Happy World Music Day - Page 2

Thanks for the great thread Anu 👏

Originally posted by: SmarterDesiKid

nice post 👏 👏
can someone tell me how to upload music..u know...how we did in the IF SARGMPA tihng
PLEASE!

What do you mean?? you want to upload your song?? If yes let me know, I'll Pm you the procedure.

Anu,

Another good thread !!!👏

Nice thread Anu Pal, and am expanding on History Of Punjabi Music: sincebhangra is a very important aspect of indian culture



Punjab:bhangra


Introduction
Bhangra is a lively form of music and dance that originated in the Punjab region in Southeast Asia. As many Bhangra lyrics reflect the long and often tumultuous history of the Punjab, knowledge of Punjabi history offers important insights into the meaning of the music. While Bhangra began as a part of harvest festival celebrations, it eventually became a part of such diverse occasions as weddings and New Year celebrations. Moreover, during the last thirty years, Bhangra has enjoyed a surge in popularity worldwide, both in traditional form and as a fusion with genres such as hip-hop, house, and reggae. As Bhangra continues to move into mainstream culture, an understanding of its history and tradition helps to appreciate it.


Punjab
The birthplace of Bhangra, the Punjab is a region extending over part of Northern India and Northeastern Pakistan. Translated, the name "Punjab" means the "Land of Five Rivers." The people of the Punjab are called Punjabis and they speak a language called Punjabi. The three main religions in the area are Sikhism, Hinduism, and Islam. Around the time of the 15th Century, Guru Nanak Dev founded the Sikh religion, which quickly came to prominence in the region. The 19th Century saw the beginning of British rule, which led to the emergence of several heroic freedom fighters, the subject of many Bhangra songs. Finally, the Punjab was split between Pakistan and India at the end of British rule in 1947. This partitioning resulted in a large migration of Punjabis into the United Kingdom, which eventually led to the emergence of Bhangra in Western clubs and dancehalls.


The Bhangra
Although Bhangra has possibly existed since as long ago as 300 BC, over the past forty years it has experienced new highs in popularity and innovation. The term "Bhangra" has gradually evolved and now refers to many different sub-classes of dance and music for many occasions.

The Origin of Bhangra
While Bhangra historians speculate the dance may have originated in the time of the wars with Alexander, no one is sure it existed until about five hundred years ago. Around the 14th or 15th Century, Punjabi wheat farmers danced and sang songs about village life to help pass the time while working in the fields. With time, these became part of harvest celebrations at Bhaisakhi (April 13) festivals, as the sight of their crops growing invigorated the farmers. From here the dance quickly moved through all divisions of class and education, eventually becoming a part of weddings, New Year parties, and other important occasions.

The Many Sub-Dances of Bhangra
Bhangra has developed as a combination of dances from different parts of the Punjab region. The term "Bhangra" now refers to several kinds of dances and arts, including Jhumar, Luddi, Giddha, Julli, Daankara, Dhamal, Saami, Kikli, and Gatka.

Jhumar, originally from Sandalbar, Punjab, comprises an important part of Punjab folk heritage. It is a graceful dance, based on a specific Jhumar rhythm. Dancers circle around a drum player while singing a soft chorus.

A person performing the Luddi dance places one hand behind his head and the other in front of his face, while swaying his head and arms. He typically wears a plain loose shirt and sways in a snake-like manner. Like a Jhumar dancer, the Luddi dancer moves around a dhol player.

Women have a different but equally exuberant dance called Giddha. The dancers enact verses called bolis, representing a wide variety of subjects - everything from arguments with a sister-in-law to political affairs. The rhythm of the dance depends not only the drums, but also on the handclaps of the dancers.

Julli is a dance associated with Muslim holy men called pirs and is generally performed in their hermitages. Typically the dancers dress all in black, and perform Julli in a sitting posture, but it is sometimes also done around the grave of a preceptor. Julli is unique in that one person, alone, can perform the dance if he so desires.

Daankara is a dance of celebration, typically performed at weddings. Two men, each holding colorful staves, dance around each other in a circle while tapping their sticks together in rhythm with the drums.

Dancers also form a circle while performing Dhamal. They also hold their arms high, shake their shoulders and heads, and yell and scream. Dhamal is a true folk-dance, representing the heart of Bhangra.

Women of the Sandalbar region traditionally are known for the Saami. The dancers dress in brightly colored kurtas and full flowing skirts called lehengas.

Like Daankara, Kikli features pairs of dancers, this time women. The dancers cross their arms, hold each other's hands, and whirl around singing folk songs. Occasionally four girls join hands to perform this dance.

Gatka is a Sikh martial art in which people use swords, sticks, or daggers. Historians believe that the sixth Sikh guru started the art of gatka after the martyrdom of fifth guru Guru Arjan Dev. Wherever there is a large Khalsa Sikh population, there will be Gatka participants, often including small children and adults. These participants usually perform Gatka on special Punjabi holidays.

In addition to these different dances, a Bhangra performance typically contains many energetic stunts. The most popular stunt is called the moor, or peacock, in which a dancer sits on someone's shoulders, while another person hangs from his torso by his legs. Two-person towers, pyramids, and various spinning stunts are also popular.

Bhangra Costumes
Traditionally, men wear a lungi while doing Bhangra. A lungi is a colorful piece of cloth wrapped around the waist. Men also wear a kurta, which is a long Punjabi-style shirt. In addition, men wear Bhugaris - also known as turbins - to cover their heads.

Women wear the traditional Punjabi dress, salvar kameez. A salvar kameez is composed of a long colorful shirt and baggy, vibrant pants. Women also wear duppattas, colorful pieces of cloth wrapped around the neck. Many Bhangra songs make references to the duppatta.

Bhangra Instruments
Many different Punjabi instruments contribute to the sound of Bhangra. Although the most important instrument is the dhol drum, Bhangra also features a variety of string and other drum instruments.

The primary and most important instrument that defines Bhangra is the dhol. The dhol is a large, high-bass drum, played by beating it with two sticks. The width of a dhol skin is about fifteen inches in general, and the dhol player holds his instrument with a strap around his neck.

The string instruments include the tumbi, sarangi, sapera, supp, and chimta. The dhad, dafli, dholki, and damru are the other drums. The tumbi, famously mastered by Amar Singh Chamkila, a famous Punjabi singer, is a high-tone, single-string instrument. Although it has only one string, mastering the tumbi takes many years. The sarangi is a multi-stringed instrument, somewhat similar to the violin. The sapera produces a beautiful, high-pitched stringy beat, while the supp and chimta add extra, light sound to Bhangra music. Finally, the dhad, dafli, dholki, and damru are instruments that produce more drum beats, but with much less bass than the dhol drum.

Bhangra Lyrics
Bhangra lyrics, always sung in the Punjabi language, generally cover social issues such as love, relationships, alcohol, dancing, and marriage. Additionally, there are countless Bhangra songs devoted to Punjabi pride themes and Punjabi heroes. The lyrics are tributes to the rich cultural traditions of the Punjabis. In particular, many Bhangra tracks have been written about Udham Singh and Bhagat Singh. Less serious topics include beautiful ladies with their colorful duppattas, and dancing and drinking in the fields of the Punjab.

Bhangra singers do not sing in the same tone of voice as their Southeast Asian counterparts. Rather, they employ a high, energetic tone of voice. Singing fiercely, and with great pride, they typically add nonsensical, random noises to their singing. Likewise, often people dancing to Bhangra will yell phrases such as "Hey hey hey," "Balle balle," or "Hey aripa" to the music.

Bhangra Today
Bhangra has come a long way in the 20th Century and has recently taken the entertainment industry by storm. In the 1970s and 1980s, many Punjabi singers from Southeast Asia and the United Kingdom emerged, setting the stage for Bhangra to become a hot new trend in dance music. Modern Bhangra artists, in addition to recording and performing traditional Bhangra, have also fused Bhangra with other music genres, such as hip-hop, reggae, house, and drum-and-bass.

Bhangra in the 1970s
In the late 1960s and 1970s, several singers from the Punjab set the stage for Bhangra to become a mass phenomenon. These singers, some of whom are still active today, include Kuldip Manak, Amar Singh Chamkila, and A. S. Kang.

Kuldip Manak, a Bhangra legend, has come to represent the ultimate Punjabi folk music icon. Malkit Singh, a current Bhangra star, says, "Kuldip Manak was one of my singing idols when I was growing up". He symbolizes the essence of Punjabi culture with regards to its history and people. Manak was raised into a musical family; his father was a singing priest in gurudwaras (Sikh temples) in Punjab. Manak's first release was in 1968 when he was just 14 yrs old. He went on to author hundreds of songs, many of which are covered and remixed by contemporary artists.

Chamkila, whose music has received a recent rebirth in popularity, was born on 21 July 1961 in Ludihana, Punjab, from a poor family and lived in great poverty. He wanted to be an electrician, but his family could not afford his education, so he turned to music at a young age. When he was seven years old, he learned the Dholki drum, and he began writing songs when he was only ten. Many Punjabi singers used his songs, and in the late 70s Chamkila began performing himself. He joined a lady named Amarjyot in the early 80s and together they toured the world, visiting countries such as the USA, Canada, Dubai, and Bahrain. Chamkila was extremely popular, but also very controversial, due to his often vulgar and offensive lyrics. Despite countless death-threats, the artist refused to alter his style. However, in 1988 Chamkila and Amarjyot were killed at a show in Mesumpur as they stepped out of their car. The official blame was put on terrorists, but many believe that rival singers, envious of the couple's success, arranged the killing. Chamkila, a legend of Punjabi folk, was only twenty-seven years old when he was killed. He had over two hundred unreleased songs finished at the time of his death, many of which have been recorded and released by modern artists.

A.S. Kang has been in the Bhangra industry for a long time, and just released a new album, The Kangsta, in 1999. With over twenty years of industry experience, he is now referred to as the "Big Daddy." Kang's music has evolved with time, and his recent releases have featured combinations of swing, techno and dance music with his more traditional folk vocals.

Other artists that had a huge influence on the growth of Bhangra are Bhujangy, Asa Singh Mastana, Surinder Kaur and Parkash Kaur, Lalchand Yamla Jat, K. Deep and Jagmohan Kaur, and Alam Lohar.

Bhangra in the 1980s
It was not until the early eighties that Bhangra moved from "secluded halls and venues to the bright lights of the clubs and cities of England." First generation Asians were intrigued by their musical heritage, and helped bring Bhangra to the mainstream in their new country.

One of the biggest Bhangra stars of the last several decades is Malkit Singh - known as "the golden voice of the Punjab" - and his group, Golden Star. Malkit was born in June 1963, in the village Hussainpur, in Punjab. He attended the Khalsa College, Jalandhar, in the Punjab, in 1980 to study for a B.A. in Arts. Here he met his mentor, Professor Inderjit Singh, who nurtured his skills in Punjabi folk singing and Bhangra dancing. Thanks to Singh's tutelage, Malkit entered and won many song contests during this time. In 1983 he won a gold medal at the University of Guru Nanak, in Amritsar, Punjab, for performing his hit song Gurh Naloo Ishq Mitha, which later featured on his first album, Nach Gidhe Wich, released in 1984. The album was a strong hit among South Asians worldwide, and after its release Malkit and his band moved to the United Kingdom to continue their work. Malkit has now produced 16 albums and has toured 27 countries in his Bhangra career.

Gurdaas Mann also had a huge impact on Bhangra music. He started his career in 1982 with his first album, Dil Da Mamla. Since then he has become an idol for many, not only for his musical talent, but also his acting ability. He appeared in the Punjabi film Long Da Lishkara, which included the mega hit Challa (recently remixed by Punjabi MC on his album Legalised). Since 1982 Gurdass Mann has released a number of hit albums, performed at sold-out concerts around the world and recently released the hugely popular single, Apna Punjab.

The group Alaap, fronted by Channi, the man made famous by his white scarf, hails from Southall, a Punjabi area in London. Their album Teri Chunni De Sitaray, released in 1982 by Multitone, created quite a stir at a time when Bhangra was still in its early days in the UK. This album played a critical role in creating an interest in Bhangra among Asian university students in Britain.

Heera, fronted by Kumar and Dhami, was one of the most popular bands of the eighties. Fans were known to gatecrash weddings they played. The group established itself with the album Diamonds, released early in the decade. This album is notable for being one of the first Bhangra albums to successfully mix Western drums and synthesizers with traditional Punjabi instruments.

Several other influential groups appeared around the same time, including Apna, from Birmingham, and the Bhujungy Group. Apna, most famously known for their hit Mera Yaar Vajavey Dhol, are still performing and are known as one of the best live acts in Bhangra.

Bhangra in the 1990s
Bhangra took massive steps toward mainstream credibility in the 1990s, especially among youths. At the beginning of the nineties, many artists returned to the original, folk beats of Bhangra, often incorporating more dhol drum beats and tumbi. This time also saw the rise of several young Punjabi singers.

The most influential of these young superstars was the "Canadian folkster," Jazzy Bains. Originally from Namasher in Punjab, "Jazzy B," as he is commonly referred to, has become one of the preeminent Bhangra artists in the world after his debut in 1992. Having sold over 55,000 copies of his second album, Folk and Funky, he is now one of the best-selling Bhangra artists in the world, with a vocal style likened to that of Kuldip Manak. Although his music has a traditional Punjabi beat, Jazzy Bains has taken up a particularly modern, thug-like image for himself, perhaps helping his popularity in the process.

Another famous young Bhangra super star is Bhinda Jatt, "the Folk Warrior of California." Jatt, whose style reminds many of Bains, started his career alongside his brother Kaiser, an excellent dhol player. Their first album was a huge success and Bhinda is currently is one of the top singers in the industry.

Balwinder Safri, based in the UK, gives strong vocals to classic tracks. Since releasing his first album, Reflections, in 1991, Safri has signed with BMG Multitone and become one of the most sought-after Bhangra singers in the world. His career highlights include his 1994 album, Get Real, which remained atop the Bhangra charts for eight weeks, and releasing the first Bhangra single ever, Legends, in 1995. Over the last few years he has reaped tremendous success around the world, through both live and recorded performances. His releases to date highlight his vocal versatility.

Hailing from the Punjab, Surjit Bindrakhia has arguably the most powerful and versatile voice of any modern Bhangra singer. Featuring a throaty and wide-ranging voice, Bindrakhia is the most successful traditional artist in the world, producing most of his music in India. He has been famous in Punjab for many years, but he only reached worldwide notoriety with Dupatta Tera Sat Rang Da, one of the most popular Bhangra songs of all time. There are more sustained dhol beats in Bindrakhia's work than in that of most UK-based Bhangra artists.

Other influential Bhangra artists include Surinda Shinda - famous for his Putt Jattan Da, Harbhajan Mann, Manmohan Waris, Sarbjit Cheema, Hans Raj Hans, Sardool Sikander, Geet the MegaBand, Anakhi, Sat Rang, XLNC, B21, Shaktee, Intermix, Sahara, Paaras, PDM, DCS, Amar Group, Sangeet Group, and Bombay Talkie.

Bhangra Pop & Remixes
Many South Asian DJs, especially in America, have mixed Bhangra music with house, reggae, and hip-hop to add a different flavor to Bhangra. These remixes continued to gain popularity as the nineties came to an end.

Of particular note among remix artists is Bally Sagoo, a Punjabi-Sikh, Anglo-Indian raised in Birmingham, England. Sagoo described his music as "a bit of tablas, a bit of the Indian sound. But bring on the bass lines, bring on the funky-drummer beat, bring on the James Brown samples," to Time Magazine in 1997. He was recently signed by Sony as the flagship artist for a new label based in Bombay. Another remarkable fact about Sagoo is that first single off his album Dil Cheez debuted in October 1996 at No. 12 on the British pop chart, the first Urdu/Hindi song ever to do so; the second, Tum Bin Jaya, entered at No. 21. Says Time, "Sagoo meanwhile has sketched a profile as high as his spiky coiffure, appearing on BBC TV's Top of the Pops, as host of MTV Asia's Club MTV, and as the opening act for Michael Jackson's mammoth Bombay concert." Artists like Sagoo, while not performing traditional Bhangra, are an important factor in Bhangra's growing mainstream presence.

The continued success and growth of Bhangra music worldwide has provided the impetus for many different offshoots from traditional Bhangra. The most popular of these is Daler Mehndi, a Punjabi singer from India, and his music, known as "Bhangra Pop." Mehndi has become a major name not just in Punjab, but also all over India, with tracks such as Bolo Ta Ra Ra and Ho Jayegee Balle Balle. He has made the sound of Bhangra-pop a craze amongst many non-Punjabis in India, selling many millions of albums. Perhaps his most impressive accomplishment is the selling of 250,000 albums in Kerela, a state in the South of India where Punjabi is not spoken.

Toward the end of the decade, Bhangra continued its assault on mainstream culture, with artists like Bally Sagoo and Apache Indian signing with international recording labels Sony and Island. Moreover, Multitone Records, one of the major recording labels associated with Bhangra in Britain in the eighties and nineties, was bought by BMG. Finally, a recent Pepsi commercial launched in Britain featured South Asian actors and Bhangra music. This, perhaps more than anything else, is a true sign of the emergence of Bhangra into popular culture.

Bhangra in North America
Punjabi immigrants have encouraged the growth of Bhangra in the western hemisphere. However the Bhangra industry has not grown in North America nearly as much as it has grown in the United Kingdom. Indian Lion, a UK Bhangra artist explains why:

The reasons there's a lot of bands in England is because there's a lot of work in England. In England the tradition that's been going on for years now is that there's weddings happening up and down the country every weekend, and it's part of the culture that they have Bhangra bands come and play, who get paid 1800 quid a shot, you know. Most of the bands are booked up for the next two years. And England is a country where you can wake up in the morning and by lunchtime you can be at the other end of the country, it helps. In Canada it takes 3 days to get to the other side of the country, so there's no circuit there. And it isn't a tradition [in North America] to have live music at weddings. There are a few bands here that play a few gigs, but nothing major.

However, with the emergence of North American Bhangra artists such as Jazzy Bains, Bhinda Jatt, and Sangeet Group, and the growth of the remix market, the future for Bhangra in this continent looks good.

Bhangra Competitions
Bhangra competitions have been held in the Punjab for many decades. However, now universities and other organizations have begun to hold annual Bhangra dance competitions in many of the main cities of the United States, Canada, and England. At these competitions, young Punjabis, other South Asians, and people with no South Asian background compete for money and trophies. In the West, unlike the Punjab, there is less emphasis on traditional Bhangra moves, but rather more focus on a general look of the dance; for example, many teams at these competitions perform several hip-hop moves. This synergy of the Bhangra dance with other cultures' parallels the music's fusion with different genres. University competitions have experienced an explosion in popularity over the last three years (Bhangra Blowout, hosted by George Washington University on 1 April 2000, sold out to a crowd of 4,000 people, with scalpers reportedly getting $80 per ticket at the door), and help to promote the dance and music in mainstream culture.

Conclusion
Beginning as a form of lively folk music performed at harvests in the Punjab, Bhangra has evolved remarkably over the past five hundred years. The music now fully represents the culture of the Punjab region, and the struggles of its people in their long and storied history. Moreover, the music still evolves today, incorporating elements of many different kinds of music from around the world, while still existing in its traditional form. Thanks to this diversification, Bhangra now reaches a larger audience than ever, all over the world. Bhangra competitions at universities in England, Canada, and America, as well as Southeast Asia, help to further the dance's popularity. A person can easily expect Bhangra to continue its movement into mainstream culture well into the 21st Century.


Happy Music Holiday to ALL andMusic Is something that unites all

Pari

There is a traditional system for the classification of instruments. This system is based upon; non-membranous percussion (ghan), membranous percussion (avanaddh), wind blown (sushir), plucked string (tat), bowed string (vitat). Here are the classes and representative instruments.

NON-MEMBRANOUS PERCUSSIVE (Ghan)

This is one of the oldest classes of instruments in India. This class is based upon percussive instruments which do not have membranes, specifically those which have solid resonators. These may be either melodic instruments or instruments to keep tal.

• Kasht Tarang
• Jal Tarang
• Manjira
• Ghatam
• Murchang
• Ghungharu
• Kartal
• Chimpta

BLOWN AIR (Sushir)

This class of instrument is characterized by the use of air to excite the various resonators.

• Bansuri
• Shehnai
• Pungi
• Harmonium
• Shankh
• Nadaswaram
• Ottu
• Surpeti
• Mukhavina

PLUCKED STRINGED INSTRUMENTS (Tat)

This class of instruments is characterized by plucked strings. In ancient times virtually all instruments of this class were referred to as vina.

• Sitar
• Rabab (Kabuli Rabab)
• Sarod
• Saraswati Vina (South Indian Vina)
• Surbahar
• Gotuvadyam
• Rudra Vina
• Vichitra Vina
• Ektar
• Tanpura
• Dotar
• Santur
• Surmandal
• Bulbul Tarang
• Nakula Vina
• Magadi Vina
• Getchu Vadyam (Gettuvadyam)
• Gopichand (ektar)
• Seni Rabab

BOWED-STRINGED INSTRUMENTS (Vitat)

This is a class of stringed instruments which are bowed. This class appears to be quite old, yet these instruments did not occupy a place in classical music until the last few centuries. The entire class of instruments has a certain stigma attached to it. Even today only the Western violin is free of this stigma.

• Sarangi
• Saringda
• Violin
• Esraj
• Dilriba
• Chikara
• Mayuri Vina
• Pena

MEMBRANOUS PERCUSSIVE (Avanaddh)

This is a class of instruments which have struck membranes. These typically comprise the drums.

• Tabla
• Pakhawaj
• Mridangam
• Tabla Tarang
• Dholak
• Nagada
• Dholki (Nal)
• Daf (Duf, Daphu, Daffali)
• Kanjira
• Tavil
• Khol (Mridang)
• Pung
• Thanthi Panai
• Damaru
• Chenda
• Shuddha Madalam
• Idakka and Udaku (Udakai)

We have given a brief overview of the Indian instruments. We mentioned that the instruments fall into five categories: ghan (non-membranous percussion), sushir (wind blown), tat (plucked stringed), vitat (bowed stringed) and avanaddh (membranous percussion). Within these five classes there are a large number of individual instruments.

ABSTRACT

Electronic aids to music education have been a major component of the Western pedagogic process for many years. However the application of high technology has only recently begun in India. Today there is an environment which is ripe for the spread of electronics into the field of music and music education. Applications as diverse as desktop publishing, electronically assisted education (audio/video cassettes) radio and TV programs and a host of electronic gadgets have already entered the educational process.

INTRODUCTION

Technology has had a tremendous impact on music education in the Western world. However the impact upon Indian music is just now being felt. This paper will provide a brief overview of the history, present situation, and future possible applications of electronic aids in the education of Indian music. A brief introduction to Indian music will place things in perspective and make our discussions easier.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

We can appreciate the present situation by having a firm understanding of the development of both Indian music and the Indian electronics industry. We will see that the music of India is an ancient system which is quite different from our own. Furthermore the pedagogic process, which is essentially an apprenticeship, is also quite different from ours. All of this must be seen so that we can appreciate the application of modern technology by India's indigenous electronics industry.

The musical tradition of India is one of the oldest in the world. However, within this tradition there are numerous subtraditions, and individual styles. Such a variegated musical environment could make a discussion difficult if it were not for one thing. Just as the Western classical tradition is considered the foundation for musical education; in the same way, the classical music of India is considered the foundation for musical education in India. We need not concern ourself with the multiplicity of musical styles. However we must not forget that there are two classical musical systems in India. There is the north Indian tradition, known as Hindustani sangeet; and there is also the south Indian tradition, known as Carnatic sangeet. Fortunately, the theoretical differences do not effect our discussion.

It is difficult to describe the Indian system of music in a few words. The most fundamental point is that it is a modal system based upon pure tones rather than tempered tones. The drone is an essential component of the music. It is this drone which provides the tonic base upon which the modes may be developed. Unlike Western music, the key is of no theoretical importance. Whether a piece is performed in C, B, F or whatever, is purely a matter of convenience. These pieces are performed in highly developed rhythmic cycles known as tal. These tals are generally large structures of 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, or 16 beats. The basic theory of Indian music is covered in greeater detail in other sources (Courtney 1992a).

This highly developed system requires many years of formal training. This is in the form of an apprenticeship. For many millennia the craft has been passed from teacher to disciple in a process known as guru-shishya-parampara (Courtney 1992b). Although this is still considered the traditional mode of education, in practice the student receives a large amount of information through the electronic media. A clear picture of this media can be seen by looking at the rise of high technology in the country.

The development of India's electronic and technological infrastructure is interesting because it developed largely separate from the world markets. The early days of independence were dominated by the Gandhian concept known as "Swadeshi". Swadeshi is the political and economic concept of self sufficiency. During the independence movement, self sufficiency in the homespun cotton industry was largely responsible for making the continuance of India in the British empire uneconomical. These economic pressures persuaded Britain to grant autonomy. The concept of self sufficiency acquired a socialistic colour after independence. Nehru was using the Soviet Union as a model for industrial development. This allowed India to develop an indigenous electronics industry which was unconnected to the world markets. Although this industry was never able to come up to world standards, it did create an environment in which indigenous approaches could be developed for purely Indian musical needs. These will be discussed later. Before we look at these devices which are relevant only to Indian music let us first look at the power of traditional analog approaches.

Established analog technologies already have shown profound effect on the system of education. Analog technologies are commonly used in radio, TV, and tape recorders. Until recently the only radio and TV in India were the government owned "Akashavani", otherwise known as "All India radio" and "Dooradarshan" (TV) (see figure 1). The government has a sustained interest in promoting traditional Indian music. One of the efforts has been occasional broadcasts of educational programs on Indian music.

Some of the most significant effects have been from the "National Programs". These are performances given by India's top artists which are aired all over the country. An artist may perform something on national TV and within a week, other musicians around the country are doing similar things. What makes this so important is that it introduces a fundamental change in the way musical information is transferred. Previously the only process for transmission of musical material has been from guru to disciple. This is a vertical flow of information known as "Taleem". The use of the electronic media creates a horizontal flow of information which cuts across traditional pedagogic lines.

We may summarize the history of electronics and Indian music quite simply. The music of India is an ancient modal form that is fundamentally different from the Occidental system. For thousands of years the musical material traveled along a simple linear path from teacher to disciple. Cross linkages were rare until relatively recently. The major increase in this horizontal flow of musical information began with the advent of the electronic media. The development of an indigenous electronics industry, essentially cut off from the larger world markets, has had interesting effects on musical electronics. We will now discuss this further.

PRESENT APPLICATIONS

It is appropriate for us to take a closer look at the present situation. We find numerous examples of electronic aids being employed in the pedagogic process. Many of these are well entrenched while many others are experimental.

Shruti Generation - Shruti is the drone which is used in Indian music. This was normally provided by a stringed instrument (tamboura) or a small hand pumped reed instrument (Sur peti) . However, for over twenty years, electronic sur petis have been in use by many students (figure 3). They have recently been refined to the present day "Electronic Tamboura". In southern India the electronic "Surpeti" or "Shruti Box" has become essential for any music student. It is even used in performances. Although it does not have the same level of popularity in the north, its use is rising fast. These devices are of Indian design and manufacture and have almost no parallel in the electronic instruments of the West.

Lahara Generation -

Lahara is a small repeating melody used to accompany drum solos. This function has been traditionally performed by a live musician. However experiments have been going on for some years to replace the human with an electronic equivalent. I have been using computer generated laharas in the pedagogic process since 1988 with very good results (Courtney 1991b).

Theka Generation

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This is roughly comparable to the function of a Western drum machine. There are several approaches. The most widespread is a dedicated device called a "Tal Mala" . These devices of Indian design and manufacture and give a sound which is comparable to tabla (an Indian drum).

I have spent a considerable time working on another course, specifically computer generated theka. Such an approach is presently cost prohibitive in India. However it has certain advantages over the tal mala. The most striking advantage is the natural sound. This is a consequence of the fact that my experiments have been based upon sampled lahara rather than the synthesized version that is a characteristic of the Indian tal mala.

Data Bases -

It is possible to take Indian music, quantify it, and encode it to create data bases of rags and compositions. This is philosophically similar to the musical encoding schemes found in MIDI approaches (Courtney 1991). I have spent a considerable amount of time in this area and have found that a higher resolution is required than found in the MIDI protocols (Courtney 1989). These efforts are described in greater detail elsewhere (Courtney 1990).

Desktop Publishing -

The field of desktop publishing is one area where the impact of digital technologies may be found. Although the printed text has been an important part of the educational process for many years, market pressures have made it very risky to publish books on Indian music. This risk is somewhat reduced by advances in desktop publishing which drastically reduce the cost of typesetting.

Computer Analysis -

Computers have made it possible to analyze Indian music and Indian musical instruments in a way that was never possible before. Spectrum analysis have made it possible to look closely at the sounds of Indian musical instruments and even at the influence that spectral components have upon the development of scale structure and intonation (Carterette 1989).

Basic Music Theory -

Computers have been used on several occasions to clarify aspects of music theory. It has been used in areas of intonation (Rao 1989), musical structure (Srinivasan 1979), and virtually every aspect of music theory.

We have seen that electronic technology has been used to produce a number of educational aids. The most common is the tal mala which generates drum beats and the surpeti which generates the drone. The computer has emerged as a major tool for both research, education, and in desktop publishing. With a clear concept of the present usage, we may speculate as to what future applications may be.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

Prognostication is always a risky business. However it is safe to say that the computer will play an increasing role in future applications of electronics to the education of Indian music. Clearly all of the components are there; a large base of computer literate personnel coupled with falling hardware prices. The increased availability of hardware and the large number of computer literate people to operate them cannot help but find applications in every field of life, including music.

One possible application is in the area of computer assisted education. Presently public schools may have no music teacher and private schools may have one for several hundred students. Clearly the shortage of teachers could be alleviated with computer assisted education. Even the music colleges (figure 5) which do not have a shortage of teachers could benefit from computer assisted education. Although such an approach clearly is contrary to traditional educational concepts, India has shown a tremendous ability to accommodate new technologies and educational practices (Courtney 1992b).

Another area of possible development is in the area of musicological research. If a standard musical coding scheme can be worked out it opens the possibility of expanding the data bases and using them to investigate various aspects of musical performance and theory.

There are other aspects which would be considered science fiction if it were not for there immediate possibility. For example let us consider the possibility of recreating a musical genius of the past. It is theoretically possible to go back an examine a large body of recordings and create a knowledge base derived from that material. Once the appropriate artificial intelligence structures have been created it should then be possible to feed a new rag into the machine. The computer could then compose a piece in the same style as the deceased musician; even for rags which did not exist during the lifetime of the musician.

CONCLUSION

India is already making significant use of electronics in the process of music education. generation of drones, and rhythms are a commonplace, with experimental efforts at lahara (repetitive melodies), data bases. Computer assisted composition and computer assisted education cannot be far off. However we are only looking at a small number of educational possibilities, many are yet to be thought of. Although India has a tremendous respect for tradition, this respect has never hindered the acceptance of new technologies. Therefore it is highly unlikely that the traditional guru-shishya system will disappear, but it should continue with the new tools of the 21st century.

WORKS CITED

Courtney, David R
1989	"An Indian Music Specific Audio Driver",Journal of the Acoustical Society of India, Calcutta: Vol. 17, No 3&4, December, pp. 269-272.
1990	A Low Cost System for the Computerization of North Indian Classical Music (Dissertation) IIAS, University Microfilms International, Ann Arbor: March 1990: pp. 200: Order Number LD01730.
1991a	"MIDI Protocol", Syntax, CHUG Inc., Tomball: Dec./Jan 1991: pp. 14-19.
1991b	"The Application of the C=64 to Indian Music: A Review", Syntax , Houston: June/July 1991: pp 8-9.
1992a	Elementary North Indian Vocal. Sur Sangeet Services, Houston: pp.151
1992b	New Approaches to Tabla Instruction. Percussive Notes. Vol 30 No 4: Lawton OK: Percussive arts Society.
Srinivasan, R.
1979	"Computer Approach to the Anaylysis of Musical Scales, Shrutis and Murcchanas", Mathematical and Computer Anaylsis of Raga Structure, Srutis and Murcchanas, Proceedings of the Seminar on Musicology. Feb 26-28. University of Madras:123-141
Rao, S.S., Nawathe, S.P., Bhave, S.S., Atre, Prabha
1989	"A Study of Intonation in Hindustani Classical Music", Journal of the Acoustical Society of India, Calcutta: Vol. 17, No 3&4, December, pp. 273-276.
Carterette, Edward; Vaughn, Kathryn; Jairazbhoy, Nazir A
1989	"Perceptual, Acoustical, and Musical Aspects of the Tamboura drone". Music Perception. Winter 1989, Vol 7, No 2, 75-100, University of California.

Thanks manjudi and bapigua for the post..

I wish all once again a:

HAPPY WORLD MUSIC DAY 😃

Ragas

One reason that Indian music sounds so different to the Westerner is that the major/minor tonal system is not used. Harmony, and specifically the major/minor tonal system, has been the basic organizing principle in Western music - classical, folk, and popular - for centuries. A piece of music is in a certain key, which means it uses the notes of a particular major or minor scale. The harmonies developed using those notes are an integral, basic part of the development and form of the music. Most of the complexity of Western music lies in its harmonies and counterpoint.


The music of India does not emphasize harmony and does not feature counterpoint. In fact, most Indian classical music features a single melody instrument (or voice) accompanied by drone and percussion. There is no counterpoint and no chord progression at all. Instead, the interest and complexity of this music lies in its melodies and its rhythms. (Just as Indian music can seem confusing to someone accustomed to listening for harmonic progressions, Western melodies, based on only two types of scales, and Western rhythms, based on only a few popular meters, may sound overly similar and repetitive to someone accustomed to Indian music.)


Western music divides the octave into the twelve notes of the chromatic scale. But most pieces of music mainly use only seven of these notes; the seven notes of the major or minor key that the piece is in. Indian music also has a twelve-note scale. These twelve notes are called swaras, and they are not tuned like the notes of the chromatic scale (please see below). Also similarly to Western music, only seven notes are available for any given piece of music.


But there are important differences, too. Western scales come in only two different "flavors": major and minor. The two are quite different from each other, but the major keys all sound very similar to each other. (And the minor keys also all sound very similar to each other.) This is because the relationships between the various notes of a major scale are always the same. (Please see Major Keys and Scales and Beginning Harmonic Analysis for more on this.)


The seven-note thats of Indian music, on the other hand, come in many different "flavors". The interval pattern varies from one that to the next, and so the relationship between the notes is also different. There are ten popular thats in North Indian music, and many more in South Indian.

Some Example Thats

Figure 1:


Here are the scale notes for some thats. Notice that the pattern of half step, whole step, and minor third intervals is unique to each that. Do you notice anything else? (Answer is below, in the section on tuning.)


Making for even more variety, a piece of Indian classical music may not even use all seven of the notes in the that. The music will be in a particular raga, which may use five, six, or all seven of the notes in the that. And a that can generate more than just three ragas (one pentatonic, one hexatonic, and one full raga). Kalavati raga (C, E flat, G, A, and B flat) and Shivranjani raga (C, D, E flat, G, and A), for example, are two different pentatonic ragas derived from Kafi that. Thus there are hundreds of ragas available, and a competent musician is expected to be able to improvise in many of them.


But the raga is not just a collection of the notes that are allowed to be played in a piece of music. There are also rules for how the notes may be used; for example, the notes used in an ascending scale may be different from the notes in a descending scale. And the raga may even affect the tuning of the piece.



Tuning

The tuning of modern Western Music is based on equal temperament; the octave is divided into twelve equally spaced pitches. But this is not the only possible tuning system. Many other music traditions around the world use different tuning systems, and Western music in the past also used systems other than equal temperament. Medieval European music, for example, used just intonation, which is based on a pure perfect fifth. (Please see Tuning Systems for more about this.)


The preferred tuning system of a culture seems to depend in part on other aspects of that culture's music; its texture, scales, melodies, harmonies, and even its most common musical instruments. For example, just intonation worked very well for medieval chant, which avoided thirds, emphasized fifths, and featured voices and instruments capable of small, quick adjustments in tuning. But equal temperament works much better for the keyboard instruments, triadic harmonies, and quick modulations so common in modern Western music.


In India, the most common accompaniment instrument (as ubiquitous as pianos in Western music) is the tanpura. (There are several alternative spellings for this name in English, including taanpura and tambura.) This instrument is a chordophone in the lute family. It has four very long strings. The strings are softly plucked, one after the other. It takes about five seconds to go through the four-string cycle, and the cycle is repeated continuously throughout the music. The long strings continue to vibrate for several seconds after being plucked, and the harmonics of the strings interact with each other in complex ways throughout the cycle. The effect for the listener is not of individually-plucked strings. It is more of a shimmering and buzzing drone that is constant in pitch but varying in timbre.


And the constant pitches of that drone are usually a pure perfect fifth. You may have noticed in the figure above that C and G are not flatted or sharped in any of thats. Two of the strings of the tanpura are tuned to middle C, and one to the C an octave higher. The remaining string is usually tuned to a G (the perfect fifth). (If a pentatonic or hexatonic raga does not use the G, this string is tuned instead to an F. The pure perfect interval is still used however, and you may note that a perfect fourth is the inversion of a perfect fifth.) So a just intonation system based on the pure fifth between C and G (or the pure fourth between C and F) works well with this type of drone.


Pure intervals, because of their simple harmonic relationships, are very pleasing to the ear, and are used in many music traditions. But it is impossible to divide a pure octave into twelve equally spaced pitches while also keeping the pure fifth. So this brings up the question: where exactly are the remaining pitches? The answer, in Indian music, is: it depends on the raga.


Indian music does divide the octave into twelve swaras, corresponding to the Western chromatic scale. Also, just as only seven of the chromatic notes are available in a major or minor scale, only seven notes are available in each that. But because just intonation is used, these notes are tuned differently from Western scales. For example, in Western music, the interval between C and D is the same (one whole step) as the interval between D and E. In Indian tuning, the interval between C and D is larger than the interval between D and E. Using the simpler ratios of the harmonic series, the frequency ratio of the larger interval is about 9/8 (1.125); the ratio of the smaller interval is 10/9 (1.111). (For comparison, an equal temperament whole step is about 1.122.) Western music theory calls the larger interval a major whole tone and the smaller one a minor whole tone. Indian music theory uses the concept of a shruti, which is an interval smaller than the intervals normally found between notes, similar to the concept of cents in Western music. A shruti is approximately 50 cents. The interval between C and D is 4 shrutis; between D and E is 3 shrutis. There has been no investigation to determine the exact frequencies of the shrutis, but they seem not be be equally spaced.


In some ragas, some notes may be flattened or sharpened by one shruti, in order to better suit the mood and effect of that raga. So, for tuning purposes, the octave is divided into 22 shrutis. This is only for tuning, however; for any given that or raga, only twelve specifically-tuned notes are available.


In spite of the fact that these tunings are based on the physics of the harmonic series, Indian music can sound oddly out of tune to someone accustomed to equal temperament, and even trained Western musicians may have trouble developing an ear for Indian tunings. As of this writing, one site devoted to helping Western listeners properly hear Indian tunings was The Perfect Third



Note Names

As mentioned above, Indian music, like Western music, recognizes seven notes that can be sharped or flatted to get twelve notes within each octave. A flat note is called komal. A sharp note is called teevra.

Indian Note Names

Indian Fusion Music

The history of collaboration between Indian and Western musicians dates to the 1960s, when Ravi Shankar first started playing alongside Western musicians. Ravi Shankar was present at the music extravaganza known as "Woodstock". In subsequent years, the sarod maestro, Ali Akbar Khan, and the tabla maestro, Alla Rakha, the father of Zakir Hussain, also worked with Western musicians. Other successful collaborations over the years have been between Ravi Shankar and Philip Glass, Ustad Sultan Khan (on the sarangi) and Marco Guinar (on he Spanish guitar), and Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and Ry Cooder.

More recently, the Indian mandolin virtuoso, a young man by the name of U. Srinivasan, produced an album, released under the label "Real World", in collaboration with Michael Brook. The album, called Dream, has four numbers, and the excerpt here is from "Think", with U. Srinivas on the electric mandolin, Nigel Kennedy on violin, Nana Vasconcelos on percussion, and Caroline Lavelle on the cello.

Thanks Anu, Bapigua2, Munjuji.
Great post. (I have not read everything yet)


Happy world music day to everyone.