Melodic improvisation in Indian music is based upon a set collection of ascending and descending notes - this is called a rãg or raga, which can be described as being somewhere in between a melody and a scale. The ascending and descending forms of the rãg can be different. Each rãg has an association with a certain time of day or night, or season, resulting in particular moods or feelings being evoked. Elements of a raga The three most common elements in raga are:
Melody - the rag The rag is the set melody on which the music is improvised. This is a cross between a collection of pitches and a scale. Like a scale, a rag ascends and descends, but the pitches often differ in each direction. Unlike the pattern of scales in Western Classical music with the same number of notes, the number of notes in a rag will vary considerably. Some rags have just five note rather like a pentatonic scale.
There are over 200 different rags in existence in Indian classical music and each has a particular mood (called a rasa) associated with it. The chosen rag will be used as the musical material in a full raga performance, and the music is then made up by the performers.This technique of making up music without notation is called improvisation.
Drone Accompaniment - the tambura From the very first notes of a piece, you will hear a supportive drone played by the tambura. This usually sounds the tonic and dominant notes of the chosen rag. Its function is to keep a sense of tuning or intonation as a reference point for the melodic part, such as the sitar. It ever-present sound adds texture to the music as a whole.
Rhythm - the tala The rhythm provided by the small tabla drums is organised into repeating rhythmic cycles called tala. The complex rhythms sound exciting when played against this steady beat by both the tabla player as well as the instrumentalist (or singer). These rhythm patterns, called bols, are independent of the beat and can be inventive, displacing accents off the beat to create syncopation.
Structure of a raga performance A raga performance usually has a structure based on defined sections called the alap, jhor, jhalla and gat. However, Some sections can be omitted, for example a raga might just have an alap and a gat or Bhajan. Raga performances can vary vastly in time up to 5 or more hours in some cases! Alap - opening unmetred and improvised section of a raga
Jhor - second section of a tempo
Jhalla - third section of a raga and climax of whole piece
Gat/Bhajan - final section of an instrumental raga
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