General Notes on North Indian Music

The musical traditions of the Indian subcontinent are some of the oldest on record. According to most scholars, Indian music divides into two main branches: Hindustani (including parts of northern India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh), and Karnatic or south Indian. The North Indian or Hindustani is the type we will hear this evening. It has been more heavily influenced by outside traditions from central Asia and Persia than its southern counterpart, although both draw much of their stylistic premises from shared theoretical treatises.
The history and theory of Hindustani music are both complex and unfamiliar to most Western audiences. In particular, the modal organization of Hindustani music has a reputation among musicologists for its intricacy and bewildering array of new terms and concepts. Only a modest outline can be given here. I have chosen to focus my remarks on three elements: raga, sarod, and tablā. Anyone seeking a richer understanding may consult the 100 double-column pages devoted to Indian music in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. All I can say is, Good luck!
The core of Hindustani music lies in raga, the first concept that resists easy translation into Western terms. Having features of our scales and melodic structures, the raga is roughly akin to a mode in European music: it describes a small collection of ordered pitches that are to be performed and which the performer will vary and reorder as part of the improvisation. Each performance becomes an individual expression of the chosen raga, and the selection of a raga traditionally is determined by a consideration of venue, day, and time. Viewed as an abstraction, a raga includes a series of pitches performed in ascending motion and a series (often different) performed in descending motion. Crucial pitches of the raga, analogous to our tonic, subdominant, and dominant scale degrees, provide a structural backbone to the melody, and they are usually highly embellished with neighboring tones. It is in the decorations that Hindustani music will sound so characteristic and distinctly non-Western or “exotic” to many of us. The embellishing pitches explore microtonal intervals that were unused in Western music until avant-garde composers of the mid-20th century—inspired by experiences with the musical East—discovered their charm. Although over 1000 ragas are referred to in the major treatises, only around 50 continue to be heard in performance.
In basic appearance, the sarod resembles the Western lute. But its differences reinforce the musical purposes to which it is put. The neck of the sarod is longer than our lute and unfretted, meaning that it may play any pitch within a broad continuum of sound; the lack of frets is absolutely essential for its ability to mimic the microtonal inflections and decorations of the voice. It is held like a lute or guitar and similarly plucked, usually with a plectrum made of wood or metal. A sarod typically has six to eight plucked strings, but it also has additional “sympathetic” or resonating strings that emit a sound based solely on the principle of sympathetic vibration.
Tablā is a pair of small, hand-played drums. Originally introduced in the late 18th century as accompaniment to dancing, the tablā now provides the rhythmic structure to Indian classical instrumental and vocal music. Its rhythmic patterns, modes, and forms may be extremely complicated and varied, and performers are often noted for their manual virtuosity and speed. The two drums are not identical: the right-hand drum is smaller and usually formed as a tapering cone; the larger left-hand drum is more hemispherical. Rhythmic structure in the hands of tablā player, based on time cycles called talas, often competes with the rhythmic patterns performed by the vocalist or lead instrumentalist, creating an increasingly complex give-and-take between the musicians.

Tonight you may find yourself in a soundscape that you never before have been, perhaps never knew existed. The expertise and musicianship of tonight’s performers ensures that you have been initiated into the best that North Indian music has to offer, and we hope you will journey much deeper based on tonight’s modest offering. Like India’s culture and philosophy, her music touches something elemental and refreshing at the heart of pure expression.

(c) Jason Stell