The initial workshop will be for six hours.
Participants may bring their instruments but will be encouraged to focus primarily on singing as all Indian music is first taught by singing.
There will be four hour and a quarter sessions:
1) We will begin with some warm up vocal exercises from the Dhrupad tradition (The oldest form of North Indian Classical Music), Some scale exercises using the Indian notes (Saregama) and introduce a Raag by a short demonstration.
2) Begin learning one Raag through understanding basic Alap- (Improvisational intro) which will be memorized.
3) Exercises in 16 beat to understand the behaviour of this Raag and a simple bandish (song)
4) Practice of Alap with and without rhythm and a more complex Dhrupad composition.
We will focus on one Raag so that students may gain understanding of the method in which this music is practiced and taught.
Dhrupad is the oldest form of Indian classical music in the north of India. It was established in the 16th cent. and has been passed on in various family traditions since. Primarily it was practiced in temples as a form of musical meditation. Over the years it has developed into a complex art form and is the basis of later forms of Indian classical music.
Much like Jazz, Indian classical music involves improvisation within certain frameworks. Raags are more than just scales. They have specific personalities. They may differ on the way up or down and have specific ways of treating notes or embellishments to create a very distinct mood. Dhrupad has managed to preserve subtle differences between raags through insisting on Shruti (tiny tone variations, much smaller than semitones) that colour each raag.
Participants may bring their instruments but will be encouraged to focus primarily on singing as all Indian music is first taught by singing.
There will be four hour and a quarter sessions:
1) We will begin with some warm up vocal exercises from the Dhrupad tradition (The oldest form of North Indian Classical Music), Some scale exercises using the Indian notes (Saregama) and introduce a Raag by a short demonstration.
2) Begin learning one Raag through understanding basic Alap- (Improvisational intro) which will be memorized.
3) Exercises in 16 beat to understand the behaviour of this Raag and a simple bandish (song)
4) Practice of Alap with and without rhythm and a more complex Dhrupad composition.
We will focus on one Raag so that students may gain understanding of the method in which this music is practiced and taught.
Dhrupad is the oldest form of Indian classical music in the north of India. It was established in the 16th cent. and has been passed on in various family traditions since. Primarily it was practiced in temples as a form of musical meditation. Over the years it has developed into a complex art form and is the basis of later forms of Indian classical music.
Much like Jazz, Indian classical music involves improvisation within certain frameworks. Raags are more than just scales. They have specific personalities. They may differ on the way up or down and have specific ways of treating notes or embellishments to create a very distinct mood. Dhrupad has managed to preserve subtle differences between raags through insisting on Shruti (tiny tone variations, much smaller than semitones) that colour each raag.