Indian Music

The Indian Hindustani Classical singer that I have chosen is called Pandith Ganapathi Bhat. He is one of the popular North Indian Classical singer. Hindustani Music is related to North part of India where as Carnatic Music originated in South India. Throughout the song there is a constant drone which is provided by the instrument tambura. Tambura is the long instrument at the back. In this video there where two drones playing the same notes. There were two other instruments in the music that provided the melody to the song, namely the harmonium and the Tabla. The start of the song indentifies the raga for the audience and an indication to the accompaniments to play a certain way. The song contains of major pauses to allow the singer to be able to gasp enough air for the next phrase. Some of the notes are prolonged to show the singing capability of the singer by vary the pitch of a certain note. The song is about rain and how it is time to enjoy the harvest season. There is a constant repetition of the refrain continuously throughout the song. The tabla does not join the singer for a prolonged period of time since the raga of the song is unknown till the singer starts the song. On average all classical Indian music has duration of between seven to 20 minutes for one piece of music. The singer has to be trained for at least 15 years to be able to sing at such a complex level. This very singer is trained by Pt Basav Raj Rajguru.
The song can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L11m8jiun1o
The entire concert is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohZSRHavsCE