13. OVERVIEW OF HINDUSTANI MUSIC AND NOTATIONS
The Hindustani system or Classical Music is based
on Sapthaswaras. Hindustani style abounds in Gamaka (oscillating) usages,
use of half Notes, and Nuances. Indian music is known for its complex use of
microtones. But for notation and explanation, we divide an octave into 12
semitones as we do in the Western-style. We use a movable scale, an octave can
start anywhere. The starting point is the root of an octave; all the other notes
are defined in relation to the root. Each of the 12 notes in the octave has a
unique identity, given by S, r, R, g, G, m, M, P, d, D, n, N.
Sa and Pa are fixed notes because they form a very
powerful harmonic combination. The other notes are variable and can be sung in
two different ways each - either natural (shuddha) or flat/sharp
(Komal/ Teevra) in relation to the natural. So, there are only seven distinct
note names in the chromatic scale - sa re ga ma pa dha ni. With the exception
of sa and pa, all the other notes (re, ga, ma, dha, and ni) have two notation
IDs each, one denoted by a small letter and one by a capital letter to
distinguish between the two versions. Notice that the final sa is notated S',
with an apostrophe after it. Notes in octaves below or above your basic octave
are notated with apostrophes before or after them to show which octave they
belong to.
Solmization is not just a form of voice training in
the Hindustani tradition - it is also used now and again during the musical
performance as one of the tools for improvisation. Singing in solfege is called
singing in "Sargam," an acronym created by combining the first four
sol-fa syllables (sa re ga ma). The full names of the notes (Shadja, Rishabha,
Gandhara, Madhyama, Panchama, Dhaivata, and Nishaada) are used rarely.
The Basic Seven-Note Scale
The chromatic scale comprises twelve notes
separated by uniform intervals, but it is much easier to create pleasing
melodies by combining notes separated by non-uniform intervals. Since ragas are
so central to Indian classical music, always it shall be looked out for note
combinations that offer significant melodic potential. There are about 500 ragas
in the Hindustani tradition known now.
All new students of Hindustani classical music
begin by learning the all-natural (all shuddha) seven-note scale comprising S R
G m P D N as we begin with Major Scale in Western.
Major Scale in Western: Bilawal (Ascent: S R G m P
D N S' / Descent: S' N D P m G R S) in Hindustani.
In Hindustani classical music, notating music for
performance purposes is not practiced because a classical music artist is one who
is capable of extemporaneous raga development, and classical music
performance is an act of extemporaneous raga development. A notation is used to
teach and learn music, and as an aid to memory. While learning a new raga,
notation of a few basic melodic phrases, patterns, and simple compositions in
that raga is done, so that the raga can be recalled later.
Rhythm Table
In Hindustani classical music, the melody is notated
around the rhythm.
Standard Teentaal - 16 beats (4/4/4/4)
dhaa dhin dhin dhaa/ dhaa dhin dhin dhaa/ dhaa tin
tin taa/ taa dhin dhin dhaa
Notating the Composition
Usually the refrain (1st stanza, called sthaayii)
which is separated from the second stanza (called antaraa). Compositions in
Hindustani classical music is structured to fit nicely into the grove of the
rhythm. In addition, it is also important for a composition to make sure that
the end of each stanza falls exactly at the point in the rhythm cycle from
where the refrain can be picked up again. So, for instance, if the refrain
begins on beat 9, every stanza will end on beat 8 so that a singer can pick up
the refrain again on the next beat.
Melody Notation Symbols
Octave can be moved up or down so long as the
positions of the notes relative to each other remain the same. Apart from the
notes, there are a few other symbols that can be used in the notations.
A hyphen (-)
indicates smooth elongation of a vowel on the same note.
A blank
cell indicates a break (nothing to be sung) for the duration of the beat(s) in
question.
A colon (:
) indicates a half-beat break in the melody. This creates a syncopation effect.
An
exclamation mark (!) marks a sharp break in the melody, achieved by forceful
enunciation of the preceding syllable.
A divider
line or vertical bar (|) marks the end of one line of lyric
A comma (,)
indicates a slight natural pause, or separates syllables in cases where one
syllable ends in the same vowel that the next one begins with.
Vowel
sounds or nasals separated by periods (a.a.a / i.i.i / n.n.n, etc.) mark a
gamak.
(A gamak
requires distinct enunciation of each instance of the vowel/nasal consonant in
question).
Note that each line of melody/lyric is transcribed
only once, and no information is provided about the repetition of a line or stanza.
This is because there are no fixed rules for how many times a certain line or
stanza should be repeated. That depends on the singer, the context, what sounds
natural at that moment, and so on.
Romanized Transcription of Hindustani Lyrics
The traditional system of notation uses the
Devanagari script, which is ideal because the lyrics of Hindustani music
compositions are almost always in a dialect of Hindi. But with the
globalization and digitization of Indian music, it is becoming more common to
romanize for the sake of convenience.
An intuitive and somewhat simplified system for romanizing
the lyrics is also followed for even those who do not know Hindi to be able to
achieve a pronunciation as close to native speakers as possible without having
to go through special training to understand the transcription code (those who
know Hindi, of course, will have no problem guessing the words).
Even though the transcription code is mostly
intuitive, the following characters may merit a brief explanation:
aa = open "a" sound (as in "car"
and "bar"); a = closed
"a" sound (as in "funny" and "run") or a schwa
sound (as in "about" or "another"); i = "i" sound (as in
"bit"); u = "u"
sound (as in "put"); e = used
for both the æ sound (as in "bat" and "cat") and an
elongated "e" sound (somewhere between "bet" and
"bait"); o = two kinds of
"o" sounds (as in "horse" as well as "show"); d = a soft "d" sound; D = a hard "d" sound; dh = an aspirated "d"; Dh = an aspirated "D"; t = a soft "t" sound; T = a
hard "t" sound; th = an
aspirated "t"; Th = an
aspirated "T"
The lyrics of the composition, in addition to being
part of the notation table, are also written out separately under the title
line. Sometimes it is necessary to provide a clear version of the lyrics separately
because the words get distorted in notation, not to mention that the lack of
spaces make it hard to tell where one word ends and another begins.
The Traditional Notation System
There have been many systems of notation in
Hindustani classical music over the centuries, but a system proposed by
musicologist Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande (1860-1936) gained widespread acceptance
during the early 20th century, and is commonly used to this day in music
textbooks and other arenas within the Hindustani classical music community.
The Bhatkhande system uses the Devanagari (Hindi) script for the notes and the
lyrics, and a few other simple symbols.
The Bhatkhande system of notation
The traditional system assumes that students are
familiar with the basic rhythm patterns. Given the information that the
composition is in Teentaal, one is expected to know that Teentaal comprises
four sections of four beats each, and that the first beat of the third section
of this cycle is muted. The rhythm markers in notation, therefore, are quite
minimalist. In fact, they are "section markers" rather than
"rhythm markers." Three types of section markers are used. A cross
(x) indicates the first section. A small circle (o) denotes a section with a
muted first-beat. If a section is neither the first section nor starts with a
muted beat, it is simply denoted by the section number.
The melody is notated using the sol-fa syllables of
the notes and a few other symbols. The sol-fa syllables of the notes are Sa,
Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, and Ni (romanized from Devanagari). Flat versions of notes
(not featured in this particular example) are shown by an underline. A sharp is
denoted by a vertical line above the note. If a note belongs to the octave
above or below the main octave, a dot is placed above or below the note. A
hyphen indicates that the previous note is to be elongated. When two notes need
to be sung within the space of a single beat, they are joined underneath by a
curved line.
The lyrics are written in the middle row, syllable
by syllable, to show what syllable must be sung to what note and at which beat.
A symbol resembling a large "S" is used to indicate that a syllable
must be elongated or sustained for the beat(s) in question.
The Bhatkhande system works well for those who
notate music by hand in Devanagari, but it poses problems for those trying writing
or sharing notations digitally for uniformity and the digitization of Indian
music is still in its initial stage and there is a lot of experimentation going
on. Until a new system suited for the digital medium, it is perfected and
popularized and we may have no choice but to put up with this lack of
uniformity. Most websites, however, provide at least a cursory explanation of
their notation system.
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