MUS 110 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Mridangam, Sympathetic String, Shruti Box
Document Summary
The silk road went right through northern india, so it was a hub of all these cultures. Pakistan is very impacted by central asia. Independence from britain in 1947 (thanks a lot to ghandi) Tambura - 4 string chordophone, creates drone sound, plays the tonic: i v v i. Sarod - chordophone, centerpiece of the ensemble, 3 sets of strings: drone strings, melody string, and sympathetic strings. Tabla - provides rhythm(s), is actually two drums: the bala and the tabla. * heavily tied into extramusical features (especially higher powers and deities) Alap: introduction of the song, usually just the drone sound, pretty quiet. Jor/jhala: the rest of the song, as the song builds and builds and more instruments come in, the rhythm becomes steady. Gat: a metered composition that sets the scale of the piece; it"s just a scale and the sarod player creates a melody by improvising. This makes communication and connection through the ensemble essential.
