Unit III: Music of South and West Asia

Unit III
Music of
South and
West Asia
“Where words fail,
music speaks.”
― Hans Christian
Andersen
MUSIC OF
INDIA
» India is known as the “Land of
Spirituality and Philosophy”.
» This is the Birthplace of some
major religions that exists in
the world. ( Buddhism,
Hinduism, Jainism and
Sikhism.
» Musical traditions are deeply
rooted in ancient customs.
Indian Music
Indian Music Elements
Raga- meaning “to please”, is based on
traditional melodic patterns of five to
nine tones, on which melodies are
formed.
Shruti- The smallest interval perceptible
to the ear.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Western
Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti
Notation
Indian
Sa Ri Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni
Notation
Tala- means “Clap” or “Rhythm”, is
the arrangement of beat patterns
arranged in groups.
Open forms have no distinct start or
end, has unpredictable rhythmic
structure and relaxed tempo
Closed Forms- show noticeably
obvious start and finish structure and
follow the rules of tala.
Traditional
Instrument
Aerophone- a musical instrument that
produces sound primarily by causing a
body of air to vibrate.
1. Shenhai- Made of wood with a
metal flare bell at the end.
2. Bansuri- a side blown flute
originating from the Indian subcontinent.
It is an aerophone produced from
bamboo, used in Hindustani classical
music. This plays the melody part.
Chordophone is a
musical instrument that
makes sound by way of a
vibrating string or strings
stretched between two
points.
1. Tanpura or Tanpuri-
This is a four- or Five string
long necked lute Instrument
that provides the melody
and the drone effect that
presents to its tonic or
home key tone.
2. Sitar- This is a
plucked lute instrument
with adjustable metal
frets which may be tied
to the fingerboard in
the positions of a
particular rag. This has
thin wires under the
frets that give a
vibrating sound. Ravi
Shankar is a famous
Indian Sitar Player.
3. Rebab- This is a
thin- necked string
instrument. A two-
string bowed lute
consisting of a wooden
body, traditionally
though now rarely a
single coconut shell,
covered with very fine
stretched skin.
4. Veena or Vina - a stick zither. About
3.5 to 4 feet (1 to 1.2 meters) long to fit
the measurements of the musician, it has
a hollow body and two large resonating
gourds under each end. It has four main
strings which are melodic, and three
auxiliary drone strings
An idiophone is any musical instrument
that creates sound primarily by the vibration
of the instrument itself.
1. Jal Tarang- The Jal Tarang is a melodic
percussion instrument which originates
from the Indian subcontinent. It consists of
a set of ceramic or metal bowls filled with
water. The bowls are played by striking the
edge with beaters, one in each hand.
A membranophone is
any musical instrument
which produces sound
primarily by way of a
vibrating stretched
membrane.
1. Tabla- Tabla is a pair
of drums. It consists of
of a small right hand
drum called dayan and
a larger metal one
called bayan.
2.Mridangam- A two headed drum. It is
made of wood in an angular barrel shape,
having an outline like an elongated
hexagon. Thong hoops around each end of
the drum, leather thong lacing, and small
wooden dowels slipped under the lacings
control the skin tension.
Music of
Pakistan
Pakistan has two main principles,
‘sur’ (musical note) and ‘lai’
(rhythm). The systematic
organization of musical notes into
a scale is known as a raag. The
arrangement of rhythm (lai) in a
cycle is known as taal.
Improvisation plays a major role
during a performance.
Vocal Form
Vocal singing styles in Pakistan
1. Ghazal
• traditional expressions of love,
separation, and loneliness
• tells about both the pain of loss of
the lover and the beauty of love in
spite of that pain
• its structural requirements are
more strict than those of most
poetic forms traditionally written in
English
• can be sung by both men and
women
2. Qawwali is a musical form
associated with the sama’, spiritual
concert, of the Chishti Sufi Order.
In its religious context it functions
as a way to bring members of the
order into a trance-like state that
makes them more aware of their
relationship with God.
1. Rubab, robab or rabab
is a lute-like musical
instrument originating from
Afghanistan. a double
chambered lute and it’s
body is carved out of a
single piece of wood, with a
membrane covering the
hollow bowl of the sound-
chamber, upon which the
bridge is positioned.
Musical Instrument
2. A Dafli -also popularly known as
daf, dappler or tambourine, is a
must for weddings. Made of wooden
ring with a double row of bells and a
playing surface with a 10" diameter,
our dafli is a perfect accompaniment
to the dholki.
3. Tabla- Is a two drum originated
from India.
4. Dholak- a two-headed hand-drum
from the Indian subcontinent. It may
have traditional cotton rope lacing,
screw-turnbuckle tensioning or both
combined: in the first case steel rings
are used for tuning or pegs are
twisted inside the laces.
Music of Israel
• Use minor keys
• Use dance rhythms
• Use percussion instruments and
other instruments connected with
West Asian music as
accompaniment
• Lyrics that narrate Israeli practices
• Application of distinctive vocal
styles
Traditional instruments
1. Kinnor is the hebrew
name for an ancient
Israelite lyre mentioned
in the Bible and
commonly translated as
'harp'. Jewish national
Instrument.
2. Shofar is an ancient
musical horn typically
made of a ram's horn,
used for Jewish religious
purposes.
3. Timbrel or timbret-
was the principal
percussion instrument
of the ancient
Israelites. It resembled
either a frame drum or
a modern tambourine.
4. Darbuk- The goblet-
shaped single headed
hand-drum is an
ancient drum. It was
originally played in
Egypt, Armenia and
Turkey.
The darbuka is
considered to be the
leader of percussion
instrument.

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