chinnapapa: learn hindustani music

SHENNAI

shennai is one of the oldest wind instruments used in hindustani

It is formally a part of nadaswaram used in south indian folk musics

shennai is played with the fingers closed on the holes of shennai

although all sounds are produced from the mouth it involves a good vibration to the body

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VINA

Rudra vina is also known as bin (been), appears to be oldest style of vina such evidence is its construction in the shape of old temples.

The Vina is one of the most ancient and important instruments of South India. Earlier, any stringed instrument was known as a Vina. However, what we now associate with this word is a 7- stringed, 24-fretted instrument. Owing to its rich and long tradition, there have been several exponents of this instrument and consequently a lot of different styles. The Vina is considered one of the loveliest instruments of Carnatic music for its sweet tone and ability to produce all the nuances and ornamentations unique to this system of music.

Construction: Made of jack wood, the Vina consists of a hollow resonator carved out of a single block of wood that continues as a long fretted neck to which is attached another smaller resonator. The neck curves backwards and at the end is a carved head of a mythological animal.

Tuning: In ancient times, the Vina had several strings, each tuned to a different note. The modern Vina with a range of three and a half octaves was perfected by Govinda Dikshitar, Prime Minister to the ruler of Tanjavur, Raghunatha Nayak in the 17th century. The last string (i.e. closest to the artiste) which is the main string, is tuned to the tonic note Sa, i.e., the Adhara Shadja, which can be of any convenient pitch. The other strings are tuned in relation to that note. The third string is tuned to the lower fifth perfect, Pa, the second to the tonic note, Sa in the lower octave and the first string, again to Pa, an octave lower than the Pa of the third string. The side strings, (called the Tala strings) are tuned to the tonic Sa, Pa and again, Sa in the higher octave from the top to bottom respectively. Again, if needed, the middle string, Pa could be changed to Ma when Madhyama Sruti is required. In the olden days, the pitch used to be in the range of 4 - 5 kattai (F and G), but it has now been standardised to 2 1/2 (D #).

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HINDUSTANI INSTRUMENTS

INDIAN MUSIC

The indian music is broadly classified in two categories Carnatic music and western music

CARNATIC

HINDUSTANI

Indian classical music is categorized under two genres. These are Hindustani and Carnatic. Broadly speaking, Carnatic music developed in the south of the country, while Hindustani is indigenous to the north.

Hindustani music is based on the raga system. A raga is a melodic scale, consisting of notes from the basic seven known as sa, re, ga, ma pa, dha, and ni. Apart from sa and pa which are constant, the other notes may be in major or minor tone, and this gives rise to innumerable combinations. Ten basic scales or thaats are recognized, and other ragas are considered to have evolved from these. A raga must contain a minimum of five notes.

Depending on the notes included in it, each raga acquires a distinct character. The form of the raga is also determined by the particular pattern of ascent and descent of the notes, which may not be strictly linear. Melody is built up by improvising and elaborating within the given scale. The improvisation is at times rhythm bound and at other times free from any overt rhythm.

Formal compositions (songs or instrumental compositions in a fixed meter) are juxtaposed with the improvised portion. Khyal and Dhrupad are two major types of compositions within the Hindustani genre. Of the two, Dhrupad is an older form and requires rigourous training in rhythm control as well as voice culture. Khyal developed as a more popular alternative as it contains both slow and lively compositions, though it retains its totally classical character.

MADHUP MUDGAL

212 Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg
New Delhi 110 002, Te: +2323-3791

The distinctive feature of the India International Centre's annual festival, The IIC Experience, is the range it presents in music, dance, theatre, films, exhibitions of books, art and sculpture, et al.

The musical fare offered a sumptuous variety from a jazz concert and Flamenco on the piano to Hindustani vocal, instrumental and Carnatic music concerts.

Madhup Mudgal is an unusual student of the maverick Kumar Gandharva. You would not expect the student of such a master to be anything other than a classical singer. Or can we actually do given Kumar Gandharva's unconventional genius? Whatever the case, Madhup is a classical singer receptive to music also from very different genres — he has done classical singing for the Brazilian samba dance, plays the bass and guitar, conducts choirs and loves qawwalis. All this when the great Kumar Gandharva was still around.

The morning concert of Hindustani music by Madhup Mudgal this past Saturday was specially conceived for morning ragas, which are normally not rendered in the routine evening programmes of music. The sprawling fountain lawns echoed with the serenity of Madhup's meditative Bilaskhani Todi with which he opened his concert.

The tuneful ambiance was created by the accurately tuned tanpuras played by three of his able students in the background. The introductory alapchari was a pencil sketch of the raga, which got detailed treatment in the following bara khayal, a famous bandish (composition) of Sadarang, "Neeke bol" set to slow Teen tala, like a painter putting various shades of colour by his deft brush strokes.

The subsequent chhota khayal "Neeke neeke shobha dekhat" was chosen thoughtfully to match the lyrics of the slow khayal. The lilting gate of the composition had a playful quality in the hide-and-seek of bols and laya around the sam. The main raga concluded with a captivating tarana set to drut Ek tala that had the unmistakable signature of Kumar Gandharva.

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GANGUBAI HANGAL

9160/18, Deshpande Nagar, Hubli
Dharwar, Karnataka 580 020.

Take Gangubai Hangal, in her 90s and ailing, who took the gayaki of the famed Kirana gharana to great heights. After the death of her daughter Krishna Hangal, there is no musical successor in sight. Her unique musical tradition, perfected through years of rigorous riyaaz, could be lost forever.

A woman of extraordinary talent and courage, Gangubai Hangal has kept her place in the male-dominated world of Hindustani music for almost a century, writes LAKSHMI VISWANATHAN.

ON March 5, Gangubai Hangal, the renowned Hindustani vocalist, celebrated her 93rd birthday. A news item informed her rasikas that her grandson planned to open a cultural centre, designating the Hangal home as a museum for music as a tribute to this grand lady.

Gangubai is one of the four Kannadiga celebrities of Hindustani music. The others are Mallikarjun Mansur, Kumar Gandharva and Bhimsen Joshi. She may not have a high profile like the men in this pantheon. Nevertheless she has held her own and has dedicated her life to the arduous cultivation of her style of expression. Her followers know her emotional involvement with music and appreciate her personal commitment to creative endeavour.

These qualities have earned her a pride of place among the great musicians of our time. She always did justice to the Khayal in all its intricacy, taking her time over the alaap in slow tempo, and thundering her way through the fast swaras. She gave new dimensions to raga Khamaj. Durbari Kanada, which Gangubai usually began in the lower octaves, was also a raga suited to her majestic style.

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