Nitin Singhania Test: Indian Music - 1 - UPSC MCQ

• Similarly, the 11th-century text, Sangeeta Makaranda, was composed by Nanda who enumerated 93 ragas and classified them into feminine and masculine forms.

• Other important texts of this period were Swaramela-Kalanidhi written by Ramam 16th century which again deals primarily with ragas.

• Chaturdandi Prakasika, written by Venkatamakhin in the 17th century, is also famous for the important information on musicology. During the ancient and early medieval period. We find pieces of evidence of the existence of Gurukuls, where students lived with the teacher to become a master in the art of music.

• In the ancient period, the term "Swara" was associated with the Vedas recitation over time; it is used to define the 'note' or 'scale degree in composition.

• In the Natyasastra, Bharata has divided the swaras into twenty-two notes scale. The Hindustani music's notational system is currently defined by these abbreviated was - Sa, re, ga, ma, pa, dha, ni. The Seven Swaras together are called Saptak or Sargam. There are 22 Shrutis or microtones out of which only 12 are audible.

• The rhythmic groupings of beats are called Tala. These rhythmical cycles range from three to 108 beats. According to the concept of tala, the musical time is divided into simple and complicated metres. This theory of time measurement is not similar in Hindustani and Carnatic music.

• The unique point about tala's concept is that it is independent of the music that accompanies it and has its own divisions.

Type of Rasa: Mood it evokes Shringara Love Haasya Humour/Laughter Karuna Pathos Roudra Anger Bhayanak Horror Veer Bravery Adbhuta Wonder Bibhatsa Disgust Shant Peaceful or calm

• Darbhanga Gharana: They sing the Khandar Vani and Gauhar Vani. They emphasize on the raga alap as well as composed songs over an improvised alap.

• They improvise it by incorporating a variety of layakari. The exponents of this school are the Mallik family. Currently, the performing members include Ram Chatur Mallik, Prem Kumar Mallik and Siyaram Tewari.

• Bettiah Gharana: They perform the Nauhar and Khandar Vani styles with some unique techniques that only those trained within the families know.

• The famous family who expounds the system is the Mishras. The living member who performs regularly is Indra Kishore Mishra. Furthermore, the form of Dhrupad prevalent in the Bettiah and Darbhanga schools is known as the Haveli style.

• Talwandi Gharana: They sing the Khandar Vani, but as the family is based in Pakistan, it has become difficult to keep that within Indian music.

• This Gharana is named after the town named Kirana in Uttar Pradesh. Nayak Gopal founded it but making this popular lies with Abdul Karim Khan and Abdul Wahid Khan in the early 20th century.

• The Kirana Gharana is famous for their concern towards precise tuning and expression of notes.

• The Kirana Gharana is better known for their mastery over the slow tempo ragas. They emphasize much more on the melody of the composition and the Clarity of the pronunciation of the text in the song.

• They also prefer the use of traditional ragas or Sargam. They have had a long line of great singers, but the most famous are Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and Gangubai Hangal. The Carnatic exponents from the border regions of Maharashtra and Karnataka are well associated with Kirana Gharana.

Patiala Gharana:

• Bade Fateh Ali Khan and Ali Baksh khan started the Gharana in the 19th century. It received initial sponsorship by the Maharaja of Patiala in Punjab.

• They soon gathered a reputation for ghazal, thumri and khayal. They stress on the use of greater rhythm. As their compositions stress on emotions, they tend to use ornamentation or alankaras in their music. They stress on intricate tanas.

• The most well-known composer from this Gharana is Bade Ghulam Ali Khan Sahab, one of Gharana India's greatest Hindustani classical vocalists who bridged the gap between vocals limited to an elite audience.

• He was well known for his rendition of the Raga Darbari. The Gharana is unique as it uses unique taans, gamak and gayaki of Tarana style.

Tarana Style:

• In this style, rhythm plays a very crucial role. The structure consists of the main melody, usually short, often repeated, with variation and elaboration at the performer's discretion.

• There is a second, contrasting melody, usually with higher notes, introduced once before returning to the main melody. It uses many words that are sung at a fast tempo.

• They focus on producing rhythmic matters, and hence, the singers need specialized training and skills in rhythmic manipulation. Currently, the World's Fastest Tarana Singer is Pandit Rattan Mohan Sharma of the Mewati Gharana.

• In 2011, the audience at Pandit Motiram Sangeet Samaroh in Hyderabad gave him the title of "Tarana ke Baadshah" (King of Tarana).

• Brihat Samhita is a treatise on astrology.

• The history of music that prevailed in India from ancient times goes back to the Vedas. Bharata's Natya Shastra is the earliest treatise we have on music.

• Other treatizes on music after Bharata, such as the Sangeeta Ratnakara of Sarangadeva, Brihaddeshi of Matanga, Swaramela Kalanidhi Ramamatya, Sangeet Sudhakara of Haripal, etc., provide us information about the different aspects of music and its development during different periods.

• Todi should be performed in the late morning. Raga Bhopali should be sung after sunset.

• Bhimpalasi should be sung in the late afternoon. Raga Darbari is a raga in the Kannada family, which is thought to have originated in Carnatic music and brought into North Indian music by Miyan Tansen, the 16th-century composer in Emperor Akbar's court.

• Musical instruments like seven holed flute and Ravanahatha have been recovered from Indus Valley Civilisation sites.

• The Jaimini Brahmana speaks collectively of dance and music.

• Dhrupad is pure music without distraction o f words.

• The seven swaras together are called Saptak or Sargam.

• The emotions which are evoked through the singing and playing of instruments are called Rasas.

• The rhythmic grouping of beats is called Tala.

• A system of classification of the ragas in different groups is called That.

• Dhrupad is one of the oldest and grandest forms of Hindustani classical music and finds its mention even in Natya Shastra (200 BCE-200 AD).

• The name is derived from 'Dhruva' and 'Pada,' which means that it denotes both verse form of the poetry and the style in which it is sung.

• Although Dhrupad consolidated its position as a classical form of music in the 13th century, it reached its peak in the court of Emperor Akbar.

• Abul Fazl, courtier and chronicler at the Emperor Akbar's court, defines the dhrupad verse form in his Ain-e-Akbari as 'four rhyming lines, each of indefinite prosodic length'.

• Dhrupad alap's elaboration is done using the syllables of a mantric phrase; it is slow in the beginning and raises tempo after some time.

• Dhrupad and khyal are the two forms of classical singing that exist today in North India.

• Originated in the eastern part of Uttar Pradesh, the term 'Thumri' is derived from the Hindi verb thumakna which means 'to walk with dancing steps to make the ankle-bells tinkle'.

• Thus, the form is connected with dance, dramatic gestures, mild eroticism, evocative love poetry, and folk songs of Uttar Pradesh, though there are regional variations.

• The text is romantic or devotional in nature and usually revolves around a girl's love for Krishna.

• Thumri is characterized by its sensuality, and by a greater flexibility with the raag.

• The lyrics are usually in Uttar Pradesh dialects of Hindi called Awadhi and Braj Bhasha.

• This is the characteristic of Tappa style, not Thumri.

• The structure and presentation of Thumri are very lyrical. These forms are 'semi' or Tight' classical. Thumri is a love song, and therefore the textual beauty is essential.

• Thumri is closely coordinated with the musical rendition. Keeping in mind its mood, Thumri is usually set to ragas like Kaphi, Khamaj, Bhairavi and so on and the musical grammar is not strictly adhered to.

• The Tillana, similar to the Tarana of Hindustani music, is in a short and crisp form. It is mainly a dance form, but it sometimes finds a place in music concerts as a conclusive piece on its brisk and attractive music.

• It usually begins with jatis. It is the liveliest of musical forms.

• The Khyal of Hindustani music has common elements with the Pallavi of Carnatic music.

• Hindustani instrumental performance, in Khyal performances, the tempo does not gradually increase, but the tala cycle may be suddenly halved at some point in effect doubling the tempo.

• Tanam is a branch of raga alapana. It is raga alapana in Madhyamakala or medium speed.

• There is a perceptible rhythm in this. The rhythmical flow of music, flowing in fascinating patterns, makes tanam singing the most captivating part of raga exposition.

• The word 'Senia' is related to Tansen, who is the father of Indian classical music. The word 'Gharana' suggests a style of music.

• Tansen's school of music is widely known as the followers of 'Senia Gharana' (i.e., 'Seniya' school of music).

• Tansen was a vocalist, but this tradition has also produced great Sitar Maestros.

The 'Senia' style of Sitar playing started with the great master of Sitar, Ustad Maseet Sen from the family of Tansen. Ustad Masit Sen is the originator of 'Masitkhani' style.