Music Thesis Presentation

STUDENT NAME : M.S.GANESH VISWANATHAN STUDENT ID No. : 20040 BATCH NUMBER : AE- 59 MUSICAL GENRES TO BE FEATURED IN DETAIL : SOUTH INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSIC (CARNATIC MUSIC) & NORTH INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSIC (HINDHUSTHANI MUSIC)

THE ART OF MUSIC An insight into the rudiments Governing all genres of Music
Music is the manifestation of Culture and humanness already in man An art form reveals the innate beauty of its exponent, namely the artiste . An artiste is one who not only creates, relishes and realizes the beauty of his creations but one who shares the innate beauty of his creations and experiences with the Connoisseurs of the art form. The basic factor which governs any form of music is the Sound factor. One would be able to distinguish between what type of sound is pleasing to his ears and what type of sound is capable of creating trouble within his ear drums. Though man is endowed with the power of reasoning to distinguish between music and noise it is only a musician who is capable of producing sounds in the perfect order and create a profound impact on his listeners that they are listening to musical sounds which are delivered in the right proportion. Any form of music is capable of instigating and infusing culture within Man and Man becomes a cultured individual on account of the profound impact created by the various forms of music.

SOUTH INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSIC An Introduction

Music is the brightest gem adorning the crown of Indian Culture. In the History of World Music, India was the first country to evolve a SOLFA SYSTEM . The Indian Solfa letters , sa ri ga ma pa dha ni are mentioned in such an early work as the NARADA PARIVRAJAKA UPANISHAD . They were familiar even in early times with the CYCLES OF FIFTHS AND FOURTHS ( SAMVADA DVAYA) , which is the derivation of musical scales by the process of MODAL SHIFT OF TONIC and the intervals which constituted concords and dischords . The classification of musical instruments into TATA , SUSHIRA, AVANADDHA , GHANA (Chordophones , aerophones , membranophones and autophones ) mentioned in Bharata s NATYA SASTRA has been accepted as the most scientific system of classification . Indian Music has had a continuous development from early times. Whenever a conflict arose between LAKSHANA ( Science ) and LAKSHYA (Practice) , the former was altered or was interpreted in such a manner as to conform to the latter.

Historical Landmarks Created by The Development of Indian Music

The Classification of Musical Instruments found in the Natyashastra ghana (solid) , avanaddha (covered vessels) or drums sushira (hollow) or wind instruments tata (stretched) or stringed

The Hornbostel and Sachs system of Musical Instrument Classification 1. Idiophones 2. Aerophones 3. Chordophones 4. Membranophones

Divine Interpretations onThe Development of South Indian Music

Indian music has fundamentally been a spiritual aid & the vehicle for the soul to realise & attain the Universal Soul ( Paramatman). It lay stress on melody, harmony being secondary though vital Satyajatam, Vaamanam, Tatpurusham, Eesanam & Aghoram which are the five faces of Lord Siva, from which the musical notes emanated & passed on to Posterity. Siva taught Parvati, the prime Sishya & it was successively passed on to Tumburu, Narada, Nandikeswara & Saraswati. Initial instruments were : Damaru of Siva, Flute of Krishna, Conch of Vishnu, Drum of Nandi, Veena of Saraswati & Narada, Thambur of Thumburu. Lord Buddha reinvigorated his teachings & message with music on his Parivadini veena, made of gold, having 21 strings. Sama Veda is well-known as musically rendered. Rig Veda too is reputed to have been chanted once musically. Thevaram by Appar, Sundarar & Sambandar and Divya Prabandam by Vaishnavite Azhwars came up during 7-9th centuries

Saptha Swaras
SWARADEVATHA - SHADJAM(Sa)
SHADJA : Body plump, lotus like complexion, four faces, eight hands, white attire, kumkum in forehead, has sword, sits on swan, gandarva wife, lives in Sambo island, Agni saw this devata first.

SWARADEVATHA RISHABAM (Ri)

RISHABA : Slim body,green colour, three faces, six hands, peethambara dress. Blue stone necklace, agaru in forehead. Kundam in his hand. Sits on lion, kinnara wife, lives in Saha island. Brahma saw this devatha first.

Saptha Swaras
SWARADEVATHA GANDHARAM (Ga)
GHANDARA : Fat body, golden complexion, two faces, four hands, red attire, diamond necklace, agaru in forehead, Dandam in hand, Ghanda Berunda bird as vehicle, Yaksha wife. Lives in Kusa island. Moon saw this devatha first.

SWARADEVATHA MADHYAMAM (Ma)

MADHYAMA : Tall with four faces, eight hands, blue attire, lapis lazule(vaidooryam) necklace, patharas on forehead, holds chakra, sits on deer, Kimpuru wife, lives in Kroucha island. Vishnu saw him first.

Saptha Swaras
SWARADEVATHA PANCHAMAM (Pa)
PANCHAMA : Well proportioned body. Complexion black, four faces, eight hands, red clothes, emarald necklace, Gorojanam on forhead, pindi in his hand, Naga wife, lives in Salmali island. Narada saw him first.

SWARADEVATHA DEIVATHAM (Dha)

DAIVATHA : Tall, blue body, three faces, six hands, pictured cloth worn by him, Gomethagam(sardonyx) necklace, sandal on forehead, holding narasam, sits on parrot, Deva wife, lives in Swetha island.

Thumburu saw him first.

Saptha Swaras
SWARADEVATHA NISHADHAM(Ni)
NISHADA : Very fat, five coloured complxion, two faces, four hands, blue attire, pushparaga(topaz) necklace, kadamba powder on his forehead, holding ankusam, sits on Mynakam, Rakshasa wife, lives in Pushkara island. Thumburu saw this devatha too.

Seven Swaras have twelve swara divisions:

Carnatic System Shadja Suddha Ri Chatusruti Ri Sadarana GA Antara GA Suddha MA Prati MA
Panchama

Syllable SA R1 R2
G1

Hindustani System Shadj Komal Rishab Thivra Rishab Komal GA Thivra GA Komal MA Thivra MA Pancham

Western C D Flat Db D E Flat Eb E F

F Sharp G

G2 M1 M2 PA

Suddha Da
Chatusruti Da Kaisiki NI KakaliNI

D1
D2 N1
N2

Komal Da
Thivra Da Komal NI Thivra NI

A Flat
A B Flat Bb B

Sapta Swaras & Sthanas

SA & PA are constant. Others have two levels(sthanas). Thus there exist twelve swara sthanas. Four more having shades of other swaras - Suddha Gandharam, Shatsruti Rishaba, Suddha Nishada & Shatsruti Dhaivata - make up a total of sixteen. 72 Sampoorna Ragas having all seven swaras both in ascending (arohana) & descending (avarohana) emerge as Mela ragas. Each mela has al the seven swaras but drafts varying swarasthana formulations. Each mela raga applied to permutations & combinations of swara sthanas gives scope to 484 janya (sub) ragas. 72 mela ragas have thus a potential to give the colossal 34776 janya ragas. Of course, this is only an arithmetical projection & not a melodic feasibility. Of 72 melas, the first 36 have M1 & the second 36 have M2. Sage Bharata defines 'Music' as the confluence or combination of Swara, Tala, & Pada - all in harmonious blend. Sage Matanga defines 'Raga' as a combination of musical notes that gives delight. a melody arrangement to project a definite mood, emotion or feeling. Brahma was the origin of music inspired by Sama Veda. From one note, music progressed to three, then five & crystallized in seven notes, the Sapta Swaras. Sapta Swaras are Shadja, Rishaba, Gandhara, Madyama, Panchama, Daivata & Nishada. Swara is a musical note Swaras are reputed to have been inspired by sounds of birds & animals such as : Shadja Peacock Rishaba Ox Gandhara Goat Madyama --Krouncha bird Panchama Cuckoo Daivata Horse Nishada --Elephant

Musical Scales & Instruments

MUSICAL SCALES IN INDIAN MUSIC The scale of SAMAGANA is the earliest scale of India. This scale was preceded by simpler and primitive scales. There were the Archika (Scale of one note), Gathika ( Scale of two notes) and Samika ( Scale of three Notes) , scales used in very early times. The indication of Ekasvari Gayana or Archika Gayana simply meant that the concerned passages was substantially sung to one note ; similarly the indications for Gathino gayanti and Samino Gayanti. The Rig Veda was recited to the three notes : udatta , anuduttaand svarita corrsesponding to ri , ni, sa of frequencies 10/9 8/9 and 1 respectively, the Nishada being a note belonging to the lower octave. The stringed instruments of the Lute ( Vina) type and the Harp type have been in existence from vedic times. The Rigvedic lute had only two frets. Guts were tied on to the finger-Board round the DAndi or indicate the svarasthanas a practice which continues in th cae of Svarabaht. The open string gave the note anudatta ( Ni / Nishada ) the first fret, the Svarita ( Sa/ Shadja) and the second fret udatta (Rishaba) . This scale of three notes developed into a quadratonic scale by the addition of ga (32/27) , a semitone above ri. With the addition of Dhaivatha (5/6) below , the pentatonic scale g r s n d developed ; still later into a heptatonic scale with the addition of ma (4/3) and pa (3/4) below. The scale of Sama Gana was a downward scale and m g r s and s n d p were perfectly balanced and symmetrically tetrachords , the extreme notes of each tetrachord bering the ratio 3:4. When S n D p was sung an octave higher , the idea of an ocatve was percieved . The Sama Saptaka gave birth to Shadja Grama , the primordial scale of Indian Music. The beauty of the scale of sa grama lies in the fact that it uses within it all the important and known music intervals. There was the Chathussruti interval (9/8) between ma and pa; Tissruti Interval 10/9 between Sa & Ri and pa and Dha ; and dvisruti interval 16/15 between ri and ga and dha and ni. The Indian music scale with seven notesof defined pitch was fixed more than 3000 years ago as is evidenced by The Rikpratisakhya . Three octaves were recognized even in the distant past . It was also noticed that the notes in the second and third ocatves were twice in pitch compared to the frequencies of the notes of the preceding ocatves. The notes of Sama Gana were styled the suddha svaras and the other notes which received recognitin from time to tim as Vikrata Svaras. When the note given by the opening string of the Vina was taken as Shadja and the remaning notes of the suddha svara Saptaka were played in ascending order of pitch the Sankharabharana scale was produced , and its very appropriate that this murchhana was called Ranjani.

Musical Scales & Instruments

Musical Instruments have played a great part in the part in the development of music of both the orient and occident. The keyboard instrument helped to formulate the principles and science of Harmony in Europe. The fretted Vina served as an acoustic meter and helped to show the subtle nature and the character of the Gamakas and their modus perandi. It helped to analyse and study the harmonics and musical phenomena generally . The modern Vina with 24 frets ( 12 for each octave) paved the way for the development of the now famous scheme of 72 Melakarthas. Initial instruments were : Damaru of Siva, Flute of Krishna, Conch of Vishnu, Drum of Nandi, Veena of Saraswati & Narada, Thambur of Thumburu. Lord Buddha reinvigorated his teachings & message with music on his Parivadini veena, made of gold, having 21 strings. Sama Veda is well-known as musically rendered. Rig Veda too is reputed to have been chanted once musically. Thevaram by Appar, Sundarar & Sambandar and Divya Prabandam by Vaishnavite Azhwars came up during 7-9th centuries. The scheme of 72 Melakartas which we owe to Venkatamakhi is one of the proud heritages of Humanity. It is of interest to musicians and music scholarsall over the world based at it is on the universally known 12 notes of the gamut. This schemeis one of the gifts of India to worlds musical thought and science. Venkatamakhi could as well have stopped with the 32 Logical and non vivadi melas instead of going further into it which resulted in the scheme of 72 Melakartas comprisng of 40 Vivadi melas as well. Here its again the modal shift of tonic that enabled him to get a glimpse at some of the Vivadi Melas. This eventually led him to the formulation of 72 Melakartas or Heptatonic scales with perfect fifths.

The Scheme of 72 Melakartas

MELAKARTHA RAGAS -: Melakarta is a collection of fundamental ragas (musical scales) in Carnatic music (South Indian classical music). Melakarta ragas are parent ragas (hence known as janaka ragas) from which other ragas may be generated. REQUISITES FOR A MELAKARTHA RAGA Ragas must contain the following characteristics to be considered Melakarta. They are sampoorna ragas - they contain all seven swaras (notes) of the octave in both ascending and descending scale They are krama sampoorna ragas - that is the sequence is strictly ascending and descending in the scales, without any jumps or zig-zag notes The upper shadjam is included in the raga scale (ragas like Punnagavarali and Chenchurutti are not melakarta as they end with nishadham) The ascending and descending scales must have the same notes Melakarta scale Each melakarta raga has a different scale. This scheme envisages the lower Sa (Keezh Shadjamam), upper Sa (Mael Shadjamam) and Pa (Panchamam) as fixed swaras, with the Ma (Madhyamam) having two variants and the remaining swaras Ri (Rishabam), Ga (Gandhaaram), Dha (Dhaivatham) and Ni (Nishaadham) as having three variants each. This leads to 72 seven-note combinations (scales) referred to as the Melakarta ragas as follows.

The Scheme of 72 Melakartas

There are twelve semitones of the octave S, R1, R2=G1, R3=G2, G3, M1, M2, P, D1, D2=N1, D3=N2, N3. A melakarta raga must necessarily have S and P, one of the M's, one each of the R's and G's, and one each of the D's and N's. Also, R must necessarily precede G and D must precede N (krama sampoorna raga). This gives 2 6 6 = 72 ragas. Finding melakarta ragas is a mathematical process. By following a simple set of rules we can find the corresponding raga and the scale associated with it. A raga which has a subset of swaras from a Melakarta raga is said to be a janya (means born or derived from) of that Melakarta raga. Every raga is the janya of a melakarta raga. Janya ragas whose notes are found in more than one melakarta raga are assigned (or associated) parent Melakarta based on subjective notions of similarity. This is obvious for ragas that have less than seven notes. For such ragas it can be associated with a Melakarta which has any of the different swaras in that position. For example, Hindolam has Rishabam and Panchamam missing. Hence, it could be considered a janya of Todi (also known as Hanumatodi) which has shuddha rishabam or with Natabhairavi which has a chathusruthi rishabam. It is popularly associated with Natabhairavi. Chakras Melakarta Ragas The 72 melakarta ragas are split into 12 groups called chakras, each containing 6 ragas. The ragas within the chakra differ only in the dhaivatham and nishadham notes (D and N). The name of each of the 12 chakras suggest their ordinal number as well.

Chakras Melakarta Ragas

Types Of Chakras Melakarta Ragas

Indu Chakra Melakarta Ragas

Netra Chakra Melakarta Ragas

Agni Chakra Melakarta Ragas

Veda Chakra Melakarta Ragas

Bana Chakra Melakarta Ragas

Risi Chakra Melakarta Ragas

Vasu Chakra Melakarta Ragas

Brahma Chakra Melakarta Ragas

Disi Chakra Melakarta Ragas

Rudra Chakra Melakarta Ragas

Aditya Chakra Melakarta Ragas

Sample Audio Clips of a few Melakarta Ragas

Raga Kanakangi Raga Ratnangi Raga Ganamurthi Raga Vanaspathi Raga Tanarupi

Source : S Rajams Carnatic Music Treasures for the Lay and the Learned

Raga Senavathi

Raga Hanumatodi

Musical Forms of South Indian Classical Music

1.

KRITI -: The Kriti is the most highly evolved amongst art musical forms. It is a development from the Kirtana. The Kirtana had its birth about the latter half of the fourteenth century . The Tallapakkam compsers ( 1400-1500) were the first to compose Kirtanas with the divisions : Pallavi , Anupallavi and Charana. Where in Kirtanas , the sahithya is of primary importance and the music merely serves as a vehicle to sing the devotional Sahithya , in the kriti it was the other way round. The Sahithya in the Kriti merely helps the beautiful music . In the Kriti the delineation of the raga in all its bright colours is the primary concern of the composer. Saint Thyagaraja is the first composer to introduce sangatis ( musical improvisations) in his kritis with the object of -: Presenting the various visages of the Raga With the idea of emphasising the latent ideas enshrined in the Sahithya

Chitta Svaras ( Fixed Compositional Notes which are played along with the Kriti) were added by Ramaswamy Dikshitar and Kavi Matrubbaya ( 18th Century)
Svara Sahithyas were introduces by Tyagaraja in his Ghanaraga Pancharatna Krithis and also by Syama Sastri. Kritis with Vilomakrama Svara Sahithyas were first composed by Ramaswamy Dikshitar. Kritis with Samashti Charanas were first composed by Muthuswamy Dikshitar and these compositions remind one of the earlier Ugabogas ( Musical Preludes sung in the Kriti ). Manipravala Kriti -: Manipravala Sahithyas have existed from early times. Slokas with the first half in Sanskrit and the second half in Telugu have been written . Verses in Manipravalam , in Sanskrit and Malayalam exist. Muthuswamy Dikshitar was the first to compose a Manipravala Kriti. His Venkatachalapate (Kaapi Raga) in Sanskrit , Telugu and Tamil is a classical example of a Manipravala Kriti.

Musical Forms of South Indian Classical Music

Ragamalika -: The form Ragamalika has a colourful history . It was known as Raga Kadambakam in medieval music. Decorative patterns in their highly artistic patterns in their highly artistic forms are seen in this jewelled type of composition. VARNA -: This particular musical form is meant to be played or sung as the opening piece of a concert . There are two types in this musical form , namely TANA VARNAS & PADA VARNAS . The Tana Varnas are earlier than Pada Varnas. The First regular tana Varna to be composed was the Viriboni varna in Bhairavi Raga. The Author of this Varna , Pachchimiriyam Adiyappiah is rightly called the TANA VARNA MARGADARSI. PADAM -: During the medieval period , the word padam was freely used to denote any devotional song. It is in this sense that the Kannada Padas of Purandara dasar and others are spoken of. Later on the term Padamcame to be used to denote a composition of Madhura Bhakti. Kshetrayya ( 17th Century ) is the architect of this form and it reached perfection in his hands. He is rightly called the father of Modern Padam. On account of its beautiful lyrics, these compositions are invariably sung in concerts of music. The implied Bhavas underlying the Sahithyas of Padas make them ideal pieces for Abhinaya in dance concerts. JAVALI -: This form had its birth in the nineteenth century. It is a lighter type of composition. There is neither the classical dignity about its music nor its sahithya of a superior order. There are JAVALIs in Telugu and Kannada. To lend attraction to the tune, sometimes liberties are taken within the grammar of the raga. TILLANA -: Tillana is a brisk and lively form. It is sung usually in the last phase of the concert. It is very prominent in the concerts of dance. This form had its origin in the 18th Century. Virabhadrayya is one of the earliest to compose Tillanas. Although jatis have figured in the earlier compositions like the Prabhandas , yet a composition consisting of fine sequences of Jatis along with sahithya and solfa passages had its birth only in the 18th Century.

Musical Forms of South Indian Classical Music

SVARAJATI -: This form had its birth in the 18th Century. The earliest composition is the Svarajati in Huseni Raga Emayaladi . This had a passage of Jatis in the Muktayi part of the 1st Half of the compostion . Thus this form started as a dance form . Later on it was converted into a regular music form by Shyama Sastri with the deletion of the passages of Jatis. His Svarajatis are typical models and he is rightly called the architect of this form. In the Svarajati the charanas are of varying length and are set in different dhatus . There is a plan and order in their musical progression.

JATISVARAM -: This is a regular dance form and had its birth in the early part of the 19th Century. This entire compostion is moulded on the pattern of sequences of Jatis. Though the pallavi and Anupallavi and parts of Charanas were intended to be sung with Jatis , later this practice was given up and composition came to be sung to Solfa Syllables. The Tanjore Quartette and Swati Tirunal have composed beautiful Jatisvaras.

ABHYASA GHANAS ( Practice Pieces)-: The Svaravali and Alankaras were first composed by Purandaradasar (1484 1564). Gitas existed even before Purandara Dasa. But he is the author of the PILLARI GITAS in Malahari raga and Sanchari Gitas in other ragas. Paidala Gurumurthi Sastri ( 18th Century) composed a number og gitas in Sanskrit.

TALAM Concepts & Functions

The two key constituent factors that are considered to be the two eyes of Carnatic music are ragam and thalam. The quintessence of the raga concept in Carnatic music is based on the fluctuating nuances in the use of the different swaras within the grammatical frame work. Similarly talam has a unique system of operation based on different types of percussive syllables. It is talam which gives Carnatic music a perfect shape with totality. The concept of talam is based on various factors such as the variations in kalapramanam, jathi and gathi. These factors are instrumental for the formation and construction of various tala scales. In the tala system, certain talas are based on angam and certain talas are based on aksharam. For example the sapta talas are considered to be aksharapramana talas, and the concept and existence of 108 talas is based on Angam, thus are known as angapramana talas.

The etymological meaning of the word talam comprises of two syllables tha, which refers to lord Shiva, and Lam, refers to Sakthi, and the word talam thus means one in which both lord Shiva and goddess Sakthi jointly function and exist together. This meaning of the word talam is derived from the divine work Nandhimadham.
Talas are of various types and forms certain of these talas are still in common practice even today. There are various classifications within these tala systems. The Sulathi Saptha talas give rise to the 35 talas, due to the multiplicative patterns and various combinations employed within the laghu and jathi. These 35 talas give in turn on account of multiplicative combinations give rise to 175 aksharapramana talas. The angapramana tala system comprises of pancha talas 5, Navashanthi talas 9, Apurva talas 52 and the allied 108 talas. There are references in Karnataka states dance style Yakshagana which relate to a Ashta tala or 8 tala system.

Talam- Structure and Framework

Each and every talam has a structure, that is governed by the rules pertaining to it. For example, if we take the most common tala - Chatusra Jaathi Triputa Talam (Adi Talam), we can describe the process of the tala thus : 1 beat of the palm of the hand on the thigh, followed by counting three fingers, then beating the palm and turning it over, then beating the palm and turning it over If we count a number each for every beat, fingercount or turn of the palm - the number comes to eight. So the tala has eight units. The units are called Aksharams and the Adi talam has 8 aksharams. The first part of the tala which consists of the beating of the palm & counting is called Laghu. Here the number of units is 4 (Chatusram) and the laghu is Chatusra laghu. The Jaathi of the laghu determines the jaathi of the tala so the tala is Chatusrajaathi Adi Tala. The next process of beat and turning the palm is called Drtham. It is done twice, so the tala has 2 drthams. Thus Chatusra Jaathi Triputa Talam(Adi) has one Chatusra Laghu and two drthams. The symbol for laghu is 1 and the number written beneath it represents the jaathi and the symbol for drtham is 0 and hence, this thalam will be represented thus 1400 Thus, from the above, we understand that a tala has laghu, drtham and these are called Angams (parts) of the tala. In some cases, there may be half of drtham, i.e., just the beat of the palm without turning it and is called Anudrtham. There are seven basic thalas : 1. Dhruva talam 2. Matya Talam 3. Rupaka Talam 4. Jampa Talam 5. Triputa Talam 6. Ata Talam 7. Eka Talam

Indian Musical Instruments

The Indian musical instruments are classified into four major categories: Tata vadya, Sushira vadya, Avanaddha vadya & Ghana vadya. Tata vadya - String instruments (Chordophonous) This is further classified based on the mode of playing: - by friction with a bow like the violin, sarangi, dilruba, esraj, etc (Ravanastram is one of the earliest known bowed instrument) - by plucking the string like the veena, rudra veena, gotuvadyam, sitar, sarod, guitar, mandolin, harp, (tambura, ektar -drone instruments) etc. - by striking with a hammer or a pair of sticks like gettuvadyam, swaramandala Sushira vadya - Wind instruments This section comprises hollow instruments where wind is the producer of sound. These can be further classified by mode of playing: - those where wind is supplied by some mechanical means, commonly bellows - e.g. organ, harmonium - those where the wind is supplied by the breath of the performer, which can be further classified as mouth blown & nose blown. mouth blown * those where wind is blown through the mouth pieces in the instrument - e.g. clarinet, oboe, nadaswaram, shanai nose blown * those where wind is blown through the orifices in the wall of instrument - e.g. flute Avanaddha vadya - Membrane covered (Membranophonous) This section comprises all percussion instruments. These can be further classified by mode of playing: - those played by hand - e.g. mridangam - those played using sticks - those played partly by hand and partly by stick - e.g. tavil - self struck - e.g. damaru - those where one side is struck and the other side stroked - e.g. perumal madu drum Ghana vadya - Solid percussion instruments This covers instruments made out of metal, wood, stone or clay but those that are solid like the ghatam, kartal, gongs, cymbals, etc

North Indian Classical Music (Hindhusthani Music)

Hindustani Classical Music is the Hindustani or erstwhile North Indian style of Indian classical music. Originating in the Vedic period, it is a tradition that has been evolving from the 12th century AD, in what is now northern India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, and also Nepal and Afghanistan, and is today one of the two main parts of Indian classical music, with the other one being the Carnatic music, which represents the music of South India. Characteristics The tradition was born out of a cultural synthesis from several musical streams: the vedic chant tradition dating back to approximately one millennia BC, the equally ancient Persian tradition of Musiqi-e assil, and also existent folk traditions prevalent in the region. The terms North Indian Classical Music or Shstriya Sangeet are also occasionally used. It is traditional for performers who have reached a distinguished level of achievement, to be awarded titles of respect; Hindus are usually referred to as Pandit and Muslims as Ustad. An interesting aspect of Hindustani music going back to sufi times, is the tradition of religious neutrality: Muslim ustads singing Hindu bhajans, or vice versa.

Principles of Hindustani music

The rhythmic organization is based on rhythmic patterns called Taal. The melodic foundations are "melodic modes", or "Parent Scales", known as Thaats, thaats are part of "musical personalities" called Ragas or Raags. Thaats - and so Ragas - may consist of up to seven scale degrees, or swara. Hindustani musicians name these pitches using a system called Sargam the equivalent of Western movable do solfege: Sa = Do Re = Re Ga = Mi Ma = Fa Pa = So Dha = La Ni = Ti Sa = Do Both systems repeat at the octave. The difference between sargam and solfege is that re, ga, ma, dha, and ni can refer to either "Pure" (Shuddha) or altered "Flat" (Komal) or "Sharp" (Tivra) versions of their respective scale degrees. As with movable do solfege, the notes are heard relative to an arbitrary tonic that varies from performance to performance, rather than to fixed frequencies, as on a xylophone. The fine intonational differences between different instances of the same swara are sometimes called ruti. The three primary registers of Indian classical music are Mandra, Madhya and Tara. Since the octave location is not fixed, it is also possible to use provenances in mid-register (such as MadraMadhya or Madhya-Tara) for certain ragas

Hindhusthani Music Structure and Framework

A typical rendition of Hindustani raga involves two stages: Alap: a rhythmically free improvisation on the rules for the raag in order to give life to the raga and shape out its characteristics. The alap can be further divided into the alap, jod and jhala.

Bandish or Gat: a fixed, melodic composition set in a specific raga, performed with rhythmic accompaniment by a tabla or pakhavaj. There are different ways of systematizing the parts of a composition. For example:

Sthaayi: The initial, Rondo phrase or line of a fixed, melodic composition. Antara : The first body phrase or line of a fixed, melodic composition. Sanchaari : The third body phrase or line of a fixed, melodic composition, seen more typically in Dhrupad Bandishes Aabhog : The fourth and concluding body phrase or line of a fixed, melodic composition, seen more typically in Dhrupad Bandishes.

There are three variations of Bandish, regarding tempo:

Vilambit Bandish: A slow and steady melodic composition, usually in Largo to Adagio speeds. Madhyalaya Bandish: A medium tempo melodic competition, usually set in Andante to Allegretto speeds. Drut Bandish: A fast tempo melodic composition, usually set to Allegretto speed, and onwards.

Hindhusthani Music Types of Compositions

The major vocal forms-cum-styles associated with Hindustani classical music are Dhrupad, Khayal, Tarana and Thumri. Other forms include Dhamar, Trivat, Chaiti, Kajari, Tappa, Tap-Khayal, Ashtapadis, Dadra, Ghazal and Bhajan Dhrupad Dhrupad is a yet older style of singing, traditionally performed by male singers. It is performed with a tanpura and a Pakhawaj as instrumental accompaniments. The lyrics, which sometimes were in Sanskrit centuries ago, are presently often sung in Brajbhasha, a medieval form of Hindi that was spoken in the Mathura area. The Rudra Veena, an ancient string instrument, is used in instrumental music in the style of Dhrupad. Styles of dhrupad There are said to be four broad stylistic variants of dhrupad the vanis (or banis): Gauri (Gohar), Khandar, Nauhar, and Dagar. These are tentatively linked to the five singing styles (geetis) known from the 7th Century: Shuddha, Bhinna, Gauri, Vegswara, and Sadharani but more importantly, there are a number of dhrupad gharanas: "houses", or family styles.

Khayal Khayal is a form of vocal music in Hindustani music, adopted from medieval Persian music and based on Dhrupad music. Khayal, literally meaning "Thought" in Hindi/Urdu originally from Arabic, Khyal, is special as it is based on improvising and expressing emotion. A Khayal is a 4 to 8 lined lyric set to tune. The lyric is of an emotional account possibly from poetic observation. Khayals are also more popularly depicting emotional significance between two lovers, a situation evoking intense feeling, or situations of ethological significance in Hinduism and Islam Tappa Tappa is a form of Indian classical vocal music whose specialty is its rolling pace based on fast, subtle, knotty construction. The arrangement of words, with the help of tone vibrations performed in an exquisite vocal style, create a charming atmosphere. It originated from the folk songs of the camel riders of Punjab and developed as a form of classical music by Mian Ghulam Nabi Shori or Shori Mian (1742 - 1792), a court singer of Asaf-Ud-Dowlah, Nawab of Awadh. Thumri Thumri is a semiclassical vocal form said to have begun with the court of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, 1847-1856. There are three types of thumri: Punjabi, Lucknavi and poorab ang thumri. The lyrics are typically in a proto-Hindi language called Braj bhasha and are usually romantic.