Music in North India

Description

Music in North India is one of several case-study volumes that can be used along with Thinking Musically, the core book in the Global Music Series. Thinking Musically incorporates music from many diverse cultures and establishes the framework for exploring the practice of music around the world. It sets the stage for an array of case-study volumes, each of which focuses on a single area of the world. Each case study uses the contemporary musical situation as a point of departure, covering historical information and traditions as they relate to the present. Visit www.oup.com/us/globalmusic for a list of case studies in the Global Music Series. The website also includes instructional materials to accompany each study.
North India is home to a wealth of musical traditions composed of many different styles, genres, and practices. Music in North India provides a representative overview of this music, discussing rhythm and drumming traditions, song composition and performance styles, and melodic and rhythmic instruments. Drawing on his experience as a sarod player, vocalist, and music teacher, author George Ruckert incorporates numerous musical exercises to demonstrate important concepts. The book ranges from the chants of the ancient Vedas to modern devotional singing and from the serious and meditative rendering of raga to the concert-hall excitement of the modern sitar, sarod, and tabla. It is framed around three major topics: the devotional component of North Indian music, the idea of fixity and spontaneity in the various styles of Indian music, and the importance of the verbal syllable to the expression of the musical aesthetic in North India. Featuring vivid eyewitness accounts of performances and descriptions of interviews with performers, Music in North India examines the form, structure, and expression of North Indian music while also illuminating its profound religious and cultural significance. A 70-minute CD containing examples of the music discussed in the text is packaged with the book.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Preface
CD Track List
1. Modernity and Tradition
A Culture of Bewildering Variety
Threads to Follow in this Text
The Devotional Component
Fixed Composition and Improvisation
The Verbal Syllable
Rhythmic Jatis
Syllables for Pitch Names
The Old and New in an Ancient Land
Indian Music on the Move
2. Affect
Religious Connotations
Sacred Texts
Verbal Syllables
The Vocal Genre of dhrupad
The Vocal Genre of Tarana
Song Texts
A Musician's Practice
The Nine Moods
Extramusical Effects
Conclusion
3. Teaching, Learning, and Performing Music
Teaching and Learning Music
Old Traditions in New Packages
4. Rhythm and Drumming
Tala
Theka: The Tal as a Succession of Drum Sounds
Counting Patterns in Tal
The Tabla
Kayda
Tihai
Other Drumming Traditions
Conclusion
5. Song and Performance
Composition and Improvisation
What is a Raga?
Raga in Performance
The On-the-spot Development of the Composition
Bara khyal
Vistar
Tan
Khyal and Instrumental Styles
Song Texts in Classical Styles
Other Song Genres
Conclusion
6. Instruments, Melodic and Rhythmic
Drone Instruments
Melody Instruments
The Rise of Instrumental Music
The Sitar and the Sarod
Other Melody Instruments
Ensembles
Conclusion
7. The Old World Joins the New
The Postcolonial Era
The Effect of the New Democracy on Music
Electronics: Preserving and Spreading the Traditions
Glossary
Resources
Index