Understanding Hindustani Music

This particular music was performed in Rollins College in Florida, A Liberal Arts college, by and for College students. The Instruments featured in this video include one aerophone, the bansuri, one chordophone, the very famous Sitar, and two membraneophones, the mrdangam and the tabla. All of these instruments are classical Indian instruments used in both Hidustani and Karnatic music cultures.

The structure of the music follows Classical Hindustani traditional music, the raga, closely. Both the sitar and the bansuri have independent solos accompanied by either the mrdangam and/or the tabala. Occasionally the two instruments came together to create a heterophony, but for the most part the music remained in a homophonous state. Much of the music appears to be improvised. Both instruments improvised using characteristic arohana/avarohana scales. The sitar provides a fairly constant drone throughout both its own solos and the bansuri’s as well.

Both drummers provide a beat throughout the performance but the beat varies between very fast to slow. The timing is simple duple. While staying a relatively uncomplicated beat the variations in tone of the drums, enhanced the overall texture of the song as well as tie both parts from the bansuri and the sitar together, creating a consistency, which otherwise might have been lost through improvisation. The drums occasionally worked together, the mrdangam creating a deep (pitch), constant counting beat, while the tabala provided a varying texture to the music.

Music of India