History of Indian Music Traditions

• Sangama – ritualistic music in the later Vedic period – involved

chanting of verses that were usually set to musical patterns
• Bharat‘s Natyashastra – first work that clarified and elaborated on the
subject of musicology
• Contains chapters on music, identification of octave and
elaborated on it 22 keys – shrutis or srutis
• Dathilam – a text endorsing the existence of 22 srutis per octave
and suggested that these could be only one that a human body
could make
• Sarangadeva – 13th century musicologist wrote the classic text on
music, seconded by Sangeet Ratnakara
• Sangeet Ratnakara – defined 264 ragas including some from the
North Indian and Dravidian repertoires
• Greatest contribution – identification and description of the
various ‗microtones‘
• Classification of microtones into different categories
• Some medieval texts on musicology focused on particular themes
• Brihaddeshi – written in 9th century by Matanga focused on
definition of raga
• Sangeeta Makaranda – 11th century text, composed by Nanda
who enumerated 93 ragas and classified them into feminine and
masculine forms
• Swaramela-Kalanidhi written by Ramamatya written in 16th century
deals with ragas
• Chaturdandi-prakasika – written by Venkatamakhin in the 17th
century is famous for important information on musicology.
• Evidences are found of the existence of Gurukuls – where students
lived with the teachers in order to become a master in the art of
music – during the ancient and early medieval period
Gurukul System
• Also known as Ashram (hermitage system)
• Embodied the Guru-shishya tradition i.e. the close relationship
between the teacher and student
• In ancient period – teachers or masters were sages and the students
had to live in the hermitage for 12 years and get the knowledge by
serving the master
• Hermitage – given patronage by the kings – wealthy persons of the
society
• Life – rigorous, pensive and knowledge through direct experience
• All students whether a prince or a commoner were meted out with
the same level treatment without any discrimination
• Change in the tenor of music came into effect of the Persian
elements.
• Influx of Islamic and Persian elements changed the face of the North
Indian music, for example the Dhruvapad
• This transformed into the Dhrupad style by the 15th century
• By the 17th century a new form of Hindustani music had evolved
which was called the Khayal style
• Furthermore, more and more styles of folk singing emerged in this
period
 ANATOMYOF
INDIAN MUSIC
Swara
• The term Swara – associated with the recitation of the Vedas
• Term is defined the note or scale degree in a composition
• Natyasastra – Bharata has divided the swaras into twenty-two notes
scale.
• Currently, the notational system of the Hindustani music – defined by
these abbreviated swara – Sa, re, ga, ma, pa, dha, ni
• Seven Swaras together are called Saptak or Sargam.
• Swara differs from Shruti
• Shruti is the smallest gradation of pitch representing the quality of
frequency
• 22 shrutis or microtones out of which only 12 are audible
• There are seven Suddha Swaras and five Vikrita Swaras
• Bharata listed each pitch using the following names

Name of the pitch Function Abbreviation

Sadaja Tonic Sa
Rishabha Supertonic re
Gandhara Mediant Ga
Madhyama Sub-dominant Ma
Panchama Dominant Pa
Dhaivata Sub-mediant Dha
Nishada Subtonic Ni
Raga
• The word – raga – comes from the Sanskrit word Ranj, which literary
means to delight or to make happy and satisfy a person
• Ragas – form the basis of the melody, while the tala becomes the
basis of the rhythm
• Each melodic structure of the raga has something similar to the
distinct personality subject and the mood evoked by the sounds
• Basic element – note on which the raga are based
• Jaatis or categories – three main categories based on the number of
notes
• Audav/Odava Raga – pentatonic raga – contains 5 notes
• Shadava Raga – hexatonic raga – contains 6 notes
• Sampurna Raga - heptatonic raga – contains 7 notes
• Raga is neither a scale nor a mode but it is a scientific, precise, subtle
and aesthetic melodic form with its own peculiar ascending and
descending movement – containing of either a full octave, or a series
of 5 or 6 or 7 note.
• Three major types of Ragas or Raga Bhed
• Shuddha Raag
• Chhayalag Raag
• Sankeerna Raag
Shuddha Raag
• Raga in which if any notes that are absent from the composition are
played -
• Its nature and form does not change
ChhayalagRaag
• Raga in which if any notes that are absent from the original
composition are played -
• Its nature and form does change
SankeernaRaag
• Raga in which there is a combination of two or more ragas
• Every raga should have the basic 5 notes. Amongst these ragas
• King is the principal note on which raga is built; called Vaadi and is
often used in the composition
• The next important note – queen – corresponding to the 4th or 5th
note in relation to the principal note; also called Samvaadi
• All the other notes are called Anuvaadi
• Lastly, the notes not present in the composition are called Vivadi
• Ascent of the notes mean that each note is higher than the preceding
note; for example – Sare Ga Ma pa Dha ni – this ascent is called
Aaroha
• Descent is called Avaroha – each note is lower than the preceding
note – ni, dha, pa, ma, ga, re, sa
• Depending on the ascent or descent of the notes – there are three
types of speeds of Laya
• Vilambit (slow)
• Madhya (medium)
• Drut (fast)
 • All 72 melas or parent scales on which ragas are based – all lead to the 6
main ragas in the Hindustani music repertoire
• All are time and season based
• All evoke a particular type of emotion

Ragas Time Season Mood

Bhairav Dawn Any season Peace
Hindol Morning Spring Evokes sweetness of a young couple
Deepak Night Summer Compassion
Megh Late Night Rainy Courage
Shree Evening Winter Gladness
Malkaush Midnight Winter Vir or Brave
Tala
• Rhythmic groupings of beats are called Tala
• These rhythmical cycles range from 3 to 108 beats
• Musical time is divided into simple and complicated metres
• This is dissimilar to the Hindustani and Carnatic music
• This is independent of the music that accompanies it
• Has its own divisions
• Tempo of the tala – keeps uniformity of the time span – called laya
• Several musicologists argue for more than hundred talas; only 30 are
currently known and only 10 – 12 are actually used
• Recognized talas are – dadra, kaharba, rupak, ektal, jhaptal, Teental
and Ada chautal
• Music composers generally use teen-tal – that uses 16 beats
• Carnatic music – unlike the Hindustani music – has a more rigid
structure
• Tala (thala) are made of three components – laghu, dhrutam and
anu dhrutam
• Originally 35 thalas and each one further split into 5 ghaatis
• Thus, we have 35X5 = 175 thalas in Carnatic music
Rasa
• Ragas – evoked emotional responses in the performer and audience
• Emotions that are evoked through the singing and playing of
instruments are called Rasas
• The rasas are called – aesthetic delight – as they are consciously
made to feel an emotion through someone else‘s art
• Initially there were 8 rasas, but later another rasas – shanta rasa –
added to make nine rasas - Nauras
• The nine Nauras are
Type of Rasa Mood it Evokes
Shringara Love
Haasya Humor/ Laughter
Karuna Pathos
Roudra Anger
Bhayanak Horror
Veer Bravery
Adbhuta Wonder
Bibhatsa Disgust
Shant Peaceful or calm
• After the 15th century – Bhakti or the rasa of devotion to God–
became widely accepted into the initial corpus of nine rasas
• Some musicologists argue – Bhakti and the Shant rasa are the same
• Natyasastra – mentioned the moods evoked by the notes
• Bharata argued that the different moods evoked are
• Madhyam – evokes humorous instincts
• Pancham – evokes erotic feelings
• Shadja – evokes heroic feelings
• Rishabh - evokes wrathful instincts
Thaat
• System of classification of ragas in different groups
• Hindustani classical music – 10 Thaat classification
• According to V.N. Bhatkhande – one of the most important
musicologists in the North Indian classical music – each of the
traditional ragas is based on or is a variation of 10 basic thaats or
musical scales or frameworks
• Thaat can only be sung in Aaroha as the notes are in ascending order
• Thaat should have seven notes out of the 12 notes (7 Suddha Swaras
and 5 Vikrata Swaras)
• Should be necessarily placed in ascending order
• 10 Thaats are Bilawal, Khamaj, Kafi, Asavari, Bhairavi, Bhairav, Kalyan,
Marwa, Poorvi and Todi
• Unlike raga - Thaat has no emotional quality
• Thaat are not sung – ragas produced from the Thaat are sung
Samay
• Each raga has a specific time at which it is performed; these are more
effective at that specific time
• From 12AM to 12 PM – called Poorva Bhaag – ragas sung in this time
are called Poorva raga
• From 12PM to 12 AM – called Uttar bhaag – ragas sung in this time
are called Uttar raaga
• Saptak also changes according to the period of the day
• In the Poorvang period – saptak is from Sato Ma (Sa, Re, Ga, Ma)
• In the Uttarang period – saptak is from Pa to Sa(pa, dhi, ni, sa)
Other components of the Raga
• Alap – gradual exposition of the raga emphasizing on Vaadi, Samvaadi
and other features on the raga in the slow tempo
• Sung in the beginning of the raga at the time of the performance
typically in North Indian classical music
• Usually sung in Aakaar – without pronouncing any syllables – only
using the sound ―aa‖ of the words
• Composition can be divided into two parts in Hindustani classical
music

Sthayee / Mukhda First part of the composition – maximum used

Antara Second part of the composition
• Basic notes in a fast tempo are called taan
• Very technical and show the training, practice and dexterity in
weaving complicated pattern of the notes with variations in rhythm
• Speed is an important factor in singing taans.
• Particular taans are sung in the Akaar notes
• Murki – short taan is of 4 or 4 notes; sung very fast and require
considerable musical skill from the singer
• Ornamentation is required in the form of Alankaar – specific melodic
presentation in succession following a pattern
• Combination of notes – Sare ga – ga ma pa – ma pa dha – show an
alankaar in which 3 notes are used in succession each time
Points of Difference Thaat Raga
Origin Scales which are produced Belong to the genre of
from 12 swar (notes) thaat
Number of Notes Must have 7 notes Must have atleast 5 notes
Types of Notes Only has Aaroha – Must have aaroha and
ascending notes Avaroha notes
Melody Not necessary to be Are sung and hence have
melodious as they are not to be melodious
sung
Important Notes Don‘t have vaadi and Have Vaadi and Samvaadi
samvaadi
Naming Named after popular ragas Named after emotions
they evoke
CLASSIFICATIONOFINDIAN MUSIC
• Some were closer to the classical bent and some experimented with the
global music
• Trend has been to create a fusion with the classical heritage with newer
musical strands like pop, jazz, etc

Classical Hindustani Style Carnatic Style

Music Practiced in the Practiced in the
Northern part of India Southern part of India
Folk Music
Indian Music Sugam Sangeet Rabindra Sangeet
Fusion of classical
and Folk Music
Haveli Sangeet Gana Sangeet
Modern Rock Music Pop Music Blue Music
Music
Trance Music Jazz Music Psychedelic Music
Hindustani Music
• In the 14th century, Hindustani and Carnatic music diverged from the
Bharat‘s Natyasastra
• Hindustani music focused more on the musical structure and the
possibilities of improvisations in it
• It adopted a scale of Shudha Swara Saptaka – Octave of Natural notes
• The ten main styles of singing in Hindustani music like Dhrupad,
Dhamar, Hori, Khayal, Tappa, Chaturang, Ragasagar, Tarana, Sargam
and Thumri
Dhrupad
• Oldest and grandest forms of Hindustani classical music
• Finds mentions in the Natyashastra (200 BCE– 200 AD)
• Owes its roots to the older forms like Prabhanda and Dhruvapada
• Name derived from Dhruva and pada – denotes both verse form of
poetry and the style in which it is sung
• Consolidated its position in the 13th century; reached zenith in the
court of emperor Akbar
• Akbar employed and patronized musical masters like Baba Gopal Das,
Swami Haridas and Tansen – considered to be the one of the
Navaratna of the Mughal court
• Baiju Bawra sang at the court of Akbar
• Evidences of the singers who mastered Dhrupad in the court of Raja
Man Singh Tomar – situated in Gwalior
• Dhrupad became the major form of singing in the medieval period
but fell in a state of decline in the 18th century
• Dhrupad is essentially a poetic form – incorporated into an extended
presentation style – marked by precise and overt elaboration of a
raga
• Dhruva literally mean unmoving – implies the return of the Swara
(tonal), Kala (time) and Shabda (textual) trajectories to a fixed point
• Dhrupad starts with Alap – sung without any words
• Tempo rises gradually and is the major part of the performance
• Alap evokes the mood in the audience coinciding with the mood of
the raga chosen
• It is pure music without distraction of the words
• After some time Dhrupad begins and Pakhawaj is played
• Dhrupad – includes uses Sanskrit syllables and is of temple origin
• Compositions usually have 4 to 5 stanzas and are performed by a duo
– two male volcalist
• Tanpura and Pankhawaj usually accompany the two male vocalists
• Dhrupad singing can be further divided into four forms on the basis
of vanis or banis that they perform
1. Dagari Gharana
• Dagar family sings in the Dagar Vani
• Puts great emphasis on alap
• Performed in pairs by men – this has been for generations
• Dagars are muslims – Gundecha Brothers from Jaipur – but
usually sing Hindu texts of Gods and Goddesses
2. Darbhanga Gharana
• Sing the Khandar Vani and Gauhar Vani
• Emphasise of the raga alap as well as composed songs over an
improvised alap
• Incorporation of a variety of layakari
• Exponents of this family are the Malik family
• Currently performing members are Ram Chatur Mallik, Prem
Kumar Mallik and Siyaram Tewari
3. Bettiah Gharana
• Perform the Nauhar and Khandar vani styles
• Some unique techniques that only trained families know
• Famous family who expounds the system is the Mishras
• Living member performing regularly is Indra Kishore Mishra
• Haveli style – form of Dhrupad prevalent in the Bettiah and
Darbhanga schools
4. Talwandi Gharana
• Sing the Khandar vani
• As the family based in Pakistan, so it has become difficult to keep
that within the system of Indian music
Gharana System
• Gharana – a system of social organization linking musicians or
dancers by lineage or apprenticeship
• adherence to a particular musical style
• Word comes from the Urdu/Hindi word – ghar – meaning family or
house. Refers to the place where musically ideology originated
• Gharana indicates a comprehensive musicological ideology and
differentiates one school from the other
• Directly affects the thinking, teaching, performance and appreciation
of music
• Well known gharanas are – Agra, Gwalior, Indore, Jaipur, Kirana and
Patiala
Khyal
• Khyal – derived from Persian and means ideas or imagination
• Origin of style attributed to Amir Khusrau
• Popular amongst the artists as this provides greater scope for
improvisation
• Khyal based on the repertoire of short songs ranging from 2 to 8 lines
• Composition also referred to as as Bandish
• Sultan Mohammad Sharqi – biggest patron in the 15th century
• Unique features – use of taan in the composition
• Alap is given less room in the Khyal music as compared to Dhrupad
• Typical performance uses two songs
a) Bada Khyal – sung in slow tempo
b) Chhota Khyal – sung in fast tempo
• Most singer renders the same Bandish differently while keeping the
text and raga as constant
• Theme is generally romantic in nature; even if related to divine
creatures
• Exceptional Khyal compositions are in the praise of Lord Krishna
• Major Gharanas are
I. Gwalior Gharana
II. Kirana Gharana
III. Agra Gharana
IV. Patiala Gharana
V. Bhendibazaar Gharana