Music of North India: Hindustani Music

Overview

The classical music of India is divided into two traditions based on overlapping geographical areas: Hindustani music in North India, and Carnatic (Karnatak) music of South India. This video is based on Hindustani music.

The separate module on Carnatic music provides similarities between Indian and Western classical music, which both have a sophisticated theoretical system, a repertoire based on revered composers from the past, long periods of practical training for musicians, high value placed on technique and creativity, a history tied to elite classes, and are regarded as important cultural symbols.

Indian classical music is different from Western classical music in theory, concept, and most instruments, but has a common theory in Hindustani and Carnatic music; however, Hindustani music is generally more improvised, and does not share the same repertoire by Carnatic composers.

Hindustani music is based on the three layers of a drone, melody, and rhythm. The drone is a sustained pitch or interval throughout a performance, providing a basis for melody without harmonic movement. Melody is based on the complex modal system called raga, which includes a basic scale, its treatment, melodic patterns, aesthetics, and extra-musical considerations. The repeated metrical structure is based on cycles of beats called tala, each with a set of mnemonic syllables. The raga and tala have general similarities in Hindustani and Carnatic music, but differences in specific concept according to their respective traditions and regional, familial, or educational learning systems therein. The general features of these melodic and metrical systems are covered in this video with a focus on raga.

Neeraj Prem provides an entry into Hindustani performance on the plucked-stringed chordophone, the sitar, with his son Sajan on the traditional set of two tuned drums, the tabla. The sitar developed as the central instrument of Hindustani music, typically accompanied by tabla and sometimes an upright chordophone called the tambura for supplying a drone. These ensembles perform chamber music and were historically tied to courts of the elite, which has more recently moved to the concert stage, and is largely responsible for popularizing Indian music and its instruments in the West during the 20th century.

Musician

Neeraj Prem

Guru Neeraj Prem is a sitar virtuoso, performer, and educator who is from Delhi, India and who moved to Canada in 2002. He belongs to the lineage of the famous Ustad Vilayat Khan and the “vocal style” of playing sitar, which is a modern movement in Hindustani music performance. He has recorded in India and Canada, and toured widely in India, North America, Africa and Europe. He has numerous appearances on television and radio, and was the recipient of the prestigious Pandit Nikhil Banerjee Music Award from India in 2005. Neeraj works as a professional performer, composer, and educator from Hamilton, Ontario.

Terminology

An understanding of the following terms would be helpful before proceeding with the Video Content.

• Hindustani
• Sitar
• Tabla
• Raga (rag)
• Ragani
• Taan
• Alap
• Jor
• Jhala
• Tala
• Tintal
• Laya
• Mukhra
• Tihai
• Vilambit
• Drut

Video Content

Neeraj introduces us to the sitar and tabla, and demonstrates and discusses the principle features of Hindustani music, its theory, and performance practice. The concept of a rag(a) is developed with comparisons between similar ragas, how musicians improvise, its vocalized syllables, phrases, ornamentation, and comparisons to ragini and related folk music. Formal concerns with designated sections of a piece, their expression of the raga, and relationship to tempo, rhythm and meter are included. The tala is explained using the tabla drum, and a demonstration of the tala’s structure related to composed and improvised phrases on the sitar. Concerts and performance lengths are discussed as well as Western influence on traditional practices.

Transcript: Music of North India

Video Time Cues

• 0:06 Self-introduction
• 1:38 Description of the sitar
• 6:48 Demonstration of the playing & sympathetic strings
• 13:35 Demonstration of strings during performance
• 14:52 Demonstration of the mezrab (plectrum)
• 17:48 History of the sitar
• 23:05 Demonstration of the tabla/syllables of tintal
• 25:21 History, construction, and tuning of the tabla
• 30:03 Discussion of different rhythm cycles (tala)
• 30:57 Rag(a), ragini, and semi-classical music
• 32:46 Discussion/demonstration of alap, jor, jhala
• 38:37 Full composition/drut with improvisation/vilambit
• 43:40 Notes and improvisation in two similar rag(a)s
• 48:53 Different phrases of similar rag(a)s
• 52:48 Ornamentation in two styles of Hindustani music
• 1:01:40 Syllables of the rag(a)
• 1:04:19 Typical concerts and the length of the pieces
• 1:12:11 Methods of aural learning
• 1:21:22 Classical vs. light (folk) music
• 1:27:57 Playing rhythmically on the sitar
• 1:31:56 Phrases (mukhra/tihai) based on the tala
• 1:39:50 Full demonstration of a rag(a)

Suggested Activities and Assessments

Terms

Create a limited-access wiki of the terms and their definitions listed in the Terminology section above. Students can work individually to create their own “wiki” as text files, or in teams (e.g., through a course website). Students research the meanings, and if relevant, the history of these terms.

Participation

1. Raga practice exercise
   Provide an entry point to hearing notes of a raga through singing, and use the pitch collection from the Raga Yaman as an example. First, have students sing a major scale using syllables of Western solfège. Next, sing the same pitches but replace the syllables with syllables of the raga, demonstrated in the video (see the Video Time Cues section above). For the Raga Yaman, “Ma” (the 4th) is sharp (similar to a Lydian mode). Sing this scale with the raised 4th degree (Ma). Last, sing the scale ascending and descending starting on Ni, and emphasize the most important note Ga (the Vadi) and second-most important note Ni (the Samvadi) through accent, repetition, or ornamentation (e.g., bending), as shown in bold below. You may want to end by singing “Ga” as the final note.

   Table: Raga Practice Exercise

   Scale Degree:	7	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
   Solfège:		Do	Re	Mi	Fa	Sol	La	Ti	Do
   Raga Syllable:		Sa	Re	Ga	Ma	Pa	Dha	Ni	Sa
   Raga Yaman Syllable:		Sa	Re	Ga	Ma+	Pa	Dha	Ni	Sa
   Closer to Raga Yaman:	Ni	Sa	Re	Ga	Ma+	Pa	Dha	Ni	Sa

2. Quiz: Game show
   What section is this?
   The instructor plays various parts of a typical performance, such as an alap, jor, or jhala, which are all related to tempo, rhythm and metre, among other aspects in melodic treatment and improvisation. Students have to identify the section, and why they came to that decision.
3. Debate
   Has Indian classical music been Westernized? Is that good, bad, or neither? This question may include further research as it points to a longer history of British colonialism, twentieth-century popular music, changing performance spaces, and recording technology.

Research

Compare and contrast raga and tala in Hindustani and Carnatic music traditions. Consulting the related module on Music of South India: Carnatic Music may be included as an example from the performer’s perspective.