Music 1102A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 22: Plucked String Instrument, Sitar, Sympathetic String
25 Apr 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Raga (color or musical scale) solo instrumental performance played ti colour the emperor"s mood or day emerged during india"s mughal period. Schools for raga performance exist globally today. Sitar plucked string instrument that has 18 strings. Three sets of strings: playing strings, drone strings, and sympathetic strings. All strings fastened to the neck of sitar. Player wears wire plectrum (pick) on right index nger. Raga scalar patterns with distinct melodic shapes, each with a certain character. Originally raga associated with times of day. Each solo begins with an improvisatory exploration of the raga. Indian music requires melodic soloist, separate drone instrument, and accompanying drummer. For example: sitar, tambura(plucked drone instrument), tabla (two drums with variable pitch) Alap intro section, with sitar and tambura, explores raga. Jhala more pulsed improvisation, repeated striking of the drone string. Gat tora meter set by tabla drums. Always established in gat tora section of a raga.
