cultural study of music- india/indonesia

• 1700-500 BCE

  • Vedas (Vedic Sandscrit)

  • Chants 4 notes - myriad scales of the Raga

4 sacred books of prayers

• hymns and mantra

• ritual guide for priests

• philosophical treaties

• 500-1400 CE

  • Natya Sastra

    • technical book of theater

  • Greatest kingdoms provided patronage of the Arts

• 1527-1867

• From the Mongols-Babur

• Integration of Indian, Islamic and others

  • famous architecture

  • Southern India-Carnatic vocal tradition, Hindu

  • North Indian Music- Hindustani, Raga, improv, Arabic

  • instruments

• (I doubt we need to know all of this but I would at least familiarize myself with the info)

• Taj Mahal

collection of notes put together for Northern India music

• 1600-1947

  • British introduced piano, harmonium, violin, clarinet, and banjo

  • Indian culture: Harmonium, violin played and tuned differently

• Globalization and tradition

  • traditional elements mixed with the music of Europe and North America

• Internationally known musicians

  • Ravi Shankar

  • Zakir Hussain

• Hindusthani-improvisation

• influences: muslim tradition

• instruments: Harmonium, Tabla, Sitar, Tamboura

• Harmonium

• Tabla

• Sitar

• Tamboura

• Carnatic/Hindu Devotional songs

• influences: Ancient India, Hindu, Vegas

• Instruments: Bamboo flute, violin, Mridangam, Tamboura

• Bansuri

• violin

• Mridangam

• Tamboura

standard song form in the south

• one of many languages

singing the tala (sollukattu

• note in a Raga

• different than western music

drone

• melody

• drone

• rhythm

• Music from the 40’s-60’s

  • classically based

• Cine Music/Bollywood

• uses modern styles of Rock, Jazz, Rap

• Banshey- flute

• bamboo

• 8 holes

• aerophone

• tuned and held differently than standard western instrument

• chordophone (lute)

bansuri

hint: count the holes (the 8th one is not visible in this picture)

violin

hint: classical violin except held with feet

• barrel shaped

• 2 headed drum

• heavy hide

• membranophone

• a black spot near the center of the head

  • siyahi

more on the siyahi

• graphite, metal, shavings goo of rice

• focus in the pitch

mridangam

hint: barrel with a black spot

• 4 strings but only two notes

• drone

• gourd

• pluck strings

• chordophone (lute)

tambura

• improvised, mostly made up as it goes along

• mostly from vocal songs/instrumental transcriptions

• no harmony or chords, oral tradition

• drone played by the tambura

• raga-color/atmosphere- tonal system

• tala

• form

• ragas dictate which notes may be used and how frequently

• meloding framework

• improvisation (composition with boundaries)

• scale (72 scales)

  • strong and weak notes

  • extras

    • mood (rasa), time of day, magical powers

• influence personality

• bring the divine to both performer and listener

• cure diseases

• melt stones

• “clap”

• underlying rhythmic framework

• hand gestures primarily in the south while performing or singing

• talas are all cyclical

  • hold down the rhythm of the piece while the melodic instruments improvise

• alap- intro: no fixed rhythm

• Jhala- melodic and drones

• composed section intro to Tala

• conclusion improve section

• sitar

• tabla

• tambura (im confused on why this is listed for both the north and south)

• oil on fingers

• wire picks

• strings

  • 4 melodic strings

  • 3 strings emphasizing the rhythm

  • 13 that vibrate while others being played helps with fullness and sustains overall sound

• usually taught by Guru

• pumpkin at top used for amplification

• chordophone

sitar

(hint: little pumpkin looking thing at the top)

• dayan and bayan (bayan is bigger one)

• derived from the Arabic word tabl which means drum

• drum strokes- Bols

• learned from guru

• head of the drum (puri) made up of goat hide

• membranophone

tabla (bayan on left dayan on right)

(hint: the drums have the lacings on the side)

• aerophone

• European instrument which was imported in the 18th century

• it is a reed organ with hand pumped bellows

• bellows, stops, keys

• number of drone reeds making it distinctly Indian

harmonium

(hint: looks like a little piano)

• membranophone

• tamborine

• head made of lizard skin (old)

• head now made of synthetic material

• south Indian

• high sound

kanjira

hint: looks like a tambourine idk

• southern tradition

• made out of terracotta clay pot

  • can’t change pitch

• open at the top and has a narrow neck

ghatam

• made for women

• lays in lap

• melodic, rhythmic and sympathetic

veena

(hint: its a woman once again idk if these hints help I just use them for my own studying)

• long necked lute

  • neck is metal

• 40 inches

• wooden body with calf, main strings and sympathetic

• played like a guitar

• no frets

sarod

hint: look for the metal on the neck

• idiophone

• group of porcelain bowls

• fill the bowls with water

• tarang definition: waves in water

jal taraang

• aerophone

• double reed (similar to oboe)

• north and south

• religious settings

• Sruti

• similar to Nageshwaram instrument

shannai

• chordophone

• sympathetic strings (4 sets)

• gut strings

sarangi

hint: petite

Sitar

tabla

Ghatam

Kanjira

• more than 200 languages

• 2 different areas: Java and Bali

• melting pot of religions

• Islamic/Hindi/Buddhism

• Music is heard in residences

• east of Java on a separate island

• Hindu/Buddhism but its changing and now there is more Islamic

• music is in temples or processions

gamelan

• set of instruments unified by their tuning and decorative carving and sculpture

• venues: temples, homes of sultans, processions, peoples homes

• ceremonies: birth, death, marriage, theatre, dance

• believed to have special powers

• bronze/iron/brass

• metal slab

• tuned knobbed gongs (always tuned, played in the center rather than the edge)

• kettles (tuned in pairs male and female)

• drums

• bamboo flutes

• 2 stringed fiddle

• xylophones

scales

• slendro: 5 notes

• pelog: 7 notes

• gong ageng

• kempul

• kenong

• kempyang-ketuk

• bonang

• gender

• saron

• ceng ceng

• kendhang

• rebab

• suling

• ayun ambing

• celempung

saron

• bonang

• gender

• rebab

• suling

• human voice

kendang

• gong ageng

• kempul

• kempyang

• ketuk

• bamboo tubes

• make sound when shaken

• wayang- traditional theater

• 1st century: hindu religion

  • stories in theatre with puppets

• Islam: brought shadow puppets instead of the figure of Humans or God

• largest of hanging gongs

• both Javanese and Balinese

• only used for beginning and endings of cycle

• heavily padded stick

• Javanese: many gongs hanging together

• never cut sound off

gong ageng

• smaller hanging gong

• can manipulate sound with hand

kempul

hint: smaller than the gong ageng

• primarily in Javanese gamelan

• extra large kettles

• each kettle has its own outer frame

• stick with wool on it - less padded than gong ageng and kempul

• can damp with stick itself

kenong

ketuk

• medium sized kettle

• flat top

• lower sound

• often played with kempyang and kenang in java

kempyang

• medium sized kettle

• kempyang and ketuk m

• hint: cute little holder idk sorry my hints are not helpful

• small kettle- more clanky sound

• bali: multiple players on set

• java: each player, own set

• all on one frame or platform, not separate like kenong

bonang

• like xylophone

• sticks: shaped like wheel at end of a stick (wool on rim)

• can dampen notes with fingers

• constructed in pairs of notes (2 physically closer notes that are separated by larger gaps from rest)

• resonators: long pipes under each notes to get a better sound

• red and gold standard colors

• notes curved up on edges

• bali: only one stick, hammer shaped except heads look like horn

gender

• similar to harmonium (scales similar to way harmonium plays raga)

• like metal xylophone

• java: wood hammer

• bali: metal, hammer-shaped and horn-shaped head

• brass

• use fingers to dampen

• notes curved down on edges

• bali: usually have 3 sets (high, medium and low pitched sets)

saron

• small cymbols

• played with multiple people in java

• one person does all in bali

ceng ceng

• membranophone

  • balanese (one per person)

• leader of the gamelan (gives cues)

• drum

• ropes holding skins

khendang

• chordophone

• 2 string

• heart shaped body

• pegs are thin and delicate

• rebab

• hint: heart shape also 2 strings= 2 letter b’s in the name

• aerophone

• vertically played

• can be played with celo

• piece jutting out

• higher pitched

suling

• pretty slow/relaxed (mellow)

• zither

ayun ambing

• zither

• thumbs

• chordophone

celempung