Indian Music Flashcards
Ravi Shankar
Dude’s a musician
What are the two main traditions of Indian Classical Music?
- Karnatak of the south
- Hindustani of the north
Hindustani tradition: more well known globally due to popularity of Ravi Shankar and general Indian “immigration patterns”(<-bolded)
Differences between the two traditions are due to political histories….
What is Nada Brahma?
“The sound of god”. Singing is the highest form of musical expression since it is thought to be closest to Nada Brahma which equals the divine source of all music
What are standard instruments of both traditions?
Includes instrumental trios, which feature a single-line melody, drone and rhythmic accompaniment.
Karantak instruments: vina(melodic), tambura(drone), and mrdangam(rhythmic).
The hindustani raga of Northern India. Who is Ravi Shankar?
Most well known representative of the *Hindustani raga tradition internationally. He influenced many collaborative musical productions. Shankar’s direct and indirect influences on raga-inspired intercultural music making.
Who was Ravi Shankar a musical disciple of?
Allaudin Khan(AKA Baba)
What was Shankar a master of?
He was a great sitar master. His interactions with George Harrison of the Beatles fave him global superstar celebrity. He inspired change in rock and world musics becoming an icon in the 1960s
Ravi Shankar is now famous for his two daughters. Who are they?
Anoushka Shankar who continues his Maihar legacy as a satarist.
Norah Jones-who might be seen as extening her father’s ‘ther’ legacy as a force of influence in the worlds of Westsern pop music and jazz.
What is the caste system?
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What is the gharana?
the social institution through which the knowledge of raga is passed through generations.. It is reanslated as ‘musical family but doesn’t require blood or marriage to pass on
Anoushka Shankar
exclusively trained by Ravi Shankar..
She carries on her father’s legacy of playing the sitar. Her albums are a mix of indian and western music
What is a tambura
a drone instrument
Define alap
free improvisation
What is it called when a theme is based on a rhythmic framework ?
tala. There are many talas. Such as the tintal(a rhythmic cycle of sixteen beats)
what is raga?
It It is deeper than a mode, it is not merely a scale….
It is a precise melody forms. It is a style of indian music.
Microtones…
stress on important notes and are used within the ornamentations.
Sitar-Tambura-Tabla Trio
One type of ensemble in Hindustani music. It is known on a international scale because of Ravi Shankar’s influence
What is the Sitar
A long-necked, plucked chordophone with a wood-covered half-gourd body. The neck is scalloped allowing notes to be ornamented by’bending the strings’.
It has 6-7 main string for melody and drone tones, plus 13 sympathetic resonance strings
Tambura
An instrument specifically used for droning. It is held vertically in the player’s lap and plucked continuoisly to produce a wavelike timbral effect.
Tabla
a pair of single-headed drums playe by one person
Dahina(or tabla) the higher drum played by the right hand
Bayan-lower, left handed drum usually made of metal.
hindustani melodic music-sarod
a plucked chordophone
most famous player: Ali Akbar Khan(Ravi Sharkar’s mentor’s son). He was also important in introducing indian music to the west.
(Sympathetic strings resonate the sound)
hindustani melodic music-Bansuri
a bamboo flute(prized for its voice-like timbre)
Shahnai
oboe-like instrument
sarangi
bowed chordophone
hindustani melodic music also use violin
FYI
Define Raga
Defined by Ravi Shankar as “precise melody forms”.
Each raga is complete and self-contained melodic system that serves a s a basis for all melodic materials in any composition or performance created in –that–raga
What identifies a piece of music as raga?
Identifying set of pitches
unique repertoire of melodic ornaments and melodic motives
a system of rules and procedures
a repertoire of set(precomposed) compositions
a host of extramusical associations.
What is the tala?
metric cycle in indian music
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