source file: mills2.txt Date: Sun, 22 Dec 1996 13:15:37 -0800 Subject: Indian music From: Daniel Wolf <106232.3266@compuserve.com> It is very difficult to speak in terms of ''Indian Music'' in the singular. On the subcontinent are two ''classical'' traditions (North Indian - or ''Hindustani'', muslim musicians to the contrary, and South Indian, or Karnatic) with extreme variations within each that share a common Sanskrit theoretical tradition. Certain broad musical characteristics are shared between these traditions, but the shared characteristics between North Indian and Persian Music or between Karnatic and Singhalese music are just as rich and audible. My experience with Karnatic music is more extensive than with Northern Indian music, but I am certain that the Northern tradition enjoys a larger pitch vocabulary, and in certain styles cultivates a large number of varied intonations for single srutis (including SA and PA) even within a single rag. Some composed rag sections will have certain pitches firmly defined intonationally, others - particularly the slow, improvised Alap - will vary radically. In any case, the intonation chosen may follow a particular style belonging to a school of performers or a single guru. And even though the drone will create a prominent harmonic background for a performer, often part of the performance dynamic is to deviate audibly from the drone pitches or their harmonics. One great difficulty in dealing with subcontinental musics - not unfamiliar elsewhere - is that the performers, even noted artists, are very uneven in their intonational skills. A certain Kirana vocalist favored by many in the tuning community, could be extraordinarily precise in his performances, but was frequently completely off, and would often deliver a beautifully intoned alap only to follow up with a composition that was extremely rough. In Karnatic music, the tuning is rather more stable throughout the tradition (although 12tet has made inroads in recent years, particularly with the advent of mandolin and guitar performers, as well as the introduction of electronic keyboards) and limited to a set of 12 named pitches, which may vary by a comma much as Rousseau has described, particularly in the ragas where MA moves to a sharp fourth degree (contrary to a lot of literature, this pitch is fixed around 45/32, not the 11/8 that many claim to be hearing). The precise intonation of a Raga varies with the particular tradition, guru, and with the particular composition, but the value attached to tuning is high: as T. Viswanathan put it to me: Sing in tune or go to hell!. It has long been surprising that an electronic microtonal keyboard has not been commercially produced in India or Pakistan. It seems like a product that would have a great domestic demand as well as a potential for profitable export to niche markets abroad (like American microtonalists!). Maybe some list members have concrete ideas. Perhaps a 12 (Pyth)+10 (comma varied) keyboard with a variable fundamental frequency would be sufficient. Received: from ns.ezh.nl [137.174.112.59] by vbv40.ezh.nl with SMTP-OpenVMS via TCP/IP; Mon, 23 Dec 1996 06:16 +0100 Received: by ns.ezh.nl; (5.65v3.2/1.3/10May95) id AA31668; Mon, 23 Dec 1996 06:18:47 +0100 Received: from eartha.mills.edu by ns (smtpxd); id XA31665 Received: from by eartha.mills.edu via SMTP (940816.SGI.8.6.9/930416.SGI) for id VAA20196; Sun, 22 Dec 1996 21:18:44 -0800 Date: Sun, 22 Dec 1996 21:18:44 -0800 Message-Id: Errors-To: madole@ella.mills.edu Reply-To: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Originator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Sender: tuning@eartha.mills.edu