With guest speaker Jim Feist
0:28 - Hindustani music refers to a style of classical music played in Indiana typically associated with the Northern region. In the south, a different, related style of music called Carnatic music is practiced. In Carnatic, rather than the Tabla, a two-headed drum called the Mridangam serves as the principle percussive instrument.
0:53 - Ustad Allah Rakha was the primary accompanist of world famous sitar player Ravi Shankar, and he is referred to affectionately as "Abbaji," or "father" by his students and admirers due to his vast contribution towards elevating the art of tabla, as well as his role in introducing it to a Western audience. His son, Zakir Hussain, continues his legacy today and has achieved almost super-star status as a tabla maestro both at home and abroad.
Here is a video of Ustad Allah Rakha and Zakir Hussain performing a duet in Ektaal, or a 12-beat time cycle.
4:00 - The left hand drum, or bayan, has a pitch-bending quality to it which can be controlled by applying pressure on it with the lower palm and wrist. Ustad Zakir Hussain is famously known to predict and imitate an instrumentalist's improvisations on his bayan in a display of virtuosic technique and pitch awareness.
4:58 - Some teachers require their students to be able to recite compositions before even touching their instruments.
6:48 - Khali is essential to the feeling, contour, and weight of every rhythmic cycle, and its location can vary depending on the rhythmic cycle in question.
In Teentaal (16 beats,) Khali is observed for 4 beats halfway through the cycle (Each | or cell divider represents 1 beat):
Dha|Dhin|Dhin|Dha | Dha|Dhin|Dhin|Dha | Dha|Tin|Tin|Ta | Ta|Dhin|Dhin|Dha |
In Rupak (7 beats,) Khali is observed on the first three beats:
Tin|Tin|Na | Dhin|Na | Dhin|Na |
In Ektaal (12 beats), a more complex taal, Khali is observed on beats 3 and 7 for two beats each. (If there are two syllables to a beat, each syllable is treated like an eighth note. For the beats containing "Tirikita," each syllable is treated as four 16th notes.)
Dhin|Dhin | DaGhe|Tirikita | Tu|Na | Kat|Tin | DhaGe|Tirikita | Dhin|Na |
The examples I have provided feature the Theka, or a series of characteristic notes that are played by the Tabla player to keep time when accompanying another instrumentalist or vocalist. During Tabla solos, instead of the Theka, tabla players play compositions that fit in a specific time cycle. While the notes will be different, the location of khali will always remain the same.
Here is an example of a Tabla player accompanying a vocalist in Teentaal:
7:35 - All melodic and percussive music traditions in Hindustani music are passed down and communicated orally: for a long time, nothing was written down, so all musicians learn and use spoken syllables constantly in their studies. Even non-classical players, such as folk or ritual drummers, have their own drumming language.
The melodic tradition uses a system called Sargam, similar to our idea of Solfege with a moveable Do. The pitches, or Swaras, of a scale/raag correspond to these syllables:
Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Da Ni Sa
The Sa and the Pa are always fixed, but the other swaras can be lowered by a half step depending on the raag.
10:20 - The 6 Gharanas include Delhi, Ajrana, Lucknow, Benares, Farukhabad, and Punjab.
14:06 - This is the Theka that was mentioned earlier in the section covering khali. Again, the Theka for Teentaal (16 beats) is:
Dha|Dhin|Dhin|Dha | Dha|Dhin|Dhin|Dha | Dha|Tin|Tin|Ta | Ta|Dhin|Dhin|Dha |
As you can hear, when Professor Feist begins to play, he isn't playing exactly these notes. The notes provided are used as a sort of skeleton, and performers will frequently add their own improvisation in between the different syllables. However, the character of this Theka shouldn't be lost in the added improvisations.
14:45 - The composition can be notated as followed: (Each row = 4 beats, each cell = 2 beats, each | = a half beat)
Dha|GeNa|Dha| - Dha | GeNa|Dha| - Dha|TiDha |
GeNa|Dha| KruhDha|TiDha | GeNa|DhaGe|DhiNa|GeNa |
Then this same composition is repeated with the first half in Khali (There are no bass accents in Khali, so Dha becomes Ta, Ge becomes Ke, Dhin becomes Tin, and so on.)
Ta|KeNa|Ta| - Ta | KeNa|Ta| - Ta|TiTa |
GeNa|Dha|KruhDha|TiDha | GeNa|DhaGe|DhiNa|GeNa |
With each row = 4 beats, you can see how the khali in this composition lines up with the Khali as observed in the Theka, and this is true for every composition in every Taal/time cycle.
16:54 - When first learning the Tabla, students will frequently be given Delhi compositions to develop their basic technique and improvisational thought.
18:38 - This is one of the first compositions I ever learned, and it is very well well known. It can be notated as such:
DhaTi|TeDha|TiTe|DhaDha | TiTe|DhaGe|TiNa|KeNa |
TaTi|TeTa|TiTe|TaTa | TiTe|DhaGe|DhiNa|GeNa |
Here is a video of, again, Ustad Zakir Hussain performing this composition. In a typical performance, compositions are introduced in single speed, and then are improvised on in variations in double speed (2x as fast as single speed.) Zakir Ji plays with different Jatis, or beat divisions (More specifically, he moves in between single speed [think eighth notes] and Tisra Jati, [think triplets]) before launching into variations at double speed (think 16th notes) at 2:00. This is just one example of what can be done with this composition.
22:12 - The Peshkar, the opening portion of a tabla solo, is one of the most intellectually vigorous variational methods in the art of tabla, and it is quite difficult to explain in simple terms. There are many different ways of developing a Peshkar, but I will only elaborate on the methods covered by Professor Feist.
Here is a notated version of the Peshkar theme. Khali is highlighted in grey, and the fixed portion of the Peshkar, or the portion that your improvisations must always end at, will be highlighted in green. Each cell is worth 1 beat, and every | indicates a half beat.
Dha - - Kr|DhaDhi | NaTira|KitaDha | DhaTi|Dha Ti | DhaDha|TinNa |
Ta - - Kr|TaTin | NaTiri|KitaTa | DhaTi|DhaTi | DhaDha|DhinNa |
Dha - - Kr|DhaDhi | NaTira|KitaDha | DhaTi|Dha Ti | DhaDha|TinNa |
Ta - - Kr|TaTin | NaTiri|KitaTa | DhaTi|DhaTi | DhaDha|DhinNa |
Notice how Khali appears for two sets of 2 beats instead of 4 beats in its usual location? This is because Feist is playing the theme without any variations. Once he begins making variations, the composition will stretch over the entire 16 beats, and the khali will lay in its proper place.
23:57 - In the Peshkar, you are allowed to introduce notes besides the notes in the theme (This isn't allowed in a Kaeda, a different compositional form that we will cover later,) and you are also allowed to jump in between different Jatis, or beat divisions. The further you progress in your Peshkar, the smaller the beat divisions/Jatis will become. In the next snippet, Feist provides an example of what the Peshkar might sound like in the middle of its development:
Dha - - Kr|DhaDhi | NaTira|KitaTa | DhaTi|DhaTi | DhaDha|DhinNa |
DhaDha-Kr|DhaTiriKita | DhaTiDha|DhaTinNa | DhaDha|DhaTia | DhaDha|TinNa |
Ta - - Kr|TaTin | NaTira|KitaTa | TaTi|TaTi | TaTa|TinNa |
DhaDha-Kr|DhaTiriKita | DhaTiDha|DhaTinNa | DhaTi|DhaTia | DhaDha|DhinNa |
The Blue cells show the sections where Feist moves into Tisra Jati and divides each half beat by 3. Notice how, even when moving in between Jatis, the performer uses the same language and colors that were presented in the original theme. He continues his improvisation in the next cycle like so:
DhaDha-Kr|DhaTiriKita | DhaTiDha|DhaDhinNa | TiDha|DhaTi | DhaDha|DhinNa |
DhaDha-Kr|DhaTiriKita | DhaTiDha|DhaDhinNa | DhaTi|DhaTi | DhaDha|TinNa |
KrTa -Kr|TaTiriKita | TaTiTa|TaTinNa | TiTa|TaTi | TaTa|Tin Na |
DhaDha-Kr|DhaTiriKita | DhaTiDha|DhaDhinNa | Dha--|DhaDhiNa | Dha--|DhaDhinNa |
As you see, the beats in Tisra Jati are increasing as the composition develops and speeds up, and this trend will continue until the entire composition is in tisra jati. Following this section, the performer will then jump to the next speed, known as double speed or Chatusra Jati (Chatusra = 4.) Also, notice how the characteristic ending of the Peshkar (highlighted usually in green) disappeared? Instead, we have a figure called a Tihai, or a form of cadential rhythmic motif where a phrase is repeated 3 times, the end of the final phrase landing on the first beat of the next cycle. In this case, the phrase "DhaDhinNaDha" was repeated three times, and although not shown, the Dha at the end of the final repetition lines up with the first beat of the following cycle. As you can see by the lack of black outline, the theme has been developed so much that there is very little of the original theme left.
24:58 - As stated at the beginning of this section, Feist is going to develop the Peshkar towards another composition called a kaeda, which is a different compositional form that will typically be performed after a Peshkar. The Kaeda that Feist is aiming for can be notated as such:
DhaTi|DhaGe | NaDha|TiriKita | DhaTi|DhaGe | TiNa|KeNa |
TaTi|TaKe | NaTa|TiriKita | DhaTi|DhaGe | DhiNa|GeNa |
Once fragments of this new theme begin showing up in the Peshkar improvisations, I will highlight them in red.
Dha - - Kr|DhaDhin | NaTiri|KitaDha | DhaTi|DhaTi | DhaDha|DhinNa |
DhaDha-Kr|DhaTiriKita | DhaTiDha|DhaDhinNa | TiDha|DhaTi | DhaDha|DhinNa |
TaTaTaTi|TaTaTiriKita | TaTiTaTi|TaTaTinNa | TaTa-Kr|TaTiriKita | TaTiTa|TaTinNa |
DhaTi|DhaTi | DhaDha|DhinNa | TiDha|DhaTi | DhaDha|DhinNa |
In the following section, Feist only plays the first half of the cycle, ending it once the theme of the target Kaeda is established.
DhaDhaDhaTi| DhaDhaTiriKita | DhaTiDhaTi| DhaDhaDhinNa | DhaTiDhaGe| NaDhaTiriKita | DhaTiDhaGe| DhinNaGeNa |
DhaDha - Kr|DhaTiriKita | DhaTiDha|DhaDhinNa | TiDha|DhaTi | DhaDha|DhinNa |
26:08 - Here, Feist goes through a different Peshkar composition. Try and listen for specific phrases that repeat throughout the improvisations, tihais (three repetitions of a phrase which land on the sam, or 1st beat of the next cycle,) and keep the 16 beat taal by counting the joints of your 4 fingers with your thumb.
The Punjab Gharana is known for its depth of improvisational thought in regards developing a Peshkar, and this depth can be heard in Feist's complex method of improvisation. Here is an example of another Peshkar performed by Feist's current teacher, Yogesh Samsi. Listen to the weight of the composition, and again, try to identify the phrases that anchor the performance and keep taal with your fingers. It is important to always know where the performer is in the time-cycle, which you can identify by listening to the background melody, or lehra.
Throughout this performance, you will also frequently hear audience interjections, especially if Yogesh plays a Tihai which lands on the sam. Audiences typically know to identify tihais, and will react positively if they are executed correctly. Audience participation and feedback is an important part of Indian classical music. I attended a Shahid Parvez concert earlier this year with a few friends who practiced Hindustani music, and at the end of the concert, we all went to go speak with him. After mentioning that we were music students, he said "I could tell, I was watching your reactions."
Comments