Jeshwant thumbnail
Posted: 19 years ago
#1

Can someone plz tell me what Sur and Antara means. The mentors al always talking about sur and antara ... but I really don't understand what it is!😕😕

Thanks in advance!!😉

Created

Last reply

Replies

23

Views

12k

Users

10

Frequent Posters

battosai64 thumbnail
Explorer Thumbnail
Posted: 19 years ago
#2
I asked this same question myself when I started in this forum. I don't know music so this might not be the best definition. Sur means many things like pitch, scale,note, etc. Antara is...that one girl from Indian Idol, of course! 😛 Just kidding. BUt that is actually true.lol. There are two parts to a song: antara and mukhda. Mukhda means the chorus(the paragraphs that repeat). Antara means the paragraphs that don't repeat. Others are welcome to give a more detailed explanation. Hope this helped! 😃
Ms. Bholi Bhali thumbnail
20th Anniversary Thumbnail Sparkler Thumbnail + 5
Posted: 19 years ago
#3

Originally posted by: battosai64

I asked this same question myself when I started in this forum. I don't know music so this might not be the best definition. Sur means many things like pitch, scale,note, etc. Antara is...that one girl from Indian Idol, of course! 😛 Just kidding. BUt that is actually true.lol. There are two parts to a song: antara and mukhda. Mukhda means the chorus(the paragraphs that repeat). Antara means the paragraphs that don't repeat. Others are welcome to give a more detailed explanation. Hope this helped! 😃

hehe, I was going to say that too. when I saw the subject. 😃

i have no clue who the other antara and sur is. we need experts for that😊

soulsoup thumbnail
19th Anniversary Thumbnail Dazzler Thumbnail Engager Level 1 Thumbnail
Posted: 19 years ago
#4
Antara - the Middle paras of the songs
Mukhra - First para of the songs

The notes, or swaras, of Indian music are Shadjamam, Rishabham, Gandharam, Madhyamam, Panchamam, Dhaivatam and Nishadam. Collectively these notes are known as the sargam, the Indian solfege. In singing, these become Sa, Ri(Carnatic) or Re(Hindustani), Ga, Ma, Pa, Da(Carnatic) or Dha(Hindustani), and Ni. ("Sargam" stands for "Sa-R(i,e)-Ga-M(a)"). Only these syllables are sung, and further designations are never vocalized. When writing these become, S, R, G, M, P, D, N. A dot above a letter indicates that the note is sung one octave higher, a dot below indicates a note one octave lower.


In certain forms of Indian classical music and quwalli, when a rapid, 16th note sequence of the same note is to be sung, sometimes different sylables are used in a certain sequence to make the whole easier to pronounce. For example instead of "sa-sa-sa-sa-sa-sa-sa-sa" said very quickly, it might be "sa-da-da-li-sa-da-da-li" which lends itself more to a quick and light tongue movement.

Saptak denotes the set of seven notes (Swaras), viz. Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni. Generally, any raaga would involve notes from three saptaks. The basic saptak is called the Madhya Saptak. For notes with lower frequencies, the artist may use the Mandra Saptak, which is the lower octave of the Madhya Saptak. Also, for note with higher frequency, the upper octave or the Taar Saptak comes into picture.

The notes in the Mandra Saptak are denoted by a dot (.) below the note representation and the notes in the Taar Saptak are denoted by a dot above the representation.

Example:

Mandra Saptak : Sa

Madhya Saptak : Sa

Taar Saptak : Sa

In Indian classical music, Tala (tal (Hindi), tala (anglicised from talam; in Sanskrit), literally a "clap", is a rhythmical pattern that determines the rhythmical structure of a composition. Each composition is set to a tala, and as a composition is rendered by the main artist(s), the percussion artist(s) play the pattern repeatedly, marking time as well as enhancing the appeal of the performance.

Edited by soulsoup - 19 years ago
soulsoup thumbnail
19th Anniversary Thumbnail Dazzler Thumbnail Engager Level 1 Thumbnail
Posted: 19 years ago
#5
Indian classical music does not use what are called chords, or pressing more than one key simultaneously. Chords are a major aspect of Western music and producing harmony via chords is a natural consequence of the Equally tempered (geometric series) arrangement of the keys. If keys were arranged in a Just tempered sequence, pressing more than one key at a given time might produce an unpleasant sound pattern resulting in what is called 'Besur' (in Hindustani music) or 'Abaswaram' (in Karnatic music). By the way, one more advantage of Equal temperment of pianos and keyboards is that it makes it easier to 'tune' them, (they go out of tune every once in a while and need to be tuned periodically) since each key is harmonically related to the other keys. In case of Just tempered arrangement, since the key ratio between adjacent keys is not a constant, most keys will have to be tuned individually.
Edited by soulsoup - 19 years ago
soulsoup thumbnail
19th Anniversary Thumbnail Dazzler Thumbnail Engager Level 1 Thumbnail
Posted: 19 years ago
#6
Not even a thanks!!! 😕

Just kidding 😉 😆
Ms. Bholi Bhali thumbnail
20th Anniversary Thumbnail Sparkler Thumbnail + 5
Posted: 19 years ago
#7
wow, thanks Soulsoup


although most of it went above my head, but still its really imformative, I will read it two times more, and then I will understand it for sure 😳
mm556 thumbnail
19th Anniversary Thumbnail Voyager Thumbnail
Posted: 19 years ago
#8
Really its very informative and thanks for giving us a brief on Sur and SRGMP

Keep up the Good work
God Bless You
soulsoup thumbnail
19th Anniversary Thumbnail Dazzler Thumbnail Engager Level 1 Thumbnail
Posted: 19 years ago
#9

Originally posted by: Ms. Bholi Bhali

wow, thanks Soulsoup


although most of it went above my head, but still its really imformative, I will read it two times more, and then I will understand it for sure 😳



😆 You are welcome!
battosai64 thumbnail
Explorer Thumbnail
Posted: 19 years ago
#10
Thanx for the in depth definition! What are octaves though? I've always wondered...

Related Topics

Top

Stay Connected with IndiaForums!

Be the first to know about the latest news, updates, and exclusive content.

Add to Home Screen!

Install this web app on your iPhone for the best experience. It's easy, just tap and then "Add to Home Screen".