🎼Music of Asia Unit 5 – South Asian Music: Hindustani Classical

Historical Background

• Hindustani classical music traces its origins to the Vedic period (1500-500 BCE) where chants and hymns were performed during religious ceremonies
• Evolved over centuries, absorbing influences from Persian, Arabic, and Turkish musical traditions during the Mughal Empire (16th-19th centuries)
• Diverged from Carnatic music, the classical music of South India, around the 13th century due to cultural and geographical factors
  • Hindustani music developed in North India, while Carnatic music flourished in South India
  • Hindustani music incorporated more Persian and Islamic influences compared to Carnatic music
• Gained prominence in the royal courts of North India during the medieval period, with patronage from Mughal emperors and regional rulers
• Experienced a revival in the early 20th century through the efforts of visionary musicians and educators like Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande and Vishnu Digambar Paluskar
  • Bhatkhande standardized the raga system and created a notation system for Hindustani music
  • Paluskar established the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, a pioneering music school that helped preserve and propagate Hindustani music
• Continues to evolve in the modern era, with artists experimenting with new compositions, fusion styles, and collaborations with Western musicians

Fundamental Concepts

• Raga: The melodic framework that forms the foundation of Hindustani music, characterized by a specific set of notes, phrases, and ornamentations
• Tala: The rhythmic cycle that provides the temporal structure for Hindustani music, consisting of a fixed number of beats and subdivisions
• Shruti: The smallest interval of pitch in Hindustani music, roughly equivalent to a quarter-tone in Western music
  • 22 shrutis are recognized in Hindustani music, forming the basis for the 12 main pitches (swaras)
• Swara: The seven basic pitches in Hindustani music, similar to the Western concept of notes (Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni)
  • Swaras can be modified by adding a sharp (tivra) or flat (komal) to create a total of 12 main pitches
• Alap: The slow, improvisational introduction to a raga performance, establishing the mood and exploring the melodic structure without rhythmic accompaniment
• Bandish: The composed melodic piece that follows the alap, set to a specific raga and tala, and often featuring lyrics
• Taan: Rapid melodic improvisations performed by the main artist, showcasing their technical skill and creativity within the raga framework

Key Instruments

• Sitar: A plucked stringed instrument with a long neck, movable frets, and a gourd resonating chamber, known for its distinctive twanging sound
  • Popularized globally by sitar maestro Ravi Shankar in the 1960s through his collaborations with Western musicians like George Harrison of The Beatles
• Sarod: A fretless stringed instrument with a metal fingerboard and a skin-covered resonating chamber, producing a deep, mellow tone
• Bansuri: A transverse bamboo flute, played by blowing across a hole near one end, and capable of producing a wide range of expressive tones
• Tabla: A pair of hand drums, consisting of a smaller wooden drum (dayan) and a larger metal drum (bayan), used to provide rhythmic accompaniment
  • The dayan is tuned to a specific pitch and produces sharp, ringing tones
  • The bayan has a lower, more resonant sound and is used for bass tones and rhythmic patterns
• Harmonium: A portable, hand-pumped reed organ, often used as an accompaniment instrument in Hindustani vocal music
• Tanpura: A long-necked, plucked stringed instrument that provides a continuous drone background for Hindustani music performances
• Sarangi: A bowed stringed instrument with a box-like resonating chamber and a short neck, known for its expressive, vocal-like quality

Raga System

• Ragas are the melodic frameworks that form the basis of Hindustani music, each with its own unique set of notes, phrases, and ornamentations
• Ragas are associated with specific moods, emotions, and times of the day or season
  • For example, Raga Bhairav is traditionally performed at dawn and evokes a peaceful, meditative mood
  • Raga Malkauns is associated with the late night and conveys a sense of longing and devotion
• Ragas are classified into several categories based on their melodic structure and performance style
  • Shuddha ragas use only the seven basic swaras without any modifications
  • Mishra ragas incorporate additional notes or modified versions of the swaras
  • Sankirtana ragas are devotional in nature and often used in religious contexts
• Each raga has a ascending (aroha) and descending (avaroha) scale that defines the order and hierarchy of notes
• Ragas also have characteristic phrases (pakad) and ornamentations (gamaka) that are essential to their identity and expression
• Raga performances follow a structured format, beginning with a slow, improvisational alap and gradually building in tempo and complexity
• Raga elaboration involves exploring the melodic possibilities within the raga framework, using techniques like meend (gliding between notes), kan (grace notes), and andolan (gentle oscillation)

Tala and Rhythm

• Tala refers to the rhythmic cycle that provides the temporal structure for Hindustani music
• Talas consist of a fixed number of beats (matra) that are grouped into sections (vibhag) and marked by specific hand gestures and percussion strokes
• The most common talas in Hindustani music include:
  • Teental: A 16-beat cycle divided into four equal sections of four beats each
  • Jhaptal: A 10-beat cycle divided into four unequal sections of 2, 3, 2, and 3 beats
  • Rupak: A 7-beat cycle divided into three sections of 3, 2, and 2 beats
  • Ektaal: A 12-beat cycle divided into six equal sections of two beats each
• Talas are maintained by the tabla player, who uses a combination of bass strokes (bayan) and treble strokes (dayan) to mark the vibhags and create rhythmic patterns
• Rhythmic improvisation in Hindustani music involves the use of tihai, a compositional device where a rhythmic phrase is repeated three times, ending on the first beat of the cycle (sam)
• Layakari is the art of playing with tempo and rhythmic density within the tala framework, creating complex syncopations and cross-rhythms
• Hindustani music also features the concept of laya, or tempo, which can be slow (vilambit), medium (madhya), or fast (drut)

Performance Styles

• Dhrupad: One of the oldest and most austere styles of Hindustani music, characterized by long, elaborate alaps and a focus on pure melody
  • Dhrupad compositions are usually set to a slow 12-beat cycle called Chautaal
  • Dhrupad is traditionally performed by male vocalists, often accompanied by the rudra veena (a plucked stringed instrument) and the pakhawaj (a barrel-shaped drum)
• Khayal: The most popular and widely practiced style of Hindustani vocal music, known for its emphasis on improvisation and emotional expression
  • Khayal compositions are set to a variety of talas and feature extensive use of ornamentations and melodic variations
  • Khayal performances typically include a slow, meditative badhat (elaboration) followed by faster, more rhythmically complex taans (rapid melodic passages)
• Thumri: A light classical style of Hindustani vocal music, often associated with romantic and devotional themes
  • Thumri compositions are usually set to simple, folk-inspired melodies and rhythms
  • Thumri performances emphasize emotional expression and lyrical interpretation over technical virtuosity
• Tarana: A fast-paced, rhythmically complex style of Hindustani vocal music that uses syllabic phrases (bols) instead of lyrics
  • Tarana compositions showcase the vocalist's ability to execute rapid, intricate melodic patterns in sync with the tala
• Instrumental styles: Hindustani music features a rich tradition of instrumental performances, with each instrument having its own unique style and repertoire
  • Sitar and sarod players often adapt vocal compositions to their instruments, while also developing their own distinctive techniques and improvisational approaches
  • Bansuri and sarangi players aim to emulate the human voice through their phrasing and ornamentation

Notable Musicians

• Tansen (1500-1586): A legendary composer and vocalist in the court of Mughal Emperor Akbar, credited with codifying many of the ragas and compositions that form the basis of Hindustani music today
• Miyan Tansen, one of his compositions, is considered a benchmark for Hindustani vocalists
• Amir Khusrow (1253-1325): A Persian poet, scholar, and musician who is believed to have invented the sitar and the tabla, and contributed significantly to the development of Hindustani music
• Bade Ghulam Ali Khan (1902-1968): A renowned vocalist known for his powerful, emotive style and his mastery of the khayal and thumri genres
• Bhimsen Joshi (1922-2011): One of the most celebrated Hindustani vocalists of the 20th century, known for his rich, sonorous voice and his innovative approach to raga elaboration
• Ravi Shankar (1920-2012): A sitar virtuoso who popularized Hindustani music in the West through his collaborations with musicians like George Harrison and Yehudi Menuhin
• Ali Akbar Khan (1922-2009): A sarod maestro and composer who played a key role in promoting Hindustani music education in the United States through his Ali Akbar College of Music
• Hariprasad Chaurasia (b. 1938): A bansuri player known for his soulful, expressive style and his collaborations with Western musicians like John McLaughlin and Jan Garbarek
• Zakir Hussain (b. 1951): A tabla virtuoso who has popularized the instrument globally through his collaborations with artists from various genres, including jazz, fusion, and world music

Cultural Significance

• Hindustani music is deeply rooted in Indian culture and spirituality, with many ragas and compositions drawing inspiration from religious texts, mythological stories, and nature
• Hindustani music has traditionally been passed down through oral transmission from guru to disciple, with students learning through imitation, memorization, and gradual mastery of the art form
  • The guru-shishya parampara (teacher-student tradition) emphasizes the importance of discipline, dedication, and respect for the lineage and heritage of Hindustani music
• Hindustani music performances often take place in intimate settings like house concerts (baithak) or in concert halls (sabha) during music festivals and cultural events
• Hindustani music has played a significant role in shaping India's cultural identity and fostering a sense of national unity, particularly during the independence movement and post-colonial era
  • Music festivals and conferences like the Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan (established in 1875) and the All India Music Conference (established in 1916) have helped preserve and promote Hindustani music
• Hindustani music has also served as a bridge between India and the world, with artists like Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan introducing the art form to global audiences and collaborating with Western musicians
• In recent years, Hindustani music has continued to evolve and adapt to changing cultural contexts, with younger artists experimenting with new compositions, fusion styles, and digital platforms for dissemination
  • Social media and online music education have made Hindustani music more accessible to a wider audience, both within India and abroad
• Hindustani music remains an integral part of India's cultural heritage, celebrated for its beauty, complexity, and ability to evoke a wide range of emotions and spiritual experiences