Hindustani : Indian Classical Music

Hindustani music comes from Northern India Southern India has a different tradition, called Carnatic music

Master / Student tradition Student / Guru

Hindustani music is built on 3 elements: Drone Tala: rhythm Raga: scales/melody

Drone This is the basis for all harmony, a constant or repeating tone. Usually played on a tambura, or a harmonium or shruti box

Tala or Taal This is the rhythmic basis of the music. It is a repeating pattern, similar to a rhythmic ostinato. The constant beat is called a MANTRA – over this, there are rhythmic patterns known as BOLS They are often played on the TABLA drums

Tala or Taal Each Tala is unique, with different patterns and emphasis Often, the Tala contains clapping. When a beat is missing, players wave their hand to indicate an empty beat (Khali) ClapXXwave Beat

Tala or Taal Each Tala can be divided into sections called VIBHAGS – they are roughly equivalent to BARS in Western music. Vibhags can often be uneven, combining patterns for emphasis. In this example, the emphasis is VibhagXXXX Beat

Raga or Raag A Raga is the rough equivalent of a SCALE in Western music – it is a pattern of notes used to create a particular mood. There are hundreds of raga, each with their own name and mood/association. A raga has a ascending and a descending pattern, usually different.

Raga or Raag Rag Yaman (early evening raga) From this Raga, you can create a fixed, short melody called a GAT

Structure in Hindustani Music North Indian classical music is built around improvised sections of music. It usually has 3 sections: The Alap The Jor The Jhalla

The Alap 1st section : The Alap The Alap is a slow, meditative introduction which sets the mood of the piece. A drone is used as accompaniment The notes of the Rag are explored, and the rhythm is free - no regular beat. The notes usually move from low to high, and there is a slight speed up as you move towards the next section…

The Jor 2nd section : The Jor The Jor is another improvised section, usually at a moderate tempo. The drone still provides accompaniment. A regular pulse is introduced here, although is it not usually complex.

The Jhalla 3rd section : The Jhalla The Jhalla is the final section, and it is marked by the entrance of TABLA playing the Tal. It also begins with a GAT - a fixed melody. The Gat forms the basis for more improvisations, getting steadily more complex and faster. The tempo increases to an exciting pace, and the Gat is usually repeated to finish the performance.