| Series |
Oxford monographs on music
Oxford monographs on music. ^A256395
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| Contents |
Introduction. A rag performance ; Some prefatory remarks ; The aims and scope of the present study -- Theoretical perspectives I: musical time in Indian cultural perspective. Time measurement ; Musical performance as process ; Cyclicity in musical and cosmic time. Time in Indian thought ; Images of cyclicity in music ; Linearity, narrativity, and cyclicity -- Theoretical perspectives II: general theories of rhythm and metre. Metre: an ethnomusicological perspective. Problems of metre in ethnomusicology ; Three theories on metre ; The subjectivity of metre -- Metre vs. rhythm in Western and Indian music ; Metre, cognition, and the present ; Additive or complex metre. From additive and divisive rhythm ; To irregular or complex metre -- Summary: six statements on metre -- Tal theory as a model of rhythmic organization. An outline of tal theory. Implications of tal theory ; Limitations of tal theory -- Tal as metric structure. Syllabic style and a 'syllabic' model of rhythmic organization ; Melismatic style and a 'melismatic' model of rhythmic organization ; The tabla theka and a hybrid model of rhythmic organization ; Summary: a unified model of rhythmic organization in North Indian music -- Tal in practice: quantitative, qualitative, and cyclic functions. Tal in practice. Common tals of North Indian music ; Functions of tal -- Quantitative functions: time measurement and division. Clap patterns (cheironomy) ; Theka and time measurement ; The relationship between clap pattern and theka -- Qualitative functions: rhythmic character and accentual patterns. Observations of the character of tals. Seven-matra tals ; Ten-matra tals ; Twelve-matra tals -- Theka as accentual pattern -- Cyclicity. Theka and cyclicity: the case of tintal ; Cyclicity in practice -- Summary: tal functions in and the theoretical model of rhythmic organization -- Lay: tempo and rhythmic density. The concept of lay in Hindustani music. Definition and usage of the term ; Tempo and metrical structure ; Determining the effective pulse rate -- The measurement of lay. Determining lay (tempo and rhythmic density) ; Lay in performance. Tempo ; Rhythmic density ; Cycle length -- Variation of tempo in performance -- Performance practice and rhythm in Hindustani music. Elements of performance and their organization ; Alap: unmetred (anibaddh) forms. Alap: pulsed or unpulsed? ; Theoretical perspectives ; An example of instrumental alap -- Jor: metred or unmetred? -- Bandis and development: metred (nibaddh) forms. development techniques and their resolution into rhythmic parameters ; Performance processes. Episodic organization of development ; Acceleration -- The percussion accompaniment -- The bandis. The place and importance of the bandis. The length of the bandis -- Rhythmic structure of vocal bandises. Verse metre and text distribution -- Rhythmic structure in instrumental gats. Vilambit gats ; Madhya lay gats ; Drut gats -- Further issues in bandis structure. Mukhras in vocal and instrumental bandises ; A note on the antara and variation of structure between lines ; Variation of the bandis structure -- Development techniques and processes. Rag-oriented development. Vocal performance ; Instrumental performance -- Rhythm and/or text-oriented development. Vocal performance ; Instrumental performance -- Laykari: rhythmic variation. The concept of laykari ; Divisive laykari: definition and variation of lay ratio. Terminology ; Usage ; Lay bant ; Rhythmic patterns and grouping structure -- Generation and variation of rhythmic patterns. Variation and development ; Yati ; Cadential techniques ; Tihai ; Cakkardar and nauhar tihais ; Sam and visam in laykari -- Usage of laykari techniques. Laykari in improvisation ; Computation in laykari -- A case study in rhythmic analysis: instrumental vilambit and Madhya lay gats in the repertoire of Deepak Choudhury (Maihar Gharana). The case study ; Results. Tal structure ; Gat structure ; Development procedures ; Lay ; Accompaniment style ; Correlation of rhythmic parameters -- North Indian rhythmic organization in cross-cultural perspective. Metre and tal. Six statements revisited ; Tal and the general study of metre -- Free rhythm and music without tal. Free rhythm and alap ; Free rhythm and metre in music without tal -- Tal metre, and free rhythm - a summary. |
| Abstract |
This book is the first major study of rhythm, metre, and form in North Indian rag, or classical, music. This book presents a theoretical model for the organization of time in this repertory, a model which is related explicitly to other spheres of Indian thought and culture as well as to current ideas on musical time in alternative repertories - including that of Western music. This theoretical model is elucidated and illustrated with reference to numerous musical examples drawn from authentic recorded performances, many of which can be found on the accompanying CD. These examples clarify key Indian musicological concepts such as tal (metre), lay (tempo or rhythm), and laykari (rhythmic variation). More generally, the volume addresses the implications of cognitive processes for the organization of musical time, and the relationships between performance practice, theoretical speculation, and the organization of rhythm and metre. Written in a clear and accessible style and illustrated with 102 music examples and diagrams, it will appeal to anyone interested in Indian aesthetic forms and the study of musical time. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (pages 218-224), discography (p. 216-217) and index. |
| LCCN | 2001267180 |
| ISBN | 0198166869 |
