Ross Malcolm Boyd

 An Introduction To Indian Classical Music

  I spent quite a bit of time exploring Indian Classical Music and how it works. Something I found interesting was how the topic was the difference in presentation between sources. I began my research in the textbook World Music: A Global Journey, Third Edition by Terry E. Miller and Andrew Shahriari in particular. I had originally sought out world history texts when I was planning to devote more energy to the learning outcome of developing “strategies to decolonize the post-secondary study of music history.” I was (and still am) thinking along the lines of a world music history course being an appropriate starting point for university students, followed by courses that support a student’s chosen path. But those are unfinished thoughts for another time!

  After deciding to focus on Indian music theory (with a bit of history), the textbook felt a little abrupt. The chapter on the Hindustani music of North India offered a helpful, though brief overview of the style, culture, and history. It was a good starting point, but I was hoping to find a little more. Granted, this book is covering THE WORLD and there is only so much real estate on the page. Miller and Shahriari present each entry from an outsider's perspective. This is the conceit of this textbook, but there was a drastic difference between how the textbook presents Indian classical music and the practical musicianship offered by YouTube (and other website) creators.

  I relied heavily on the video lessons by Anuja Kamat, an Indian performer, a student of Indian classical music. Kamat conveys insight into the music for the benefit of listeners and performers which resonated with me. The textbook puts the reader in the position of an ethnomusicologist, someone who is there to observe another culture before moving on, whereas the videos treat the viewer as a student of music, whether they are a listener or a performer. There is a level of detachment that tends to turn me off – I don’t value the callus objectivity that is often embraced (or yielded to) by many academics. To be fair, I try to give the authors the benefit of the doubt. They wouldn’t get published if they didn’t speak academic. It’s a rotten tree problem.

  Another site that captured my attention (and provided a bit more math homework than I was expecting) is 22 Shruti (http://22shruti.com/). This site is home to research conducted by Dr. Vidyadhar Oke. There is some great content about the notes common to Indian music that fall between the notes of an equal tempered system. Dr. Oke also designed the 22 Shruti Harmonium which can access those 10 extra microtones on a 12-tone piano-style keyboard.

  Over its history, North India has experienced migration and invasion from its northern neighbors. This sort of activity shapes a region’s culture. Traditional music of India shares a common foundation but started to split as the north saw more influence from Persian and Arabic traditions.

  My study has focused on the Hindustani music of North India, but I thought it was important to understand how it differs from the Carnatic music of South India.

  Firstly, different languages dominate the lyrics of Northern and Southern Indian music. With Persian and Arabic influence, Hindustani lyrics are written in the languages of North India, such as Rajasthani, Punjabi, Urdu, and Braj bhasha. Carnatic lyrics tend to utilize South Indian languages such as Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu.

  Both Carnatic and Hindustani classical music use the same basic notes, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa’. Likewise, both are “Raga Sangeeth,” meaning they both use raag (anglicized as “raga”) as the basis of a composition or improvisation. The two styles interpret these basic elements differently through embellishments known as gamakas.  The gamaka characteristic of Hindustani Classical music is called Meend – a glide from one note to another. Imagine a voice singing a pitch and smoothly sliding up and/or down to another pitch. Carnatic classical music utilizes the gamaka Kampitam – an oscillating effect similar to a turn or trill.

  The form of composition is another element that separates North and South Indian music. In Hindustani tradition, players will improvise using the notes of a raag, following some specific guidelines. This is not dissimilar to improvising off a jazz chart, though that comparison is far from 1:1. Carnatic tradition emphasizes pre-composed music with the lyrical content being of particular importance.

Just Listen

I encourage you to listen before worrying too much about the theory of the music. Let the music wash over you. Let the instruments, textures, and performers introduce themselves to you. I can certainly get hung up on the technical bits when I’m hoping to understand a new form or tradition, but immersion is too important to skip. There will be time for charts, notes, and other cerebral stuff later. First, just listen.

Common Instruments found in Hindustani Classical Music

In Indian classical music, the melody is everything. You won’t hear chords or polyphony. Instead, there is a lead instrument or vocalist with harmonic and percussive accompaniment. We’ll learn more about the roles the instruments and performers play in the section on form, but these brief descriptions of common instruments will give you a sense of what to expect.

Sitar

The sitar may be the most well known of Indian instruments. This North Indian lute averages between 18 and 21 strings, most of which drone in sympathy with 6 or 7 plucked strings that sit over the large, arched frets. The frets are moveable, allowing the instrument to be fine-tuned to a particular raag, free from the confines of the equal-temperament of fixed-fret instruments like the guitar.

Sarod

Another instrument in the lute family, the sarod has 17 to 25 strings, 4 or 5 of which are plucked. The instrument is fretless, allowing the performer to glide from pitch to pitch, similar to a violin.

Tabla

Iconic of Indian percussion, this pair of hand drums can be found throughout Hindustani music. The small wooden drum with single head tuned to the fundamental pitch of a raag is called “tabla”, and the rounded metal drum with single head is called “baya.”

Tambura

The tambura is a 4-string lute with a gourd body and long neck. The distinct “buzzy” sound is created by small threads placed under strings that vibrate when played. Played as accompaniment, the tambura will drone sa and pa (a perfect fifth based on the root note of a raag, establishing a tonal center.

Harmonium

A free-reed keyboard instrument that uses an accordion-like bellows to push air. Larger harmoniums operate the bellows with a foot pedal, but the portable versions pictured below are operated by a flap on the back or side. These are frequently used as accompaniment, holding the swaras “sa” and “pa” like the tambura.

Violin

Probably the most familiar instrument to westerners, the violin is very commonly used as a lead instrument in Indian music. Its fretless neck allows the player to access the microtones necessary to play raags. In the video below, hear Ragini Shankar playing Raga Bihag on violin. She is accompanied by Ramkrishna Manohar on tabla and Santosh Ghante on harmonium.

Music Theory

  For Hindustani classical music, it’s essential that performers have deep understanding of swaras (notes). The music is a celebration of swaras through which one may attain transcendence. Knowledge of swaras and raags (like scales and forms in western traditions) are essential for a performer’s success. Where the style is largely improvised (I’m using the word “improvised” a lot and that’s underselling what is being performed which we’ll get to later) a performer needs to have access to so much musical information in any given moment. There is a level of “glory” attached to such skill.

Solfege

Indian music begins with seven notes or swaras. Each swara is given a syllable, equivalent to solfege in European traditions. Westerners will recognize the syllables:

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa’

as

Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do.

These seven swara are known as Shuddha Swar, the fundamental tones that can later be modified and arranged into groups to create raags (or ragas).

Microtonal – 22 Shrutis

  In western music theory, 12 unique tones seem like plenty to contend with, so the idea of adding 10 additional notes into the mix might sound daunting. The swara (solfege) syllables simplify things quite a bit and, like with any musical tradition, practice is essential.

In 12-tone equal temperament, the span of 1 octave is divided into 12 equal parts. This keeps things even and makes instruments easier to build and tune, but it requires adjusting the numbers provided naturally by sound. Equal temperament rounds off the intervals. Indian classical music doesn’t. Its commitment to consonance cannot be bought by the convenience of an electric piano.

Setting aside the adjustments one would have to make to, say, a major 3rd in equal temperament, the in-between notes, what western tradition defines as sharps and flats, isn’t divided into four equal quarter tones.

Sa and Pa are not movable (perfect fifth) but the rest of the notes can be adjusted as necessary. You can think of this as sharps and flats, but the notes Re, Ga, Ma, Dha, and Ni each have two variants!

Swara Re, Ga, Dha, and Ni have what are known as Komal variants, pitches lower than the shuddha swar. Compare these to flat notes. Ma has what is called a Teevra variant, which is higher in pitch than the shuddha Ma. Compare teevra to sharp notes.

22 Shrutis is a further expansion of these variants. There are two options for each variant. For instance, Ga has two komal options, both lower than shuddha Ga. Shuddha Ga also has two options! The same goes for all notes except Sa and Pa. These options are all based on ratios of harmonics that occur naturally. The naturally occurring ratio between Sa, Ga, and Pa (or Do, Mi, and So) is 100:125:150. Compare this to the adjustment required for equal temperament: Sa:Ga:Pa: = 100:126:149.83. The price of convenience is more math.

If this kind of thing excites you and you want to get out a guitar slide and tape measure (or download a synth plugin that lets you fine-tune each note) to play in perfect consonance, I highly recommend checking out 22 Shruti.com and this YouTube series by Dr. Sangeeta Shankar. Both sources will give you all the insight and all the math to keep you busy with years worth of study and practice!

When to use each of these variants depends on the raag.

Raag or Raga

The terms raag (Hindustani), ragam (Carnatic), and raga (anglicized) all mean the same thing. A raag is a collection of 5-7 notes with a set of rules for performance. They are like scales, but more akin to a songwriting toolbox.

A raag is a melody used to express a feeling

-Anuja Kamat

A raag can be associated with a mood, a time of day, or a metaphysical idea. Given that a raag sets out to capture a specific sentiment, each raag has a unique set of parameters within which a performer can express their unique voice.

A raag is like a scale in the sense that it is a collection of pitches upon which a composition is based. But there is more to it than that. Think of the melodic minor scale. When ascending, one raises the 6th and 7th scale degree, and when descending all pitches return to their natural setting.

Each raag has a particular set of rules. Like a melodic minor scale, a raag is characterized by how notes are treated when ascending and descending.

Aaroha = ascending

Avaroha = descending

A raag must have at least five notes ascending and descending, but they can be different depending on the direction. (Again, think melodic minor.) Jaati is a term for the type of raag based on number of aaroha and avaroha swara:

5 swara (notes) = audav

6 swara (notes) = shaadav

7 swara (notes) = sampoorn

If a raag has 5 swara ascending and descending, it would be referred to as “audav audav jaati raag.” If the raag had 5 swara ascending and 7 swara descending, it wouold be called “audav sampoorn jaati raag.” And so on for whatever combination of swara aaroha and avaroha.

Chalan is a rule for a raag about what sequence notes can be played in. Not only is it essential that a performer doesn’t deviate from the swara in a raag, one must also combine notes with care.

Raag Yaman is a Sampoorn jaati raag (that’s 7 notes ascending and descending) and its syllables are as follows:

Sa Re Ga teevra-ma Pa Dha Ni Sa (It has a bit of a lydian vibe to it)

It would be uncharacteristic of Raag Yaman to use the phrase “Sa, Re, Ga.” Instead, one would begin their ascent from the Ni below Sa: “Ni, Re, Ga”.

Ascending (Aaroha):

Ni Re Ga ma+ Dha Ni Sa

Descending (Avaroha):

Sa Ni Dha Pa ma+ Ga Re Sa

Also notice that “Pa” is omitted while ascending, but appears on the descent.

Every raag has its own ornamentation. Think of it like particular trills or turns assigned to a given piece. That specific ornamentation gives a piece of music a particular character.

Form

Just as the raag itself has a set of rules, the performance of a raag comes with a form. The performance of a raag can take over an hour. Take that, Pink Floyd.

We begin with alap, the introductory section in which the soloist freely explores the notes and characteristics of the raag. There is no rhythmic center and the soloist can bend time as they wish. Percussion doesn’t enter until later. Toward the end of alap a rhythm is established by the soloist. This regulation of beat is known as jor. While the alap is often a more spacious sound, jor gets the party moving into the next section.

After the alap concludes and a pulse has been established, percussion (usually tabla) enters. Indian percussionists play a cycle of beats called tala. Not dissimilar from measures, tala organizes beats or strokes into a repeating pattern.

Next, the soloist performs a gat, a basic melody to be improvised around. Think of it like the head in a jazz chart. A gat is the same length as the tala. If there are 16 beats in the tala, the gat will be 16 beats long. The performer can continue looping the gat, improvising for as long as they are inspired (and the audience is engaged) before ending the piece.

This is a very brief collection of information I’ve gathered while studying Hindustani classical music. There is much more in my notes and much more floating around in my mind that I haven’t yet fully processed. The crash course I’ve designed for myself has broadened my understanding of music in general, let alone the insights I’ve gained in this specific tradition of musical expression. However, this is just the beginning of my learning journey, and I have a long way to go to a deep understanding of this culture and how it might fit into my personal art.

If you found this interesting, and especially if you are inspired to further pursue the performance of this music, I can’t recommend Anuja Kamat’s YouTube channel enough. Her clear, concise, energetic explanations of concepts were a great help to me as I scratched my head forcing my way through dense text.

Additional Terms

Naad – Sound

Aahat naad – physical sound

Anahat naad – metaphysical/spiritual sound achieved through meditation

[Practice of Aahat naad leads to anahat naad]

Saptak – octave

Madhya Saptak – middle octave (in relation to vocal range)

Mandra Saptak – lower octave (vocal range)

Taar Saptak – upper octave (head voice)

Additional sources:

Britannica

https://www.britannica.com/art/Hindustani-music

Vox Guru – Difference Between Carnatic and Hindustani

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Lc0ZPaKIL8

Vox Guru – Introduction to Hindustani Music

https://youtu.be/Zlshv4TqIHw

NUS Indian Instrumental Ensemble

https://youtu.be/StBjFqBCBHQ