Indian Classical Music

(Carnatic) Indian Classical Music is a classical South Indian tradition, focusing on complex melodies (ragas), rhythms (talas), and vocal performance. It emphasizes improvisation and structured compositions.

I explored Indian Classical Music through listening to virtuosic Sitar performance and playing Ettugade with a descant recorder.

What did you learn?

How are the musical elements and features described or referred to in Indian Classical Music?

Raga - Melodic framework of notes and rules for their use, used to set emotion for a piece. Similar to mode/scale.

Tala - Rythm

Swara - Seven notes (Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni). They can be different in microtones to western notes of the scale.

Drone - Continuous note from instrument like tanpura, used to set harmonic base.

Improvisation - Musicians explore the raga within the rules, phrases/melodies are often rehearsed and created using a very thorough understanding of the raga and composition.

What role does improvisation play in Indian Classical Music?

Improvisation is an integral part of Indian classical music. Musicians explore the emotion and character of a raga as well as show their own musical style.

Why and how do Indian Classical musicians use frameworks when improvising?

Musicians follow the rules of ragas very strictly, they also use their understanding of the composition (melodic and rhythmic elements) to craft their own improvised melodies. This allows their own expression as well as exploration of the composition to be cohesive and fitting to the purpose of the composer.

What are the stylistic features and constraints of the improvisation frameworks experienced?

Indian classical music has no modulation and they key throughout a piece is set and unchanged. The raga and tala restricts the range of notes and rhythm that the performer has access to.

How are approaches to improvisation similar or different across the Indian Classical styles experienced?

Hindustani music develops raga more slowly than Carnatic music. Carnatic music develops the raga quicker with more focus on rhythmic and melodic improvisation.

What are the requirements for successful Indian Classical Music improvisation?

Mastery of the ragas, tala, and composition is crucial to being successful in Indian classical music improvisation. The performer also needs to be very familiar with their instrument and have a lot of technical proficiency so they can play difficult passages for long durations.