Indian Music and Western

Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions:

• the North Indian classical music known as Hindustani and 
• he South Indian expression known as Carnatic.

Indian classical music is one of the oldest forms of music in the world. It has in diverse areas such as the ancient religious vedic hymns, tribal chants,  devotional temple music, and folk music. Indian music is melodic in nature, while  Western music which is harmonic. 

 

The fundamental concepts of Music are 

the  swara (musical note), 

raga (a melodic concept, or scale of notes) and 

tala (beats timing or rhythm).

 

SWARAS

The word swara ( notes) is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Svar’, which means sound. There are different forms of sound. But the sound which is soothing to ear and which is musical is known as swaras or .

Hindustani classical music has 7 major notes also known as Shudha Swaras.

Sur Long name

 Sa      Shadaj

Re       Rishabh

Ga       Gandhar

Ma       Madhyam

Pa       Pancham

Dha     Dhaivat

Ni         Nishad

 

Shudha Swaras

Sa and Pa swaras are called pure swaras (shudha swaras) and have a fixed position. They are also known as Achal Swaras.

 Vikrit Swaras – Komal and Teevra

Swaras other than Achal swaras can be sung half note above or below their original position. They are known as Vikrit Swaras.

Re,Ga,Dh,Ni can sung half note below and are known as Komal Swaras.

  Ma is sung half note above it’s original note and is known as Teevra Ma.

Thus in total there are 12 swaras –  7 shudh and 5 Vikrit.

Out of 5 Vikrit swaras, 4 are Komal and 1 is Teevra.

 

 

RAGA: THE MELODIC CONCEPT

Ragas are frameworks of keynotes or  a set of musical notes put together in a singing pattern - that denote them.

Technically speaking, a raga is simply a group of notes or swaras. 

Thus a raga is basically established by the notes used in its ascent and descent. 

When arranged in ascending order of their notes, the Ragas are in an aroh pattern.

When the notes are arranged in a descending fashion, they are in an avaroh pattern.

These primary divisions of Ragas are:

1.      Raag Asaravi, 2.      Raag Bhairav, 3.      Raag Bhairavi, 4.      Raag Bilawal

5.      Raag Kafi, 6.      Raag Kalyan, 7.      Raag Khamaj, 8.      Raag Marwa

9.      Raag Purvi, 10.   Raag Todi 

Raag Asaravi is a parent raga, consisting of all the seven musicals notes but arranged in a different pattern.  This raga is usually supposed to be practiced in the late morning hours. In the ascending order, it has 5 musical notes in a haphazard manner: ‘Sa’- ‘Re’ - ‘Ma’- ‘Pa’ - ‘Dha’But in its descending order, it has all the 7 musical notes present in a different order: ‘Na’ - ‘Dha’ - ‘Pa’ - ‘Ma’ - ‘Pa’ - ‘Dha’-  ‘Ma’- ‘Pa’ - ‘Ga’ - ‘Re’ - ‘Sa’.

 

 

What is a tala in Indian music? 

TALA: The sense of rytham

“The measurement of these speeds is tala.

It is a metric cycle with a specific number of beats—from 3 to 128—that recur in the same pattern throughout a musical performance.

Simply stated, a tala is the beat given for timing notes an orders in a musical composition. It is cyclical, and gives the musician the rhythm and in a tempo. 

Laya

 

“Rhythm is laya. The word laya is derived from the root lai to move. So, laya means movement.

The sp

eed variations of this manifestation of movements fall under the categories: 

1.  Vilambita or slow, 
2. Madhyama or medium and 
3. Drutam or fast.”

 

Kāla

“Kāla(kaala) is Time. Time is maintained by units and subunits. In music, time measure is relative and not an absolute measure as timed by seconds and minutes.

 

 

Jāti

“Jāti(jathi) means a class or group. The Jati of a tala is determined by its laghu. The five Jatis , namely varieties of 

1. laghu ,
2.  Tisra
3. Chatusra
4. Khanda
5. Mishra
6.  and Sankeerna

 

 

Graha

“Graha means position. And in this context, also called eduppu, the particular position where the song begins. And when it begins at the very start, it is called samam.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_F-gXUUL3_g 

Yati

“Yatis are various rhythmic patterns ‘that occur in the words or swara passages of songs.

 

 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eT2NoTYwNA

 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCjUQjXPIxEhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCjUQjXPIxE

 

Difference between Indian and Western Music Note

Form	Indian music, in its classical form, is broadly classified into two major traditions: the North Indian music and the South Indian music. The North Indian classical stream is known as Hindustani, while the South Indian classical music is called Carnatic. Both are collectively referred to as Indian music, but there are some slight differences in ornamentation, scale creations, and articulation.	Western music, on the contrary, is the genre of art music that celebrates the life of Europe, the United States, and other societies established by European immigrants
Melody/Harmony	The raga and tala are the two fundamental elements of the Indian classical music. The raga is a melodic framework that is a combination of swaras, while tala is the basis of rhythm which keeps the time cycle. The Indian music is based on melody or single notes played in a specific order.	The Western music, on the contrary, is based on harmony that uses tonic progression and counterpoint abundantly. Western music has a standardized written notation meaning you have to play exactly as it is written.
Pitch	–while the Indian Classical music uses a much more complex system of scales, with parent scales and descendant families that sound very different from each other. Indian Classical music, on the other hand, does not follow an equi-tempered division of notes; instead uses different pitch ratio for the notes in different scales.	Western music uses major and minor scales and equal temperament notes, In the Western music, there are only two sets of pitch ratios between the notes, one for the major scales and the other for the minor scales.
Notes	There are seven basic notes and five variations which are arranged in an order of increasing pitch to form a scale or a gamut, termed as “saptaka” (sapta means seven) in Indian Classical music,	an “octave” in the Western music.
	Indian music divides the saptaka into twenty two intervals which are known as “srutis” with seven natural notes (shuddha swar) and five sharp/flat notes (vikrit swar	As a comparison, there are semitones in Western music, twelve of them to an octave. While saptaka is the word used to refer to a set of seven notes, another one “sthayi”, is also current. This corresponds to ‘register’ in Western music.
Scale	The tonic note of “Sa” is an adjustable note that can be placed anywhere and there is no fixed rule for where Sa should be particularly placed. Once the Sa is chosen, the basic Indian scale – Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni	corresponds with the Western C major scale – Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti – with seven whole notes in the scale and a complete octave of twelve notes. A raga scale can begin on any pitch, the tonic roughly corresponding to C in Western scales. But unlike Western C, it does not necessarily have to be specific frequency and all other notes are generated in reference to the constant tonic.
	n Indian Classical music, an octave is divided into twelve notes and there is no fixed rule regarding where your octave can start. The starting point is “Sa” which can be placed anywhere and once the Sa is chosen, the basic Indian scale – Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni –	corresponds with the Western C major scale – Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti – with seven whole notes in the scale and a complete octave of twelve notes.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_166LNO_5E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oWu_wEkoxM

Read More

Choreography -Dance

 

Choreography is the art of making dances, the gathering and organization of movement into order and pattern. 

The  choreographers, who have been regarded as the authors and owners of their works in a way comparable to writers, composers, and painters.

 

India has 2 major dance forms,  classical and folk dance. The major difference between Classical and Folk dance is the origin.

Classical dance Bharatanatyam  has a deep-rooted relationship with the Natya Shastra where the specific features of each of the Classical dance forms have been mentioned.

Folk dance, on the other hand, emerged from the local tradition of the respective state, ethnic or geographic regions.

 

Choreographers’ motives and methods

The method of choreographers  works depend on their interest, or their impulses or motivations for doing so vary widely.  It may be that a particular dance has a function to fulfill, such as marking a celebration, or praying for rain. 

• The choreographer is simply responding to an outside stimulus—a piece of music that has suggested a structure or movement,  or interest of the choreographer in working with a particular dancer. 
• Or the stimulus may be the choreographer’s desire to express a particular concept or emotion or a fascination with a particular choreographic idea. or  a specific purpose.  

The three-phase in choreographic process

The choreographic process may be divided into three phases:

1.     gathering together the movement material,

2.     developing movements into dance phrases,

3.     and creating the final structure of the work.

 

GATHERING THE MOVEMENT MATERIAL

The  choreographer's work  depends on the tradition in which he or she works. For example, Bharatanatyam. Bharatanatyam contains different types of  'tradition', The most studied version of the Natya Shastra text consists of about 6000 verses structured into 36 chapters. The text, describes the theory of Tāṇḍava dance (Shiva), the theory of rasa, of bhāva, expression, gestures, acting techniques, basic steps, standing postures—all of which are part of Indian classical dances.

 lasia tandav.

siva tandav 

The same is true for many of Indian dance forms; they may not strictly follow the traditional structure and sequence of movements passed down to them, but they remain faithful to their characteristic styles, retaining the traditional quality of movement and not introducing steps or movements widely different from the original.

hybrid

      DEVELOPING MOVEMENTS INTO PHRASES

A series of movements consider as a phrase. 

A phrase, loosely speaking, is a series of movements bound together by a physical impulse or line of energy and having a discernible beginning and end. Dance phrases vary both in length and shape

dance phrase

The factors work to make the spectator perceive 

1.  The first is the recognition of some kind of logical connection between the movements. Through the one movement flows easily and naturally into another within the phrase with good transitions . 
2.  Rhythm is a significant factor, and a recognizable pattern of movements.
3. Force and duration of a movement; thus, a hard, sharp movement has a strong accent, while a soft movement, has a weak one.                                 A phrase may begin with a very forceful movement, or maximum output of energy, that gradually comes to a pause.   These factors determine the way in  effect that it produces on, the spectator. A phrase has been constructed, the simplest ways  in which the same phrase is simply repeated, and accumulation, in which the original phrase is repeated with a new phrase added on each time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4iCQw1AizY

 

CREATING THE FINAL STRUCTURE OF THE WORK

The third phase of the choreographic process, creating the overall structure of the dance. 

The music determines the structure of a dance work, too—by its length, its arrangement of fast and slow movements, and its treatment of theme.

If the work is to be a narrative piece, the plot will obviously determine the way in which the dance material is to be structured. 

It may have to follow a strict succession of events, create characters in a particular order, and bring the  climax at the proper moments. 

Similarly, if the dance forms part of a ritual, the material may have to strictly follow sanctioned form and procedure.

Finally, the structure of a dance reflects the tradition in which it is created and performed. 

 narrative dance

Modern dances are often much shorter, and a single program may include up to a half-dozen phrases.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWhA3ldZcyY

   In a performance of the Indian dance form bharata natyam, sections of dramatic and abstract dance follow one another in strict succession for a period lasting up to four and a half hours, 

    while in the kathakali dance form of Kerala, for a single performance of  dance and music may go on for 16 hours.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwuAUXIZW7Q&ab_channel=Michael41967

 

Dance cinemas

1. Senthamarai (Tamil, 1962)
2. Thillana Mohanambal (Tamil, 1968)
3. Paattum Bharathamum (Tamil, 1975)
4. Sagara Sangamam (Telugu, 1983)
5. Mayuri (Telugu, 1985)
6. Manichitrathazhu (Malayalam, 1993)
7. Sringaram (Tamil, 2007)
8. Kamaladalam (Malayalam, 1992)
9. Kochu Kochu Santhoshangal (Malayal
10. Disco Dancer. © B.Subhash Movie Unit. ..
11. Navrang. © Rajkamal Kala Mandir. ...
12. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. © Yash Raj Films. ...
13. Naache Mayuri. © BCCL. ...
14. Aaja Nachle. © Yash Raj Films. ...
15. Dil To Pagal Hai. © Yash Raj Films. ...
16. Chance Pe Dance. © UTV Motion Pictures. ...
17. Naach.

Read More

Dance

Dance

Dance, the movement of the body in a rhythmic way, usually to music and within a given space, for the purpose of expressing an idea or emotion, releasing energy, or simply taking delight in the movement itself. Dance is most commonly defined as a way of human expression through movement. dance can also be defined as a specific art movement, based on the expressive moves of the human body, dance is also much more. A number of theoretical definitions of dance define it as a conscious way of rhythmic movements of the body in a defined bounded space

 

Dance as a nonverbal language

 

The purpose of this anthropology of dance issue is to unfold various meanings and nuances of dance in contemporary societies, with different contributors with different examples from around the (dance) world illustrating how dance can be observed, investigated and theorized in all its variety.

Dance occupies an important place in the social structure of all human cultures throughout history. Cultural conventions partly determine the limits of expression. For example, the classical dance of India has more than 4,000 mudras, or gestures through which the dancer portrays complex actions, emotions, and relationships; these gestures are comprehensible to the audience because they have always been at the centre of Indian life and cultural traditions.

In classical ballet, however, the vocabulary of mimed gesture is quite small and is comprehensible to only a few informed spectators, thus considerably limiting its expressive range. Referring to the practical impossibility of communicating, through dance, the complex plots and relationships between characters .

While dance cannot communicate specific events or ideas, it is a universal language that can communicate emotions directly and sometimes more powerfully than words. The French poet Stéphane Mallarmé declared that the dancer, “writing with her bodyBecause dance movements are closely related to the gestures of ordinary life, the emotions they express can be immediately understood, partly through a visual appreciation of the gesture and partly through a sympathetic kinesthetic response

 

 

From the anthropological point of view, dance can be defined as a cultural practice and as a social ritual, whereby dance is seen as a means of aesthetic pleasure and a means for establishing ties and specific structure in the community.

 

 Dance as a social ritual can be considered in the light of the symbolic aspects of a specific culture and in the light of the processes of identification and differentiation through the meanings that it produces for the individuals in this culture.

 

 Dance always bears a specific meaning, which depends on the social setting in which it appears.

 

a.    For example: if in a particular dance a man turns a woman under his arm, in the literal sense, on the denotative level, this body movement conveys a meaning of a dance turn. But on the broader cultural, connotative level, this movement can talk about male domination and female subordination.

 

b.    In a certain segment of modern Western societies, women’s powerful and enthusiastic movement of hips and buttocks is labelled as obscene, excessive and signifying vulgarity and immorality, but this same movement in some segments of the same society indicates female confidence and self-esteem and serves as a  sign of female liberation and gender equality.

c.    Moreover, this very same hip and buttocks movement in ceremonial ritual dances of some African tribes can bear only the meaning of worship and glorification of woman’s uterus and thus of fertility of female being.

 

 

One argument like that dance as a specific language is a socially-historical phenomenon, dependent on the space and time in which it exists and dependent on the power structures that rule in that time. Dance is a learned cultural practice; Polhemus (1993: 8) says that societies create dances and that dance is actually a ‘metaphysics of culture’, because a culture of specific society is embodied in the forms of material and physical culture, and the latter is also stylized and schematized in the form of dance.

 

  

In the anthropological perspective, dance is dealt with as a cultural practice and a social life. There is much dancing all around the world. People dance for fun, pleasure, leisure, for money, for their jobs, for their self-expression, for the sake of tradition, for ritual purposes etc.

 

As such, dance should be examined as a part of everyday life, whether in Argentina, India, America, England, Jamaica, Senegal, Tanzania, New Zealand, Russia, Turkey, Slovenia or Australia.

 

Beside the presentation of dance in all these geographical contexts, different questions regarding dance in contemporary societies are also opened in this issue. In the context of globalization and some also in the context of the capitalist world market.

 

These dances – nowadays widely socially accepted – were at that time labelled as dances with entirely inappropriate moves, which could impair the morality of British society. In public discourses of that time one could find labels such as ‘degenerated and dirty moves’ or they were even described as ‘‘primitive, barbaric, eccentric and dissolute’’ dances.

 

Eg. Micheal Jackson

 

Regarding urban vernacular movement  in globalised Turkey at the edge of Europe and deals with multicultural issues of how difference is embodied and politicised in bodily movement in the gap between Istanbul’s Islamic and secular cultures.

 

An investigation of a northern Indian traditional dance, Kathak, in the globalised world is done by Sarah Morelli. She examines how the traditions of teaching this dance and the whole philosophy behind it have changed in modern conditions, due to the radical socio-political changes in India as well as due to the transplantation of this dance to America and its popularisation.

 

A similar case study of the transplantation of the Caribbean dances and culture to the British area is done the Caribbean migrants in London identify with music and dance from their Caribbean ‘homeland’. These dance-music practices help them to construct themselves as distinct from a dominant white culture.

 

 In a similar manner, A investigation the transplantation of the global dance culture, salsa, to the local Slovenian context. Their interest lies in examining salsa dance as a tool of interpersonal communication and as a global commodified popular culture when exploring the various social functions that salsa can perform in global, individualized, commercialized and highly competitive contemporary societies.

 

Yet another interesting perspective of contemporary dance practices such as  a new dance genre, flash mob dance, consisting of a collective dance event organized in public spaces through mobile phone and internet communication. She argues that such dance practices experience rapid global spread in consumer capitalism and effectively reconfigure urban spaces and performance sites

http://www.drustvo-antropologov.si/AN/PDF/2010_3/Anthropological_Notebooks_XVI_3_Pusnik.pdf

Basic steps and formations

Ballet and modern dance

The style and movement vocabulary of classical ballet is rooted in the five turned-out positions of the feet:

(1) heels touching and feet forming a straight line;

(2) heels apart and feet forming a straight line;

(3) one foot in front of the other with the heel against the instep;

(4) feet apart, one in front of the other; and

 (5) one foot in front of the other with the heel against the joint of the big toe.

Each ballet position https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TLSrI_hXEw&ab_channel=OpusArtehas a corresponding  position of the arms and hands.

 

 

Arabesque and attitude are positions in which the dancer stands on one leg. In arabesque the other leg (called the working leg) is stretched straight out to the back; in attitude, it is bent and may be extended to either the front or the back.

All of these steps may be performed in numerous enchaînements, or combinations, and with the dancers grouped in many different formations. In classical ballet the formations tend to be symmetrical, with circles or lines framing the main dancers at centre stage. 

Modern dance uses many of the steps and positions of classical dance but often in a very different style.

Folk dance

Many of the steps used in folk dance, a term historians use to describe European traditional dances, comprise small hops and skips; running steps; and more energetic Whether single or in pairs, dancers are usually grouped in circles (often two concentric circles moving at the same time) or lines. Within these groupings there are many specific formations; for example, four or more dancers hold hands and move in a circle, or dancers join hands to form an arch under which the others can pass.

Social dance

Except for display, social dances are rarely performed in any strict formation, although dancers may sometimes form themselves spontaneously into lines or circles.  Some of the best-known social dances are the waltz, fox-trot, tango, rumba, samba, and cha-cha.

 

The basic steps of the original rock and roll dances are performed in the traditional ballroom hold. Dancers may then “break” in order to perform different lifts and turns. For example, the man may hold onto the woman’s hand and pivot her under his arm, the woman may jump up with her legs straddling the man’s waist, or the man may catch hold of the woman’s shoulders and slide her between his legs.

 

Michael Somes and George Balanchine.

In most later rock dances, from the twist to disco, it is much rarer for people to dance as partners. There is also a greater stress on free arm and body movements than on set patterns of steps. Disco enthusiasts may incorporate elements of jazz, modern dance, and gymnastics into their repertoire, executing high kicks, turns, and even backflips.

 

Read More

The Elements of Design

 There are a variety of graphic design elements to consider when creating any visual work of art, whether it be for interior design, a logo, an advertisement, or web design. The basic elements of design are:

1.      Color: Color helps establish a mood for your composition. Artists and designers use color to depict and describe the subject. Color is used by designers to portray mood, light, depth, and point of view. Designers use the color wheel and the tenets of color theory—a set of guidelines for mixing, combining, and manipulating colors—to create color schemes.

CColor PALETTES

color story

 

2.      Line: Line refers to the way that two points in space are connected. Whether they’re horizontal lines, diagonal lines, or vertical lines, lines can help direct the eye toward a certain point in your composition. You can also create texture by incorporating different types of lines such as curved or patterned lines instead of just straight lines.

 

3.       3. Value: In design, value refers to the lightness or darkness of a color. The values of a color are often visualized in a gradient, which displays a series of variations on one hue, arranged from the lightest to the darkest. Artists can use the various values of color to create the illusion of mass and volume in their work.

 

4. Space: Making proper use of space can help others view your design as you intended. White space or negative space is the space between or around the focal point of an image. Positive space is the space that your subject matter takes up in your composition. The spacing of your design is important because a layout that’s too crowded can overwhelm the viewer’s eye.

 

5. Shape: In its most basic form, a shape is a two-dimensional area that is surrounded by an outline. Graphic artists can use other elements including line, color, value, and shadow to give a shape the appearance of a three-dimensional shape.

 

1.  There are three types of shapes:
1. organic shapes which occur naturally in the world,
2. geometric shapes which are angular and mathematically consistent, and
3. abstract shapes that represent things in nature but aren’t perfectly representative.

 

6. Form: Form pertains to the way that a shape or physical configuration occupies space. Instead of creating form through three-dimensional physical shape, designers create the appearance of form on a flat surface by using light, shadow, the appearance of an object’s contours, negative space, and the surrounding objects around the subject matter.
7. Texture: Texture is one of the elements of design that is used to represent how an object appears or feels. Tactile texture is a physical sense of touch, whether it’s rough, smooth, or ribbed. Visual texture, on the other hand, refers to the imagined feel of the illustrated texture, which can create more visual interest and a heightened sensory experience.

Read More