1. Rag Desh
Aos 4

2. 3 pieces!?!?!?
With this piece it is easy to think that you will have loads more work to do in comparison with another set work.....
YOU DON’T

3. Music from India Rag Desh is an Indian Classical Music piece.
Indian classical music has been around for more than 200 years!
It is an oral tradition.
Indian families use a system of master-pupil teaching known as Gharana.

4. What is a Rag?
A rag (or raga) is simply the set melody which the music is improvised on.
There are over 200 different types of rag in Indian Classical music.
Each rag has a particular mood associated with it.
There are rags for morning, night, celebrations, seasons and even certain emotions.

5. Rag Desh
Desh = country
Rag Desh is traditionally played at night but is also known as a monsoon raga.
Rag Desh’s main moods are devotion, romance and longing.

6. Rag Desh Is based on the saragam system.
Like with Western scales that use ‘Do re mi fa so si la’, saragam has words for each tone too.

7. Rag Desh ‘Scale’
Like with scales, the first note is the most important and so is the dominant.
Using these notes will make the drone that accompanies all Indian classical music.

8. Instrumentation
What you do need to know is which instruments play in which version.

9. Here are the instruments listed used in the 3 versions of RAG DESH
SITAR
TABLA
SARANGI
SAROD
PAKWAJ
CYMBALS
BANSURI
ESRAJ
TAMBURA

10. These might not be so familiar
PAKHAWAJ- the double headed drum

11. SAROD-smaller and lower than the SITAR

12. BANSURI- the wooden flute

13. Don’t forget about the…
SITAR
and
TABLA

14. You need to know …
What the instruments sound like- listen to the 3 versions of RAG DESH
AND
What role they have in the music i.e. which instruments play the melody lines, or rhythm patterns or drones. You must also know which play in the different extract

15. Structure Rag Desh and other Ragas all follow a similar structure.
Alap
Jhor
Jhalla
Gat (Bandish for vocal performances)

16. Structure Section Tempo Metre/rhtyhm Musical features Alap
Slow/meditative
Free metre
Soloist explores notes of the rag
Jhor
Steady/medium
Regular pulse is established.
Improvised music becomes more rhythmic.
Tempo increases.
Jhalla
Fast/lively
Fast pulse and complex rhythms
High point in piece.
Virtuoso playing.
Gat/Bandish
Moderate to fast
Tabla drums introduce rhythmic cycle (tala)
‘Fixed’ composition is introduced.
Musical dialogue between instrumentalist and drummer.
Improvised florishes on prepared melody.

17. Rhythms
The tabla as well as improvising drum rhythms, they also play rhythm cycles known as the tala.
In the exam, you need to know the tala beats of each piece.

18. Keherwa Tal (8 beats) = 2+2+2+2 Ektal Tal (12 beats) = 2+2+2+2+2+2
Tala
Piece 1
Jhaptal (10 beats) =
Tintal (16 beats) =
Piece 2
Keherwa Tal (8 beats) =
Piece 3
Rupak Tal (7 beats) = 3+2+2
Ektal Tal (12 beats) =

19. Piece 1
Structure: 3 movements (Alap, Gat 1, Gat 2) = Alap = Gat = Gat = Final part of rag.

20. Piece 2
= Alap end = Bhajan

21. Piece 3
Structure: 3 movements (Alap, Gat 1 (slow), Gat 2 (fast)) = Alap = Gat end = Gat 2

22. Piece 1 ALAP Slow, unmetered.
Sitar unaccompanied and explore notes of the rag.
Rhythms are free and improvised.
Some decoration of notes to the melody line

23. Piece 1 GAT 1 Sitar plays ‘fixed’ composition
Decoration added to the composition
Tempo is medium speed
0.58 the tabla plays the Jhaptal beat. Tabla player adds decoration to the beat.

24. Piece 1 GAT 1 - continued Short dialogue between sitar and tabla
Sitar part more complex with scalic florishes
Tihai is heard to mark the ending of improvisations. ( )

25. Piece 1 GAT 1 - continued 3.55 – sitar improvises in triplets
5.02 – Improvisations have 4 notes per beat.
Passages of sitar followed by tabla.
The tihai is used to mark out end of solo sections.

26. Piece 1 GAT 2 Faster than gat 1 Uses more common teental tal.
In the final part of the rag, drone strings are used in a strumming fashion to give rhythmic effect called jhalla.
Piece finishes with a tihai.

27. Piece 2 ALAP Short introduction.
Sarod, then singer vocalise melody based on rag notes.
Played in free-time.
Melody is a version of the chorus from the song.

28. Piece 2
BHAJAN
This section is ‘fixed’ composition. A song in verse form.
Tabla joins 0.50.
Short sarod solo 1.10
Sarangai solo 1.22

29. Piece 2 BHAJAN - continued
Dynamics and tempo increase, so music becomes fast and exciting.
Pattern established is a verse followed by first line used as a refrain (chorus).
This is heard at 1.32/3.04 and 4.50
More solos for the sarod and sarangai are heard after the chorus.

30. Piece 3 ALAP Slow, unmetered.
Drone set by tambura using notes SA (C) and PA (G).
Bansuri flute starts playing, taking notes from the rag.
This develops from trying out short fragments to more developed melodic parts.

31. Piece 3 GAT 1 Slow tempo. Bansuri plays lyrical unaccompanied melody.
Tabla plays Rupak tal 0.31
Fixed composition starts Music becomes more animated as the improvisation occurs around the gat.

32. Piece 3
GAT 1 - continued
Tabla players embellishes original tala pattern.
Bansuri repeatedly plays gat so tabla player can improvise.
3.32, roles swap so that the bansuri improvises and tabla accompanies.
Several tihais are heard to mark section ends.

33. Piece 3 GAT 2 Last tihai frm Gat 1 leads into Gat 2.
Faster pace to Gat 1
Tabla plays the Ektal tal and sets fast tempo.
Bansuri plays elaborate gat using wide pitch range/scalic runs/slides.

34. Piece 3 GAT 2 - continued Fast scale passages are called tans.
Several tihais are heard as the music finishes.