Indian music, some information
Some Words about Indian Music
Styles of compositions
The main styles of singing and instrumental compositions are :
Dhrupad - an ancient solemn style, sober which could be
compared to our gregorian style. Vocalisation are not allowed. The
râga is performed at a strict level
Khyâl- a charming style involving elaborate ornaments.
By comparison to the drupad, we could call it 'baroque'. It is the
most frequent style today, and we shall use it as a reference for this
work.
Instruments
Sitar
Sitar belongs to the plucked strings family of instruments. The strings
are plucked by means of a mizrab firmly fixed on the index finger of the
right hand. Playing occurs mainly on the tar , the 7 main strings. Of these
strings, some are mainly used to play the melody - like baj tar - , the
other ones to give the low drone - the jori tar - or the high drone - cikari.
The playing of melodies, unlike the guitar, occurs mainly on one string
and requires therefore vertical movements and con-stant changes of position
of the left hand.
A third set of 13 small strings, the taraf, situated under the
main strings, just resonate by sympathy. On the fingerboard there are aproximately
19 frets, covering one and a half octave. Frets are tied on the fingerboard
by nylon threads. Therefore frets can be moved vertically to suit the requirements
of the raga. For instance to change a Ri suddha ( Re natural) into a Ri
komal ( flatted Re ), the fret will be lowered. Gurd resonators situated
behind the neck, provide natural amplification.
The sitar probably found its actual form in the 18th century. The sitar
of Pandit Ashok Pathak includes many features, particular to the Pathak
garana (style).
Surbahar
While the sitar, is mainly associated with the khyal styles, the surbahar
is with the drupad style. Similar in conception, the surbahar, is however
sounding lower, tuned a fourth under the sitar.
Tiptar
The instrument tiptar, or tap guitar, played by Daniel Schell, is not
an Indian instrument. It was developped in the 1970s in California, by
Emmett Chapman. It is an electronically amplified instrument. The
neck is similar to a guitar fingerboard, however the stings are tapped
and not plucked. Therefore right hand and left hand are independant. There
are 6 melody strings, and 6 bass -or accompanying- strings.
After having adapted to the tiptar methods coming from the guitar,
piano, cello and other classical instruments, Daniel progressively realised
that much could be learned from a close study of Indian Classical Music.
With Pierre Narcisse he started the study of hand independance on the tabla,
then with Swami Dyanabjananda theory of raga, and eventually, he started
a close study of the sitar technique and ornamentation of Ashok Pathak.
He then pursued studies about pedagogy with Dhruba Ghosh. A new section
the "Indian Music Seminar" is now open with the "European tap Seminar",
and students can go from one to the other.
Tabla
The tabla set of percussion, is composed of a small treble drum, the
dayan, and a large bass drum, the bayan. The bayan, played by the left
hand, gives the marked beats as well as some visual signs. The dayan, played
by the right hand, plays the rythmic subdivisions. Both drums are tuned
on the drone. The dayan, at least, gives clearly this note and its harmonics.
The player tunes it with a small hammer. The tuning of the bayan is not
so accurate. It is with his wrist, that the player constantly sets the
pitch of the bass notes. He is even able to produce melody-like lines.
Tampura
A raga is always executed relatively to one bass note, the Sa. This
drone or pe-dal tone is held in permanence during the whole performance.
The instrument giving the drone is usually the tampura a kind of 4-strings
harp. The fingers lightly touch the strings, which are long and low tightened.
As they vibrate on the bridge, designed to "buzz", they produce a typical
sound very rich in upper harmonics. The strings of the tampura are usually
tuned on Sa and Pa. In some raga, they are tuned on Sa and another note,
such as the Ma suddha, or the Ma tivra, or the Dha komal. This happens
when the basic mode of the raga contains no Pa or if it contains notes
Bibliography
Daniel Schell, with Ashôk Pâthak: Practice of Indian music, Clic Music 1998.
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