Indian music
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Indian music Consideration
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Indian music is devided into
several categories according to the geometical area. In this article, I
will write about Hindustani music.
In this page, I am writing very summary of each
music style, although each sytle is actually much complicated. Specially,
Indian music is far from western music, so please remind that the description
below is very facial.
First, Indian music scale
is very different from western music scale. Indian music scale has seven
notes and they are put inequal interval in an octave while western music
scale has twelve notes and they are put eaual interval in octave. These
seven notes are called "Sa", "Re", "Ga", "Ma", "Pa", "Dha", "Ni", "Sa."
These notes are correspond to "C", "D", "E", "F", "G", "A", "B", "C."
Hindustani music is improvisation music. The tune is not prepared. Players
make melodies in instance. However, there are some rules that players have
to follow. These rules are called "raga." Raga specifies music scale and
its arrengement. For example, it says "use note C D Eb F G Ab B, and do
not play Eb after F. Or, use Eb only when melody line is decending."
(This rule is not included in actual raga.) Although music is played following
these rules, music is always new one.
Second, rhythm is called tala
which means "parm" or "meter" originaly. Tala is a music cycle. In tala,
certain music pattern is repeated.
The first beat of tala is called "Sam" and all
rhythm pattern and melody variations are resoluted at Sam. (Otherwise it
can not be cycle...)
Last,about musical instruments
and style of ensemble, typical ensemble consists of "Sitar" and "Tabla."
One session of playing consists of "alap" and "gat." At alap, scale and
charactaristics of raga are introduced. Main player shows each note of
raga and atomosphere. Usually, it begins with a part which does not has
tempo, and moves to a part which has certain tempo, then alap ends.
When the main player plays main theme with certain
rhythm cycle, it is begining of later part, gat. In this part, tabla player
finds basic tala of the given theme and begin to play basic pattern of
tala. In gat, variations of melody and theme are resoluted at certain point
by main player, and moves to theme again. When main player go back to the
theme, tabla player begin to improvise variations of rhythm. Both players
repeats this kind of interaction and make tempo faster garadually. Tipically,
the music goes to another tala and music goes crimax where both players
come to thier limit of technique. These players interactions, imitation
of partners pattern, chainging, and so on brings
emotional movementto the audiences.
In the automated composing
system, it uses sitar as musical instrument and trys to imitate atomosphere
of indian music. Dorone that continues at the same low pich is used and
sound of sympathetic strings is added. Does it sound like Indian music? |
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Music Scale
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(Example)C, Db, E, F, G, A, B |
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Instruments
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Sitar, Tabla |
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Sample by Automated Composing System
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MIDI Data |
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Links
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Sound
of India includes lots of information about Indian Music. |
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