Music Ethnography

Introduction:
Indian music has various types of music ranging from classical music to film music. Even through both of these music forms are very popular the back-bone for any variation originated from Indian Classical Music. When you start to analyze the Indian Classical Music you come across another diversion in type of Music, one being Hindustani Music and the other Carnatic Music. The main difference being Carnatic Music originates from South India whilst Hindustani Music originates from North India. Since Dallas area has an enormous number of Indian families, Indian Classical Music has been incorporated into the society. Within the Dallas region, Carnatic Music is more popular due to the geographical origins of these Indians. Due to my growing interests to learn the basic structure of Indian Classical Music, I therefore choose one of the divisions namely: Carnatic Music as my music ethnography research within the Dallas area to compare it with India from where its origins can be found.
Methodology:
One of the most useful places that came across for this research paper would be recourses that I found on the internet. Even though at times clarification was required due to my lack of knowledge about Carnatic Music, I was able to approach people here whom are being taught Carnatic Music and/or my mom who is a professional singer to clarify these doubts. The event which I attended was conducted by a young artist who had just finished her requirements to be classified as a professional singer. This event took place at the McKinney Performance Art Center on a Saturday. The setup of the stage was very basic. In the center of the stage was where the singer sat and around her there where various instrument players. They had a few statues of Indian Gods to show respect to the Indian God of Music (Ramachandran). I was able to interview one of my own cousins who is about to finish her training to become a classical singer. I went down to her house during one of the weekends to be able to approach and talk to her freely about Carnatic Music.
Ideas about Music:
Carnatic Music had been originated from various Hindu manuscripts but was developed by Purandara Dasa, who is noted as the god father of Carnatic Music. It all started back in 16th century back in India but has slowly spread due to the migration of Indians from India whom at times carry the culture along with them. As mention by Ms. Ramachandran, “Since Carnatic Music has a very strict structure about how to do things, there are not too many difference on the structure and belief in the Dallas area” (Ramachandran). The beliefs still remains that the guru (teacher) is like god to you. The trainee must listen to all orders that are been proposed, it is thought be disrespectful to not order commands and at times can lead to the guru discontinuing their teaching. Since Indian Classical Music in general had originated from Hindu traditions people still try to maintain this by not change any of the themes and objects being sung about. To list a few subjects the songs are based on: 1). Hindu Gods, 2). Nature and its beauty and rarely 3). Human feelings. As mentioned before due to the standard structure Carnatic Music world wide, defines music as one that contains of śruti (the musical pitch), swara (the musical sound of a single note), rāga (the mode), and tala (the rhythm). Especially in the Dallas, the type of dress is valued more due to the different class of Indians found here then back in India (Ramachandran). But they still value the artist’s talents without any sort biased feelings. Carnatic Music is not performed often in the Dallas area due to lack of performance halls. To overcome this requirement people perform during general parties / gatherings. The performers are always allowed to perform when and where they wise to perform.

Activities Involving Music
With today’s media growth everything is almost available everywhere. Due to the genre of Carnatic Music namely: Classical, there are only limited ways a Carnatic fan can get hold of one. Places where you can find things concerning Carnatic Music are limited to few Indian Shops, concerts, or family gatherings. Some people on the other hand bring a hand full of C.D. when they visit Indian and distribute copies amongst known people. Since the number of listeners is limited, popular download places such as iTunes do not offer a wide variety of songs to pick from. Within the Dallas area there are a very few professional singers, this lack of professional singers is mainly due to the lack of mass audiences and opportunities to future their knowledge of Carnatic Music (Ramachandran). Due to this very reason many trainees are trained via phone by professionals in India. Since this music culture is based on Hindu traditions, one is taught not to look down at people from various other cultures. This culture is an open for all, if you interested to listen or even want to learn this culture there is no one that will stop you from doing so. From the event I attend I noticed that majority of the audiences were mainly elderly people with a very small number of youngsters. When I mean elderly people this would consist of people of ages 40+, even the youngster consisted mainly of people who are already learning Carnatic Music. Due to the lack of sufficient exposure to this Culture around Dallas area young people only are exposed due to parental interest (Ramachandran). The event I attended consisted of only of three performers mainly the singing herself, one the left of her was the mrdangam player, and to the right of her was the violin player. The existence of the violin player is mainly due to the influence of modernization on this Music Culture. As expected there was a consistent drone in the background even when the artists was not performing, this task was done by a modern drone box called sruti box. The only other person involved with the production of this concert was the sound system professionals.
Repertoires of Music
Due to limited number of listeners, this music culture can be right fully classified in the Classical genre. Since Classical Music is defined as “One that is performed by professionals but not a large audience” (Alves). The music sung by the artist mainly consists of the notes Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa but at times contains of lyrics. When the music composed contains only of the seven notes mentioned above the performer has the option to sing or play the notes on any instrument. One of the focuses of Carnatic Music is on the singing part, which can be considered the lyrics for this music culture. As mentioned by Ms. Ramachandran “The lyrics of the song try to express the mood and message to the listeners” (Ramachandran). Like all Carnatic singers the performers are given full freedom to either to sing a song sung by another professional or else make alteration to various pieces to their wish. Composition of Music in Carnatic Music is a never ending process since each artist is allowed to make continuous variations to the song. A song performed by an artist might never be the same song when he or she performs it again. Carnatic Music is passed on from generation to generation by the use of gurus; these are professional singers who teach youngsters. But now days within the Dallas area people have started buying C.D.s and trying to learn to sing by themselves (Ramachandran). According to my observations from the event, I noticed that concert have a very calm and peaceful environment where everyone sits and enjoys.
Material Culture
Since Carnatic Music has current requirements, every performance would include: instruments, Indian Gods, and a book with music score. The performers are expected to have their own Music Books and Instruments. Due to the lack of Indian Music Stores in Dallas area, people either buy books from India and ship them or get them personally by making a trip to India. The culture of sharing music scores is the principal method people within the Dallas area get music.
Conclusion
As you all may have noticed by now there are only a limited number of differences between the same Music-Culture in India compared to this Music-Culture in Dallas. One of the major differences can be found in the form of audience age group and the interest level amongst youngsters. Carnatic Music is only half of what is called Indian Classical Music, Indian Classical Music is huge ocean to research and analyze since the music composition are never kept standard.
To show examples of professional concerts conducted in Dallas I have added a few links to Youtube videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2jiVG6TAo8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDZj6EPFVg0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilGdCGUn_Ho








Bibliography:
• Alves, William. Music of the Peoples of the World. Boston, Mass.: Schirmer Cengage Learning, 2010. Print.
• Janani Ramesh, McKinney Performance Arts Center, Dallas. Feb 27 2010.
• Ramachandran, Janani. Personal interview. 02 Mar. 2010.
• Carnatic Music - Soul of Soth Indian Music. Rep. Aug. & Sept. 2009. Web. 4 Mar. 2010. .
• "Music Of India - College Essay - Cheezles." Free Term Papers, Research Papers, Custom Essays, and Book Reports OPPapers.com. Web. 11 Mar. 2010. .
• "Overview of Indian Classical Music." David and Chandrakantha Courtney's Homepage-Indian Musicians. Web. 11 Mar. 2010. .
• "Carnatic Music - An Overview." South Asian Women's Forum (SAWF) Home Page. Web. 11 Mar. 2010. .
• "Carnatic Music: Facts, Discussion Forum, and Encyclopedia Article." AbsoluteAstronomy.com. Web. 10 Mar. 2010. .

blog 8

Being Indian and having Indian parents who know Indian Classical Music has made his research that much easier since I have been able to contact a professional at anytime I have problems understanding something or want any information. The only difficulty I had analyzing this music culture was the lack of professional in Dallas area. So I had to make meetings with only the few professionals in this region. This cultural music is open to everyone that likes to appreciate the kind of music but never tolerates anyone that makes bad comments for no reason. They take there talents serious, almost at times at par with god. I was successfully able to attend a program that was done by a very young professional artist. She was only the age of 18. I would not classify her as an experienced professional but rather a person who has done all that is needed to be called one. Since one of my cousins herself learns Classical Music here in Plano I was able to get hold of views from a trainee perspective of Indian Classical Music. On average one must spend at least 10 hours a week for just practice other then training times. Indian Classical Music is a immensely massive music culture and will take years to completely research each and every aspect of it.

Blog 7

Indian Classical Music finds it origins in the Hindu Religion. This influence by Hinduism has caused the themes covered in Indian Classical Music to limited to either religious topics or nature surrounding us. Classical Music notes are similar to western music is some ways since the 7 basic notes are Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa, in order, replacing Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do found in Western Music. Indian Classical Music as such in Dallas is not openly displayed like other cultural music at pubs and dance places. It is limited to people who either wish to learn it through teachers or through attending music concert. Most of the motivation provided to learn Indian Classical Music in Dallas originates from parents since they would like their kids to experience aspects of Indian tradition even though they are miles away from home. The basic setup of Indian Classical Music is based on ragas and talas. Raga being the melodic tune a singer sings and tala being the meter at which the songs are sung at. On average it takes about 10 years for a fresh learner to get to know and master all the ragas and talas. In Indian Music the singer has the freedom to experiment with songs using different talas for the same song. Indian Classical Music is wide ocean to be understood easily.

Blog 6

The music culture I shall be talking about is Japanese Noh. The thing that surprised me the most when watching the video was the lack of lyrics like India Classical Dance Songs. The arrangements of musicians contain four members that play and sing simultaneously. The only other member in the entire performance is the dance that dances according to the tempo of the background music. The mask worn by the dancer expresses a felling of mystery. The music is contains a nonpulsatile kind of melody. The high pitch noise is called the nohkan which is a flute kind instrument which provides the melody and the expressions for the drama. The song also contains three drummers; two of the three drums keep the beat of the song whilst the ko-tsuzumi (drum with strings) provides the accent points in the song.
The dance does seem to have been influenced by Chinese opera. Since both the types of drama utilizes headgear to express the emotions and mood of the space. The dance does not contain any complicated movements, rather contains simple movements such as walking and swinging of the Japanese fan. The drummers seem to have a certain pattern they play but each drummer uses a different pattern. The fact that surprised me the most was that the pattern played by the drummer is not coordinated since they have full freedom to play what they feel. The song talks about a mystery in someone’s life since all Japanese Noh songs are derived from myth or ancient narratives.
The video can be found here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUhtCLKFMx0

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

Arabic Music

The song I choose for this blog is called “Man-amade-am”. The basic theme is about a man returning back home to his love and wanting her to leave with him. The starting of the song starts with an influence from the western world by the existence of a flute sounding instrument. As the song progresses the Arabic drums called darabukkah, pianos, and an instrument that is along the lines of the African axatse join. The darabukkah is the major accompaniment during the duration of the song like other Arabic pop songs. Having lived in Saudi Arabia for my entire life I can make an observation that drums are a major part of Arabic life. The initial being sets a happy mood and emotion aspect of the song. Googoosh’s starts to take over the polyphonic song with the first phrasing stating that “I have returned” portrays an image of an man happy to see his love after a long time. The music does contain lots of cadences for emphasis on certain phrases of the song. The range of Googoosh’s singing voice seems to be very limited in this song. From my knowledge of music I was able to determine that the structure of the song is in compound triple meter. There is also a refrain which she sings a few times throughout the song. This is sound is not considered traditional since it does not talk about the religion rather is considered as pop music. In general all Arabic music tends to have a very melodic tune allowing the listeners to dance along.
The translation of the song can be found here:
http://iraniansongstranslations.blogspot.com/2007/09/man-amade-am-ive-come-by-googoosh.html
The video is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78ZxtnQCyhQ&feature=related

Blog 3

The event took place on Friday night, after attending the entire event “An Evening of Latin Music”; I decided to write about the music “Suite”. The composer of the music was of French origin. I would like to classify all the performances that evening to be that of Art Music according to the 3 division of Music. From my knowledge I was able to come to the conclusion that the piano was used as harmony for the songs played. One the other hand the violin and the clarinet would take turns playing the melody. During the course of the performance I noticed that the melody played various types of melody. The three different types of melody I noticed were that of homophony, heterophony, and polyphony. The performers were from the University of Texas at Dallas Faculty. Even though they had a formal appearance they did not turn out to be as formal as orchestra players. The reason this I feel is since majority of the audience consists of students, they tended to interact more with the audience by saying jokes and etc. For most part of the audience consisted of students that are taking some sort music class since it was mandatory to attend. The audience also did contain teachers, families and friends from outside UTD. Since it was held on a Friday people were eager to leave home to meet family or even relax. I witnessed a drop in interest and quantity of the audiences. In all I feel that if the program was held on working from Monday through Thursday more people would have shown interest. Making it a free for all program made it more attractive to students.