ways. However, the most common
tala
is known as
Teental
, which has four measures with four beats each.Slide15
Context of Indian Music
Hindustani classical music has roots in Northern and Eastern India. It originated in Vedic ritual chants, and has been evolving since approximately the 12
th
century. It allows for time to develop the raga and for the musicians to improvise. It is more melodic, and the moods (
rasa
) are more personal.
Carnatic music began to flourish in the Southern areas of India in the 16
th
century. It is more rhythmic, and is mostly devotional, praising divinity.Slide16
Links for Listening
Ravi Shankar playing
Bhimpalasi
(Hindustani)
Anoushka
Shankar - Indian Classical Raga
Raga
Bhairavi
(Carnatic)
Vēṇu
Sitar