Chapter IV

BASIC CONCEPTUALISATIONS AND STRUCTURES IN MUSIC: WESTERN AND INDIAN

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CHAPTER IV

BASIC CONCEPTUALISATIONS AND STRUCTURES

IN MUSIC : WESTERN AND INDIAN

PREAMBLE

In this chapter it is proposed to summarise the basic elements, concepts and

structures of music, from a general point of view as well as from the codifications

made by Indian as well as Western musicians and musicologists. For this purpose

a large bulk of works on Enjoyment of Music (main source, Machlis, 1955), analysis

of music from various points of view (cited at relevant points) were collated,

reanalysed and re-synthesised from the point of view relevant for the present

investigation. Music is compared to an ocean (sangitassgara). Musicology is

another ocean. Hence the elements, concepts and structures would run to several

millions. The criterion for selection of the items within this vast field is the

probability of its lending itself to the formation of animating models - of the

congeneric type (within the field of music) and the extrageneric type (model carried

analogically from music to the field of education). It must be added that some

concepts have been included which by themselves may not yield models for the

present purpose. But an understanding of the concept is basic for understanding a

model-rich concept.

In the first draft, an attempt was made to present the fertile concepts, structures

and models together in the first round itself. But then some deep structures with

llusic Cb~rc~./,tuuli.su/io,rs & S/ruc/urcs -. ill Music: IVcs/crrt & I~rrliurt 153

plenty of possibilities came too early, and the musical part was found unintelligible

to the trial readers from pedagogy and related disciplines. The sequence in the

presentation of musical concepts was also tended to be too 'chancy' and lacking in

logic. Hence the major musical ideas - except those singled out later for specific

focus are presented together here, and the development of models from these

attempted in the next chapter. Occasionally slight hints are given about the

relevance for pedagogical model-making, to avoid the impression that this is a

truncated presentatiori of chunks from the discipline of music only.

How music emerges in life:

How music emerged in the history of man is a mystery. There are several theories

about its origin - from mating calls, battle cries, hunting signals, rhythms of

collective labour, inflections of speech. Yet others connect it with the play impulse,

magic and religious rites, imitation of nature, need for emotional expression. But

there is no doubt that music relates to the profoundest expressions of the individual

and the group. The varieties of musical expression in many extant primitive tribes,

especially in percussion is astounding. It is commonly agreed that song and dance,

melody and rhythm, constitute the primal sources of music. In tribal society music

is the direct expression of human experience and binds the individual and

community together. Though music today reveals several elaborations as

compared to the primitive stage, it still retains its connection with the springs of

human feeling, with various emotions, with tension and release. Thus it is possible

to speak of music as a universal language, transcending social barriers.

Basic Currce~~tuulisutio~r.~ & Slructrrres irr Milsic: IVcsrerrt & Iriifiurr 154

The origin of music in the individual child, however, is open to observation, though

even here the complexity of the task and difference in schools of observation has

led to different theories. Modern instrumental techniques permit very minute

observation of tonal expressions, discriminations, patterning of very young infants.

Without tarrying too long in these prefatory aspects, it would be appropriate to go

into the elements of music, some of which are conveniently grouped in this brief

presentation.

Song, Dance and March :

Primitive life is saturated with emotion. Speech and body movement are closely

related forms of expression. Speech heightened by musical inflection becomes

song. Body movement animated by musical rhythm becomes dance.

Song is the most natural form of music. It is produced by the instrument most

easily available to everyone - the human voice. It represents the most spontaneous

way of making music. Folk music in any culture reflects all phases of human life -

songs of work, love, hunting, drinking, mourning, marching, lulling the child to

sleep, dance, play, narrative, humour, description, satire, and so on. Folk songs

are the collective expression of a group.

Dance is the expressive gesture of the human being's joie de vivre (joy of living). It

helps to release tension through rhythmic movement. It also mirrors the life of

society. Prfmitive dance (called kuravai in Tamil and Malayalam) binds the group

together. It also helps to transmit the folkways and mores of the group, celebrate

irr Music: IVestotr & lrrtliurr 155

victories, record significant history in movement, mourn individual and group

losses, aids in selection of a mate, purge away repressed emotions, and is even

specifically designed as therapy for certain ailments. Many dances are associated

with songs relevant for the particular mood or purpose. But dances co-ordinated by

drum music are also common. Even the pure drum-controlled dance can reach

complexities comparable to five-Act play, even with primitive tribes. This can be

noted specially in ritualistic and therapeutic dances. Some of these are still extant

in Kerala, particularly, North Kerala.

March is similar to dance in that it is accentuated body movement. But whereas

dance is 'expressive', march is concerned with ceremonial processions,

accompan~ed by drums and wind instruments and the pageantry of great occasions

- ritual, military victory, mourning and so forth. March can also be supported by

appropriate songs. (Machlis: pp. 9-1 3).

Music associated with the three forms - simple song, dance or march can also

reach great complexities, which will be explored later. But even in their simple form

the three genres can be clearly distinguished even by little children. This is a

theme which Kabalevsky elaborates in detail in his "How to speak of music to

children."

Melody is the basic element of music with the widest and most direct appeal. It

has been called "the soul of music." It is "the essential element of communication in

music: the direct bearer of meaning from composer to listener."(Machlis, 1963,

pp.14, 18) It is that which arr irlvolved listener catches from a song, and whistles,

Busic Cottrcptutrliscr!io~zs & Struc!rrrcs itr Music: FVestertr & I~rdirtrt 156

hums or even sings out. Thus it is a universal element of music cutting across

cultures. A good melody has a power to move, or even haunt the listener. Tones

move up and down in a kind of musical 'space'. They also move faster or slower.

From the interaction of these two dimensions - musical time and space - a new

totality or whole called the melody emerges. Western music represents melodies

in staff notation where the rise and fall of the notes can be 'seen' even without

using the western notation it is possible to represent the pattern of melody through

lines joining the component notes set at appropriate heights (pp. 15-16)

It can be seen that each phrase of a melody is rounded off by a cadence, a kind of

resting place. The melodic line does not leave an impression of being haphazard

but of having reached its goal. Good melodies reveal some special individuality,

such as vigorous upward leaps, abundance of repetition and contrast, unity and

variety in Brahm's Hungarian dance No.5, gentle stepwise movement and serene

flow of Schubert's Ave Maria, building up to a climax in Londorlderry Air, the

rhythmic figure of "Hallelujah" repeated artistically leaving an unforgettable stamp

on the mind. (p. 18).

Among Indian songs the variety can be illustrated through the sharp syncopations

within a marked rhythm in the revolutionary song:

~ ~- ~- ~

k U / F s ; i a y i l rtirtr~orrt - - I - - I - .. L . ~ -prFromvery drop of blood that's shed I A thousand heroes rlse anew Ior~yirantpcT cryar~unrw - -., I - - I .,., - I - I

I 1 --....--p.

Basic Corrceptuu/isations -- & Structures in Music: Western & Indian 157

This can be contrasted with the serenity and repose seen in the song which the

poet lray~mman Tamp1 composed to lull as well as nurture the royal baby who was

to grow into the composer-poet Swati Tirunal

~anat t ;22a / /& jd&~? - na//a [/Fender & sudajned 1 Art thou the dear moon-kid? I kCfnalttcin~arappiivci? Rag Kurinji or Art thou soft lotus flower?

NilZmbari I Or the vancippS!,lu song which briskly waves up and down like the tides in the

backwaters

Musical Texture :

Musical texture or fabric is a metaphor appropriately applied to music, particularly

to the western variety. The simplest is monophonic or single-voice texture.

Oriental music, and western music up to about a thousand years ago was

monophonic. There may be accompaniment by a variety of rhythmic percussion.

but the third dimension of depth or perspective such as that imparted by harmony

does not exist. To rnake up for this, the melodic line, the sole bearer of musical

meaning, takes on great finesse and complexity. Rich ornamentation called

melismatics developed even in European church music. Indian monophonic music

including variations, subtleties of pitch, ornamentation of he melody and

refinements of rhythm has reached heights far above Western melodics.

Plainsong

Plainsong is a type of singing, which originated in worship. In some of the great

cathedrals, and perhaps even earlier in Solomon's temple priests appear to have

Basic Concep!uulisu!iorts -- & S!rrrctures irz Music: lVcsfenz & Z~rrliurr 158

discovered that their words carry better if they are sung on one note than if they are

spoken. This way of singing on one note is called intoning. Since singing on one

note only could be monotonous, priests began intoning with two or three other

notes, with a cadence or close introduced where the sense indicated a pause. The

pause in the middle is called mediation, and the finishing cadence is called ending.

The repertoire of church music called plainsong evolved out of this simple

beginning. These practices seem to have been inherited from Jewish practices.

As the Christian church grew the style of singing also got diversified. Pope

Gregory (590-604) made a re-organisation and the chants were arranged into a

complete cycle. This organisation is called Gregorian chant. It is even now sung in

many churches. Plainsong was revised including many elaborations in the latter

middle ages. (Bondi, pp.13-14, 18-21).

Antiphonal singing which had originated in the Syrian monasteries came into

general use in Europe. It consisted of the singing of two choirs (or of the leader of

the service and the choir) in alternation. They were contrasted in pitch - one of

men and the other of women (up to 6Ih c) or boys. The musical setting of the liturgy

was established by Pope Gregory. Choral singing was the vehicle of simple,

syllabic, meditative music Solo singing delighted in melismatic ornamentation (as

in classical Indian music) and became an organ of progress. In the Catholic Mass

performance by a ciass of specially trained singers was preferred from about the

9'h c.

Polyphony literally means 'multiple voices', blending of different tunes at the same

time by different voices to produce pleasing effects.

Basic Concepiualisuiiurrs --- & Siruciurrs irt Music: Wesiertr & Irrdiart

When two or more melodic lines are combined we have a pulypliorric or many- voiced texture. Here the music derives its expressive power and its interest from he interplay o f the several lines. Polyphonic texture is based on counterpoinl. [from the Latin plrrictus contra puricfurii, dot against dot" ... one line against another. Counterpoint i s the art and scic~icc of conibining several l i l ies or voices illto a unified musical fabric. "C'o~~trapuntal" and "polypllonic" are used in a general sense as interchangeable. (Machlis : p.359).

However, a fine distinction is made between the two terms. When several people

sing their parts to harmonise a melody (a common feature in Western choir

singing) we have polyphonic music. But it is only when each of the parts has a

melodic and rhythmic life of its own that we call it true counterpoint.

Though folk rnuslc was using some form of polyphonic music for long, it was only

about a thousand years ago that European musicians hit upon the device of singing

two or more lines simultaneously. At this juncture Western music took a different

line of development from Oriental monophonic music. The art of polyphonic music,

with he development of contrapuntal technique in religious choral music reached a

high level of excellence in the 15Ih and 16Ih centuries.

Homophonic Texture represents the case where

a single voice takes over the ~iielodic interest, while the accompanying voices su l~e~~der rlleir i~idividunlity :III(I bcco~ile blocks o f harnlo~iy, the cllords that support. colour, and enhance the principal part. t h e we have a single-melody- willi-cl~ords or /ro/rro~~lrorric texlilre.

. ~ ~ i c l o d y i s the l ior i~o~ital nspcct o f music while harmony i s the vertical. 'l'lie coi~~pariso~l \r.ith tlie warp and woof of a fabric co~isequently has real validity. The 1lorizo1it;il threads, tlie ~iirlodies. are held together by tlie vertical threads, the liar~iio~iies. Out of their interaction comes a weave that may be light or heavy, co;irsc or line. (Machlis : p.356)

Basic Cotrceptuulisufiuns ~ & Sfructurcs ~ in Music: Westertz ~ & Itrrlinn ~~ - ~ -~ ~ ~~ .... ~ - ~ ~ ~ . 160

It would be useful to go back to the basic concept of harmony, which has been

developed elaborately in Western music just as Indian music has elaborated the

science and art of melodies. After discussing harmony, the devices of counterpoint

will be taken up under musical forms.

Harmony: Musical Space

Western music as well as much of the film music and light music now popularised

in lndia is usually heard against a background of harmony. But most listeners in

lndia are not yet trained to listen to the nuances of harmony, though they may

appreciate the total effect. Harmony adds the dimension of depth to the movement

of melody. "It imparts richness and colour to the melodic line, weight and body to

the musical tissue. Harmony is to music what perspective is to painting. It

introduces the impression of musical space. It clarifies direction and creates

meaning." (Machlis, p.19). Harmony is apparent even to an untrained listener when

he sees a guitarist or a pianist plays. If a wrong chord is struck the effect is

immediately felt

Harmony is concerned with the structure, movement and relationship of chords. A

chord is a combination of tones occurring simultaneously and conceived as an

entity. Melody provides the horizontal aspects of music, harmony, the vertical.

Chords form the framework and substructure that hold a composition together.

The meaning of chords can be understood only in relation to other chords. Each

leads to the other, implying a movement or progression.

Basic Conceptualisations & Structures in Music: Westerrt & Indian 161

The most common chords are triads, or combination of three notes. The common

chords are those of the tonic or fundamental note (SGP), dominant or 5'h (PNR*)

and subdominant or 4Ih (MDS*). A piece usually begins and ends with the chord of

the tonic. These three are perfect concords producing perfectly consonant

combination of sound. There are rules mixing concords with approved discords.

The most common 'discord' is the Dominant seventh (PNR*M*). It is resolved

beautifully by the tonic chord - N moving to S, M to G, P moving to S in bass and

sustained in another part.

Dissonance is restlessness and activity, consonance is relaxation and fulfilment.

The tension created by the dissonant chord is resolved by the appropriate concord.

The end of the dissonant chord is not to give an unpleasant stimulus to the ear, but

to create tension and a sense of movement. Harmony of the east is largely

melodic. It was developed in western music about a thousand years ago. The

rules for harmony seemed to have been established about two centuries ago, but

new combinations (new forms of discords and new ways of resolving them to

produce special effects) have been innovated, particularly in the last century, first

creating a shock, and later coming to be accepted as major innovations. Roger

Sessions says, "Harmony is a constant stream of evolution, a constantly changing

vocabulary and syntax "

Though the harmonic triad is a vertical block of sound, in certain presentations of

the arpeggio or spread out form, it can appear as a melody. On of the best

examples is the openlng of the American national song, The Star-Spangled

Banner, where the words 'say car1 you see' take the SGPS* movement.

Basic Cortceptualisatiorts -- & Structures irr Music: Western & Irtdiarr

In lndian music harmony in this sense has not been developed. But certain raga

structures give scope for harmonic improvisations, particularly by masters of

Veena. The popular raga Abhogi, with the svaras SRGbMDS provides an

opportunity for artistes like Chittibabu to treat MDS elaborations with harmonic

treatment. The fifth inversion of this raga Valaji (Kalavati in North lndian music)

has the structure SGPDNbS, and lends itself to harmonic play even better because

SGP is the tonic chord. Certain other ragas like Katakutrjlialam in the Western

major scale with many western-like movements give scope for multiple chords.

But there is another form of harmony expected in lndian music. The singer, violinist

and mrdangist have to play concertedly to produce a total effect and not to project

oneself alone. This point has been expressed strongly by the mrdangam maestro

Palakkadu Mani lyer. The Tamil word for music, cultivated for much more than two

millenia is isai, which literally means harmony. I(ang0 one of the early exponents of

this art and science has expressly stated the need for each artist to understand the

other instruments and move in the common path. (Machlis :61-63)

Dynamics: Musical volume

Dynamics refers to the degree of loudness or softness with which music is played.

This is closely related to the expression of emotions. Fear and mystery call for a

whisper. The dynamics of a triunlphal march is different from that of a love song or

a lullaby. Modern western orchestra and singers can command a wide range of

Basic Cunceptualisutiot~s & Structrrres in Music: Wesfertt & Itrdiurr - -- 163

volume ranging from a whisper to a thunderous effect, fully in command of the

artist. The principal dynamic indications are:

- .~ .-

pianissimo (pp) very soft crescendo (<) - ~..

piano (P) soft decrescendo or diminuendo (>)

- .-

mezzo piano (~rip) moderately soft sfonando (sf) - ~~ ~.~ . ~~

forte (f) loud morendo -

growing slower

sudden stress

fortissimo (ff) very loud con brlo w~th vlgour - ~~~~

She expression marks are helpful to give clues to the expressive content of a piece

of music and to set the mood of the music. Crescer~do and diminuendo are

particularly important. Through gradually swelling and diminishing the volume the

illusion of distance can be given. The impression can be given of the music

approaching us and receding

Melodics: scales and ragas

The primary analysis of melodies in terms of scales, and ragas are now discussed

leaving the deeper treatment of specific aspects to the end.

Plainsong of the early church music used a wider variety of scales as compared to

the later practice in Western music of using only two (major and minor). The

specific quality of each mode is determined by: (I) the final note. (2) the dominant,

or the note round wh~ch then melody tends to hang, and (3) certain characteristic

melodic phrases peculiar to each mode.

Basic Cur~ce~ruulisuliorrs & Slrirclurcs iri Music: Wcsterri & Iti(liuri

The modes are so structured that they can be played on the white keys of the

piano. They have a nornlal compass of eight notes each. Originally there were

four modes, later known as the autheritic modes. Gregory's reforms added four

mode, known as plagal modes. Though Gregory gave them Greek names, and

numbered them there is no connection between the two systems

I . Uorim~; 2 lilypodoriuit; 3. Phrygiair; 4. Hylipoph~vginir; 5. Lydiun; 6 Ifypolydiair; 7. Mixolydian; 8. Hypoii~ixolydiair.

Four different types of liturgies and music called rites existed in medieval Europe.

They are:

1 Ro111ui1 (( ;rt*gori~~i~) Rile 2. ArirhrosLri~ Rite origirlrrted in 1i4ilan ~rnd rruiized ujier SI Aiiihro.re 3. (;rrllic~ii Rire ~vhicli,floio-i.slic~1 in Goul (fiairce) froni 400-1100 A.1). 4, A4ozarabic Rite, ~vhichflotrrisl~ed in .Spain (Bondi, pp. 14-16)

Now Western music uses two scales predominantly and most musical grammars

recognise these two alone. The major scale is produced by playing all the white

notes of the octave starting with C in the piano: CDEFGABC. If started on any

other note, black notes (sharps # and flats b) will also have to be played. e.g.,

GABCDEF#G; FGABbCDEF. The formula for the major scale is: tonic - tone -

tone - semitone - tone - tone - tone - semitone -octave. Semitone means any

adjacent keys, black or white, on the piano or adjacent frets in the guitar. Tone is

the distance between two keys skipping one (black or white), or the distance

between two frets in the guitar, skipping one in between.

Basic Corrce~~~uali,vulioi~s & Sfrlccfurcs -. in Music: Wesfcrn & Iflriinrr 165

Indian music has developed the science and art of melodics elaborately. The scale

is one aspect of the raga, but it forms only the skeleton. More important is the fact

that every raga is a special aesthetic scheme with an individuality even in its

physical form. One has to be careful in performing ragas which have closely

similar structure. The vadi-samvadi arrangement, melodic specialities, choice of

212pas and tanas, ascending and descending motion, use of glides etc have to be

carefuly noted (Ranade pp.106)

The raga is a major unifying factor typical of Indian music and contrasts with

western music where harmony predominates and the mood changes according to

the impusle of the moment. The word 'raga' literally means 'that which enraptures

he hears'. "It is neither a scale, nor a mode, much less is it a melody, for, a single

scale or a mode my generate more ragas then one and in one and the same raga.

innumerable arrangements are possible." (ibid. p.78). In the olden days there were

only modes or jiitls and as the possibilities of modes were explored further ragas

developed.

Every r3ga has its special rasa (emotional appeal). There are laws governing the

relation between riiga and rasa, which remain constant even though there are

variations introduced by the performers, instrument etc. There are specific

consonance-dissonance rules characterised by the intervals. The consonance is

said to be absolute for unison and octave, perfect for the fifth and he fourth, medial

for major and minor thirds. There is imperfect dissonance between major second

Basic Corrceprrtalisafions & Sfrrtcfrtrcs in Music: Wesfcrrf & Ifrrlirtn 166

and sixth, and perfect dissonance between minor second, minor sixth, major

seventh and augmented fourth.

Rtigas may be suddha (pure), chayalaga (derived), or sankpna (of mixed origin). If

all the seven notes of the scale are used, it is a sampijrna (complete) raga: If only

six are used it is shap'ava (e.g Sriranjani; SRGbMDNS) ; if only five notes are

chosen it is opava (pentatonic) (eg. mobanam; SRGPDS). A raga can be odava in

ascent and sampurna in descent (Bilahiri: SRGPDS - SNDPMGRS); it can be

sampurna in ascent and odava in descent (Garudadhvani; SRGMPDNS -

SNDPMGRS) etc. Just omitting one or two notes makes a raga varjya. Infinite

possibilities open with 'meandering or vakra ragas.

To realise the aesthetic potentialities of a raga, one note (called vadi) is given

preference To heighten the effect, another note, either the fifth or fourth -

belonging to another tetrachord - is given next best prominence. This is called

samvadi or the helpmate of the vadi. The samvadi imitates in its tetrachord what

the vadi does. Both are equally consonant of dissonant with the base of the

tetrachord (Ranade 80-81). Notes which follow are called anuvadi. Those which

are dissonant or inimical are called vivadi. The early Tramil school represented by

the Jain saint-poet llarigo uses the words inai, kilai natpu, pakai for these four

terms.

Basic Cor~ceptuali.su!io,ts -- & Slrrrcfurcs irz Music: ~'cslcrrr & Irrlliuft 167

Of the pitch range which the human ear can hear, the range of useful music is

considered between 40 cps and 4000 cps. (Wood 1944). North lndian singing, for

practical purposes is restricted to three octaves. The piano, and most fretted

instruments divide the octave into 12 semitones. Indian musicians hear microtones

smaller than the semitone, called shruti (actually 22 in an octave)

C Db D EbE F F# G Ab A Bb B [411

But in delineation of the raga system, they proceed by the division of the scale into

12 units.

There are differences among schools, but Chandola (pp.42-43) uses Hindustani

raga system to illustrate scale theory. It must be remembered that r2ga is more

than a scale. Sanskrit 'rrTga' means 'affection, happy feeling, colour, mode, mood'.

In music it means a set of tones arranged in ascending and descending 'order' -

Srohana, avarohana -. 3 classes : heptatonic (sampljma) e.g bhairaw;

haxatonic (shap'ava) mama; pentatonic audava) bhup21;. [46] Some rrTgas have a

zig-zag successeion .- e.g. deskar in descent. C*A,GEGAG,EDC.

A r a a has a 'tonic' (vadi) and a 'dominant' (samv2d1) at a distance of four or five

steps. Any tone can be made tonic and dominant; e.g. E is the tonic and A is

dominant in bh@ij/ili, but reverse is the case in deskar. A raga which has tonic in

the first half - 'former part' - is called purvringa and one which has tonic in the 'latter

Basic Corrcc/)trruli.su~io~ts & Strrtcfr~rcs itt Music: IVcsfcrtr & 1111lirrrr 168

part' is called uttaranya. The tonic of darbari Kanra is C, but the tonic of adgna is

C*. Psychologically the former conveys serious moods, the latter, lighter moods -

e.g.. happy feeling when lovers meet. All other tones besides v3di and samvriai

are called 'following' (anuvc?dl] tones. The prohibited (vargit) tones are called

'discordant' (vivM!). No raga can prohibit C (shadja or fundamental). G and F

cannot be prohibited in the same raga. Sometimes a small touch of discordant note

may occur to distinguish ragas. eg . pahgri = bhhg l i except for a rare touch of F

allowed in descent in the former (;bid. p.47). Ragas differ in being 'crooked' (vakra)

in ascent or descent.

Sanipljnfa scales are complete ones without omitting any note. These are

represented by the Hindi-Urdu word tha! meaning 'source scale. The

corresponding Sanskrit word is mela. Bhatkhande thought that the following ten

source scales can produce all the ragas of Hindustani system.

Source scale - SS C - -- - -

1. Kaly211 2. Bil2wal 3. kharn* 4. bhairaw 5. pmli

9. bhairawi 10. tori

Tones --

CDEF#GABC CDEFGABC CDEFGABbC CDbEFGAbBC CDbEF#GABC

CDEbFGABbC CDEbFGABbC CDEbFGAbBbC

Explanation

Thus a description of a raga includes a. Source scale SS b. Class c. Tonic T d. Dominant D e. Ascending order A 0 f. Descending order DO g. Catch Ch

(Note: Chandola gives all these dimensions for the important ragas, but they are omitted in this elementary treatment.)

Basic Corrcepfuulisufions - & Structrrres in Music: Wesferrr & Irrdiarr 169

Chandola (p. 53) cites Parajape (1969) who notes that Vedic hymns are tritonic -

from which tetratonic and heptatocic developed. But Europeans hear only one high

pitch in Vedic recitation.

The early Tamil schools represented by Cilappadikz?rani and Sangam literature

refer to complicated structures. Pan refers to a complete musical scale and firam,

to a janya raga. The rotation of ragas indicated by the term vaffapprilai could be

handled not only by the trained danseuse and musicians, but by even ordinary folk

(like the shepherd girls). In Cilappadikriram the complete scales are indicated by

the term prilai. The basic scale is called Cem prilai, corresponding to the present

Carnatic Harikambhoji and the North Indian Kamaj. The full rotation on the other

six notes R,G,M,P,D,N give other complete scales. The Tamil scales and their

corresponding scales in other streams are presented below:

Old Tamil scale -~ ----

scale

Cemprilai ----

Khamq

PaQumalaipprilai Natabhairavi AsSwari ~ ----

Cevvazh~pprilai

Arumpalai ----

Bilriwal

KNipprilai . -~

Krifi

Vi!arippalai Th di Bhairawi

M&cempalai Kalyrh

Actually one cannot have an authentic raga in his transposition because a perfect

fifth cannot be obtained at this point. But the ancient Tamil.classification seems to

permit seven transpos~tions. Tamil scholars like Sundaram give it special names

suggesting an alternate form of thd i . It may be racalled that in singing t h d i , some

Basic Cortceptunlisa!iorrs & S!ruc!ures irr Mr~sic: IVeslcrtr & I~fdinrr -- 170

traditional movements omit the fifth and derive a special beauty. It is a matter of

research whether this is due to a carry-over of the early Tamil tradition.

The 72 South Indian Melakartha ragas (complete scales) which we now adopt and

their names based on the Sanskrit ka pa ya-idi sankhya are shown below:

Table I : ka \a pa ya-adi sankhya

ka 1 kha 1 ga ( gha 1 qa

6l3

dha na w

- -- -

6m

bha m a

cha

LIl --

ta

m

sha

n41

6 --

The first two significant consonants in the name of the raga are to be taken. The

number attributed to each letter is substituted and then reversed. Then we get the

number of the raga. A few examples are given below:

i dhenuka 1 g;inarnurthy jhala varali vzchaspathi .~

I ~~~-~ ~ - ~ -

m ~ ~ i m ; l a v a g o w l a rasikapriys . - - -~ - ~. ~

5 1 t L = 1 5 2 7 yL "72 ~~~

Basic C~~ncentrtulisutiorrs & Structrtres ill Mrrsic: IVesrer~r & Itrdiurt 171

The 72 ragas, starting from 1. Kanakangi, 2. Ratngngi, 3 Ganamurthi ... 70

NsSsikabhUshani, 71. KOsalam, 72. Rasikapriys are listed in most texts of South

Indian music. Sambamurhty's treatment (Book Ill) is the most scholarly. It will be

obvious that the number of the ragas follow from the ka fa pa ya-;Tdi stinkhya. But

the structure does not follow from this. Manuel (1996, 2000) has developed a

model for understanding the structure of the 72 south Indian scales (or rather the

frame of the ragas) and their rotations in the minimal number of steps. Since

present of the detailed form will break the present discourse and since these

structures and rotations have an importance for developing models, the full details

have been given at the end.

Much of Western music till recently was based on just two scales - major and

minor. The major natural scale would be produced by taking C as the key and

playing all white notes. MAJOR : Ascent: C D E F G A B C* (C* = upper octave C)

Descent: C* B A G F E D C

If any other scale is taken as the key, black notes - sharps (#) or flats (b) will also

occur - but according to a pattern. The key of every fifth note starting from C will

result in addition of a sharp. Thus G scale will be one sharp, D scale will be two

sharps and so on. The particular sharp also can be predicted. The first sharp will

be F#, the next additional one will be C# the third sill be G#. According to the rule

of fourths (or fifths calculated downwards), the key of every fourth note will result in

addition of a flat (b ) . Thus the scale of F will have one flat (Bb), the scale of F's

Busic Corrceptrrali,sutio,rs & Strrrctrrrc.s irr Music: FVestcrrr & Irrdiarr . . . .- -- -- 172

fourth, Bb will have two flats (Bb and Eb), the scale of Eb will have three flats

(Bb,Eb and Ab) and so on.

The Western minor scale in descent coincides with the South lndian NaQbhairavi

(Melahartha 20). The ascending minor scale corresponds to the South lndian

Gowrirnanoha~r (Mejahartha 23). MINOR SCALE: Ascent: C D Eb F G A B C

Descent: C* Bb Ab G F Eb D C

The frequencies are calculated on the principles laid down in the Pythagorean

model (Ilango in Cilappadihsirarn seems to follow the same scheme). But if one

calculates in fifths above multiplying frequencies by 312 reducing to lower octave by

dividing by 2, to maintain same octave for comparison, a small gap is noticed.

called the Pythagorean comma. Harmonic music required that this has to be

adjusted in the 12-note scale. So this gap is distributed among the twelve notes in

the tempered scale. lndian music with its melodic nuances has to pay attention to

microtonal srutls sensitive to quarter-tones.

Western music also uses a lot of chromatic movements using all the 12 semitones

in the octave.

By the late nineteenth century, a group of composers known as serialists led by

Arnold Schoenberg (1874), renounced the entire concept of tonality for the first

time in human history. Schoenberg's first period was marked by uncertainty. From

Basic Conceptualisaliorts - & Structures in Music: Western & Irtdiarr

around 1908, he passed through the second period when atonality reigned. No

attention was paid to traditional rules

In the third period, Schoenberg replaced his previous 'unlimited anarchy' with a new system, the twelve notes of the octave were arranged into a certain sequential order, and then this order became the series or 'tone-row' upon which an entire piece of music was based. The series of notes could be played forwards or backwards, ill its entirety or only partially, and in inverted form. But since the series cor~lair~ed tlie entire twelve rloles in a predeternlined order, it was not possible to play a note a second time within the sequence before all the other notes had been sounded. Webern, Berg and others followed [and became known as] twelve-note composers(Tanie: 93)

Tame (p.91) cornments on the atonality mode: "If tonal music heals and

regenerates the body, the mind and society as a whole, then atonal music might be

expected to do the opposite."

Timbre: Musical Colour

Each musical instrument has its peculiar tone colour. Even among human voices

there is difference in quality of tone colour, apart from pitch and loudness, to help

us identify who is speaking. The Western music has a large and varied orchestra

and voice quality also shaded from deep bass to top soprano, and even within each

range, the virtuoso artists have their distinct tone colour. Composers have taken

care to use these differences in colour to produce special effects. Top violin notes

are introduced in Overtures of plays like, Midsummer Night's Dream to suggest the

role of fairies The woodwinds suggest outdoor scenery and so on. Programme

musicians are adept in this art. Indian film music and light music is also becoming

more and more sensitive to this. It must be noted that ancient Indian treatises have

referred to this aspect too, but it has been neglected in the middle phase.

Basic C o ~ t c e ~ ~ t u ~ l i s ~ t i o n s -- & Structures in Mltsic: IVestcrft & Iftdiaft 174

Form: Musical Structure and Design

The form of a piece of music "is the organisation of a piece which helps the listener

to keep the idea I mind, to follow its development, its growth, its elaboration, its

fate" (Arnold Schoenberg, cited in Machlis:66). The idea needs to be given a

visible embodiment, a suitable habitation. Form or the organic unity of a piece of

art arises to sat~sfy this need. The word 'composing' is derived from the Latin

cornponere, 'to put together', to arrange in some order. Form represents law and

order in art. It brings out the relationship between parts and the whole. It helps to

grasp the work of art as a unity. It assures a balance between unity and variety,

symmetry and asymmetry, movement and repose.

Form is embedded in nature as well as in all living. There is sameness and

difference. Some things are repeated; some are new. Music mirrors this structure

of repetition and contrast, unity and diversity.

Some simple form structures may be considered first. A typical pattern in music is

the ternary or three-part form symbolically presented as A-6-A. This structure

embodies the principle of "statement-departure-return". The composer presents a

musical idea, then presents a contrasting idea, and closes by repeating the first

idea. Variety is supplied by the middle section, while repetition ensures unity. In

some forms there is, in addition, an initial repetition of the first idea. Then the form

would be A-A-B-A. Machlis (p.68) cites the following song to illustrate this structure

but we are adding the music and structuring it further to indicate a slight difference

between the second and fourth line on the one hand and the first line.

Basic Conceptualisatio~ts --- & Structures irf Music: Western & Itzdia~t 175

A: Way down upon the Swanee River. 1 far, far away

G ; r s g r s S" d ~ , I P; G s R;;; -~ ~

A; There's where my heart is turning ever, there's where the old folks stay.

G ; r s g r S S * d S , -~

B: All the world is sad and dreary.

1 P g s R R S;;;

everywhere I roam,

R* P P, d P S' S' D M D P;;; ~~ .~ ~-

A: Oh brothers, how nly heart grows C" .* Note that in the last line, the final 'R' is sung as its equivalent 'rr'. Some analysts

would insist that the difference between lines 1 and 2 is only minor, but there is an

important difference in the cadence (ending), and hence an A-A'-B-A' structure

would be closer. But many would ignore such minor differences and consider A-A-

B-A adequate. There are several sub-variations possible. Many simple song or

dance types, such as nocturnes, waltzes, marches, romances etc would be

covered by this. Some very simple songs (e.g. London Bridge is falling down)

would be covered by A-B structure.

This simple structural analysis can be applied in Indian music also. A piece in

which there is only Pallavi-A~iupallavi-Pallvi or Pallavi-Charanam-Pallavi can be

classified under A-B-A Form. The fuller Kriti form where there is Pallavi, Anupallavi

and Chara~iarn with Pallavi following both anupallavi and charanam to ensure

closure could be presented as A-B-A-C-A. Many charanams have the second part

identical with a~~iipsllavi and the first part in the lower register like pallavi, but

Basic Cunceptuulisutiotrs ~ - & ~ Siruct~res i r ~ Music: Westerrz & lrrrliatt

different from it. If these refinements should also be incorporated, the form can be

put as: A-6-A-CB-A. If the further decorations are also analysed we can get

complicated structures. The varieties of specific forms are discussed under

musical genres. Here we are concerned mainly with the principle of statement-

departure-return in any musical structure, with variation and repetitions.

Though many of the specific forms would be discussed under genres, one western

form, viz., the sonata is singled out for discussion here, because it is deliberately

used for lesson planning by some educational theorists and is also being used for

close analysis of literary forms. The closely related movement fugue is also

discussed here. Both are mathematical forms, with possibilities of calculated

musical 'information' arid development' inputs.

Sonata

Sonata is often spoken of as a musical form. It can also be considered "as a

manner of thinking; specifically, a manner of thinking for instruments that combines

in the highest degree logical continuity, dynamic development, and emotional

intensity. The sonata represents a certain type of musical material and the ideas

struggling for expression through that material." (Machlis: 270)

The term sonata is derived from the Italian suonare, 'to sound'. It is meant to be

sounded on instruments, as distinct from cantata, a piece to be sung. A sonata is a

musical piece intended for one or two instruments, and consisting of a cycle of

contrasting movements, usually three or four. (If more than two instruments are to

be used it is called a trio, quartet, quintet, sextet, septet, octet or nonet. A sonata

Busic Cor~cc~)Iuuli.ru~iott,~ & Slrrrclrrres A itr Music: IVcstcr~r % I~rrlicrtt

for a solo instrument and orchestra is called a concerto. A sonata for a whole

orchestra is called a symphony

The most highly organised and typical form of the sonata is the sonata-allegro

form. It is based on the assumption that

a musical movement takes on direction and control if after establishing itself in the I l o~ i i e key. it modulates to other areas and ulti~nately returns to the l ~ o ~ i l e key. We (nay therefore regard sonata form as a drama between two contrasting key areas. The 'plot', the action, and the tension derive from this contrast. Sonata-allegro form, in brief, is an artistic embodiment, that of the principles underlying the major- n~inor syslem - the estahlish~nent of the principles underlying the major-minor system t h e cstablisli~iie~rt, that is, of a different key areas which serve as points of reference for a statement, a departure, and a return. (Maclilis: 272).

Another assuniptio~i underlyillg (lie soriala for111 is that a theme may have its latent

energies released through the development of its constituent motives. Hence it

would be useful to take a brief incisive theme one that has momentum and tension

not revealed at first sight. Such a theme will be stated or "exposed" in the first

section, developed in the second, and restated or "recapitulated" in the third (vide

Appendix)

The opening section, the Exposition or Statement, sets forth the two opposing

themes and their respective keys. The first theme and its expansion establish the

home key. A bridge or transition modulates the key and establishes the contrasting

key. A closing section or codetta (small tail) rounds off the exposition and

establishes a cadence in the contrasting key. In fact here is an adventurous quality

in that it 'lifts' us from the home key to another area. The cadence in the

contrasting key implies a promise that much is to happen before we come back.

The second stage is the Development. The music wanders farther through a series

of foreign keys and builds tension against the return home. A feverish temperature

and excitement is kept up through continual modulation. Underneath this

breathless activity, the composer reveals the hidden potentialities of the theme. He

breaks the themes into component motives, recombines them into fresh patterns,

releases their latent energies, reveals their explosive force, recombines their

explosive force. In the development section, the dramatic conflict erupts. The

protagonists are hurled against one another. As their world collides, emotion is

transformed into action. The instruments imitate one another, with devices such as

inversion, augmentation, diminution. Fragments of a theme appear in a remote

key in the upper region, sometimes in he bass. Sometimes an unnoticed motive

joins the fray and builds new imaginative design. "Each measure seems to grow

out of the preceding by an inescapable law of cause and effect. Each adds to the

drive and he momentum. Unity and diversity, logic and passion fuse at white heat

to create much out of little." (ibid., p.273)

The third stage is the Recapitulation. This comes when the developmental surge

has run is course. The tension abates and a transition passage leads back to the

home key. The beginning of this section is the psychological climax of sonata form,

comparable to the conquest of a difficult peak in the return journey home. The

Recapitulation shows the opposing keys reconciled and the home key emerging

triumphant The final pronouncement comes in the form of the coda (tail) in the

home key. It is fash~oned out of the materials already heard, with some new matter

added.

Basic C~~rrce~~/rrcrli.s~~fi,,r,s & Slr~rclrrrcs irt Mlrsic: IVcstcrrr & ir~tlicrrr - _ . . . . _ ~ ~~~ ~-

Works like The Enjoyment of Music (Machlis), The History of Music have given

far more details of how these forms have grown and have been handled by he

greatest artists. Here only the barest minimum necessary for building

'extrageneric' models for education have been summarised.

The Other Movements

Theme and variations summarises the essential principle underlying many other

musical structures that are based on a cycle of movements. The theme is stated

first. It may be a small two-part or three-part form which allows room for

elaboration. Each variation repeats the idea with some modification, in a new

disguise. The discerning listener will be able to hear the original theme underlying

the new variations. Several techniques of embellishments are used for effecting

the variations. The melody may be varied in many ways. The jazz band is

particularly strong in this aspect. (Indian music is much stronger in this dimension.)

Then there can be variations in the harmony. Simple chords can be substituted by

decorative broken chords (arpeggios). Simple diatonic chords can be replaced by

chromatics, with complex dissonances. The melody may be shifted to the bass or

tenor and the harmony set above it. Rhythm, meter and tempo may be varied. The

texture may be enriched, adding new themes. Haydn's Surprise symphony is one

of the best, though simple examples of theme and variations.

Minuet and Trio is another variational form. The minuet is a dance form which

originated in the French court (17 '~ c.) It lends itself to symmetric construction.

Clear-cut structures based on four and eight measure phrases are found in

minuets The themes are stately, lively or whimsical. The trio which follows is

Basic C o ~ z c e ~ ~ f u a l i s a f i o ~ ~ s & S f r u c t ~ ~ r e s ilt Music: IVederfz & 111diuicrrr - 180

usually lighter in texture and quieter in gait. When woodwind tones are used in this

section, an outdoor atmosphere is created. Then the musical score has a mark

D.C. whichmeans da capo (from the beginning). So the players go back to the

minuet and complete the piece. Thus the minuet and trio is a three-part A-B-A

structure, with a small a-b-a structure within each. thus the total design is:

A B C

a-b-a c-d-c a-b-a

There are minor variations and embellishnlents within these. The minuet was

displaced by the scherzo in the nineteenth century. Scherzo is the Italian word for

'jest'. It suggests abrupt changes of mood ranging from the humorous to the

whimsical. Sometimes it touches the mysterious and even the demoniac.

The rondo is a light movement suffused with the spirit of dance. It has a central

idea or the rondo theme, alternating with one or more subsidiary themes. It has a

balanced architecture with symmetric structures. It is aesthetically pleasing and

easy to understand. Its simplest form is A-E3-A-B-A. If there are two subordinate

themes the structure may be A-B-A-C-A. Classical masters use more ambitious

forms such as A-B-A-A-C-A-B-A. Haydn and Mozart cultivated it, filing it with

vivacity and good humour.

Fugue

The fugue is a mathematical structure. Before explaining it, it would be expedient

to go back to polyphonic texture and the devices of counterpoint. It may be recalled

that a monophonic texture presents a single-voice melody without harmony.

Polyphonic texture combines many voices. The many-voiced texture of note

against note (Latin: punctus contra punctum) brings in the art and science of

counterpoint, combining several lines or voices into a unified musical fabric. It is

necessary to understand the devices of cour~terpoint in order to penetrate into the

intricacies of the fugue.

While combining several lines, composers attempt to give unity and shape to the

texture. Imitation is the basic procedure for achieving this. A motive is presented

in one voice and is restated in another. When the imitating voice restates the

theme, the first voice continues with counterpoint (point-for-point). If this repetition

is done by all the voices at different times and pitches, the effect will be maximum.

This strict type of imitation is called is called ;a canon (Greek word meaning 'law' or

'order'.) The most popular form of the canon is the round, in which each voice

enters in succession with the same melody.

Some composers cast an entire piece in the shape of a canon. The canonical

devices are used as an effect in all sorts of pieces. The imitating voice can do so

exactly or with variations. Some of these devices include inversion in which melody

is turned upside down. In diminution, the theme is imitated in shorter time values.

There are other variations too.

'The fugue is a type of baroque music which has grown out of these exercises. The

Latin word fuga means ,flight1. It may imply the flight of fancy, the flight of the

theme from one voice to the other. A fugue is a contrapuntal composition for three

Basic C o ~ ~ c ~ p t u u l i s a r i ~ r w & Slrt~cf~irrc.s iirr Music:: IVc.sIcrrr 9r 111(lirtrr - - 182

or four voices, the theme pervading the entire fabric, now in one voice, now in

another

The subjrc~ or thelne is stated alone at the outset in one of the voices - soprano, alto, tenor or bass. It i s then imitated in another voice - this i s the answer - while tlie first continues with a cou~~ter~~oir i l or counter-theme, depending on the number of voices in the fugue, the subject wi l l the11 appear in a third voice and be answered in the fourth. while the first two weave a free contrapuntal texture against these.. . .When the theme has appeared in each voice once, the first section o f the fugue, the exposition, i s at an end. The Exposition may be repeated, in which case the voices wi l l enter in a different order. From there on the fugue alternates between exposition sections that feature the entrance of t l ie subject and less weighty interludes known as t?pisodes which serve as areas of relaxation. (Machlis: 410)

As the fugue unfolds the sense of mounting that is proper to an extended art work

is also taken care of. Throughout there is an attempt to maintain continuity and a

sense of organic growth. The techniques such as inversion are used. A special

technique known as stretto (from the Italian stringere, "to tighten") adds to the

dramatic effect. The theme is imitated in close succession, with one voice entering

before it has been completed in another. This creates the effect of voices crowding

upon each other, heightening the tension and bringing the fugue to a climax.

Having reached this triumphal stage, the tension is released and the work comes to

a close.

A single affection or mood is the subject that dominates the fugue. Transitional

passages are woven from its motives 'or from the counter-subject. Yet an

astounding unity of texture and atmosphere is worked in. An unfaltering rhythmic

beat also helps towards unity, against which great composers weave counter

rhythms. Only the Exposition follows a set order. Thereafter the composer's fancy

Basic Cuncepfuulisufiotrs & Strucfures itt Music:: ll'e.stcrri & Ittrlirrrr - -- 183

may allow him to build in caprice, exuberance and surprise within the supple

framework of this form.

Some consider the fugue as the strictest of musical forms." But Machlis (p.411)

questions this. "We may even question whether it is a form at all: rather is it a

procedure, a type of texture, a manner of thinking. The fundamental traits of fugal

style are concentration of thought, purity of expression, and organic unity achieved

through the process of continuous imitation and expansion". Elsewhere the fugue

has been called a democratic dialogue in which each voice is allowed to participate

on terms of equality. The greatest masters of the fugal technique were Handel and

Bach.

Musical Genres

The European Church cultivated plainsongs, antiphons and later polyphonic

singing. Secular singers and entertainers cultivated a wide variety of musical

genres.

Street Music:

In the early 1500s a light-hearted street song known as the frottola was innovated

by some Italian composers for the entertainment of their rich and cultured patrons.

These patrons desired a form of music in which they could participate, but which

would be of a higher level than the coarse street songs. Thus the madrigal was

born. This genre of music was usually set for five voices and could be sung at

home. By 1600, the madrigals, especially those produced by Claudio Monteverdi

became very popular in Italy. The madrigal became popular in England in the early

part of 1 6Ih c

There are references in almost all cultures to the street being a very common

forum for singing. While the wandering minstrels who were lucky to get court

patronage were quite opulent, the poorer minstrels had to go from door to door,

sing and get whatever return is offered by each family. But this was not begging in

the usual sense. Singing is the ware which these artists offer and they sold it from

door to door. This is much more clear in the case of religious street singing. A

person of Theagaraja's status could have exchanged his musical gift for any

amount of wealth, either at the court of the Rajas at Tanjore or at Trivandrum.

Swathi lhirunal Maharaja expressly sent a messenger to get him to his court. But

the singer-saint asks: "Is material wealth most satisfying? or the presence of

Rama" (tiidhi chda sukhama? Rgmu ni sannidhi chda sukhama?) A person who

spurns material wealth and goes begin from door to door singing devotional hymns

is performing his life mission. If some people don't give anything he is not

perturbed. Whatever is received is as if it is given by god through human hands.

During certain seasons (e .g December-January) in Tamil Nadu groups walk in the

street singing the song of love of a girl for Vishnu. In Kerala about this period,

there is street singing for Lord Ayyappa which is set at higher decibels - but

democratic, involving large numbers without caste distinction. There is no begging

here. But when folk artists sing early in the morning from house to house, they do

expect some returns. This number has dwindled to near zero now.

Basic Corrce~~trraliscrliorrs & Structures in Music: Western & I~rdiatr -- -- -- 185

In Europe also mendicant religious orders as well as secular wandering minstrels

used the street freely for propagating their 'musical gospel'. John Gay's successful

Beggar's Opera produced in London (1728) indicates that street music was

flourishing about that time. The street was also a very convenient vehicle for

marching songs. The French Re\~olution, American Revolution and the American

Civil War were occasions for popularising many patriotic songs. In India, and

particularly in Kerala, the street is used more and more for political and other

awareness singing campaigns.

Street dancing to music seems lo be more common in North India than in the

south in Europe dancing has been a craze on certain occasions. Music like The

Blue Danube Waltz of Strauss evokes large scale dance even on the street

part~cularly in Austria and Germany.

Opera

The opera is an amalgam of song and story. It is a drama in which the actors sing

instead of speaking. The opera originated in Italy as a result of the regular

discussions about music and drarna in the house of Count Bardi in the last decade

of sixteenth century. They wanted to revive the ancient Greek practice of singing

their lyric dramas. They were confident that they could re-create the reputedly

stirring dramatic declamations in modern terms. The first two operas were wholly

constituted of recitative music. The voice sings lines going up and down with

pleasing rhythms, reflecting the overtones and qualities of the speaking voice.

Claudio Monteverdi produced the first great opera, Orfeo, in 1607. In this words

and music met on equal terms, including both recitative and arias (tuneful songs).

Basic Corrccl~t~~ulisutior,~ & Sirucrurcs in Mltsic: Wcsfrrtt & It~dicrn 186

Gradually the opera spread to other European countries like France, England and

Germany. The success of Gay's Beggar's Cpera led to the production of a number

of ballad operas. From these, the German Songspiel - comic opera with spoken

dialogue and songs - developed. Comic opera is also called opera buffa. Mozart

who started composing even when he was a boy produced some famous operas

such as T t ~ e Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni But the major innovation

which he made was in The Magic Nule, the opera of ideas.

Before tliis 110 one liad ever written an opera as a nia~iifesto, or liad ever seen i t as a veliicle for putting over a particular siewpoint. ... Mozart irijected his last opera with the sq~nbols and trappings of freernasoriry, and also gave it a Ger~na~i text, thus beginning the drive which was to break the strangle-hold of Italian opera in most o f hrope (Dondi, pp. 42-43)

The opera as a patriotic weapon was developed by Carl Maria von Weber of

Germany and Verdi of Italy. Wagner (Germany) wrote The Ring of the Niebelungs

to illustrate the overthrow of the old society and its replacement by a new world

where the new art would flourish. Alban Berg championed the cause of the

underdogs of society in Wozzeck. Wagner developed some innovations to avoid

the essential artificiality of the opera.

I1 call be rather ridiculoils and unrealistic for people to sing instead of talki~~g, but Wagner worked out a nrusical tecl~r~ique to overcome t l i i s problem. He thought ~iiusic sliould be close to the t~attlral r l ~ y l l ~ ~ i ~ s and illflexions o f t l ~ e ordinary speaking voice, an ideal close to !lie recitative of tlie earlier operas. But he corribined this with an expressive web of orchestral music which reflected tlie enlotions and tliougl~ts of tlie characters, and a superb sense o f theatrical drama. Ih is ideal l i e called t l ie (;tsonrtkwrs~werk, a union o f a l l the arts of tlie theatre. (Ihndi, 1j.46).

Basic Cor~ceprualisatiotts & Structrrres in Music: Weslerrt & Irrdiarr - - 187

Jazz is rhythmic, vital music that originated in the USA about a hundred years ago.

It is characterised by the use of improvisatiori and a unique rhythmic propulsion or

drive called 'swing'. It is performer's music. The performer is expected to make a

personal statement. Most jazz pieces have a simple structure: theme or tune

played at the beginning, followed by improvised solos by the musicians, in turn.

Sometimes there is collective improvisation. Some jazz composers use more

complex forms or structures in their music, usually with space for improvisation.

Though a musician may improvise as he goes along, there are rules to guide the

improvisation, except in free jazz. After the initial theme, variations are improvised:

This simple basis for i~nprovisation allorvs several musicians, usually the trumpeter, tronlbonist and clarinettist, to i~nprovise together. Each repetition of the theme i s called a chorus. and i s accompanied by a series of harmonies or chords called a chord.veyuence. (Bondi, p.56).

From about 1940 more variations in jazz style began to develop. Many leading

jazz players were negroes

Jazz had its origi~t in slavery ... in tlie 1700s and early 1800s to provide labour for the plantations atid cotton fields. The slaves lived wretched lives, and [in order to] relieve their burden sang songs as the:y worked. These songs were based on the ~)enluloiiic ( f i ve note) scale, a scale fo~rnd in folk music all over the world. With the influence of Christianity, tlie notes in this scale became distorted as the slaves' instinctive singing was affected by Church music. These distortiotis could easily be rendered on tlie guitar. the first instrument ofjazz, and tlie peculiar sound of jazz was born. (I:ve~i afier the abolition of' slavery in 18651 the negroes continued to

suffer appalling cotiditio~is. Music was a way in which they could transfor111 their misery. (Ihi<l. p.57)

The Oratorio

Cavalieri in Italy first developed the oratorio. These were descendants of the old

mystery plays Today the meaning of oratorio is more restricted. Only those works

which are dramatic musical representati~~ns of a biblical story, performed without

action or scenery is now counted as an oratorio. The Mesiah composed in England

by the German composer Handel is perhaps the most famous,

Musical Genres in Indian Music

The major genres in South Indian music; are analysed by many exponents, among

whom, the greatest contributor is Sambamurthy (Book V. pp. 124-192).

Kirtanas and other simple devotional forms

Devotional works like kidana have a sinmle structure so that devotees even without

sophisticate rnusical training can join in congregational singing. NzTn13valis are the

simplest type meant for congregational singing. Divya nsima kirfanas have pallavi,

and many charanas. Devara niT~nas of Purandarad2sa, TeviTram, Tiruv3chakam

and Jirc~ppukazh of the Saivite saints, IVrjlayira Divya prabandam of the Vaishnavite

saints also have simple structures. Most of them have a simple single-unit structure

with a stung of verses, usually ten. As a rule, sophisticated sangatis and other

ornaments are avoided, because they can divert attention from the main purpose of

devotion; besides the whole group cannot join in such exercises. But some Tamil

songs celebrating Siva as Nataraja, Krishna Lila Tarangini of Narayana Tirtha and

many liruppukazh hymns have beautiful solkatfus, obviously because dance and

music is p a ~ t of the worship of these deities. In Tiruppukazh, very complicated

rhythms are set so beautifully that even ordinary people can sing them. The

elaborate solkattu in Natarfalnridi1i3r (raga vasantha) by Gopalakrishna Bharati was

Basic Cortcep~plrrcrlisatir,ns -- -- & Structrcres irr Music: Western & Irrdiatr

probably sung by specialised groups or an individual while the larger group sang

the whole kiiana. In kiifana all the chararras are sung because of their devotional

value. In kritis, even when multiple charanss are present it is the normal practice to

sing only one, adding decorations.

Gitas represent the simplest of the forms in South Indian music. This is especially

true of ordinary gfias. Most of the gifas have a few simple phrases (usually under

ten) without elaborate sangatis (melodic: variations). They are the first musical

genres introduced to learners. But ever) within this short space a gifa is able to

present the essential form of the raga. Lakshsapa gifas present the typical

characteristic of the particular raga within a very short space. The initial syllables of

the first section of the lakshana gifa in the raga Mayami3lavagaula - ra ga ma pa

dha nu give a clear hint about the svaras in the raga. There are also hints about

the chakra and about the history of the ragas. Some gitas even have complex

inbuilt mathematics. Raggnga r2ga lakshsana gaas has some interesting inbuilt

structure. These gifas consist of three sections or khandas : sfifra, upgnga and

bh2shSriga In the scitra kh2rinda the inltial syllables of the siihilyas of the aarttas

give the clue to the kinds of svaras in the piece.

Jatisvarams are one step more advanced than gitas. They are extremely rhythmic

and suitable for dance accompaniment. The rhythms are stated in svarams (sol-fa)

and evoke varied rhythmic dance steps. They do not have srihitya (verbal text).

Svarajatis are also of the same class as jatisvarams. They have strong rhythm

evoking dance steps (iatis). They have in addition to the sol-fa rhythm, a

composed text. The famous piece RGra V m u g@S/a in the raga Bilahiri was

originally composed as a jatisvaram but later several srihifyas (texts) were added,

of which RGla VGnu gwrila is the most common. Alarippu is invocatory exercise

in dance where the rhythmic aspects predominate. The dance executed for this is

pure nrttam or beautiful movements without abinayam (gesture). Sabdams are

compositions for dance with regular sahiiya, which is conveyed through appropriate

gestures. The closing piece in dance is tillrina which is strongly rhythmic and gives

plenty of opportunity for nrtta or pure beauty movements. The music for this

should be lively and rhythmic.

Jrivalis are also dance compositions, with strongly erotic texts. Some even

consider these as vulgar. Under the surface text of sexual love, there is in much of

Indian literature a deep spiritual meaning. When listeners fail to effect this

hermeneutic coding to decipher the true import of then song, and dwell at the

surface ideas and imagery it can be dangerous. Padams are dance music pieces

where the bhgva or expression of emotional mood is important. Here nrtya, or

dance niovernerits expressing emotional meanings are important. Slokas ,

viruttams and padyams are also expressive pieces sung to non-rhythmical music

and abhinaya. The verses are sung to a single raga or a string of ragas.

Varnams are scholarly compositions. Among these padavarnas are meant for

dance. Tsnavarnas are meant for music:al concerts, Most concerts begin with a

varma. Varr~as have elaborate melodies replete with rZga bhaas. A varna

contains within it the most pleasing (,-@a ranjaka ) combinations characteristic of

the raga, special elaborations (visesha sancharas), rare usages (ap&va prayaas)

and accepted skipping modes ( dau praywas). The technical group of varnas are

intended for helping the student master the essential aspects of the r a a , acquire

an artistic, polished, stylish rendering of pieces, and provide models for developing

kalpana svaras(imaginative sof-fa creation).

l l ~ e essc~~tial aspect of a vortin are: ( I ) l'hep~>vaiga (first half) consistil~g of the

~ ~ u l l u v i (Iicad piece), airlrprtllavi (annex to the head piece) and the tnukt@i svarus (initial sl~l-fa play); the ulfarai,pa comprising the etrukkabi (end piece) cornprisil~g the charapr (the culminating verse, literally 'feet') and svaras f o l l i i ~ i t l'he charatla i s also c,alled ettukkapb pallavi, tipa pallavi or chilta pallavi. In the niukf@i svrrra of the Virihotii vartia the composer has carefully prepared a climax or crown ( - explained later under kriti)

Varnas exist in a melange or better, a 'garland' of ragas (raga mglika). Perhaps the

best-known of these is the nava r a a m311ka (garland of nine ragas)

Kriti is the most highly evolved among art musical forms. It is the most important

of the melodic group of compositions. Its form is not very rigid, rules are few. This

gives scope for the composer to use his creative power to the utmost. An analysis

Basic C o ~ ~ c ~ ~ ~ f r r u l i s u f i o ~ ~ s - - & Sfrrtdrrres ill M~rs ic : IVesfcrrr & I t ~ ( l inn - 192

of the kritis of Tyagaraja, Dikshitar and Syama Sastri would show that they have

been able to pour forth their thoughts abundantly through the language of pure

music. But each of the trinity of composers has his own distinctive style. The

compositions of Tyagaraja is compared by some connoiseurs to the flow of a river,

Dikshitar to a tower, and Syama sastri to the rustling of leaves. The composers

have free choice of rSga , t;ila, gat;, ternpo, style and theme. The main ideal of

delineation of the r2ga bh&a in its rich and varied colours has however to be kept

in mind

The sshitya (text) of the kriti may be sacred or secular in character. The theme

may be didactic, ethical or doxological. Since they are elaborate compositions, they

are not suitable for congregational singing. It requires a high order of sill to render

these. The mood expressed in a krifi may be bhakti, joy, sorrow, wonder and so

forth. Sambamoorthi (Book V: p.136) calls krifis "veritable raga crystals. We derive

knowledge of the many apcrva rcrgas through them. We find the musical language

in its purest form in a kriti Such a thing as musical interpretation is possible only

through them."

The essential angas (parts) of a kriti are pallavi, anupaNavi and charanam. Usually

the dhau or the latter part of the charana is the same as the anupallavi. In such a

case the kriti structure can be stated as A + B = BC (where C is the new

component in the charana, B is anupallavi, and A is pallavi. Dikshitar however

does not repeat the dhatu of anupallavi irr the charana. There are some very

simple kritis which of Dikshitar which have only pallavi and anupallavi (called

samashti in this structure) e.g. Sri Sarasrvati namostu te in the raga grabhi.

In some kritis charanas are repeated. But then they should be of the same length.

In svarajatis varying of the length of charisnas, making them progressively longer, is

permitted. In Tyagaraja's Ghanarage Pancharatna alone among Kritis the

charanas are of varying length.

The k r~ l i may also have decorative angas which "shine like gems studded in a

jewel. They considerably heighten the musical value of the kritis." (ibid., p.139).

Indian Operatic Forms: The opera h,as not been developed in the elaborate

dramatic and orchestral form in Indian music. But it has been nurtured mostly by

religious and other groups. Sambamurthy has identified operatic forms in Geya

nafakam and in other forms (Book IV, pp. 196-214). Geya nS,@kams include a

variety of musical forms from the simplest folk music to the accomplished kritis.

There is music in fast, slow and medium tempo, covering several rasas or

emotions, individual, group and absolute music. These along with scenic settings

and dramatic presentation have made Indian operatic forms with the ordinary folk

as well as the classes. Tryagaraja's rVowka Charuitram is an operatic form

assoc~ated with a great composer, l'he Veedi Nahkam (terukkuttu) and

Yakshag2na paved the way for later dignified operatic forms. The geya na,@karn

was a superior type of composition characterised by good poetry and high class

music. The Telugu opera Pallaki seva iDrabandam and Arunachala Kavirayar's

Busic Corrce~~trrcrlisutiuns & Slr~icturrs ilr Music: Wrsterrr & I~rrliarz -. . -- . 194

Ramanrifakam in Tamil are Geya nafakams of class. Gopalakrishna Bharati's

Nandanrir charitram profited by Tyagaraja's opera.

Decorative Angas

The main decorative angas are:

1. Chiqa svara is "a set of solfa passage in 2 or 4 aa l fas of in ridi tgla, and 8

or 16 Svarttas if in chripu, tripu,m or rljpaka tda and is sung at the end of the

ar~upallavi and chararia. Usually it is set in madhyama kala. Chi!!a svaras

are crystallised kalpana svaras" (ibid. pp. 138-139). Chi!,m implies pre-

composed by the composer himself and made part of the kriti. they are

different from kalpana svaras which are created by the performer. Usually it

is sung in madhyan~a krila. Some Chit,a svaras are decorated with

svarSlankrira or 'figure'. The sarne phrase recurs at the commencement of

each ;5varafta, half gvaratta or alternate rivaratta e.g., the phrase grgM

recurring in Vina Kuppayyar's Parakelanamma in the raga Begada. Some

Chif.msvaras have a plain conc:lusion (e.g., Raghuvamsasudha in raga

katar~kutuhalam); some have a mukutam or crown-like ending (Nimadi

challaga in raga anandabhairavr). Mukutas should be short, crisp and

effective. the length of the rnaku.m is relative to the length of the

Cl~i!~asvar-a. The component phrases of a maku.a may be of the same

magnitude or may be of progressively increasing magnitude. A Chi!.asvara

Basic Cortcepfrralisatiorts & Structures irt Music: lVesterrt & Irrdiart 195

should present a certain aspect of the raga not covered in the piece. It

should be sung only in sangita pradhana rachanas (compositions giving

importance to the music) and nol: in sahitya pradhana rachanas. It is out of

place in a piece like Nidhi chal~l sukhama of Thyagaraja or in a didactic

oiece.

Viloma Chi!.asvaras can be sung both forward and backward (anuloma and

viloma krama) without affecting the ragabhava. e.g., the passage in raga

Kalyani: S.ndPpmGgmp when reversed gives PmgGmpPdnS' which is

equally enchanting. Dikshita's viloma Chit,asvara in the second

Kamalarnba Navavarna kriti: Karnalambam bhajare in the raga Kalyani is a

perfect example.

srgmdn - rgpdmdng's'r' nr* g'ns* nr's* N- nD- dP

[The same passage reversed gives:]

2. Svara sahitya is obtained by tacking on to the Chit,asvara an appropriate

I P d ~r i~ -s* r * r i s~ng ' r *n --- - - --

sahitya The sahitya of this section is so composed that when sung at the

conclusion of the anupallavi and ch,arana, a continuity of sense is maintained.

Examples can be found in Syama sastri's 0 Jagadamba in raga Anandbairavi.

3. Viloma Svara Sahitya is like vilorna Chi!,a svara, but wit/? a viloma sahitya

added to it Samabmoothy cites an example from a daru in Gangatarangini

r's'- gnd- md p gr- ndmgrs

Basic Cotrceptrrulisatiotts & Structures itr Music: west err^ & Irtdian 196

raga (33'"ela) in tisra jati eka tala (triple time) by Ramaswami Dikshitar. In

each avartta both the svara and the sahitya permit anuloma-viloma rendering.

the Pallavi passage is as follows:

1 sa, ra sa na ya na sa ra sa 1 sa, ra ta ra ra ta ra sa I

4. Madhyamakala sahitya. This type of decoration is a favourite of Muthuswami

Dikshitar Madhyamakala sahitya is fully integrated with the kriti. the passage

may occur at the end of the anupallavi or charana or nboth and is set in the

madhyamna kala (quicker tempo) or second degree of speed. e.g., the words

vitasraghinam vinatayoginam visvakaranam vighnavaranam, and

karambhujapada bijapuram in the kriti Vadhapi Ganapatimbajeham (raga

harnsadhvani),

5. Solkattu Svara. This occurs in regular Chifiasvaras, but in some portions

appropriate jatis (tala mnemonics) are introduced instead of the solfa svaras.

The svara passage interspersed with jatis add beuty to the kriti. e.g. Dikshitar's

Sri Maha Ganapati (gowla) and Ananda natana prakasam (Ketaram)

6. Solkattu Svara Sahityam. Here solkattu (meaningless rhythmic syllables used

in dance) is interspersed with avarttas of svaras in the middle. Sambamurthy

(pp.149-150) has give an elaborate example,

Brrsic Conceptrrc~lisufior~s & Structures in music: Westertz & Iirdiutr 197

7. Solkattu Sahitya is a case where solkattu of jati is imntroduced with a

meaning e g Gopalakrishna Bharati's

vlra ventaiyum

sa-loka pataviyuni

tantorn tantom endadiya pada

Here the last line 'tantom' is a dance formula. It also means "we have given

(you)" Since the first two lines refer to gifts like heavenly bliss and power,

the time keeping and meaning functions are simultaneously satisfied.

8. Sangati

Sangatis are variations on a musical phrase introduced to enrich kritis. each

sangatgi is evolved step by step from the previous one. They may be used to

bring out the varied colour of the raga - raga bhave sangati (e.g. trhe phrase

Lalitaku Sitakeu in the Kriti Koluva maragada (todi)); or to bring out the delicate

shades in the meaning of the sahitya - sahitya bhava sangati (e.g.,

Marubalkakunn vemira (sriranjani). Tyagaraja is credited with having

introduced in kritis with a definite musical purpose. The common practice is to

introduce sangati variations from the end (e.g., pallavi of Koluvamaragada

(todi), Nener~du vetakutra (Karnataka byag)) or the beginning (e.g.. pallavi of

Vatapiga~iapatirn (Hamsadhvani), Sri Raguvarapralneya (Kambhoji), Ma Janaki

(Karnbhoji). It is possible to do the sangati progressions from the middle (e.g.,

Yoct~aria kamala fochana (Darbar), but it is rare. Sangatis should be applied

only in applied music like kritis and in abhyhasa gana.

Basic Concentiralisations & Structures in Music: FVesterrt & Zrtdian 198

9. Gamaka

Like the sangati, gamakas are graces which embellish the dhatu of a

composition. In certain ragas like Kathana kutukalam and Hamsadvani may be

introduced with profit at the discretion of the singer. But the compositions in

certain ragas like kalyani, todi and bhairavi are flooded with it.

10. Svarakshara

This is a kind of literary beauty in the sahityas of kritis. This is a dhatu-matu

alankara (pertraining to both music and sahitya). Syama Sastri, Tyagaraja and

Papanasam Sivan use this figure freely. Telugu lends itself very flexibly for this

alankara The sahitaya phrases are composed of the names of the svaras, and

the music also fits the svara names. some typical phrases illustrrating this from

Telugu are: Gani Gadani Gadaniri gada; Pamari padama magani mama: In

tamil, some simple phrases are: Ta(da)madama Do you delay?); Padagama (Is

it a sin?). Some of these are consciously worked, but some of the best

examples should have come by sheer inspiration, e.g Thyagaraja's phrase "Sri

Rama padarna" (raga amritavahini) set to the swaras pdm for the "padama"

portion. Thyagaraja was sunk in meditation of Rama's feet, and this

coincidence with the svaras should have come to him as a bonus for his bhakti.

11. Yati

Yati is a literary beauty. It is a pattern woven into the text of the sahitya. It is of

several types

Brrsic Cr~rtcep~rrrrli,~fltiorr.~ ~~ ~~ & Slrrtclrrres ~. . irt Music: ~ Il'cslerrt & Irr~lirrrr 199

-- -- . -

Type of yati - -- -

1. Gopuchcha (cow's tall) yat~ - the F Srisarasapade phrases become shnorter and shorter

progressively, like the cow's tail

rasapade

sapade

pade

- - - - -

Srotvaha yat~ is the converse of the I

samanarnevaru

I above the phrases become I Ni samanamevaru

I progressively longer 1 Rama ni samanarnevaru

3. Mrdanga yati is srotovaha yati followed

by gopuchha yati the phrases first

widen out and then diminish. The

/ sequence of phrases take a pattern I 1 like that of a mrdsnga, where the I

striking surfaces are smaller circles

compared to the centre which is bulged

I out

p d n

m p d n

g r n p d n

r g m p d n

g r n p d n

m p d n

p d n

4. Sama yati or pipilika yati is seen when

phrases of the same magnitude occur. 1

- -~

5. Tudi yati is yati shaped 1 like the little

drum tudi or udukkai which is broad at

the ends and narrow at the middle.

This yati represents progressive I decrease followed by progressive

increase

hima kara I nd pd I vadanarna

nisa dana

suradana

rnpdm

gm pd

gm pd

sumacara

sumadana

sn pd

rs nd

12. Yamaka

Yamaka is a literary alankara where the same word is used in more than one sense

in parallel lines. In Thyagaraja's Telisi Rarna chintanato (raga Purnachandrika) the

implications of the polysemy o words like 'rama' (=a lady, the Absolute Being), 'aja'

(=goat, and Brahma) is capitalised.

13. Ragamalika

Ragamalika means a 'garland of ragas'. 'The ragas are chosen on aesthetic and

sometimes semantic considerations. The ragamalika proper is a form consisting of

a pallavi, anupallavi (optional) and many charanas. The music at each segment is

is followed by an appropriate chitta sval-a followed by a short complementary

passage on the pallavi raga. This is a bridge passage connecting the

anupallavilcharana with the pallavi. This transition needs to be smooth and

pleasing. At then end of the compositiori a string of full Svartta of half avartta

passages covering all the ragas in the inverse order (viloma krama).

There should be naturalness in the sequence of the ragas from the point of view of

bhava and rasa. There should be no abruptness in the transition. In order to avoid

this abruptness and ensure smoothness what is known as makuta svara or pallavi

svara is composed. In raga malikas without chitta svaras, the mudra of the raga

should be introduced in order to give a c l ~ ~ e about the ragas. At least four ragas

should be covel-ed The nava ragamalika varnam is most common. Dikshitar has

composed a chaturdasa (14) ragamalika. The giant masterpiece of course is the

Basic Corrccptualisations & Strrrctures in Music: Western & Zttdian .- 20 1

melar3gamallka coverlng all the 72 melakartas by Mahavaidyanathaiyw. Sriragam

is used in the pallavi and as a connector. I

,\

. ..

Rhythm, Meter and Tempo .j -. - > !. : ..

.. , ~. ~ ,'.. ::;s:*.-+ One of the basic elements in the enjoyment of music is Rhythm. The word 'rhythm'

means 'flow' in Greek and denotes the controlled movement of music in time

(Machlis, pp. 24-35). This is the element of music most closely allied to body

movement and physical action Rhythm is. a feature which governs all aspects of

life. Our heart-beat and breathing are biologically built-in rhythms which govern all

aspects of life Growth has its own rhythm. The Individual growth rhythm is part of

a larger rhythm of nature evidenced in the biological clocks, the seasons and so on

Cognitive development rhythms have already been adopted pedagogically by

genetic epistemologistsl developmental psychologists and exponents of curricular

rhythms. (Piaget. Bruner, Whitehead and others.)

Rhythm releases our motor reflexes even we do not respond with overt physical

movement. The rhythm is felt inside as a kind of ideal motion. Wordsworth might

lie pensive on his couch. But he could feel his heart dancing with the daffodils.

The Indian rasika listening to music may express his empathy with the performer's

rhythm through an overt beating of the t?/a. But the average Western connoiseur

and perceptive Indians of the class of Narasimha Rao may sit still in the chair, but

their heart would dance with the music.

Basic Cuircepl~ic~lisutiutrs & Structures iir Mlisic: Western & Iirdiatr 202

Among many perceptive analyses given by Machlis (pp. 24-33), the following

extracts may be of particular interest in building up the case in this study:

Rhytlitri springs from the need for order inlierent in t l ~ e human mind. Upon the tick-tock of t l te clock or t l ~ e clacki~~g of train wlicels we auto~natically impose a pattern We hear the sounds as a regular pulsation of strong and weak beats. In brief. we organise our perception o f time by ntenns o f rhythm.

'i'lic anclents discerned in rhythm tlie creative principle o f the nniverse, manifested alike in the rcg~rlar movement of planets, the cycle of seasons and tides ... l i f e and deatli ... . 1 I i i s universe was art: and its controlling principle was rhytlitn.

Indian ~nythology corlsiders the Llnlverse to have come into being out of the rhythm

of Lord mva's little drum (fufl . Many tribals express themselves through complex

patterns in their drums. It is primal energy unleashed, mot,on controlled.

Rhythm is revealed in other arts too - in the symmetrical proportions of

architecture, balanced groupings in painting and sculpture, dance patterns, poetic

meters. But the richest expression of rhythm is found in music.

Before proceeding further it is necessary to analyse the concept of meter and

tempo. "Meter pertains to the organisatiorl of musical time; specifically, to the

arrangement of musical beats in unlts of time known as measures." (Machlis p. 26).

The intersection of musical rhythm and poetic meter has direct consequence for

animating school education. That has been analysed elsewhere in this study.

Here we are concerned with analogical models from rhythm and tempo.

'The most important person in the orchestra is the conductor, and his most

important function IS to indicate the right tempo. Meter tells how many beats there

are in the measure. but it does not tell us how rapidly they are performed. The

Basic Corzceplrrulisuliurrs .. & Slrrrrtrtres irr music: Westerrr & Irtrliurz 203

tempo or the pace of music governs this dimension. Tempo carries emotional

implications. Agitation and eagerness are associated with speed, sorrow ad

lassitude, with a slowed down pace. Our pulse and breathing adjust to the change

of tempo.

Rhythm is associated in lndian music with the concept of t</a.

Western music usually works with a few time signatures like common time or 414

(four mlnlms or s~ngle beat in a bar), triple time % and their simple variations, 214.

318, 618 etc Russian. Hungar~an and sonie other countries have 514, 714 time etc.,

but these are rare in ordinary Western music. Modern composers attempt to C

combine several tlme measures in a piece, but then as and when the measure

changes it is marked in the bar where the change occurs. Mixed time measures

into a ti@ systeni is not known. Hence I \~ou ld be worth having a brief overview of

the Souh lndian and Nortgh lndian tqa sysitem.

The South lndian t</a patterns

The t;r/a pattern commonly taught now in Carnatic music consists of 7 major tz/as -

Dlrruva, Ma~ya H~ipaha, Jhanipa, Tripu,m, A.m and Eka . Each t$a has a variable

component called lagllu marked 1 (I:, implied - one beat and x - I silent

fingercounts) with five variations in each giving different values for x : trisra (3),

chaturasrs (4) . Kllanla (5). MIS/-a (7) and sarihapa (9). Eha t.ila has only this single

variable unit ( I ) . It has five varieties of which the first two correspond to the Western

Basic Corrceptualisatiorrs & Strtrctrtres irr hfusic: lYeslerrr & Irrdiarr 204

triple (314) and common (414) time. The fib'e variations of Eka ti/a with their akshara

values ar Trisra Eka tqa (3); Chaturasw Eka t;ila (4); Khanta Eka ts/a (5); Misra

Eka tjla (7); and Sankirna Eka t;i!a (9).

The other major t.T/as have one or more invariable components: dhruta (symbol A)

has a value of two and performed by a beat and a wave; anudhruta (symbol ") has

a value of one and performed by a beat only. The following table presents the

formulae for the seven major tjlas. Since each laghu (I) implies five variations, the

table accounts for 35 talas. Among the five possibilities one variety is preferred for

each f;r/a unless qualified by the other variational adjecives. Hence the second

column states the preferred variety of the tda and its total akshara count.

Name of major tjla Preferred variety with akshara pattern (and illustrative line)

Ma,@ya tqla 1 1 A 1, chaturasra : srgm gr srgm

Rupaka tqla A 1 chaturasra : sr srgm . .,. ~ ~~

Jhampa tqa ( .. A I, ., A misra : srg sr sr g M (7+1+2 = 10)

sRG SrG M M (5+5+2+2= 14) - ~ ..... ~.~

cl~aturasra : srgm (4)

Ignoring the refinements of laghu, drulam and anudrutam, Popley (1921: p. 75)

summarises the time signatures for the 35 talas. The preferred ones are

underlined. He has made two inversions - 4 before 3 and 7 before 5:

The practice of the five jalis under the seven major talas present 35 tsfas

ala~ikaras under wh~ch the t$a alankara:; are practised. Under each of these 35,

5.sankirna

9

2.9

9.1.2

9.2.2

9.2.9

9.2.9.9

9.9.2.2

~

2. Rupaka t;?la 2.7 .. ~~~

3. Jhampa tqa 4.1 2 3.1.2 7.1.2 - ~ -~

4. Triputa tzla 4.2.2 -- 7.2.2

5. Mathya 1;TIa 3.2.3 7.2.7 p~~ ~~ ~ -~

6. Dhruva t#!a 4.2.4.4 3.2.3.3 7.2.7.7

7 Ata t:i!a 4.4.2.2. 3.3.2.2 7.7.2.2. . ~~~ --

the nature of the poem sung would call for splittting the unit aksharam into 3,4,5 7

or 9 (These smaller divisions are called gatis). Thus 175 possibilities are available.

In actual practice, chafurasra gati is mos,t common.tisra and Kanta gatis are also

used producing enchanting variations.

4 khanda

5

2.5

5.1.2

5.2.2

5.2.5

5.2.5.5

- 5.5.2.2

There are more complicated variations with 108 major units in Tala samudra and

Mattala iyal (The Science of Drumming) - available in Sanskrit and Tamil.

The Hindustrani tal system also is complicated. Tal literally means the palm of the

hand and implies the clapping of the hand to keep time. The names and time

signature for 15 popular talas (Bandopadhyaya: p.51) are presented in the table

below along with the time signature. It may be noted that some talas bearing similar

names with South Indian talas differ in the total matras and their distribution..

Tnble 2: Tal -Matra : Numeric Distribution Table

I Name of Tal I Number and distribution of rnatras I I Dadra 1 3 + 3 = 6 I 1 Tivra 1 3 + 2 + 2 = 7 I

Jhampa k I Aadachow 1 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 1 2 1

1 Deep chfr:d! ... - 1 3 + 4 + 3 + 4 = 1 4

chamchar 1 5 + 2 + 3 + 4 = 1 4

I Tilvada 1 3 + 4 + 3 + 4 = 1 4 I I Trital 1 3 + 4 + 3 + 4 = 1 4 I

The tat charts presented by Atiya Begum (1942) are more detailed: She has

presented more than 20 tals with the total number, configuration numbers, 3+3 etc

as well as the bol (tabla speech). It can be seen that in her pushtoo and rupak the

difference lies in the bol ; otherwise both have a configuration of 3+4=7.

- - -- - 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 = 1 6

Ek tal 1 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 = 1 6

Basic Corrceptric~lisatio~~.~ - - -- & Slriiclurcs irt Mtisic: We.~tcrrt & Jndiatr 207

1 KEHERVA - rnatras 4

ZARB x

2. DOTAL - Matras 5

3. DADRA - Matras 6

- ~

ZARB

4. PUSHTOO - Matras 7

M A 2 - '_ l~ l 7 ~~ .-

THEW Ta Ka Dhin Clha Dha Dha Din . - - ~

ZARB x

5. RUPAK - Matras 7

MATRA

Chandola (1988) brings out the nuances in tabla. The first beat is marked by

highest stress (sam) In the eight beat rhythm is called kahnvBfhe is', 9'" 17 '~ beat

I THEKA 't";.rrf~-t~~~rn I I I 5

-- -

6

Kit

7

Gid Gin

Basic Cb~~ccl~tuulisutiorts & Strrrctures irt music: Western & Ittdiatt - - . - -- - 208

get the h~ghest stress. The others are equal. In the 16 beat tin tal, the highest

stress occurs on every beat that comes after every cycle of 16 beats. The 6-beat

rhythm called diidrjis structured as :

1 2 3 4 5 6

dha dhin na dha tun nz

Further refinements of these are discussed under Music and Language - in the

subsection where drumming itself is considered as speech - bol.

Graha or eduppu :

The complexity of the tala system is further compounded by the problem of entry -

on beat or off beat (before or after). Sarngadeva in Sangita Ratnakara identifies

three kinds of graha in t</a. Tamil schools call it e@ppu (literally 'taking' or

'entering')

Sarna graha is the entry where the music starts exactly at the first beat of the tZ/a.

Anagata graha is the case where the music starts 'off-beat' - after the the first beat

of the t$a The delay can be a whole n~~mber , fraction or compound fraction, the

number being small relative to the number of beats in the ttla.

Atita grat~a is the case where the song commences before the first t;T!a beat is

struck In real~ty the tda is mentally reckoned silently before the song commences.

Basic Corrceptrrcrliscrtio~rs . . - --- & Strrrctrtres irr Mrtsic: Weslert~ & Irrctiarl 209

The song enters at the close of the previous cycle of the tiila, with time kept

mentally.

The enormous amount of complicated mathematics worked out by even ordinary

drummers who have not attended the formal school or who have dropped out early

can be seen from any work of learning mrdangam. One book available in the

Kerala University Library Sundaram (corn) on the Art of drumming is based on palm

leaf manuscripts compiled and partly tran~slated into English on the auspices of the ,

lnsitute of Asian Studies. It presents very complicated calculations of tala

mathematics involving whole numbers, fractions, mixed fractions, multiplication,

division, adjustment for excess and gap and so on, all this is done mentally with

solkattu or vaythari formulae.

Laya (Tempo)

The term laya has a connotation close to 'tempo'. Sambamurthy (book Ill, p.112)

says : "Laya is tempo, speed or kala pramana. Three degrees of speed are

recognised fob all practical purposes: vilarnbita laya (slow), rnadhyarna laya

(medium), and druta laya (quick). In South Indian music the normal convention is

to keep the basic tempo constant. If vilarnbita is taken as the unit, the pace will be

exactly doubled in madhyharna and quadrupled in druta. i.e. for one beat one, two

and four notes respectively for the three 'tempos or kalapramanas.

The tempo variations in Western music are of greater complexity, and might

appear even i~regular to an Indian rasika. But these have greater carry-over value

Basic Co~rcep!rialisotions . - - - & Structures in Music: Western & Indian 210

when we attempt to apply the model to fl~uctuations in the ordinary classroom, with

the teacher taking the role of a conductor. Of particular importance is the concept

of accelerando (gradually getting faster) and ritardando (Holding back, gradually

getting slower). Hence the tempo terms of Western music are explained. They are

in Italian, a survival from the time whesn the opera of that nation dominated in

Europe. (Machlis. p.31-32).

Very slur\ : Largo (broad), implies breadth a~ld dignity Grave (solemn), implies pathos and lleaviness

Slot+ 1,rr~lo Ailrrxio (gently, lcisurcly, slowly), tcndcr, clcgi:lc quality

Modc~ ate : ,lirdnrzre (going - at ;I walking pace) - a slowis11 gait Andar~rirr~to (a l i t t le andante, somewhat faster than andante) Modernro

1,'airly fast : Allegretro ( a little lively - not as fast as allegro) Fast : Allegro (happy, cheerful, lively) Vcry (i~st : Allegro r~ri~llo (very lively)

Vivace (vivacious, li.vely) Presrn (very quick) Prestissirr~o (as quick as possible)

l l ~ e obote terrns can be modified by adverbs such as 111o1fo (very), nteno (less), poco (a little) and nor1 rmpo (not too much). l'lirases frequently encountered include: (slow and lamenting), (slow and expressir'e), (very slow and sad), (fairly slow and majestic), (fairly slow and so~~gfi~l). (fairly slow and loving), (fairly fast, with grace), (fast, with vigor), (fast and i~npassicined), and (fast, with fire)

The metronome was an instrument invented at the time of Beethoven to indicate

number swings per minute, making a c:lick with each movement. Some schools

(like Henry farmer's school of violin mark the exact tempo for each exercise. But

nineteenth century composers and conductors, following the romantic spirit, used

this instrument ~nuch less than is supposed. The metronome marking seemed to

impose the ternpo from without instead of allowing to spring from the performer's

feel~ngs Ever1 though 20Ih century composers use metronome markings more

strictlly, everyone would admit that it is a defect for the performer to play with or like

a metronome. Musical tempo is a much more elastic concept than physical time.

The tempo in performing a piece has infinite nuances, with subtle accelerations and

retardations. lndian musicians may not follow the enormous variations of tempo

which Western classical musicians adopt, but they also agree that musical time is

different from physical time. Its impulse is from within. But lndian tqa system is

extremely complex. Even without going into the intricacies of the ta!a structures at

the moment, it would be reasonable to as,sume that the complexity of the lndian t;Tla

systems, combined with the infinite nuances in tempo offered by western music can

be considered as a tool from which a model for discovering some rhyhthm

imbedded in the apparent 'a-rhythm' of the school.

Some North lndian Styles and Forms

Ranade (pp.120-134) traces the evolution of musical forms and styles in north

lndian music. He traces four distinct stages in the progression of the Saman chant.

Four forms such as the vritta, chhanda, geeta and the prabhanda became current

in the years that followed. Each of these again had four parts: udgraha, melapaka,

dhruvx and the abhoga. The prabhanda forms seems to have continued up to the

late eleventh century, because Jayadeva's Geetha-Govind was composed in the

prabandha form, but with only two parts - dhruwa and abhoga. A lot of confusion

seems to have prevailed in the ensuing centuries. Raja Mana (1486-1526) either

invented or patronised the famous dhrupada style. This was perfected by Haridas

swami and his famous disciple Tansen and was favoured in the court of Akbar.

Basic Cuncrptuulisatiuns & Structrires in M~isic: Western & Indian --- 212

Dhrupada is a strict style as its very name implies. It does not allow

embellishments of flourishes in its progression. It should proceed in determinate

steps only. It also follows the principle of rhythmic movement. These principles are

followed in alapa exercises. At this stage lhe aim is to elaborate the beauties of the

chosen raga fixed time measure is not followed, but the broad principle of rhythmic

advance. The practice of giving the alapa prelude to the song seems to correspond

to the udgraha and melapaka stages. After alapa the singer begins his cheeja or

song proper at first in slow time. In singing the sequence of the long and short

required by trhe chosen time measure is to be strictly adhered to. Though

academically pure this soon became uninteresting. Variation is produced by

doubling, trebling and even quadrupling the time, but this requires great skill.

In the old style the dhrupada used to have four divisions: sthayee, anthara,

samcharee and abhoga. In the sthayee, lower notes are employed on a large

scale, and the musical sentences and phrases first circle round the vadi or the

dominant note of the raga and then return to the fundamental (tonic). In antarii, the

notes from the middle octave (upper tetrachord) are given free play, musical notes

lead up the higher octave and return to the fundamental. In sancharee the music

usually starts with the base note of the second tetrachord and leads up to the

higher octave with artistic twists and curves. This part also ends with the tonic of

other prime note of the drone. In the fourth part, nbhoga, the performer dwells on

Basic Cotzceptrialisations -- & Structures in Music: lVestertz & Itzdinn 213

all the three registers and tries to reach the highest pitch that he can reach easily

and effectively. Now dhrupada singing uses only the first two parts. The performer

tries to do his best in the second part antara and tries to compress the other two

sections if possible into it. In dhrupada style the artist aims to produce the highest

possible effect with a few clean notes, without flourishes, shakes or other graces.

Its demerit is nlonotony.

Hori, is sung in the dhamar time measure, and is itself called dhamar. This form

also is similar to dhrupada in structure and progression. But the preferred theme is

the playful incidents of the childhood of Shri Krishna.

A third form of musical composition is the tarana, which employs only the alap

syllables, riom, thorn etc. This form ernploys tones for their tonal values and

ignores he literary and poetic merits; thus it is an ideal musical form. Unlike in the

dhrupada, tarma is sung in fixed time measure. It is further developed as an

independent cheeja or song, of which the tones and not the words speak. It

requires great personal skill, ability to interpret intelligently, links with different

groups of melodic order, accurate sense of rhythm, mastery of permutations and

combinations. The boltanas stretching over a fixed interval of time, with the effect

of bringing out the vowels and consonants is a good culmination of voice-training

exercise.

Basic Corrceptrrulisuliorts & Structures irr .Music: IVestern & Itrdiun 214

The thumri is another style which employs the nine consonances which come often

in folk music It prefers the ragas Khamaja, kafi, mand and pilu, and the other ragas

derived from them It seldom uses a pure raga. It employs a jilha or a mixture of

ragas. It avoids awful and sad ragas. Hence darbari mallhar or hindol on he on

hand, and bharava, todi, marwa or sri rag on the other are avoided. It prefers

amorous themes. It is sung to a fixed time measure usually of 16 or 8 matras.

Other compositions close to thumri employ other shorter time measure. They are

known by d~fferent names : dadara, kaharva, rekhata, gazal etc.

The thumri is now sung to a slow time with temporary doubling (tana) to overcome

the monotony of rhythm, with final retur~n to the slow time. The special feature of

thumri-singing is the graceful passing of from one note to another. This is

particularly the case with introducing the octave and the fifth, which are deliberately

delayed by the intervention of a less cor~sonant note, used as a leading note. The

glide is the favourite ornament in thumri. In gliding the more important notes of the

raga are stressed and the less important ones are passed over. Thumri is

essentially emotional. This effect is pro~duced by making the most of the aesthetic

value of each note, by associating, contrasting, suspending, and giving other tonal

touches in consonance with the poetic theme. It is equally popular among the

masses as well as the advanced classes.

Tappa is another musical form. It also uses the limited raga repertoire of thumri.

But it avoids slow progressions and uses ornamental flourishes right from the

Basic Cotrccptualisofions & Structures in M~tsic: Westerrr & Iitdian -- . - --

beginning, alnlost in every accented part of the bar and in long vowels. It uses

turns and trills (called murkies) rather than glides. The sub-varieties of murkies are

khata, gitkadi, jamjama, sansa and ansa. They provide delicate vocal exercises

useful in singing tanas. The successive links in Tappa are taken up or down

without any break between them. A melodic ornamental phrase begins on a bar

and continues over its full extent. Then another begins and gets completed till four

bars or stages or spans of each cycle are completed. "Tappa literally means a

stage or a halting place on a journey and since there are four such stages in the

tappa measured, the style is named as ltappa itself.

Khysl has been the most important musical composition for the last two hundred

years and more. It is composed in a number of time measures such as tilwada,

zumra, dheema trital. ada chautal, ektal, trital, zaptal etc. The variety of khyal sung

slow (vilambit) is called the great khyal. ekeri is the short variety. The great khyals

were derived from dhurupadas and maintain the slow, steady, serene and weighty

style. The stages in the development are clearly presented by Ranade (pp.129-

Afier singing the sthayee once or twice completely, the antar8 i s sung once, so as to enable the listener to grasp the poetic theme without much trouble. Then a r ~ t ~ l r t l i s tllade to the Sthayee. At the end of the first phrase which usually leads to

the . T ( I I I I or that chief bar of the sthayee, Blapas are gradually appended. The alaapas at lirst extend over two or three notes only and so are very short. they usually extctl i l to the vadi or the dominant note of the ragas (or) to the subdotninant or the

sni~~\:ldi note. The second Blepa i s given by adding one more note to the

Basic Cu~~cep t r tu l i su l i u~~s & Strucltrres ilr Mraic: IVestertt & Itrdiarr 216

firs! . . . l liree such alapas are giver1 and are followed by the first phrase, which

closes tlie cycle on tlie chief bar o f tlie measure. the the alapas grow gradually

longer. ..the gide i s frequently e~nployed with great effect[Then] a start is made

rvitli t l i e vakra or more elaborate alapas. [then] alapas are given to faster -usually - duple til i ie, so that they generate si~nple tanas out o f tlietn ... the stayee is sung once

agairi [end o f tlie first stage].

I l i en the antara i s sung and a process similar to that o f tlie alapa in the

stliaqee i s followed ...I beginning] on the base note o f tlie second tetracliord ... I l l i e l i l a second return i s made to the stliayee or the first part o f the song. This

tilire tlie %Ispas are elaborated no!. by lengthening a single vower sound, but are

gibe11 wit11 constantly clianging vowel sounds, which are further er~riclied by their

associ;ition with tlie consonants occurritig in the words. Sucl~ alripas are called

'hcil-al~pas'. . . . at tlie end o f each bol-ahpa, stiinll tanas are appended and tliese

beco~iic gradually longer and more frequent. the tatiaa replace tlie alapas

completely. ..

I 'he third stage now begitir;, when a ful l and free scope is given to al l kinds

ort; <i~ins - . w , I 11~11 ' o f COLI~SC obey the same order o f precedence as the alapas, both in

tlie teliipo and direction o f motior~. In the tanas, there is always a point-to-point

race between each new step in tlie melody and each matra or time-span allowed to

tlie iiote ... To relieve tlie monotony [sustaining most consonant note -octave or niztjor fifth -- reached through the sharp fourtli as leading note.] Another way o f

enliveliilig tlie effect o f tlie tstiiia is to intersperse then1 with gamakss and

particularly the glides w l~ i ch often stretch over an octave or more.

111 tlie fourtli or the final stage all kinds o f tanaa, both o f the simple and bol-

t ' % ~ - t ~ pe are executed in al l their complex forms

Ranade also presents a n analysis of the ekeri or short khyals, sung in medium and

then fast t ime

The khyal style incorporates the best o f each form of composition from the strict

dhrupada to lighter forms

Basic Cunceptrralisutiut~s & Strrrctures in Music: Westerrr & Ittdiatz 217

Elsewhere Ranade (pp. 102-105) explains the nuances of alapas under dhrupada.

They are first very short, always ending on the same tonic note. Each successive

3 l p B gradually accommodates more and more syllables and fresh notes, and

stretches over a greater part of the time-measure. The final link in the atspa ends

on the tonic and is followed by a fixed link called jodacha (joining). After the

completion of the atspa, the tanas or regular melodies begin. Whereas the salient

notes of the raga get prominence in FilZpa, both in magnitude and time, the tana

proceeds by equal steps without preference to a single note. The simple tanas are

sung with a single vowel sound advancing in pitch by the steps of the melody. they

are followed by the bol-tanas, where the advance takes place by the vowel-sounds

of the successive syllables of the song itself. There are four successive stages in

the progress of both alapas and tanas : arohi (ascending steps), avarohi

(descending steps), sthayee (stationary steps) and samchari (roaming steps). In

ascent, as we proceed higher, the notes become more vigorous and individual in

character. The reverse is the case in descent. The two processes are

accompanied by different feeling tone or aesthetic effect. Thus Indian music is able

to produce visible enharmonic effect. In the sthayee or stationary form, the same

note is repeated, usually using the note below as its shadow. This is clearly visible

in the tonic or the octave, where the leading note is used as the shadow. In the

sarnchari or roaming form of motion the same rules as above are used in

combination to get the enharmonic effects.

Basic Conceptualisalions & Structures in Music: Western & Indian 218

In an Alapa, the meenda or glide is often ~ ~ s e d . It sometimes extends to a full

octave and beyond. the voice does not move by steps, but glide on continuously,

taking care to stress the legitimate note when it passes up and down. This can be

heard best in solo performances such as those of M.S. Gopalakrishnan. A note in

Indian music can be pushed into the background in two ways, either by omitting it,

or by using it merely as a passing note, without any stress or duration.

Classical music of India employs mainly four phonetic styles in singing: 1. 601 -

uses word of actual language or speech. 2. akar 3. nom-tom - uses syllables like

nom, tom, o, da, ni, re, dim, ta , na etc (like English da-dee-dum-de-dum).

4 sargam sa,re ga, ma etc. 1551

In normal s~nging procedure, stayi lines are completed. Then antara lines are

sung. after last line of antara, stayi lines are sung again. To avoid monotony two

more parts are added: sanchari (=resurgence, regeneration, moving again, re-

spreading) and abhog (Skt abhoga= complete consumption, full enjoyment,

fulfilment) - singer goes back to stayi: after abhog.[58]. Rhythmic pattern in music

can be different from verse.[60]

In classical singing, the song can be preceded by the aspect of 'exposition' - alap.

The style of singing called dhrupad (Skt: dhruvapada = fixed foot) - very rigid style.

Composition in this style has 4 parts - sthayi, antara, sancari, and abhog. avoids

use of tan - most common rhythms based on pakhawaj or wide strokes - cautal,

tivra erc - cyclic time-measure is kept static while linguistic cum tonal sequence

Basic Cunceprualisations & Structures in Music: Western & Indian 219

can be doubled, tripled or even quadrupled. - style considered very suitable for

'pride' (of bravery, charity and forgiveness), love and tranquility. - becoming less

popular because less chance for improvisation.

Most popular style today is khyal, meaning 'idea, imagination'. It starts with the

exposition of the raga. Then comes the two- or four- part song in very slow tempo,

called vilambita laya. the fst tempo druta 1aya.which has tha tarana song text where

nom tom and drumming syllables are used and that is the end of the performance.

In every phrase of the khyal, the artist employs the tan sequences profusely.

rhythms - 'thiri' strokes: tin tal, jhap tal, ek tal etc. the song textgs express feeling

sof love, tranquility, sadness and wonder. - all kins of voices.

The style known as thumri is also very popular - term onomatopoeic, suggesting

'thrilling movement' - happy and delicate feelings like sexual love - rags khamaj,

kafi, pilu, bahiravi ec [78-79) - thin strokes -kahrwa, Pajab style tin tal, dadra etc ....

dhrupad, khaayal and thumri - song texts in braj dialect - gazal, kawwali and

modern movie songs use standard Hindi-Urdu based on kahri dialect. [79]

Pedagogic Steps in Presenting and Rotating the 72 South lndian Melas:

Sambamurthy (Book Ill) has given a mastery presentation of the structure of the 72

South lndian rnelas (Complete scales). He has also presented the ragas that can

be obtained by rotation. But even musnc students tend to memorise them without

full understanding. Manuel (1996, 2000) has developed a model for understanding

the structure of the 72 south Indian scales (or rather the frame of the ragas) in just

seven steps and their rotations in the minimal number of steps. The formation of 72

Basic Coricc/)/rtulisutio,ts & Slrrrcturcs irt Music: Wcstern & Iridiari 220

complete ragas (melas) can be understood from the 12 frets being given 16 names

with some overlap. Two naming systems for the 16 units are presented in the table

below. Since R2=G1, R3=G2. D2=N1 and D3=NZ, the 12 fret division remains intact.

p-N1; D3=1q2; D3-N3=% [DN Range %TO 1 % RG and DN forms don't form ragas

Table 3: The Distance between Svaras in South lndian Melakartha System

The 72 melakarlt~as are divided into two halves. The first 36 are called purva mela.

The second 36 are called uttara mela.

All ragas have S and P common

G1

G2

G3

N1

N2

N3

Sa

Ra

Ri

Ru

Ma

Mi

Pa

Da

Di

Du

Sa

Variations in the ragas are caused by change in the other five svaras

It is important to note the length of intervals between different svaras. This will help understanding the structure of ragas as 'well as their rotation. The full octave has seven svaras, but 12 fret intervals. Two fret intervals amount to a tone. A single fret interval is called a semitone. If we examine the white notes of the piano taking C as the major key, the usual progression is by tones (with ia black note in between. But between 31d and 4Ih (E &F) and 7th and 8Ih (B &C) there is no black note. There are 2 semitones and 5 tones. Together, an octave has 6 tones. In Western music there is no 1% tone interval. But Indian music revels in it. There is even a rare case of 2-tone interval between Gl and M2 (Melas 37-42 only). Let us sumrnarise the distances: S to So = 6 tones [ Constant S to P (or S-P)= 3% [ Constant S-M, = 2%; S-M2 = 3 [S-M Range: 2 to 2x1 S-R,=%; S-H2=1; S-R3=1% [S-R. Range %tol%] S-G1=l ; S-G2=l %; S-G3=2 [S-G Range:l to 21 Rl-GI=%; Rl-G2=1; R1-G3-1 % [Raga-forming R2=G1; R2-C;2=%; R2-G3=1; [R-G Range % tol%] R3>G1; R3=G2; R3-G3=% MI-P=1; M,--P=% [M-P Range: % to I ] P-Dl=%; P-lD2=1 ; P-D3=1 % [P-D Range % TO 1 %I Dl-N1=%; 01-N2=1; Dl-N3=1% D2=G1; D2-C;2=%; D2-G3=1 [Raga-forming

-

Ga

Gi

Gu

Na

Ni

Nu

S

Rj

R2

R3

M 1

M2

P

DI

D2

D3

S '

Basic Cotrcepfualisafions & Sfrucfures in .Music: Western & Indian 22 1

All puwa mela ragas (Raga nos 1 to 36) have S, M1 and P common.

All uttara mela ragas (Nos 37 to 72) have S, M2 and P common.

The 72 ragas are divided into 12 chakras, each having six ragas.

Within each chakra SRGM (lower tetrachord) is constant. I

In any chakra the order number of the ragas determines the PDNS (upper

tetrachord)

We will call all 1st ragas in any cycle as + I raga. (Formula is 6n+x; n can be any

number from O to 11 ; x can be any number from 1 to 6).

+ I ragas (also called Pa) are ragas no1.7.13,19,25,31,37,43,49,55,61,67

+2 ragas (Sri) are 2,8,14.20,26,32,38,44,50.56.62,68 ...

+3 ragas (Go) are 3,9, 15 . . . 69

+4 ragas (Bhu) are ..... 22 28 ... .... 58, 70

+5 ragas (Ma) are 11, 17 . . 29. 65

+6 ragas (Sha) are 6, .... 36, 66,,, 72

In order to understand the structure of the ragas from the number, let us take the

first 36 (purva tnela ragas). They have 8, M1 and P and S" common.

Table 4: The Tetrachord forms for Chakras and Raga Numbers within Chakra --

By varying R and G, chakras I to VI are produced as follows

Chakra I : SRIGIM

~

Chakra Ill : SR,G3M

Chakra IV : SR2G2M ~ ~ -- .

In all chakras (I to XII), the raga number is got by varying D and N

+ I ragas: PDINIS

+2 ragas: PD1N2S

+3 ragas: PD1N3S

+4 ragas: PD2N2S

+5 ragas: PD2N3S

+6 ragas: PDaNeS

Basic Concepfualisafions & Structures in Music: Western & Indian 222

If we take purva mela alone, Chakra I (SRGM) will have the same structure as +I

raga (PDNS), Chakra II symmetrical with +2, ........... .Chakra VI with + 6.

In the table below the first raga of the first cycle (Kanakang~) is shown as I,,

Hanumathodi as 112, Mayamalavagowla as Ill3, Kharaharapriya as IV4,

Dheerasankarabharanam as V5 and Chalanata as V16 On the violin, the

lower string position for SRGM will be identical with the higher string

position for PDNS.

Table 5: Table of Ragas with Symmetrical Tetrachords

Rage no within +3 +4 +5 +6 chakra ---3

PDZN2S PDzN3S PD~NJS

Chakra 1

I S RIGIM

II S RIG~M

When tonal modulation is applied, i.e., rnaking R.G.M.P,D,N respectively of a raga

as the new S (tonic or fundamental note), each raga may yield six other ragas

Actually 72 x 6 = 432 possibilities seem to be there. In reality some rotations will

not yield. Sambamurthy has stated which ragas will not yield these murchchna

ragas and which will. Manuel has given the logical proof and iconic forms which

Basic Conceptualisations & Structures in Music: Western & Indian 223

would help even professional students to l~nderstand the transformations. The full

details are skipped here. But it has been shown that when M is taken as S, only 24

out of the 72 will yield true ragas. Its reverse (P taken as S) will also yield only 24

rotational ragas. When G is taken as S, 20 rotated ragas are possible. The

reversed form D taken as S will also yield 20 ragas. R taken as S will yield 17

ragas. The reversed form N taken as S will also yield 17. Thus out of the 432

rotations (72 x 6) only 122 (24+24+20+20*17+17) will be authentic ragas.

Only the most important conceptualisatior~s and structures needed for constructing

the models are presented. The heavy structures placed at the end have some

significance for design in music and pedagogy.