Homepage >> This Page

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC: AN OVERVIEW

by David Courtney working tools


Instrumental music occupies an impor­tant posi­tion in In­dian music.  It is one of the threefold aspects of "sangeet" (vocal music, instrumental music, and dance), and has a very ancient his­tory.  Instrumental music is known as "vadhya sangeet".

Most In­dian in­stru­ments serve one of three func­tions.  There is the melodic func­tion, there is a rhyt­hmic func­tion, and there is the drone.  It is not unusual for two or more func­tions to be joined together; for insta­nce the sitar is a melodic instrument, yet built into it are drone strings.  The tabla is a rhyt­hmic instrument, yet the precise clear pitch of the instrument gives it some of the qualities of a drone.



There is a ge­ne­ral tendency for the melodic in­stru­ments to follow quite closely the vocal styles.  Yet, the degree to which an instrument follows is primarily linked to the dynamics of the instrument.

Dynamics is the nature of the loudness of an instrument.  This is not intended to mean loudness in the usual interpretation, but rather the amplitudinal char­acter­is­tics of the instrument.  The sitar and flute offer a good illustration.  A flute is continuously excited, therefore there is a steady sound as long as the breath is applied.  Since it is pos­sible to sustain a sound for a long time, it is pos­sible to perform all kinds of delicate meends (glissando), gamaks or other ornamentation.  Instruments with a long sustain tend to follow the vocal styles in their pres­entation.  Contrast this to a sitar with its rapid decay.  The sound is essen­tially inaudible within a few se­conds.  Many types of ornamentation cannot be ex­ecu­ted due to this quick decay.

This creates an ar­tis­tic pres­sure for these in­stru­ments to develop their own styles.  These styles enhance the strong points while avoiding the weaknesses.  Over the years they have be­come formalised into four major instrumental styles known as: alap, jor, gat and jhala.  The alap is a slow rhythmless elaboration upon the rag.  The jor is a sec­tion that has rhythm but no developed rhyt­hmic cycle (i.e., tal).  The gat is the fully developed piece, while the jhala is a fast rhyt­hmic interplay bet­ween the drone strings and the main play­ing strings.

 

Pages for "Instrumental Music"
  • Tabla - An introduction to the tabla.
     
  • Tablasite - An in-depth series of re­sour­ces for the tabla.
     
  • Sarangi - An over­view of the sarangi and portal to a series of pages on the instrument.
  • Dilruba - An over­view of the dilruba and portal to a series of pages on the instrument.
  • Esraj - Introduction to the Esraj
     


 

Selected Video

 

 

 

 

 


© 1998 - 2020 David and Chandrakantha Courtney

For comments, cor­rections, and sug­gestions, kindly contact David Courtney at [email protected]