Thanks Mark,
you're welcome.
As for your question - there is probably a reason why you have to study
for years to make Indian music.
I have learned a lot during my research, but it is a vast topic...
Making mashups - regardless of Indian influence on Europe - has helped
me quite a lot in understanding how Ragas work.
Here's some basic things:
- a Raga is not merely a scale (that would be "thaat")
- a Raga is not a composition (you can improvise on it)
So what is it? There we have a connection to European music:
What is a Ciacona? What is a Passacaglia?
It is not merely a bass or harmonic pattern, nor is it a composition.
A Raga is a melodic pattern that is embellished within the cycle of a
beat pattern (Taal or Tala).
As I understand so far, this really works like improvising on a hidden
ostinato, bringing out the important notes while improvising in between.
Each Raga also has a significant phrase which establishes its identity.
Also, each Raga has a characteristic Up and Down scale - these can be
different, and there sometimes are "vakra" movements, that is zig-zag
(think of late 16th century diminutions in England).
In certain cases more than 7 notes can be used. On C, it is mostly the
4th that can be pure in the downscale, but augmented in the upscale,
also the Seventh can be made flat in descent in some ragas.
A Raga has a main note and a consonant to the main note (4th or 5th),
and also notes that are avoided.
The drone is sometimes also the main note.
Even if the scales of two Ragas are the same, they can be fundamentally
different due to their main notes.
For example, Raga Yaman is in the Kalyan thaat (Lydian), so if "sa" (ut)
is on C, the main notes are B and E, bringing shades of e minor into the
Raga though the drone is on C. The Yaman melodic structure is thus
organised to enhance something like a C major/e minor mood.
It seems that the structures are basically emerging from the mode and
main notes from a part of a harmonic series.
That is why they capture certain moods and colors to perfection (also a
reason why many people exploited this for pop music).
Here's one rendering of Tilak Kamod that really makes things clear,
because its recurring theme resembles the familiar "Branle de Bourgogne"
by Gervaise (I don't claim any connection other than deep rooted
cultural heritage - Tilak Kamod is said to have originated from folk music)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtoMZwMtpe4
Notice how the mood is established in a free improvisation without
pulse, making clear which are the important relations of the main notes
to the melodic structure, then in gradually increasing tempi the best
ideas are sought, without leaving the exact framework.
Notice how the Fourth is used like it were a suspension note to the
Third. The main notes are first and fifth of the scale. The seventh is
avoided. The "C" - "G" jump is often used.
Trying to guess certain phrases and their would be "key" in relation to
the Raga seems a good idea to grasp the main features.
Now compare this to Alhaiya Bilawal:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77vtFARtAso
It uses the same mode, yet uses mostly the upper tetrachord. Main notes
are "B" and "E", B is flat in downscale (like in late 16th century
diminutions). This is a different mood.
It is interesting how 16th century theoreticians in Europe start
building databases of modes not only describing their scale, but also
giving voice leading patterns associated with the specific mode.
This is actually what is done to describe Ragas in literature today (and
as I understand also in Indian historical music literature), this
parallel might help to understand.
I hope this is of some help - I must admit though, it puzzles me how
these musicians come up with such great renderings. As I said, decades
of study are necessary - again, also found in lutes: it takes a while
until you can pull off original yet true style diminutions on anything
you touch.
Am 08.05.2018 um 17:48 schrieb Mark Seifert:
Dear Tristan,
This is great material, thanks. Would it be possible to
occasionally provide basic instruction on "Indian music for dummies?"
Though I have in the past spent time studying Indian literature, even
Mughal poetry, I never attempted to understand Indian music as I was
not even well versed in Western music. Are there some basics that can
be addressed that might aid opening minds to an undoubtedly vast and
ancient tradition?
I just got through watching lectures on the British Raj in India
describing the relentless wealth extraction, brutal suppression, and
market-based agricultural austerity that led to starvation of millions
especially in Bengal and the Ganges valley in 1872-79, WWI, between the
war, and during WWII. In this new age of oligarchy and corruption, we
have a lot to learn from India.
Best wishes,
Mark Seifert MD
On Monday, May 7, 2018 10:16 AM, Tristan von Neumann
<[email protected]> wrote:
I found a documentation of an Indian Rudra Veena in the making.
Traditional woodworking without powertools:
[1]https://www.flickr.com/photos/carstenwicke/collections/7215764015396
9553/
To get on or off this list see list information at
[2]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
--
References
1. https://www.flickr.com/photos/carstenwicke/collections/72157640153969553/
2. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
