# Indian Classical Music (Carnatic Music)



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

I was born in America, but my parents are from Sri Lanka which is a very similar culture to Indian culture. Popular music at this time is very reminiscent of popular American music in that it is very poppy and highly accessible music. The entire popular arts of modern Indian Culture is being highly Americanized and it is a shame they are losing their beautiful culture in architecture, food (they have McDonalds there now), and arts.

However, while I certainly admire Bharata Natyam (a dance form that is similar to Ballet in that the movements tell a story), I don't really love Indian classical music. This music is made famous by artists such as Ravi Shankar who taught George Harrison how to play Sitar. I feel this music is very repetitive, and all sounds very similar. While the playing takes a high level of technique, I feel it gets rather boring and redundant after a while. But surely, I respect this music far more than modern Indian music.

Anyone familiar enough to have an opinion on it?

Partially this thread is about the loss of culture in countries around the world in favor of the Americanized practices of Capitalism.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

"Anyone familiar enough to have an opinion on it?"

Familiar, yes, but not really knowledgeable. My favorite artists currently, aside from the past greats, are Debashish Bhattacharya (sitar*) and Hariprasad Chaurasia (bamboo flute).

I like this music, but always think there's a lot there that I'm not really "getting."

*Actually it's a "lap slide guitar" but it sounds the same to me.


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

Lots of classical Asian music has given way to pop and hip-hop in those countries as well. But then so has Western Classical, to lesser degree. There are still adherents to these Eastern classical arts, but they are mainly the older generation.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

KenOC said:


> "Anyone familiar enough to have an opinion on it?"
> 
> Familiar, yes, but not really knowledgeable. My favorite artists currently, aside from the past greats, are Debashish Bhattacharya (sitar*) and Hariprasad Chaurasia (bamboo flute).
> 
> ...


I need to explore it a bit more. I have heard a couple Ravi Shankar albums, and the songs go on for 30 + minutes and feel very repetitive. I like the sound, but want more melodic diversity. The rhythms in this music are incredible, However, the way they musicians interplay is beyond fascinating. I feel they is a lot of change between common time and half time. That part has always impressed me. I think if I explore different artists, I can find something I enjoy.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

North Indian classical music has always fascinated me, and though I don't have a grasp of all its complexities, when I'm in the mood for it I can be deeply impressed and exhilarated by a great creative artist on the sitar, sarod or surbahar. Performer and creator are the same person, as in jazz, although Indian music's rhythmic complexity and subtle play with pitch exceed almost anything in Western music. I do hear quite a bit of variety in it, partly because of the different scales or modes.

I'm not fond of the Indian style of singing, even though it can be impressively virtuosic, nor do I like the music as much when wind instruments or bowed strings are used.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Woodduck said:


> North Indian classical music has always fascinated me, and though I don't have a grasp of all its complexities, when I'm in the mood for it I can be deeply impressed and exhilarated by a great creative artist on the sitar, sarod or surbahar. Performer and creator are the same person, as in jazz, although Indian music's rhythmic complexity and subtle play with pitch exceed almost anything in Western music. I do hear quite a bit of variety in it, partly because of the different scales or modes.
> 
> I'm not fond of the Indian style of singing, even though it can be impressively virtuosic, nor do I like the music as much when wind instruments or bowed strings are used.


What about the way in which the Violin is utilized in Classical Indian music? They even have a different way of holding the instrument!

I actually really love Classical Indian style of singing, I find it beautiful.
Try this video starting at 2:52:


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

To my ears, Indian music sounds wonderfully colorful and exotic. This goes even for Indian popular music like Bollywood songs. As far as I know it has exerted some influence on western classical music; Hovhaness comes to mind.


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## Portamento (Dec 8, 2016)

I actually lived in India for a number of years, so I have a sizable collection of ragas and film music. I don't post on the topic at all because I feel (like Ken) out of place, but let me check my shelves and see what I can find.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

http://www.talkclassical.com/46400-music-dance-southeast-asia.html

Here's a thread that was in the Ballet forum where some examples of Southeast Asian dance and its associated music are discussed.


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## Dan Ante (May 4, 2016)

Does Bollywood count? I love the dancing


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Dan Ante said:


> Does Bollywood count? I love the dancing


LOL. I don't care for Bollywood. The movies and music are too cookie cutter for me.


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## Portamento (Dec 8, 2016)

Captainnumber36 said:


> LOL. I don't care for Bollywood. The movies and music are too cookie cutter for me.


It's not all cookie cutter. Every now and then you come across an amazing movie. Try _Bajirao Mastani_, _3 Idiots_, or _Mother India_.


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## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

Well, I took a course in it many years ago in college and came to appreciate it more than I did, but not so much so that I have listened to it often since. I will say that Ravi Shankar is not considered a model of high quality Indian classical music.


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## Myriadi (Mar 6, 2016)

I'm reasonably familiar with Indian classical and I love it. Sometimes when I'm lucky to have a day off, that day might just catch me in the right mood, and then I'll pull my favorite records and put on the ragas according to the time of day. Recent favorites are Ram Narayan and Bundu Khan, both sarangi players.

India is actually one of the very few countries that manged to preserve their traiditons and protect them against the onslaught of Western culture. Great virtuosi still exist, and records that testify to their great skill and that of their predecessors. There's a wealth of information available on the net and in printed form, drawing new listeners all the time. So don't lament the demise just yet. Think of countries and continents which were exploited by the West for much longer - Africa, South America. Hundreds of musical and other cultural traditions were extinguished there, forever.

Speaking of the wealth of information, anybody interested in Indian classical will benefit enormously from this:
https://www.amazon.com/Raga-Guide-Survey-Hindustani-Ragas/dp/B00000JT5P
Four CDs and a very informative booklet, complete with helpful transcriptions in Western notation. And the tracks are short, so if you're new to the music, it's easier than listening to 30+ minute things found on many records.

Also @OP: there are two major branches of Indian classical, Hindustani (North) and Carnatic (South). Ravi Shankar is a Hindustani musician. Check out the guides at http://www.medieval.org/music/world.html for more information.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

I have always appreciated Dr. Gaurang Yodh's and Dinesh Patel's way with the raga, preferring it to Ravi Shankar's


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

edited. :tiphat::tiphat:


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*The Raga Guide*

_The Raga Guide_ is a 1999 Nimbus Records compilation of 74 Hindustani ragas on four CDs. It includes a textbook edited by Joep Bor (of the Rotterdam Conservatory of Music) with information and western-style transcriptions of the ragas and a catalogue of two sets of ragamala plates, dated to ca. 1610 and 1650. The 1610 plates are painted in the Mughal style.

The featured artists are *Vidyadhar Vyas* (vocal), *Shruti Sadolikar-Katkar* (vocal), *Buddhadev Das Gupta* (sarod), and *Hariprasad Chaurasia* (flute).










Excellent introduction to Indian Classical Music.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Zia Mohiuddin Dagar | Raga Shuddha Todi*










Z. M. Dagar was known particularly for his slow development of ragas, typically performed only with tanpura accompaniment (he rarely played with pakhawaj), and for his meticulous attention to microtonal inflections.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)




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## RICK RIEKERT (Oct 9, 2017)

For Carnatic music I've long admired the unique veena playing of that multi-faceted genius, Sundaram Balachander.


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