Bakshi - 101 raga-s for the 21st century and beyond: a music lovers guide to Hindustani music

101 RAGA-S FOR THE 21 ST CENTURY AND BEYOND

A Music Lovers Guide to Hindustani music

BY HARESH BAKSHI

101 Popular Raga-s and 161 Technical Terms in North
Indian classical music explained for perceptive listening

The Audio CD of the raga-s separately available. Visit http://www.SoundOfIndia.com
and click on Products.

Or, visit
http://www.SoundOfIndia.com
and click on Raagas to listen to each ragaFREE.

Copyright 2005 Haresh Bakshi. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

Back cover shows the following popular Indian instruments [starting at the top right, clockwise]: The harmonium, the Tanpura, the Sitar, and the Tabla (drums).

Note for Librarians: a cataloguing record for this book that includes Dewey Decimal Classification and US Library of Congress numbers is available from the Library and Archives of Canada. The complete cataloguing record can be obtained from their online database at: www.collectionscanada.ca/amicus/index-e.html
ISBN 1-4120-4677-7

Offices in Canada, USA, Ireland, UK and Spain
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CONTENTS

Dedicated to my Guru-s

Pandit Ekanath Padgaonkar
Ustad Gulam Kader Khan
Pandit Gajananrao Joshi
Pandit Narendra Shukla

And to

All my students all over the world
[thanks to the Internet]

Thanks

Meera [for the wonderful cover design]
Rishabh
Bodh Narine

I

Indian music enjoys pride of place in the genre of music called World Music. The number of people who desire to learn more about Indian classical music is increasing day by day.

This book is designed for all those who want to learn the basics of Indian classical music. Using this unique product, they can take the first step to learning Hindustani music. This book allows them to learn at their own pace.

Whether you want to be a listener, student, performer, or teacher, the basic skill requirement is the same: Learning the listening skills. Music is to be imbibed in, not to be understood. Absorb, assimilate, energize, enjoy. Take only a few, small steps at a time.

The Audio CD of the raga-s separately available. Visit http://www.SoundOfIndia.com
and click on Products.

Or, visit
http://www.SoundOfIndia.com
and click on Raagas to listen to each ragaFREE.

So, here you are: You, your own copy of this book-cum-CD, anytime ofthe day or night, anywhere in the world, at your speedbriskly or leisurely. The aim here is to learn, as well as to enjoy while learning.

The basic concept of enjoy-while-you-learn is reflected in the unusual design and content of each chapter. Each chapter is, in fact, like a musical session. Each chapter presents the basic concepts in simple, informal language.

Each raga outlined creates an unforgettable aesthetical experience. Though we relish the bliss while listening to the basics of each raga, yet the learning itself remains serious and sincere.

If you are a newcomer to the field of Indian music, you may call yourself by various names like freshman, neophyte, beginner, entrant, tyro, novice,initiate, starter, traineethe name does not matter; what matters is thatyou will soon become a self-made achiever, capable of enjoying listening to North Indian classical music by yourself, or with your friends and family members, and even much larger audiences.

Of course, please follow the rules of success. Like some vocal training? Try to train your voice using the set of patterns for DAILY practice. This set of patterns is demonstrated in the accompanying CD.

You will realize that Indian classical music is a source of immense joy. You will find it delightful. It will soothe your nerves, gladden your heart, cheer up your mind, and nourish your soul.

Now follows the best part of the offer:

If you have a question, you can write to me

As a part of my answer to your question, if I strictly feel the need to further clarify, I will be happy to initiate a limited chat session with you on the Internet. You will find the details on my web site:

http://www.SoundOfIndia.com

Lastly, how is it that this book lists no references? The answer is simple: this book is a simple description of frequently used concepts; it is the simplified presentation of common terms we come across when listening to, talking or reading about, or learning Indian classical music.

Now, please read on and embark upon the journey to the joy of learning North Indian classical music. All the best,

Haresh Bakshi

II

All the raga-s in the optional CD, as well as on http://www.SoundOfin-dia.com, have the key C, as their tonic, or Sa. On the harmonium/keyboard, this is the first white key in the set of the 12 keys that comprise the octave. This key is variously called the Sa, white one, sufed ek etc. If you like, you can play on the keyboard the notes of the demonstrated raga and thus memorize the basics of any raga.

III

The Teentaal. It is the most common taal (rhythm) There are several other taal-s used in classical music Some other frequently used taal-s include Ektaal, Roopak, Jhaptaal, Dipchandi, Jhoomra, Tilwada, as also Keharva and Dadra. There are several well-known as well as rare taal-s. There are variations of Teentaal, variously called addha, punjabi, sitarkhani etc. These taal-s are played on the tabla. The tabla is a set of two drums. The right-hand drum, called daya (pronounced daa.yaa), is tuned in the treble (higher pitch), while the left-hand drum, called baya (pronounced baa.yaa), sounds in the bass (lower pitch).

Teentaal is represented on paper as under:

| 12 3 4 | 5 6 7 8 | 9 10 11 12 | 13 14 15 16 |

IV

The terms used in connection with describing teentaal (or any other taal)

MATRA (pronounced maa.traa): It is translated as the beat. It is a basic unit of duration in musical time. It is the basic rhythmic unit in a piece of music. It is the duration for which the sound (of the instrument playing the taal) lasts (and until the next beat begins). The matra-s above are represented by the numerals 1 to 16.

SAMA (pronounced like sum): It is the first beat of the taal cycle. It is assigned the maximum importance, or weightage. The sama is located on the first beat, represented by the numeral 1, the sama is sounded by a light, thumping hit on the knee with the palm of your right hand.

KHALI: (pronounced khaa.lee) Khali means empty, or negative weightage. It is almost as important as the sama, but is negative. It is indicated by the wave, in the air, of the palm, going away in opposite direction from the knee. Teentaal has one khali located on the 9th beat. The khali is located on the ninth beat, shown by the numeral 9 The location of a khali varies from one taal to another. A taal can have more than one khali.