Welcome to Grade 4

You are about to start the wonderful journey of learning to sing, a journey that is challenging, but rewarding and enjoyable! Whether you want to jam with a band or enjoy singing solo, this series of lessons will get you ready to perform with skill & confidence.

Grade 4 covers the following topics Gharana Bhatkhande Tanpura Lakshangeet Psychology

Introduction

What will you learn?

Grade 4

Harmonium / Synthesizer

Electronic Tabla / Tabla App

You can learn to sing without any of the above instruments also and by

tapping your feet, however you will get a lot more out of this series if you have a basic harmonium and a digital Tabla to practice.

Apart from this booklet for level 1, there will be video clippings shown to you for each topic in all the lessons. During practice at home, please follow the method shown in the clippings. Practice each lesson several times before meeting for the next lesson. A daily practice regime of a minimum of 15 minutes will suffice to start with. Practicing with the harmonium and the digital Tabla will certainly have an added advantage.

Digital Tabla machines or Tabla software’s are easily available and ideally should be used for daily practice.

How to Practice At Home

What You Need

Lesson 1

Gharanas in Indian classical music is an age old tradition and is based

on the Guru-Shishya Parampara. The master or Guru invents his/her own

unique style of singing which is passed down to the student’s generation

after generation & eventually results in the formation of a Gharana. In other

words, a Gharana refers to a particular style of singing.

In the olden times, everything, including art was pretty much localized.

People living in one particular region had no idea of what was happening in

another region. So the style of singing in a particular place remained

confined to that region & didn’t travel. As a result, all the Gharanas got their

names from the places they originated in.

GHARANAS IN INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSIC

1. Gwalior Gharana: This is one of the oldest Gharanas. It was started by Miya

Tansen. Some of the popular singers of this Gharana are Krishnarao shankar

Pandit & Raja Bhaiyya Poonchwale. Some of the contemporary artistes of

this Gharana are Meeta Pandit, Shashwati Mandal, Vasundhara Komkali etc.

The prominent features of this Gharana are as follows:

a) Singing in an open & loud voice

b) Khyals have a touch of Dhrupad style.

c) Taans are straight & 'Sapaat'.

d) Laykari in Boltaan

e) Extensive use of Gamak.

There are 10 major Gharanas in Hindustani classical music

2. Agra Gharana: This Gharana was founded by Haji Sujan Khan and Ustad

Ghaghe Khuda Baksh. Some of the popular singers of this Gharana are

Faiyyaz Khan, Khadim Hussain Khan and Zohrabai. Some of the

contemporary artistes of this Gharana are Waseem Ahmed Khan and

Bharati Pratap.

The prominent features of this Gharana are as follows:

a) Aalap using the words 'Nom-Tom'.

b) Bandish occupies a special position in this Gharana & involves a lot of

Laykari within the Bandish.

c) Singing in an open & clear voice.

d) Specializes in Dhrupad-Dhamaar also alongwith Khyal.

e) Specializes in singing Boltaan as well as singing words without breaking

Them so that their meaning remains intact.

3. Kirana Gharana : This ia a very popular Gharana in terms of the artistes

that it has produced and was founded by Ustad Bande Ali Khan who

incidentally also used to play the Rudra Veena. Some of the most popular

singers of this Gharana are Bhimsen Joshi, Firoz Dastur and Prabha Atre.

Some of the contemporary singers of this Gharana are Sumitra Guha and

Sanhita Nanda.

The prominent features of this Gharana are as follows:

a) A special way of rendering the notes

b) More importance to Swar than words.

c) Aalap dominant singing.

d) Aalap is done by expanding the notes slowly one by one.

e) A touch of Thumri style to singing.

f) A touch of the style of playing string instruments to singing.

g) Extensive use of Meend and Gamak in Taan.

Ashwini Bhide Deshpande

Raghunandan Panshikar

4. Bhendi Bazaar Gharana: This is one of the oldest Gharanas and was

founded by Chhajju Khan, Nazir Khan and Khadim Khan. The most famous

singers of this Gharana are Lata Mangeshkar, Manna Dey and Begum

Akhtar.

Prominent features of this Gharana are as follows:

a) Use of 'Merukhand' system in Aalap.

5. Jaipur - Atrauli Gharana: This Gharana was started by Alladiya Khan in

the late 19th century. Some of the disciples of this Gharana are Ashwini

Bhide Deshpande, Raghunandan Panshikar, Shruti Sadolikar and Sanjay

Dixit.

Begum Akhtar Manna Dey Lata Mangeshkar

Ustad Ali Baksh

Ghulam Ali

Prominenet features of this Gharana are as follows:

a) Predominantly Khyal singing.

b) Unique Laykari.

c) Rich collection of Ragas.

d) Complex formations of Swar.

6. Patiala/Punjab Gharana: This Gharana was founded by Ustad Fateh Ali

Khan and Ustad Ali Baksh. Some of the famous singers of this Gharana are

Ghulam Ali and Shafqat Amanat Ali.

The prominent features of this Raag are:

a) Fast compositions & rhythm play in its compositions.

b) Extensive use of Alankarik Taan & Phirat Taan.

c) Known for its Chhota Khyal compositions.

d) Singing influenced by the ‘Tappa’ style.

e) Expertise in singing Taan.

f) Expertise in Thumri singing.

7. Rampur-Sahaswan Gharana: This was founded by Ustad Inayat Hussain

Khan. Some of the famous disciples of this Gharana are Pt. Ganpat Rao, Arun

Bhaduri, Hariharan, Sonu Nigam and Shaan.

Some of the prominent features of this Gharana are:

a) The singing style is more Like Gwalior Gharana.

b) Features medium to slow tempo in singing.

c) Singing in a full-throated voice.

d) There is an intricate play of rhythm.

8. Indore Gharana: This Gharana was founded by Ustad Amir Khan. Some of

the prominent singers of this Gharana are Sultan Khan, Singh Bandhu and

Pt. Amarnath.

Some of the special features of this Gharana are:

a) The singing style is a mix of singing legends like Abdul Wahid Khan, Aman

Ali Khan, Rajab Ali Khan and Abdul Karim Khan.

b) The tempo of the Bandish are slow & they focus on the development of

the Raag & melody.

c) There is a good use of ‘Tihai’ in the compositions of this Gharana.

9. Mewati Gharana: This Gharana was foundrd by Ustad Ghagge Nazir Khan.

Some prominent singers of this Gharana are Pt. Jasraj, Pt. Abhyankar, Smt.

Kala Ramnath & Pt. Aravind Thatte.

Some features of this Gharana are as given below:

a) Singing is more Khyal based.

b) Compositions of this Gharana are influenced by the Sufi & Kirtankar

styles.

c) Most of the songs have a spiritual element attached to it.

10. Sham Chaurasia Gharana: This was founded by Chand Khan and Suraj

Khan. Some prominent singers of this Gharana are Nazakat and Salamat Ali

Khan.

Special features of this Gharana are:

a) This is the most modern Gharana of Indian classical music.

b) It is known for its vocal duets.

c) It’s a Gharana of Dhrupad singing which is highly influenced by the Khayal

style.

Lesson 2

Pandit Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande was an Indian musicologist who was

the first one to formally & scientifically write down the subject of Hindustani

classical music. Before this, the art form was propagated for centuries

mostly through oral traditions.

Pt. Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande was born on the 10th of August, 1860

at Walkeshwar in Mumbai. While not a professional musician himself, his

father ensured that Bhatkhande & his siblings received an education in

classical music. After turning 15, Bhatkhande became a student of Sitar &

subsequently began studying Sanskrit texts that dealt with music theory. In

1884, he became a member of Gaayan Uttejak Mandal, a music appreciation

society in Bombay, which broadened his experience of music performance

& teaching. He studied at the Mandal for 6 years and learned a variety of

compositions in both Khayal & Dhrupad forms. He graduated (B.A.) in 1886

& finished L.L.B. in1890 after which he briefly pursued a career in criminal

law.

PANDIT VISHNU NARAYAN BHATKHANDE

However, music was still a leisure activity for him until 1900 when his

wife died followed by the death of his daughter in 1903. After that, he gave

up his law practice & devoted himself entirely to music. He started his

historical musical journey in 1904 wherein he travelled extensively

throughout India to collect music related literature. He listened to all the

stalwarts of his time & created notations of their musical pieces which he

later published in his book series titled 'Hindustani Sangeet-Paddhati Kramik

Pustak-Malika'. This series has six volumes. For the theory, he came out with

four volumes of 'Hindustani Sangeet Paddhati' which were also translated

to Hindi & called 'Bhatkhande Sangeet Shastra'. He also wrote two books in

Sanskrit called 'Lakshya Geet' & 'Abhinav Raag Manjari' that spoke about

ancient music, its qualities & its types.

He organized a large scale music conference in Baroda in 1916 which

was inaugurated by the Maharaja of Baroda. This conference witnessed

serious discussions on many fundamentals of music by the experts in the

subject & the proposal to establish an "All India Music Academy' was also

approved. The speeches of Bhatkhande ji during the course of this

conference were published in English in a book called 'A short historical

survey of the music of upper India'.

Bhatkhande explained the Ragas in an easy to understand language &

composed several pieces (Bandish) which explained the grammar of the

ragas. He considered 'Bilawal' as his Shuddha Thaat & classified almost all

the Ragas into the 10 Thaat system that we know today. Before he came up

with the Thaat-Raag concept, the system of Raag-Ragini was followed. He

borrowed the idea of Lakshan Geet from the Carnatic music scholar

Venkatamakhin. He is also the inventor of the Bhatkhande notation system

which is being widely used by Indian musicologists the world over today.

He strived tirelessly to organize many music conferences & also

establish music schools. The 'Marris music college' at Lucknow, now known

as 'Bhatkhande Sangeet Vidyapeeth' was established by him in 1926. The

noble purpose of its establishment was to liberate music from the monopoly

of Gharanas & make music education accessible to all. It was declared a

deemed university in 2000 & offers music education in vocal music,

instrumental music, dance, musicology & research & applied music. Apart

from the Bhatkhande music institute, the 'Madhav Sangeet Mahavidyalay'

at Baroda & the 'Music College' of Baroda’ also require a special mention.

He passed away on the 19th of September, 1936. However his service

in the field of music is incomparable & he will always be remembered for

helping the students of music see Indian music in a different light.

Lesson 3

The 'Tanpura' or 'Tamboora' is an important string instrument in

Indian classical music. Classical singing sounds incomplete without the

Tanpura. It isn't possible to play a tune or a song on a Tanpura, but by

plucking its strings, the singer can create an atmosphere conducive to the

Raag that he/she wants to sing. One can either place it down horizontally or

make it stand vertically in order to play it.

A Tanpura dosen't have any frets. It has four strings. Starting from

the left, the first string is tuned to the Swar 'Pa' of the Madhya Saptak, the

second & third strings are tuned to the Swar 'Sa' of the Madhya Saptak &

the fourth string is tuned to the Swar 'Sa' of the Mandra Saptak. So the four

strings of a Tanpura keep resonating with these Swar continuously, one

after the other. In case of a Raag in which Pancham is not allowed (is a Varjit

Swar), the first string is tuned to 'Ma' & if there is a Raag that dosen't have

'Pa' & in which 'Ma' is Teevra, then in that case, the first string is tuned to

'Ni' or 'Ga'.

TANPURA

The first three strings of the Tanpura are made of steel & the fourth

string is made of brass. Some people also make the first sring of aluminium

or copper to get a deep, heavy resonance. Also one can modify the number

of strings to five or six instead of four.The cicumference of thr gourd

(Tumba) of a Tanpura is approx. 90 cms. & the total length of a Tanpura is

approx. 150 cms. The Tanpura used by female singers is comparatively

smaller in size.

It’s difficult to say when the Tanpura began to be used but before the

advent of the Tanpura, singers primarily used a single stringed instrument

for support while singing. In the olden times, it used to be called the

'Ghosha' or an 'Ektantri Veena'. In contemporary times, it’s known as the

'Iktara' or ‘Ektara’. Tanpura is a member of the Veena family & is extremely

popular in today's times. Although we also have the box Tanpura/electronic

Tanpura today, still the importance of the traditional Tanpura hasn’t

diminished.

Sira/Greeva : The uppermost part of a Tanpura is called Sira, Shir or Greeva.

This part may also be called the Mukh or Mastak & the Khoonti are present

on this part of the Tanpura.

Khoonti : A Khoonti is a wooden peg which has the string of the Tanpura

wound around it. There are four Khoonti on the Tanpura. One can tighten

or loosen the string by turning the Khoonti. The Khoonti may be made of

ebony, wood of Acacia Catechu (Khair), rosewood or the wood of the walnut

tree.

Taargahan : Towards the Khoonti, on the length/neck of the Tanpura, there

are two strips made out of stag horn. The first one is called a 'Taargahan'.

This strip has small holes in it through which the strings are passes & then

wound around the Khoonti.

Parts of the Tanpura

Atee/Meru : The second strip is called the Atee or Meru and the strings are

made to pass over this strip.

Daand : The long neck like part attached to the Toomba is called the Daand.

This is made of the Spanish cedar wood or rosewood & is kept hollow from

the inside. The Khoonti are attached on this part of the Tanpura.

Gulu/Gul : The part where the Toomba & Daand are connected, is called the

Gul or Gulu.

Ghudach/Ghodi/bridge : This part is made of camel bone, stag horn, ebony,

Khair or rosewood. This is approx, four inches long & two inches wide. The

strings of the Tanpura sit on the Ghudach & remain steady.

Tabli/Tabakdi : The wooden front part of the Toomba (soundboard) is called

the Tabli in northern India & Tabakdi in Maharashtra. The Ghudach is

situated on this part of the Tanpura & this helps the sound to resonate

inside the Toomba.

Soot/Jeeva/Jawari : In between the Ghudach & the strings, is a small length

of thread. By moving this thread forward or backward, you can find a

definite point where the sound produced by or the Tanpura, resonates or

echoes the most. This in Hindi is called ‘Jawari khulna’.

Tumba : The bottom part of the Tanpura which is round & flat on the front

side is called the Tumba or Tumbi. This part is hollow thereby helping the

sound to echo. Tumba is a fruit of the gourd family & is grown extensively

at Pandharpur in Maharashtra. Tumba is also imported from Zanzibar in

Africa. The Tumba is needed to make instruments like the Ektara, Sitar &

Veena. However, in southern India, Tumba is made of wood.

Manka/Moti : The beads through which the strings are passed are called

‘Manka’. One can fine tune the strings by moving the Manka up or down.

They are usually made of bone, glass or plastic.

Langot : There is a nail like part at the bottom of the Tumba that is called a

Langot. This is the part in which the strings are knotted and then pulled

straight up to the Khoonti.

Lesson 4

Lakshan Geet is a Raag based song in which the lyrics describe the

features of that particular Raag, like the Thaat, Jaati, Vaadi-Samvaadi etc. In

other words, it is the raag Parichay of a Raag in the form of a song. A

Lakshangeet has two parts - Sthayi and Antara. A Lakshan Geet is extremely

helpful for students to remember the Raag Parichay of the Raag. The main

purpose of a Lakshan Geet is to teach the basic features of a Raag to a

student who has just begun learning the Raag and is generally not a part of

performances. Once you learn & memorize the Lakshan Geet, you will never

ever forget the Raag.

Given below is a Lakshan Geet of Raag Bilawal :

Sthayi

Tab Kahat Bilawal Bhed Chatur Jab

Mel Milawat Shuddha Suran Ko

Praat Samay Nit Pratham Prahar

Antara

Dhaivat Vadi Ga Samvadi

Asht Bhed Sab Gaay Madhur

LAKSHAN GEET

Raag Bilawal Lakshangeet Lyrics

Sthayi

Antara

Raag Bhupali Lakshangeet

Lesson 5

In this lesson we are going to try to understand how listening to music

can have psychological benefits. Listening to music can be entertaining &

some research suggests that it might even make you healthier. Music can

be a source of pleasure & contentment as well as have many other

psychological benefits. Music can relax the mind, enegize the body & even

help people manage pain better.

Music can influence your thoughts, feelings & behavior. This is evident

when you feel pumped up while listening to your favourite fast paced song

or when you are moved to tears by an emotional song. It’s been scientifically

proven that music has the power to impact moods & even inspire actions.

The psychological effects of music can be powerful & wide ranging.

Music therapy is sometimes used to promote emotional health, help

patients cope with stress & boost psychological well - being. Not just that,

your taste in music can even help understand the aspects of your

personality better.

a) Music can improve intellectual performance - According to research,

background music or music played while you are focused on another

activity, for e.g. studying, can improve your intellectual performance. It

helps increase your memory as well as the processing speed of your brain.

So the next time you are preparing for your exam, consider turning on a

little music in the background.

b) Music can reduce stress - Music can help reduce or manage stress.

Meditative music can soothe the mind & help you relax.

MUSIC & PSYCHOLOGY

Let us look at some of the benefits of music in detail

As a part of an experiment, participants were subjected to different

conditions (including listening to music) before being exposed to a stressor

& were later given a psychological stress test. According to the results,

listening to music had an impact on the human stress response system.

Those who had listened to music recovered more quickly following a

stressor.

c) Music can help manage pain - Research suggests that patients who listen

to music everyday experience a significant reduction in pain. In fact listening

to music before, during or even after surgery, helps lower pain levels & gives

better outcomes. Music listeners also require less medication to manage

their pain. Hence music therapy can be an important tool in the treatment

of chronic as well as post-surgical pain.

d) Music may help you sleep better - Insomnia is a serious problem that

affects people of all age groups. While there are many treatments available

for this problem, research shows that listening to relaxing classical music

can be a safe, effective & affordable remedy for insomnia & it also leads to

better sleep quality.

e) Music helps to get motivated - Researchers have found that listening to

fast paced music motivates people to work harder. For e.g., one can find it

easier to exercise while listening to music.

f) Music can improve your mood – Music can make you happier. It can help

you achieve a better mood & make you more self-aware. One can boost

moods & levels of happiness by listening to positive music.

After looking at all this, we can confidently say that music can certainly

inspire & entertain but at the same time, has a powerful psychological effect

that can improve your health & well-being. So instead of thinking of music

as pure entertainment, consider some of its major physical & mental

benefits & try to incorporate it into your everyday life.