Indian music
Indian music uses pitch in many distinctive ways. There are two main traditions, Hindustani (North Indian) and Carnatic (South Indian).[1][2]
Sargam notation
Both Indian traditions use a solfege system based on a heptatonic (7-tone) framework: Sa, Re (Ri in the south), Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha (Da in the south), and Ni.
Scales themselves are taken from a twelve-tone framework in both traditions, but the naming practices are a bit different. In North India, notes can be natural (shuddh), sharp (tivra), or flat (komal). The natural notes form a major scale (0 2 4 5 7 9 11). Sa and Pa are never sharp or flat; Ma can be sharp or natural; Re, Ga, Dha and Ni can be flat or natural.
In South India, things are a bit more complex, and it's best illustrated with a table. Sa and Pa have only one version, Ma has two, and Re, Ga, Dha, and Ni have three each. On the surface, it would appear to make a 16-tone framework, but some names refer to the same pitch category, much like enharmonics in Western music. The names are also more fanciful in Carnatic music.
| Degree | Hindustani name | Carnatic name | Western example (S = A) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Sa | Sa | A |
| 1 | Komal Re | Shuddha Ri | Bb |
| 2 | Shuddh Re | Chatusruti Ri | B |
| Shuddha Ga | Cb | ||
| 3 | Komal Ga | Shatsruti Ri | B# |
| Sadharana Ga | C | ||
| 4 | Shuddh Ga | Antara Ga | C# |
| 5 | Shuddh Ma | Shuddha Ma | D |
| 6 | Tivra Ma | Prati Ma | D# |
| 7 | Pa | Pa | E |
| 8 | Komal Dha | Shuddha Da | F |
| 9 | Shuddh Dha | Chatusruti Da | F# |
| Shuddha Ni | Gb | ||
| 10 | Komal Ni | Shatsruti Da | F## |
| Kaisiki Ni | G | ||
| 11 | Shuddh Ni | Kakali Ni | G# |
However, in Hindustani music, notes can be 'very flat' (ati komal), indicating a microtonal inflection.
See Rāgs Around the Clock for a fuller discussion of notation in Hindustani music. In Carnatic music things are a bit different; speed and pitch profile of of ornaments, vibratos, and slides generally matter more than exact pitch in a raga.
Ornamentation
Ornamentation in Indian music is very striking and characteristic of the music. See Rāgs Around the Clock for a detailed discussion and audio examples.
Meend are glides between different notes.[1] You can see meend graphically in the pitch contours shown at Music in Motion.
Andolan is a gentle oscillation in pitch within a given note.[1]
In Hindustani music a gamaka is a 'shake' in pitch around a series of notes[1]. In Carnatic terminology, gamaka is the general term for an ornament, and it includes various kinds such as:
- vibratos (both small, within a pitch class, and large, between pitch classes and possibly as wide as a minor third)
- slides
- quick grace notes (lower grace notes like A-G#-A or G#-A more common than upper ones like A-Bb-A or Bb-A)
- turns (like F#-E-D#-E, the first three being grace notes)
- more complex ones like tones sliding into vibratos (like A sliding up to a vibrato between E and F).
The tanpura
The tanpura is a long necked fretless lute which provides a harmonic-rich drone.[1]
The tanpura typically has four strings. In the most common tuning, the middle two strings are tuned to the tonic (Sa), and the first and fourth strings are tuned to the fifth (Pa) and tonic (Sa) in the octave below.[3] In ragas without a fifth (Pa), the first string is tuned to another note instead, most commonly the fourth (Ma) or seventh (Ni).[1]
Sambamoorthy's book on drones discusses the tanpura and other instruments used to provide drones.
The harmonium
The harmonium is a portable reed organ. It was introduced into Indian music in the 19th century. Its use proved controversial, leading to a ban from All India Radio (AIR) from 1940-1971.[4] The AIR seminar on the harmonium gives many arguments for and against the harmonium.[5] The use of equal temperament on the harmonium was one consideration; others included the inability to play meend and gamakas.
Shruti
In modern practice, shruti refer to microtonal inflections in general.[1][6]
There is a long history of specific systems of pitches called shruti, going back at least to Bharata's Natyashastra.[7] Bharata discusses a system of 22 notes and describes an experiment involving two vinas. It is not obvious how to interpret Bharata's discussion in terms of exact pitches, and it has given rise to a long line of analyses and proposed interpretations, with different pitches and numbers of notes.[8][6][9] Given the complexity of the issue, it would be unwise to pick one system as the system of 22 shruti. The relationship of systems of shruti to musical practice remains contentious.[8][6]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 David Clarke, Rāgs Around the Clock: A Handbook for North Indian Classical Music, with Online Recordings in the Khayāl Style. Open Book Publishers, 2024.
- ↑ Ravi Kiran, Appreciating Carnatic Music. Ganesh & Co, 1997.
- ↑ P. Sambamoorthy, Sruti Vadyas (Drones). All India Handicrafts Board, 1957.
- ↑ Matt Rahaim, That Ban(e) of Indian Music: Hearing Politics in the Harmonium. The Journal of Asian Studies 70.3, 2011.
- ↑ AIR's seminar on the Harmonium. Sangeet Natak Akademi, 1971.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 S. Rao and W. van der Meer, The Construction, Reconstruction and Deconstruction of Shruti. Hindustani music: thirteenth to twentieth centuries, 2010.
- ↑ Bharata-Muni, The Nāṭyaśāstra, transl. Manomohan Ghosh. The Asiatic Society, 1961.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Mark Levy, Intonation in North Indian Music. Biblia Impex, 1982.
- ↑ P. Sambamoorthy, South Indian Music, Book IV. The Indian Music Publishing House, 1963.
Further reading
- G.K. Koduri, S. Gulati, P. Rao and X. Serra, Rāga Recognition based on Pitch Distribution Methods. Journal of New Music Research 41.4, 2012.
External links
- Bake/Jairazbhoy Digital Archive of South Asian Traditional Music and Arts - Archive of recordings and images
- Music in Motion - Recordings synced with videos showing pitch contours
- www.chandrakantha.com - Indian classical music - portal on Indian music, with detailed descriptions of a number of North Indian rags
- MusicResearchLibrary - an Indian music research portal