AoS 3

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Indian Classical Music

There are 2 key building blocks in Indian Classical Music: raga and tala

Ragas

the scales that tell the musicians which notes to play

there are hundreds of ragas. Each represents a different time of fay or season

they are never written down - they are passed from musician to musician by ear

Talas

the rhythm cycle that Indian musics are based on

there are hundreds of them, ranging form 3 beats to over 100

the first bit of the tala is called the sam

shown by the audience through a series of claps and khalis (waves)

repeated throughout the piece

divided in to sections called vibhags (a bit like bars in western music)

also taught from musicians to musicians by ear using a series of syllable sounds called bols

each syllable represents a different sound

Indian instruments

The sitar

a melodic instrument

usually has around 24 strings

the player plucks 5 strings, 2 produces the drone, the rest are 'sympathetic' strings

the strings vibrate because they are connected to the other strings, making a 'shimmer' effect in the sound

the player can pull the strengths to create pitch bends, this sound is called 'meend'

The tanpura

the tanpura looks very similar to the sitar, but it isn't melodic

it has 4 strings, none of them are sympathetic, they all play drones