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Carnatic music is the classical music of South India, with 'classical' taken as meaning a style 'adhering to an established set of principles of regularity, balance and purity of form marked by stability of form, intellectualism and restraint' (Collins dictionary).
The Carnatic raga is presented through various styles of composition, improvisation – both a-rhythmically and within rhythmic structures – and rhythmic patterns precomposed within various mathematical calculations. The complexity of these rhythmic ideas has been and is being developed and refined through the ages, by the rigorous practice and perfection of rhythmic calculations, creating arguably the world's most sophisticated rhythmic form. The legacy of previous great musicians is also captured in their compositions which are handed down to the next generation of musicians and are notated using 'sargam' – a script-dependent syllabic notation. Thus it is a style which both preserves the musical ideas of great masters of the past and evolves with the performances of living musicians.
In examining the Carnatic tradition I shall look firstly at the origins of the separation of Carnatic music from Hindustani; secondly at the teaching process that emerged from this separation: the primary focus on the voice, the first exercises, the first songs, the early rhythmic patterns and the introduction to the Carnatic approach to the alapana; thirdly, I will briefly overview the form and the most common composition structure, and finally, the best learning environment, the live performance.
The word Carnatic or Karnatic is derived from Karnataka, where the first patron of Carnatic music, Krishna Deva Raya of the Vijayangar court, and more significantly, Purandaradasa (1480-1564), the 'grandfather' of Carnatic music, lived. At this time the influence of the Mughals and their predecessors in Northern India was being manifest strongly in the arts and in musical performance styles. Instruments were changing; the devotional purpose of music was substituted by the secular entertainment required by the patron, and new song styles were emerging. Purandaradasa devoted much of his life, after a religious experience, to preserving the older practice of the religiously inspired music. He laid out the first exercises and songs that every student still learns at the beginning of their Carnatic musical training.
The devotional purpose of music as the communication between man and God means that the lyrics and delivery of the raga are very important. The lyrics – primarily in Sanskrit, Tamil or Telugu, and less frequently in Kannada or Malayalam – speak of the range of devotional experience from praise and wonder to longing and despair.
The vocal experience is considered essential as a preliminary musical experience. The lyrics of the songs must be understood and the musical skills required to accurately control the raga and tala must first be vocally articulated. This requires great dexterity of pitch and rhythmic articulation. The system of learning has therefore developed to equip the musician with these skills – thus everything that is played on an instrument can, by and large, be sung.
The first exercises or 'Sarali Varasai' are of a scalar nature using the Indian sargam, and are practised using different ragas at three speeds, doubling tempo at each stage. This exposes the ear and voice to different interval patterns within the raga and different scalar patterns within the note names, e.g.
Sa Ri Sa Ri - - - Sa Ri Ga Ma
Sa Ri Ga Ma - - - Pa Dha Ni Sa
Sa Ni Sa Ni - - - Sa Ni Dha Pa
Sa Ni Dha Pa - - - Ma Ga Ri Sa
A second set of exercises called 'Janta Varasai' introduce repeated notes for ornamentation in joining notes and rhythmic motifs, e.g.
Sa, SaRi, Ri GaGa
SaSa RiRi GaGa MaMa
Ri, RiGa, Ga MaMa
RiRi GaGa MaMa PaPa …etc.
Rhythmic exercises or 'Akshara', follow, using different combinations or beat structures: the 'druta' (beat and wave), 'anudruta' (wave) and 'laghu' (beat plus finger count). These exercises are sung using sargam note patterns at three speeds, and require the accurate control of the beat, and the sense of where in the rhythmic cycle the note patterns lie. This develops into melodic patterns which cross the beat, whilst the full rendition of the exercise fills the final cycle, characteristic of the summative nature of Indian rhythm.
Songs or 'Gita' are learnt next, also in a rote fashion, copying the teacher, although like the exercises, the gita are also written in the first Carnatic book. At this stage the 'gamakas' – the ornamentation between and around notes of the melody – become more important. The phrasing of each syllable is sung by the teacher and copied by the student, allowing the melody line to be transmitted very clearly: any doubt about pitch can be clarified with reference to the note names, and the gamakas can be individually addressed as required. In the gamakas lies the beauty of the raga. They are treated differently by the two Indian classical music traditions and are needed to capture the essence of each style. The 'bhava', or mood, can be clearly explained and demonstrated by the teacher. The voice is encouraged to be very open and unforced to enable maximum ease in this respect.
Through compositions, which are a dominant feature of Carnatic music, the student covers a wide range of songs in different ragas early in the learning process. This contrasts with the Hindustani styles of khyal and dhrupad, which may concentrate for weeks and even months on one raga.
Within the context of the song, the teacher can introduce melodic patterns within the rhythmic discipline of a precomposed nature: this is called 'niraval', and when practised by the experts is an element where individual creative musicianship comes to the fore. For the benefit of learning, this enables the teacher to prescribe rhythmic sargam patterns (within the grasp of the student) which must be memorised, and thereby become a further building block in their musical understanding. For example, they can be uniform rhythmic patterns repeating at different points in the raga structure ascending and descending; they can gradually increase from one note to two, to three, and so on, or decrease from seven to six, or as fits the raga, to one. This happens within the structure of the hand held tala, focusing increased attention on the exact place within the beat that the pattern will begin in order to end on the 'Sama' - the first beat of the next cycle.
The melodic opening of the raga presentation or 'alapana' involves free improvisation using the notes and intervals of the chosen raga. Simple alapana phrases for the beginner come from the first section of the alapana 'proper', that is the 'Akshiptika' , which means 'the introduction or short summary of the raga from the lower register to the top register' . This allows the student to hear the teacher improvise freely, with their ear already familiar with the raga through the song or composition previously learnt. Short phrases can be copied, and with time and experience the student can begin to create their own, taking inspiration from the composition as well as from their teacher.
In performance, the Carnatic raga is presented in a set form beginning with free improvisation in the alapana , followed by a composition , and finally improvisation based on rhythmic ideas using the notes of the chosen raga. This latter part is known as the 'svara' section, culminating in the 'korvai' – a precomposed rhythmic calculation also articulated through the notes of the raga.
The most common form of composition is the 'Kriti' , a model which Purandaradasa used, but which gained its highest popularity in the 18th Century. This was a golden era for Carnatic music, which witnessed a proliferation of great compositions, particularly from the three most famous saint-composers Tyagaraja, Dikshitar and Syama Sastri (whose compositions are performed in almost every Carnatic concert today). The Kriti has three parts – the 'pallavi' (first theme), the 'anupallavi' (second theme in the upper register) and the 'charanam' , which means 'foot', and is the part which captures the essence of the raga's individuality. This is sometimes followed by 'chittaisvara' , a section of rhythmic svaras added by the composer.
Carnatic concerts provide the best learning opportunity for the budding musician, listening to live performances and entering into the musical experience. The threefold challenge is first to listen to identify the raga, and then to hold the tala, a practice maintained by experienced listeners, meanwhile following the development of the alapana, composition and svara, with the final climax of the korvai. Alternatively, you sit back and enjoy, but the knowledge of these increases that enjoyment.
The value of developing an understanding of the structures and forms inherent in Carnatic music cannot be more eloquently described than by the great master himself:
'The art of creative music is like an ocean never to be fathomed. More and more knowledge and exposure increases appreciation and sensitivity.' top
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