Indian Musics

As Immanuel Wallerstein so convincingly describes it, the 'idea of India'=

as we now know it is a recent construction and one decisively influenced =
by
the colonial system. Finding continuities between ancient Sanskrit music
theory and current 'classical' musical practices on the subcontinent is a=

highly speculative task. Alone, the impact of Islamicate (Hodgson's
exacting term) music culture on northern practice and the introduction of=

drones in both north and south would be sufficient factors for viewing
present practice as essentially discontinuous with the ancient. Ancient
theory seems to be largely 'pythagorean' in that a system is contructed b=
y
repeated applications of the same interval division while modern practice=

is a more static, vertical or even proto-harmonic construction. Further,
the interpretation of the old texts is hampered by several undecidables,
among them the definition of a _sruti_: Is a _sruti_ an interval of fixed=

size or is it a conceptual unit akin to the units of Axistoxenus? The
record seems to indicate that the ancient writers were not in agreement,
applying the term in contradictory ways, and this must be determined on a=

case-by-case basis.

It is a conservative assumption that Karnatic (southern) and the related
Sri Lankan traditions have been more conservative than the Hindustani
(northern) traditions. Again, however, the essential presence of the dron=
e
in present practice represents a discontinuity from ancient practice. The=

modern theoretical work in this field which is best respected is P.
Sambamoorthy's five volume _South Indian Music_ (Indian Music Publishing
House, Madras 1960). The (US) dissertations of Harry Powers, T.Viswanatha=
n,
Jon Higgins, K.S. Subramanian, and David Reck are invaluable guides to
contemporary practice.

Brian Lee wrote:


While the instrument he plays may or not be a western violin, the tuning
and technique of playing (held between the player's chest and right inste=
p)
are entirely Karnatic. For exactitude of intonation and the extreme beaut=
y
of the performances, I would reccomend the old Nonesuch LPs of vocalist
K.V. Naranyaswami and flutist/vocalist T. Viswanathan.
=

The pitch vocabulary of south Indian music as actually practiced is much
smaller than that used in the north. The _72 melakarta scheme_ presents a=
ll
36 modes from the possible combinations of two tetrachords a fifth apart
with a natural 4th degree (MA) and all 36 combinations with a sharpened 4=
th
substituted. The tetrachords are described in terms equivalent to
semitones:

Sa Ri Ga Ma

S Rb Gbb M
S Rb Gb M
S Rb G M
S R Gb M
S R G M
S R# G M

No precise intonational values are assigned to these. Attention to
iontonation is focused on the slow _raga alapana_ section of a piece. Fro=
m
T. Viswanathan and K.S. Subramanian, I learned that Ga should always be a=

5/4, Ma 4/3, #Ma 45/32, Pa 3/2. Ri was always a 9/8 in #Ma ragas. Dha was=

usually 27/16, but was lowered to 5/3 when part of an ornament (_gamaka_)=

from the upper Sa. Likewise, 7/4 bNi was sometimes possible as part of an=

ornamented Dha. The intonational description of individual ragas is not
independent of the _gamakas_ and, beyond the generalities described here,=

both _gamakas_ and intonation will vary greatly from musician to musician=

and from school to school. =

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End of TUNING Digest 1564
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