South Asia

SOUTH ASIAN COUNTRIES

Country Capital
Afghanistan Kabul
Bhutan Thimpu
Bangladesh Dhaka
India New Delhi
Maldives Male
Nepal Katmandu
Pakistan Islamabad
Sri Lanka Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
Colombo
MUSIC OF INDIA
Vedas (from véda, "knowledge") are a large
body of texts originating in ancient India.
Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts
constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature
and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism
MUSIC OF INDIA
The Rigveda (ṛc "praise, verse" and veda
"knowledge") is a sacred Indo-Aryan
collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns still
being used in India. It is counted among
the four canonical sacred texts (śruti) of
Hinduism known as the Vedas.
MUSIC OF INDIA
Sama Veda, Samveda, or
Samaveda (from sāman "melody"
and veda "knowledge"), is the third of
the four Vedas, the ancient core Hindu
scriptures, along with the Rig Veda,
Yajur Veda, and Atharva Veda. It
ranks next in sanctity and liturgical
importance to the Rigveda.
MUSIC OF INDIA
The Rigveda (ṛc "praise, verse" and veda
"knowledge") is a sacred Indo-Aryan
collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns still
being used in India. It is counted among
the four canonical sacred texts (śruti) of
Hinduism known as the Vedas.
MUSIC OF INDIA
India is the largest country in South Asia.
Its music is as vast as its geographic
location and as large as its demographic
population. The music of India reflects
different aspects of Asian culture through
its timbre, rhythm, melody, texture, form,
and style. In general, Indian music remains
fundamental to the lives of the people of
India as a source of spiritual inspiration,
cultural expression, and entertainment.
 VOCAL MUSIC
India's classical music tradition, includes
Carnatic and Hindustani music which have
developed over many centuries. Music of India
also includes several types of folk and popular
music. One aspect of vocal music uses
melismatic singing with nasal vocal quality,
when compared with the Philippine music which
uses melismatic singing is only used in chanting
epics and the pasyon.
VOCAL MUSIC
Singing based on a set of pitches was popular
even during the Vedic times. The Samagana
style of singing developed into a strong and
diverse tradition over several centuries,
becoming an established part of contemporary
tradition in India. The hymns in Sama Veda, a
sacred text, were sung as Samagana and not
chanted. Sama Veda is the third of the four
Vedas of Hinduism but ranks next to Rig Veda
(Rigveda) in terms of its sanctity and liturgical
importance.
 VOCAL MUSIC
Rig Veda is also sung in the Samagana
traditional singing style. Because of its
liturgical importance, Rigveda is counted
as first among the four canonical sacred
texts of Hinduism known as Vedas. Rig
Veda is an ancient Indian sacred collection
of Vedic Sanskrit hymns. Some of its
verses are still recited as Hindu prayers at
religious functions and other occasions.
Characteristics of Traditional Music from
India:
1. Carnatic music
 refers to music from South India
 directed to a Hindu god, which is why it is called
“temple music”
 unlike Hindustani music, Carnatic music is unified
where schools are based on the same ragas, the
same solo instruments (veena, flute, violin) and the
same rhythm instrument (mridangam and ghatam)
 music pieces are mainly set for the voice and with
lyrics
 compositions called krti are devotional songs
2. Hindustani music
 goes back to Vedic period times around 1000 BC
 ofurther developed in the 13th and 14th centuries
AD with Persian influences and from existing
religious and folk music
 predominantly found in the northern and central
regions
 oinfluenced by ancient Hindu musical traditions,
historical Vedic religion/Vedic philosophy, native
Indian sounds and enriched by the Persian
performance practices of the Mughal era
 nasal singing is observed in their vocal music
 in North India, the most common style of singing is
called khyal, a word which means imagination
INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
There are many musical instruments in
India. Some instruments are used primarily
in North Indian music (Hindustani Sangeet)
while many other instruments are used in
South Indian music (Carnatic Sangeet).
Instrumental music is often similar to vocal
music but sometimes they have distinctive
instrumental styles. There are five known
traditional systems for classification of
instruments.
INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
Classification of Musical Instruments
from India:
1. Ghan – described as a non-
membranous percussive instrument
but with solid resonators. It is one of
the oldest classes of instrument in
India. It may also be a melodic
instrument or instruments to keep tal.
Ghatam is nothing
more than a large
clay pot. It is very
commonly played in
South Indian
classical performances. There are
two actions of resonance. The
primary one is the ringing of the
pot caused by striking.
 A very low
resonance is
also produced by
the cavity. This
pitch is raised or
lowered by
opening or
closing the hole
with the
stomach.
 Manjïrà (manjeera)
is a traditional
percussion
instrument of Bhàrata
India. In its simplest
form, it is a pair of
small hand cymbals.It
is also known as
manjeera, taal, jalra,
khartàl or kartàl.
Kartal are a pair
of wooden blocks or
frames with small
metal jingles
mounted in them.
They are simply
beaten together to provide a rhythmic
support to bhajans, kirtan, folk and
other light music.
The term
kartal is
also
applied to
wooden
claves
Nout (a.k.a.
Nuht), is a
small pot used
in Kashmir as a
percussion
instrument. It
may be thought
of as a north
Indian ghatam.
INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC

2. Avanaddh - described
as a membranous percussive
instrument. This class of
instruments typically comprise
the drums.
Daf (dap) is a
large Persian
frame drum
used in popular
and classical
music. The frame is usually made of
hardwood with many metal ringlets
attached, and the membrane is
usually goatskin.
A man and a
woman
playing a Daf
instrument
Tabla (or tabl, tabla)
is a membranophone
percussion
instrument (similar to
bongos-Afro-Cuban/
Latin-American drum),
which is often used
in Hindustani
classical music. It is
used in Indian folk music and is a part of
Hindustani music art. bongos.
The instrument
consists of a pair of
hand drums of
contrasting sizes and
timbres. It appears
similarto their Afro-
Cuban/Latin-American
drum-based relatives
The right hand drum is called a tabla and
the left hand drum is called a dagga or
baya. It is claimed that the term tabla is
derived from an Arabic word, tabl, which
simply means "drum.
The dhol is a double-
sided barrel drum
played mostly as an
accompanying
instrument in regional
music forms. In
qawwali music, the term dhol is used to
describe a similar, but smaller drum used
with the smaller tabla, as a replacement for
the left hand tabla drum.
The dhol is played using
two wooden sticks, usually
made out of bamboo and
cane wood. The stick used
to play the bass side of the
instrument, known as the
dagga in Punjabi, is thick
(roughly about 10 mm in
diameter) and is bent in a
quarter-circular arc on the
end that strikes the
instrument. The other stick, known as tihli, is much
thinner and flexible and used to play the higher note end
of the instrument.
.
Someone who
plays the dhol is
known as dholi
special
expression of
face and frequent rotation of whole
body is associated with a particular
dholi to perform a realistic
performance
Mr̥idangam
is a barrel shaped
double-ended
drum (the right
head being smaller
than the left). It is
played with both hands. It is the
primary rhythmic
accompaniment in a Carnatic music
and Newa music ensemble.
The word "Mridangam" is Sandhi
or union of the two Sanskrit
words mŗda (clay or earth) and
anga (body),
as early
Mridangam
were made of
hardened clay.
INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC

3. Sushir -also known as

blown air. It is characterized by
the use of air to excite the
various resonators.
The bansuri is a
transverse flute of India
made from a single
hollow shaft of bamboo
with six or seven finger
holes. An ancient
musical instrument
associated with cowherds and the pastoral
tradition, it is intimately linked to the love story of
Krishna and Radha and is also depicted in
Buddhist paintings from around 100 CE.
The word bansuri originates in the Sanskrit bans
[bamboo] + sur [melody]. There are two varieties
of bansuri: transverse, and fipple. The fipple flute
is usually played in folk music and is held at
the lips like a whistle. Because it enables superior
control,variations
and
embellishments,
the transverse
variety is
preferred in
Indian
classical music.
The shehnai,
shahnai, shenai or
mangal vadya, is a double reed oboe,
common in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Iran,
made out of wood, with a metal flare bell at the
end. Its sound is thought to create and maintain a
sense of auspiciousness and sanctity and, as a
result, is widely used during marriages,
processions and in
temples although it
is also played in
concerts. Shenai is
similar to South
India's nadaswaram.
This tubular
instrument
gradually
broadens
towards the
lower end. It
usually has
between six and nine holes. It employs one
set of quadruple reeds, making it a
quadruple reed woodwind. By controlling
the breath, various tunes can be played on
it.
Shankha is a conch shell which is
of ritual and religious importance in
both Hinduism and Buddhism. The
shankha is the shell of a species of
large predatory sea snail, Turbinella
pyrum, which
lives in the
IndianOcean.
Shankha is a conch
shell.This instrument
has a strong
Association with the
Hindu religion. It is
said that when it is
blown it announces the
victory of good over
evil. This instrument
has limited musical
applications.
The surpeti,
also called swar
pethi, swar peti,
swarpeti, surpeti,
sur peti, sruti
box,or shruti box, is an Indian drone
instrument. It is a small box whose
only function is to provide the drone.
There are two, basic forms, one is
manual and the other is electronic.
INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC

4. Tat -– referred to as vina

during the old civilization.
Instruments in this class are
plucked (stringed instruments).
Sitar is a plucked
Stringed instrument used
mainly in Hindustani
music and Indian classical
music. A sitar can have
18, 19 or 20 strings. Six or
seven of these are played
strings which run over curved, raised frets, and
the remainder are sympathetic strings (tarb, also
known as taarif or tarafdaar) which run
underneath the frets and resonate in sympathy
with the played strings.
The instrument is
believed to have been
derived from the
veena, an ancient
Indian instrument,
which was modified by
a Mughal court musician
to conform with the
tastes of his Persian
patrons and named after a Persian
instrument called the Setar (meaning
"three strings").
Ektara (literally "one-
string", also called iktar,ektar,
yaktaro gopichand)
is a one-string
instrument most
often used in
Traditional music
from Bangladesh,
India, Egypt, and
Pakistan.
In origin the ektara was
a regular string
instrument of wandering
bards and minstrels
from India and is
plucked with one finger.
The ektara is a drone
lute consisting of a gourd resonator
covered with skin, through which a
bamboo neck is inserted.
The chitravina
(also known as chitra
veena,chitraveena,
chitra vina,hanumad
vina, or mahanataka
vina, is a 20 or 21-
string fretless lute in Carnatic music. Around
the late 1800s and early 1900s, it started to
be known by another name, Gotuvadyam
(often mis-spelt as gottuvadyam,
gottuvadhyam, kottuvadyam etc.)
According to ancient classification of Indian
stringed instruments, Gottuvadyam is also one
type of veena. Though both of them have
resemblance, Gottuvadyam (Chitra veena) is
unfretted, where as Veena is fretted. Veena has
got only seven strings, where as Gottuvadyam
has nine main strings and twelve sympathetic
strings. It is more difficult
to gain mastery over this
instrument, yet capable
of bringing out finer
nuances if played by
expert hands
Veena is a classical
Hindu Lute belonging to
the family of string
musical instruments. It
is an ancient musical
instrument which is said to have been
invented by Narada, one of the seven great
rishis, who was also a Veena maestro.
The Veena is a plucked string
instrument, four feet long, carved and with a
hollowed structure made of wood, generally,
jackwood.
Rubab, robab or rabab is a lute-like
musical instrument originating from central
Afghanistan.It derives its name from the
Arab rebab which means "played with a
bow" but in Central Asia the instrument is
plucked and is distinctly different in
construction.
Rabab is a national
music instrument
of Afghanistan.
INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC

5. Vitat – described as bowed

stringed instruments. This is of the
oldest classifications of
instruments and yet did not
occupy a place in classical Indian
music until the last few centuries.
 Sārangī is a
bowed, short-
necked string
instrument from
South Asia which
is used in Hindustani
classical music. It is
said to most resemble
the sound of the human voice – able to
imitate vocal ornaments such as gamaks
(shakes) and meends (sliding movements).
Chikara is a bowed stringed musical
instrument from Bengal, India used to play
indian folk music. The chikara is a simple
spike fiddle played,similarly to the sarangi
or saringda, by sliding fingernails on the
strings rather than pressing them to touch
the fingerboard.It has 3 strings, two horse
hair and one
steel
Esraj (also called
the Indian harp) is
a string instrument
found in two forms
throughout the
north,central, and
east regions of India. It is a young
instrument by Indian terms, being only
about 200 years old. The dilruba is found
in the north, where it is used in religious
music and light classical songs in the urban
areas.
Esraj is a combination
between saringda and
sitar. The base of the
instrument is like
saringda while the neck
and strings are like
sitar. It gives a sound
very much like sarangi without being as difficult
to play. This instrument is often confused with
dilruba. Both have a similar construction and
technique. The approach to tuning is somewhat
similar to the sitar. The esraj is popular in the
Bengal area of India.
Banam is a class of folk
fiddles found among the
Santal people of North
East India
and
Bangladesh.
The importance
of the banam to
the Santals is
well
represented by
the artwork on
the instruments.
TALA
Rhythm plays an important role in Indian
music. It is fundamental to the creation of
any musical system. Certainly, from a
historical stand point, rhythm existed many
centuries ago before the word “rag” was
ever used. Given this historical pre-
eminence, it is not surprising that rhythm
occupies an important position in the
Indian system of music.
Tala - literally meaning ‘clap;’ variously
transliterated as “tal”, “taal” or “taala”
- is a regular, repeating rhythmic phrase,
particularly as rendered on a
percussive instrument with an ebb and
flow of various intonations
represented as a ''theka''
- is the common Indian system of rhythm
The basic concepts of tal are:
Tali is the pattern of clapping. Each tal is characterized
by a particular pattern and number of claps.

Khali is the wave of the hands. These have a

characteristic relationship to the claps.

Vibhag is the measure. Each clap or wave specifies a

particular section or measure. These measures may be
of any number of beats, yet most commonly 2, 3, 4, or 5
beats are used.

Matra is the beat. It may be subdivided if required.

Bol is the mnemonic system where each stroke of the drum has a
syllable attached to it. These syllables are known as bol. It is
common to consider the bol to be synonymous to the stroke itself.

Theka is a conventionally established pattern of bols and vibhag

(tali, khali) which define the tal.

Laya is the tempo. The tempo may be either slow (vilambit),

medium (madhya), or fast (drut). Additionally ultra-slow may be
referred to as ati-vilambit or ultra-fast may be referred to as ati-
drut.

Sam is the biginning of the cycle. The first beat of any cycle is
usually stressed.

Avartan is the basic cycle.

 Hindustani
Beats Division Vibhaga
talas
Tintal (or Trital or
16 4+4+4+4 X203
Teental)
Jhoomra 14 3+4+3+4 X203
Tilwada 16 4+4+4+4 X203
Dhamar 14 5+2+3+4 X203
Ektal and Chautal 12 2+2+2+2+2+2 X02034
Jhaptal 10 2+3+2+3 X203
Keherwa 8 4+4 X0
Rupak (Mughlai/Ro
7 3+2+2 X23
opak)
Dadra 6 3+3 X0
Theka - a sequence of drum-
syllables or ''bol''
- in Indian classical music, both
Hindustani classical music and
Carnatic music use complex
rules to create elaborate patterns
of rhythm
Tabla - most common instrument
for keeping rhythm in Hindustani
music
Mridangam - most common
instrument for keeping rhythm in
Carnatic music
- also transliterated as “mridang”