source file: mills2.txt Date: Mon, 12 May 1997 07:10:42 +0200 Subject: where the notes are From: Aline Surman Ray...I do agree that the notes are not "random" in Indian music; when I used the word "area," I meant that there were/are several different choices for each "pitch"...I imagine the Indian masters are pretty adept at hitting various ratios, mainly because they are trying to draw out the feeling/meaning of the note/ratio/sound in question. I would also imagine that often, this "area" or "note" is first learned intuitively, by playing it for long periods of time; then, later, the intellectual realization occurs. Now, I have not studied Indian music formally, but have recently met two students who are studying it, and they don't have a clue about what they are doing, what ratios are, or any of the most basic concepts of tuning theory. They are learning by rote where to put notes...this is a typical feature of a master/apprentice relationship, where the relationship is pretty intense, and mostly one on one for a while. From what I understand, a lot of Indian musicians learned in this setting. I get the feeling the teachers don't give up everything all at once, and doubtless the secrets of tuning, which are intimately connected to the powers of sound, are not discussed at first. Again, I've seen very little knowledgable discussion of this tricky subject, because most of us are not practioners of Indian music...and even if we were, it still may take a long time before we would be taught the science/art of tuning theory. Also, when I said that you cannot tell someone where to put a note, I meant in an improvisational sense, where you don't know where to put the next note because YOU don't yet know where it will be, or, hopefully, even what it will be. When I teach my students blues or jazz, I am incapable of playing the same improvised line twice in a row...it's a hoot, because it's that quantum idea again...you can teach the concept, and some of the technical tools, but each person must get to "it" in their own way...Hstick Received: from ns.ezh.nl [137.174.112.59] by vbv40.ezh.nl with SMTP-OpenVMS via TCP/IP; Mon, 12 May 1997 13:08 +0200 Received: by ns.ezh.nl; (5.65v3.2/1.3/10May95) id AA09716; Mon, 12 May 1997 13:08:57 +0200 Date: Mon, 12 May 1997 13:08:57 +0200 Received: from ella.mills.edu by ns (smtpxd); id XA09786 Received: (qmail 22073 invoked from network); 12 May 1997 11:08:52 -0000 Received: from localhost (HELO ella.mills.edu) (127.0.0.1) by localhost with SMTP; 12 May 1997 11:08:52 -0000 Message-Id: <199705121103.NAA23468@reliam.teaser.fr> Errors-To: madole@mills.edu Reply-To: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Originator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Sender: tuning@eartha.mills.edu