INDIA
FLAG
Capital:
New Delhi
Largest City:
Mumbai
Official Language:
Hindi
Demonym:
Indian
Currency:
Indian Rupee (INR)
Religion:
Hinduism (79.8%)
India is the
largest country
in South Asia.
Vocal Music of India
❖ includes Carnatic and Hindustani
music, and several types of folk and
popular music
❖ uses melismatic singing with nasal
vocal quality
Samagana
❖singing based on a set of
pitches popular during the
Vedic times
Sama Veda
❖ a sacred text, were sung as Samagana and
not chanted
❖ is the third of the four Vedas of Hinduism
but ranks next to Rig Veda (Rigveda) in
terms of its sanctity and liturgical
importance
Rig Veda
❖ is also sung in the Samagana traditional
singing style
❖ is counted as first among the four canonical
sacred texts of Hinduism known as Vedas
Rig Veda
❖ is an ancient Indian sacred collection of
Vedic Sanskrit hymns
Characteristics of Traditional Indian Music
Carnatic Music
❖ refers to music from South India
❖ directed to a Hindu god, which is why it is called
“temple music”
❖ Music pieces are mainly set for the voice and
with lyrics.
❖ Compositions called krti are devotional songs.
Characteristics of Traditional Indian Music
Carnatic Music
❖ is unified where schools are based on the:
▪ same ragas
▪ same solo instruments (veena, flute,
violin)
▪ same rhythm instruments (mridangam
and ghatam)
Characteristics of Traditional Indian Music
Hindustani Music
❖ goes back to Vedic period times around 1000 BC
❖ further developed in the 13th and 14th centuries
AD with Persian influences and from existing
religious and folk music
❖ predominantly found in the northern and
central regions
Characteristics of Traditional Indian Music
Hindustani Music
❖enriched by the Persian
performance practices of the
Mughal area
❖nasal singing is observed in their
vocal music
Characteristics of Traditional Indian Music
Hindustani Music
❖In North India, the most
common style of singing is
called khyal, a word which
means “imagination”
Instrumental Music of India
❖Hindustani Sangeet – instruments
used in North Indian music
❖Carnatic Sangeet – instruments
used in South Indian music
Classification of Indian Musical Instruments
1. Ghan
❖ described as a non-membranous
percussive instrument but with solid
resonators
❖ is one of the oldest classes of
instrument in India
Classification of Indian Musical Instruments
1. Ghan
Kartal Manjira
Ghatam Nout
Classification of Indian Musical Instruments
2. Avanaddh
❖described as a membranous
percussive instrument
❖typically comprise the drums
Classification of Indian Musical Instruments
2. Avanaddh
Daf Tabla Dhol
(Duf, Daphu)
Classification of Indian Musical Instruments
3. Sushir
❖also known as blown air
❖is characterized by the use of
air to excite the various
resonators
Classification of Indian Musical Instruments
3. Sushir
Bansuri Shehnai Surpeti
Shankh
Classification of Indian Musical Instruments
4. Tat
❖referred to as vina during the old
civilization
❖Instruments in this class are
plucked (stringed instruments)
Classification of Indian Musical Instruments
4. Tat
Sitar
Gottuvadyam
Ektar
Rabab Gopichand
Classification of Indian Musical Instruments
5. Vitat
❖ described as bowed stringed instruments
❖ is of the oldest classifications of
instruments and yet did not occupy a place
in classical Indian music until the last few
centuries
Classification of Indian Musical Instruments
5. Vitat
Chikara
Banam
Esraj
Sarangi
