Dhrupadexercises PDF
Dhrupadexercises PDF
Dhrupadexercises PDF
Lesson 1
A: Expanded aum
B C: Repeated notes and scale fragments
D: Exercise for pitch accuracy
A phonetic transcription of exercise As expanded aum is: a
(in Devanagari:
)
Lesson 3
m
4
A: Altered notes
B: Range exercise
C: Introduction to m!nd (Slow slides)
Sing the slides in exercise C should slowly and smoothly, though not mechanically; a
graph of the change of pitch from one note sliding to the next looks more like
than the straight line of the scores glissando. Take a full breath for each slide.
Lesson 6
A: Wedges
B: Mind with larger intervals
C: Gamak (ornament) exercises
rather than
Gamak in exercise C refers to ornamentation with grace notes, not the complex vibrato
characteristic of North Indian singing and also called gamak; see lesson 7 exercise B and
the gamak exercise on page 16 for an introduction to the complex vibrato.
Lesson 7
A: More gamak exercises
B: Complex vibrato
Experiment with changing the parameters of exercise B to create other complex periodic
sounds.
Lesson 8
A: Polyrhythm exercises in dugun (double speed) and caugun (quadruple speed)
B: Ornamented variations
11
Lesson 9
A: Introduction to the nom-tom syllables
14
The exercises of lessons 9 and 10 introduce four model sequences of four syllables each,
and then show how to expand these sequences into longer ones by adding ras and nas.
The basic principles are expaning ra na into longer patterns by adding more nas, and
appending ra na, ra na na, etc. to existing sequences. (For a more detailed description,
please see Sanyal and Widdesss Dhrupad, page 152.) For example, ta ra ra na (the first
model phrase) can expand to
1. ta ra, ra na na
ii
17
This is a vibrato exercise from lesson 20. The first two lines show the melodic outline of
the exercise, and the bottom line illustrates what the voice is doing to produce the gamak
effect, which is to slide from a note (substantially) lower than the focal pitch to one
(somewhat) higher. The simplified notation to show the approximate range of the slides is
a little misleading: the individual slides blend into a smoother oscillating figure than
appears on the page. (See Dhrupad, page 166, for a more literal transcription.) Even
though the slides hide the exactly pitches of the melody, the melodic outline is still clear:
as the melody ascends, so do the slides. The general range of the slide may be large or
smallfrom a microtone to over an octavebut the slides tend to get relatively smaller
as the melody ascends.
iii
Introduction
Dhrupad singing lessons map out the Indian vocalists musical landscape in broad strokes before
zeroing in on particular r!gs to fill in the details.
I spent ten lessons learning simple musical exercises. Some of these focus on vocal technique and
sound production. The ideal voice of a male dhrupad singer stretches, roughly, from low C to the G about
middle Ctwo-and-a-half octaves, a range exceeding my natural capacity in both directions. The teacher
emphasizes early morning practice to develop the bass register, and prescribes scalar exercises for the
highest register. Glissando and grace-note exercises introduce the student to these dimensions of dhrupad
ornamentation, which require the ability to move between pitches quickly and accurately. The teacher
dictates exercises to develop the students vibrato, but in general, exercises are sung without vibrato, with
pinpoint pitch accuracy.1 (The constant tonic-dominant drone of the tambura makes subtle variations of
pitch and tuning easier to hear in Indian music than in tonal, modulating Western music.) All these
exercises condition the students voice.
The other exercises are not so physical; instead, they highlight different aspects of r!g construction, such as
omitted notes, combinations of accidentals, and characteristic melodic movements. The most complex and
difficult of these exercises builds on the simple foundation of ascending and descending scales, combined
with the idea of varying some patterns while leaving others unchanged. The student can combine and
overlap many of these exercises; this relieves the monotony of practicing the same thing again and again,
develops mental flexibility, and provides insight into the relationship between these musical building
blocks and an actual musical performance.
Note on transposition
In Indian classical music, the tonic pitch, or s!, is variable. My teachers middle s! is approximately the Csharp below middle C, which is fairly standard for Indian male vocalists. In my transcriptions, however,
middle s! is always the C-natural below middle C, to minimize accidentals.
Note on transliteration
Finale 2001, the program Ive used for my transcriptions, doesnt support the diacritical marks that
distinguish Devanagaris long vowels !, ", and # ( , , ) from the short vowels a, i, and u ( , , ). For
this reason, Ive written the long vowels as aa, ii, and uu.
Note on sargam
Ive written sargam (Indian solfege) letters under the staff music to aid musicians who arent familiar with
Western music notation. The shuddh notes are all upper-case (S, R, G, and so on), and altered notes,
including t"vra ma, are lower-case. Notes in the upper octave (middle C to the B above) have an apostrophe
after the letter (such as S R G) and note in the lower octave (from the C two octaves below middle C to
the B above) have a period after the letter (such as N. D. P.).
Thank you
My guru-ji, Prof. Ritwik Sanyal, taught me these wonderful exercises. I am indebted to him for his
knowledge, enthusiasm, and kindness.
Vibrato (gamak) in dhrupad is more variable than in Western classical music; in general, it is entirely
absent, but may span an octave or more in heavy gamak.
[Filename]
U , U , U ,U , U U U U U U U U U U U U
?c
S
sing: saa
N.
ni
D.
dha
P.
pa
M.
ma
G.
ga
R.
re
U
U U U U U U U
?
S
saa
R
re
G
ga
M
ma
P
pa
D
dha
N
ni
S.
saa
S.
saa
U
U
S'
saa
S'
saa
R.
re
N
ni
G.
ga
U
U
D
dha
M.
ma
P
pa
P.
pa
D.
dha
N.
ni
S
saa
U
U
U
U
M
ma
G
ga
R
re
S
saa
,
, , ,
?
S N. D. P. M. G. R. S. S. R. G. M. P. D. N. S
sim.
S R G M
P D N S'
S' N D P
M G R S
,
,
? ..
..
S N. D. P. M. G. R. S.
S. R. G. M. P. D. N. S
S R G M P D N S'
S' N D P M G R S
,
4 times ,.
? ..
S N. D. P. M. G. R. S. S. R. G. M. P. D. N. S
?U
w
S R G M P D N S' S' N D P M G R S
(sa)
9/5/06 Page 2
U
w
aa
U
w
naa
U
w
rii
U
w
point
nom
U
w
circle
aum
Lesson 2
aa
uh
aw
uu
ng
Repeated notes
Expand the following exercises by descending to low sa and returning to middle sa.
accent a little
?c
S S R R G G M M
(sargam)
P P D D N N S' S'
S' S' N N D D P P
M M G G R R S S
?
S S S R R R G G G M M M P P P D D D N N N S' S' S' S' S' S' N N N D D D P P P M M M G G G R R R S S S
?
?
S S S S R R R R G G G G M M M M
M M M M G G G G R R R R S S S S
fragments
? Two-note
Scale fragments
S R R G G M M P
P M M G G R R S
fragments
? Three-note
!...
S R G R G M G M P M P D
P D N D N S' N S' R' S' R' G' G' R' S' R' S' N
And so on, ascending and descending,
until eight-note fragments:
Five-note fragments
? ...
! ...
!
...! c
Four-note fragments
S R G M R G M P
S R G M P R G M P D
S R G M P D N S' R G M P D N S' R'
Try to go up to high ga or ma, and down to low dha or ni, but don't strain the voice
9/5/06 Page 3
?c U
w
D
S'
? U
w
S R G M P D N S'
S'
w
?c
... ...
etc.
9 J U
8 w
U
Jw
S' S
S'
S' N D P M G R S
...
S' R
U
w
15
8
S R G M P D N S' S'
This process of omission continues until
only the highest note of the scale remains:
R G M P D N S' R
S' N D P M G R S
...
? 15 U
w
w
8
E
R G M P D N S' S
...
etc.
Lesson 3
Omission exercise
Sing scales leaving out individual notes
in turn: first re, then ga, etc. up to ni.
Uj
Uj
(R)
S G M P D N S' S' N D P M G S
...
S R M P D N S' S' N D P M R S
... ...
(GM)
? bb b w
b
(G)
...
... ...
(DN) (RGM)
(PDN)
bbb b
d
n
S'
Repeat all previous exercises with this scale.
Exercise juxtaposing shuddh and komal scales and tetrachords
? b b c 1. n n 2. b b
bb
nn
bb
9/5/06 Page 4
S r g M P d n S'
S' N D P M G R S
S R G M P D N S'
S' n d P M g r S
? b b b 3. n n n
b
n
S
? 4.
S
bb b b
P
S'
S'
? b b 5. n n
bb
nn
S
? 6.
S
S'
S'
S'
bbbb
S'
S'
n nnn
bbb b
n nnn
S'
bb b
nn n
b
n
P
bbb b
nn nn
bb bb
n nnn
b
? b b n n # b b n n b b # n b b
Chromatic exercise
r S
R M G P
d P
n D S' N
n P
m P G M R
g S
r N. S
Lesson 4
?
A
Chain exercise
S R S R G R S R G MG R S R G M P MG R S R G M P D P M G R S R G M P D N D P M G R S R G M P D N S' N D P MG
Continue up to ni, then
invert the whole exercise
...
R G R G M G R G M P M G R G M P D P M G R G M P D N D P M G R G M P D N S' N D P M
9/5/06 Page 5
S R S R G S R G M S R G M P S R G M P D S R G M P D N S R G M P D N S'
Continue up to ni, then
invert the whole exercise
?
Then, starting from re, repeat this process:
...
R G R G M R G M P R G M P D R G M P D N R G M P D N S'
...
R S G R S M G R S P M G R S D P M G R S N D P M G R S S' N D P M G R S
?
D
S R S G S M S P S D S N S S'
R G R M R P R D R N R S'
Intervals down
?c
S S R S R
R R G R G
The four varnas are:
level, or keeping to the same note (sthayi)
ascending (aroha)
S'
S S G S G
9/5/06 Page 6
R R M R M
...
G G M G M
M M P M P
...
descending (avaroha)
mixture of the above three (sanchari)
...
...
S S S' S S'
R R R' R R'
etc.
...
[Filename]
U
U
U
> > >
> > >
?
> > > >
>
>
...
form:
>Descending
> > >
etc.
...
G' R' S' G' R' S' G' R' S' N D P M G R S N. D. P. R' S' N R' S N R' S' N D P M G R S N. D. P.
The same, with permuted scale fragment
Ascending form:
?
>
>
>
>
>
>
S
N.
D.
...
etc.
P.
G'
R'
S'
G'
R'
G'
S'
R'
S'
G'
R'
S'
N. D.
...
etc.
P.
?C
b
nb
I
S R G M P D N S'
S' N D P M G R S
S r G M P D N S'
S' N D P M G r S
?b
n#
nb
S R g M P D N S'
S' N D P M g R S
S R G m P D N S'
S' N D P m G R S
S R G M P d N S'
S' N d P M G R S
S R G M P D n S'
S' n D P M G R S
?b n
b
n
? ..
..
The same exercise, exapanded to two octaves
9/5/06 Page 7
Lesson 5
?w
Aw
Aw
Aw
aw
Aw
Altered notes
S
r/R
g/G
M/m
P
d/D
n/N
S'
In the Hindustani music system, there are only five accidentals: flat re, flat ga, sharp ma, flat dha, and flat
ni. This means that there are only thirty-two possible combinations of natural and altered notes: 1 pure
scale, 5 scales with one altered note, 10 with two, and so on. In this exercise, sing all the scales.
Range exercise
? c
B
1.
?
2.
...
etc.
? ... ...
1a.
3.
S R G M G R S R G M P M G R
GM P D P M G
S R R S R G G R
?
2a.
G M M G
3a.
?
S R G M M G R S R G M P P
High note of the original patterns sung four times:
M G
?
1b.
G M M M M G
?
9/5/06 Page 8
...
G M P P P P M G
3b.
S R G M M M M G R S R G M P P P P M G R
...
2b.
?
S
...
G M P D D P M G
...
G M P D D D D P M G
...
U
w
? w ! w
S
saa
S
re
? w
R
re
U
w
S'
saa
N
ni
N
ni
Lesson 6
R
ga
...
N
ni
U
w
U
w
U
w
w ! w
Descending form:
N
saa
U
w
...
D
dha
R
re
S'
S
saa
? C
Wedges (practice in the upper and lower octaves seperately)
Four notes each
S R G M S' N D P R G M P N D P M G M P D D P M G M P D N P M G R P D N S' M G R S
Three notes each
Two notes each
...
S R G S' N D R G M N D P G M P D P M
One note each
?
G
...
U
U
? w wU
w ww w w w w
B
S R S' N R G N D
S'
w wU
wwU
w w wU
w w wU
w
S S G
saa ga
G R M
re ma
...
M G P
ga pa
U
U
? wwU
w w w w ww w
N D S'
dha saa
...
?2
4
>
>
>
S R S R G R G M G
saa saa re
re ga
ga
...
S' D D N P
saa dha ni
pa
>
S' P P N M
saa pa ni
ma
M D G
dha
ga
S'
U
www
R G S
ga
saa
...
U
w ww
R M S
ma
saa
...
P D M
dha ma
w wU
ww U
w w wU
w w wU
w
S S M M R P
P G D
N P S'
saa ma
re pa
ga dha
pa saa
Gamak (ornament) exercises
C
Do each exercise twice: first slow, then fast
1. One ornament
j
melodically taut and rhythmically even
>
j
>
>
... j
>
S R S
saa saa
3
4
9/5/06 Page 9
? 43
2. Two ornaments
S
saa
?c
j
>
>
R S
saa
j
>
R S
saa
R
re
3. Three ornaments
j
j
j
>
>
>
G R
re
S
R S R S R S
saa
saa
saa
saa
G R
re
j
>
...
S R S
saa
j j
> >
?2
4
S
saa
R S
saa
(Expansion:)
? 43
S
saa
? 42
?
4.
R S
saa
N. R S S G R
saa
re
R S
saa
N. S N. S
saa saa
R
re
j j
2.
N. R S R
re
re
G R
re
>
M G
ga
>
>
2
4
...
3a.
j j j
> > >
...
M G
ga
G R
re
...
S R S R S R S
saa
M G
ga
M G
ga
3.
...
S G R G
ga
ga
>
G M G M G M G
ga
ga
ga
ga
...
G R
re
G R
re
j
j
j
S R S R S
saa
Lesson 7
M G
ga
R G R G R G R
re
re
re
re
43
>
G
ga
? 42
j
j
j
>
>
>
>
M G
ga
M G
ga
S N. S
saa
saa
5.
...
RMG G PM
ga
ma
...
N. R S N.G R
saa
re
R S R
re
re
3
4
42
...
j
42
...
G R G
ga
ga
...
S MG R PM
ga
ma
9/5/06 Page 10
..
..
!
P.
aa
P.
P.
P.
[Filename]
Lesson 8
Scale patterns with two steps, in dugun and caugun
Model: three-note pattern
Dugun (2 notes per beat)
?
Sing
S S
Clap
S'
S'
S'
R'
S'
S'
N.
Perform each of the following patterns in dugun and caugun, while clapping the pulse:
?
Another three-note pattern
Four-note pattern
...
etc.
S R R R G G
G M M
S S R
Five-note patterns
(Written in 16th notes to clarify the grouping, not to imply
that these patterns should be performed twice as fast)
1.
2.
?
S S S R R R R R G G
...
G G G M M
G G
S S R R R R R G G G
?
S
G M M
Six-note pattern
...
etc.
G G M M M
...
...
9/5/06 Page 11
Seven-note patterns
1.
...
...
M M M
2.
S S S R R
Eight-note pattern
M M M M
?
S S S S R R R
Patterns with three steps
Four-note patterns
1.
?
S
S R G R R G M
...
G M P P
? 2.
S S R G G R R G M M
G G G G M M M M
...
...
2.
S R R G R G G M
Five-note patterns
1.
G M M P
S S R R G R R G G M
G G M M P
...
G G M P P
...
G G M P
? 3.
S R G G R G M M
...
3.
S R R G G R G G M M
...
G M M P P
Six-note patterns
? 1. ... 2. ...
S S R R G G R R G G M M G G M M P P
S R R G G G R G G M M M G M M P P P
? ... ...
4.
3.
S R R R G G R G G G M M G M M M P P
S S R R R G R R G G G M G G M M M P
6.
S S R G G G R R G M M M
S S S R G G R R R G M M
? 5. ... ...
9/5/06 Page 12
G G M P P P
G G G M P P
7.
Seven-note patterns
1.
S S SRRGRRRGGM G G G M M P
S S SRRGGRRRGGMM G G G M M P P
? ... ...
3.
? 2. ... ...
S SRRRGGRRGGGMM G G M M M P P
Eight-note patterns
1.
?
S
2.
G M M
...
G G G M M M P P
...
? 3.
...
...
S S R R R
Nine-note patterns
1.
G M M M
G M M M
S R R R G G G R R R G G G M M M
G G G M M P P P
G G M M M P P P
G G G M M M P P P
2.
?
...
? 3.
...
...
R R R G G G G R R G G G M M M M
S S R R R R G G G R R G G G G M M M
4.
G G M M M P P P P
G G M M M M P P P
?
S S
5.
S R R R R G G R R R G G G G M M
R R G G G G R R R G G M M M M
G G G M M M M P P
...
G G G M M P P P P
9/5/06 Page 13
...
...
6.
S S
7.
G G G G M M P P P
S R R R G G R R R R G G G M M
G G G G M M M P P
S R R G G G R R R R G G M M M
j
j
j
j
j
...
S RS RS R S R GR GR G MG
R G R G R G R G MG MG M P M
saa saa saa saa re
re
re ga
ga [sim.]
j
j
j
j
j
j
Every note in the pattern after the first ornamented from above
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
...
S R S R S R S G R G R G R MG M G R G R G R G R MG MG MG P M P M
saa saa saa saa re re re ga ga [sim.]
Lesson 9
1.
ta
ra
ra
2.
na
ri
ra
ra
3.
na
te
? b
b
S
ta
r
ra
ta
ra
na
ra
na
na
G
ra
M
na,
P
ri
d
ra
N
ra
S
na,
S
te
N
ta
d
ra
P
na,
M
ra
G
na
4.
na(a)
r
na
S
na;
? b
b
Dugun, in one octave
ta ra ra na, ri ra ra na,
Clap
9/5/06 Page 14
te ta ra na, ra na na na;
ta ra ra na, ri ra ra na,
te ta ra na, ra na na na;
? b
b
Caugun, in one octave
? b
b
? b
b
ta
ra
ra
na,
ri
ra
ra
na,
te
ta
ra
na,
ra
na
na
na;
? b
b
ra
ra
na,
te
ta
ra
na,
ra
na
na
na;
ta
ra
ra
na,
ri
? b
b
ta
? b
b
ra
ra
na,
ri
ra
ra
na,
te
ta
ra
na,
ra
na
na
na;
ra
na,
ri
ra
ra
ta
ra
na,
te
ta
ra
na,
ra
na
na
na;
Expansion of syllables into longer patterns (see the guide for a description of this process):
Five-note patterns
ta
ra
ri
te
ra
ra
na
na
ra
ra
na
na
ta
ra
na
na
na
ra
na
etc.
na
9/5/06 Page 15
? b
b
Clap
? b
b
? b
b
Caugun
? b
b
? b
b
na,
ri
ra
ra
na
na,
te
ta
ra
na
na,
ra
na
ra
na
na;
ta
ra
ra
ra
9/5/06 Page 16
na
na
ri
ra
ra
ra
na
na
te
ta
re
ra
na
na
ra
na
na
ra
na
na
Lesson 10
Seven-note patterns
1.
ta ra ra ra na na na
ri ra ra ra na na na
te ta ra ra na na na
ra na na ra na na na
2.
ta ra ra na ra na na
ri ra ra na ra na na
te ta ra na ra na na
ra na na na ra na na
Eight-note pattern
ta ra ra na ra na na na
ri ra ra na ra na na na
te ta ra na ra na na na
ra na na na ra na na na
Nine-note patterns
1.
ta ra ra na ra na ra na na
ri ra ra na ra na ra na na
te ta ra na ra na ra na na
ra na na na ra na ra na na
3. 4.
(etc.)
2.
ta
ra ra na ra na na ra na
ta
ra
ra na na ra na na na
ta
ra
ra ra na ra na na na
6.
ta
ra
ra
ra
na
na
ra
na
na
ta
ra
ra
na
na
ra
na
na
5.
Ten-note patterns
1.
ta
ra
ra
na
na
ra
na
ra
na
na
ra
2.
ta
ra
ra
ra
na
ra
na
na
ra
na
9/5/06 Page 17
Later lesson
Gamak exercise
? b
b
gamak
S r S r S r G r G r
? b
b
G M G M G M P M P M
P M P M P M G M G M G r G r G r S r S r
etc.
? b
b
Ascending sounds like:
9/5/06 Page 18