south asia music with a spiritual dimension india (north & south) pakistan © taylor &...

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South Asia Music with a Spiritual Dimension India (North & South) Pakistan © Taylor & Francis

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Page 1: South Asia Music with a Spiritual Dimension India (North & South) Pakistan © Taylor & Francis

South AsiaMusic with a Spiritual Dimension

India (North & South)Pakistan

© Taylor & Francis

Page 2: South Asia Music with a Spiritual Dimension India (North & South) Pakistan © Taylor & Francis

South Asia Map

© Taylor & Francis

Page 3: South Asia Music with a Spiritual Dimension India (North & South) Pakistan © Taylor & Francis

Background Preparation

• More than 16% of world’s population (1.6+ billion)

• Ethnic, linguistic, and religious diversity

• Strong British colonial influence

India’s famed Taj Mahal

© Taylor & Francis

Page 4: South Asia Music with a Spiritual Dimension India (North & South) Pakistan © Taylor & Francis

IndiaSite 1: Hindustani Raga (Instrumental)

Site 2: Carnatic (Vocal) Kriti Site 3: Bhajan (Devotional Song)

© Taylor & Francis

Page 5: South Asia Music with a Spiritual Dimension India (North & South) Pakistan © Taylor & Francis

Arrival: North India

• Major cities:• Mumbai (Bombay), New Delhi, Lucknow

• Independent from British in 1947• Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948)

• World’s largest democracy• Caste system

• Disparity of wealth

• Religious pluralismMahatma Gandhi

(1869–1948)© Taylor & Francis

Page 6: South Asia Music with a Spiritual Dimension India (North & South) Pakistan © Taylor & Francis

Site 1: Hindustani Raga

• First Impressions• “Dreamy” aura• “Boing” drums

• Aural Analysis• Melody: Sarod• Rhythm: Tabla• Drone: Tambura

© Taylor & Francis

Page 7: South Asia Music with a Spiritual Dimension India (North & South) Pakistan © Taylor & Francis

Tambura

• Fretless plucked lute

• Four strings• “Pillar” pitch tuning

• Aural “incense”

• Played by shishya or vocalist

© Taylor & Francis

Page 8: South Asia Music with a Spiritual Dimension India (North & South) Pakistan © Taylor & Francis

Sarod

• Fretless plucked lute

• Three sets of strings• Melodic• Drone/rhythm (Jhala)• Sympathetic

• Calfskinresonator face

© Taylor & Francis

Page 9: South Asia Music with a Spiritual Dimension India (North & South) Pakistan © Taylor & Francis

Sympathetic Strings (on Sitar)

Passing beneath the metal curved frets,

the “sympathetic strings” vibrate involuntarily during performance.

© Taylor & Francis

Page 10: South Asia Music with a Spiritual Dimension India (North & South) Pakistan © Taylor & Francis

Raga Performance

• Tuning system – 22 pitches

• Raga (or rag) – “atmosphere”• Mode: Framework forimprovisation and composition

• Scale, ornamentations, melodic patterns, hierarchy of pitches, etc.

• Rasa (mood), time of day, “magic”

© Taylor & Francis

Page 11: South Asia Music with a Spiritual Dimension India (North & South) Pakistan © Taylor & Francis

Raga Melodic Form

• Alap• Free rhythm, all improvised• Ascending melodic range• Increasing rhythmic density

• Jor – Jhala

• Gat• Metered composition with improvisation• Drum enters• Second rising range and increasing density

© Taylor & Francis

Page 12: South Asia Music with a Spiritual Dimension India (North & South) Pakistan © Taylor & Francis

Tabla

• Pair of hand drums

• Smaller drum – tabla• Tuned to central pitch

• Larger drum – baya

• Bols – drum language

• Theka – rhythmic patterns

© Taylor & Francis

Page 13: South Asia Music with a Spiritual Dimension India (North & South) Pakistan © Taylor & Francis

Tala

• Rhythmic cycle

• Drummer and Audience “Keep the tal”

• Drummer “stretches” the beat with improvisation

A sixteen-beat cycle called tintal

© Taylor & Francis

Page 14: South Asia Music with a Spiritual Dimension India (North & South) Pakistan © Taylor & Francis

Cultural Considerations• Oral Tradition

• Guru – Shishya

• Rasa: “Mood” across the arts• Ragamala

• “Star” artists• Ravi Shankar

• “Flexible” Time

© Taylor & Francis

Page 15: South Asia Music with a Spiritual Dimension India (North & South) Pakistan © Taylor & Francis

Arrival: South India

• Major cities:• Hyderabad, Bangalore, Madras

• Carnatic culture more ancient

• Predominantly Hindu

A snake charmer plays the punjii

© Taylor & Francis

Page 16: South Asia Music with a Spiritual Dimension India (North & South) Pakistan © Taylor & Francis

Site 2: Carnatic Classical Song

• Aural Analysis• Melody: Vocal• Imitation: Violin• Rhythm: Mridangam• Drone: Sruti Box

• First Impressions• Aural “incense”

• Melismatic vocalist with imitating fiddle

Note the sruti box to the vocalist’s left.

© Taylor & Francis

Page 17: South Asia Music with a Spiritual Dimension India (North & South) Pakistan © Taylor & Francis

Carnatic Instruments

Violin Mridangam© Taylor & Francis

Page 18: South Asia Music with a Spiritual Dimension India (North & South) Pakistan © Taylor & Francis

Kriti

• Hindu devotional poetry set to music

• Composed skeletal melody• Increased ornamentation

• Complex raga and tala systems• Some 36,000 possible raga• 175 variations of tala

© Taylor & Francis

Page 19: South Asia Music with a Spiritual Dimension India (North & South) Pakistan © Taylor & Francis

Cultural Considerations

• Sri Tyagaraja(1767 - 1847)

• Devotee of Hindu god Rama

• Prolific composer

• Aradhana Festivals

A portrait of Sri Tyagaraja

© Taylor & Francis

Page 20: South Asia Music with a Spiritual Dimension India (North & South) Pakistan © Taylor & Francis

Site 3: Bhajan Devotional Song

• First Impressions• Congregational

worship

• Aural Analysis• Harmonium

• Tabla, dandtal

• Antiphonal vocals• Eight-beat tala

A harmonium

© Taylor & Francis

Page 21: South Asia Music with a Spiritual Dimension India (North & South) Pakistan © Taylor & Francis

Cultural Considerations

• Devotional Hindu songs

• Sai Baba TemplesSri Sai Baba (d. 1918)

Worshippers at aSai Baba temple

© Taylor & Francis

Page 22: South Asia Music with a Spiritual Dimension India (North & South) Pakistan © Taylor & Francis

SITE 4: QAWWALI (SUFI DEVOTIONAL SONG)

PAKISTAN

© Taylor & Francis

Page 23: South Asia Music with a Spiritual Dimension India (North & South) Pakistan © Taylor & Francis

ARRIVAL: PAKISTAN

• West and East Pakistan – 1947• Mass Migrations• Bangladesh – 1971• Music pluralism

© Taylor & Francis

Page 24: South Asia Music with a Spiritual Dimension India (North & South) Pakistan © Taylor & Francis

SITE 4: QAWWALI

• First Impressions• Kriti? Bhajan? Qawwali?

• Aural Analysis• Harmonium• Melismatic Male Vocal• Dholak and tabla• Group Refrain

Dholak drums

© Taylor & Francis

Page 25: South Asia Music with a Spiritual Dimension India (North & South) Pakistan © Taylor & Francis

CULTURAL CONSIDERATIONS

• Sufi Devotional Song• Communion with Allah (God)

• Trance state

• Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan• Sabri Brothers

© Taylor & Francis