13 ms·

Ragya – Indian classical music played by time of the day

341 points by kadal 6y ago

hbharadwaj 6y ago
Thank you! I was literally looking for an Indian music alternative to Generative.fm. May not have been the use case you are trying to target, but it is the use case for me :) Big shout out to Generative.fm as well!
- neduma 6y ago
  Thanks for Generative.fm info. Never heard of that before. Wondering what would be mix of both generative and ragya with some AI magic.
- indysigners 6y ago
  Haven’t heard about generative.fm either so thanks for sharing it!
dharma1 6y ago
Love it. Thank you
tudorw 6y ago
If you like that you might like this film on the Dhrupad genre; https://youtu.be/Lye2FSx0F4c https://youtu.be/Lye2FSx0F4c
- danans 6y ago
  Dhrupad is a fascinating style of Indian classical music, whose origins predate many of the musical system schisms, identities, and boundaries that have emerged in Indian Classical music over the recent couple centuries. Every time I attempt to categorize it as one or the other, either by theory, language, religion, or culture, I learn about a new facet that defies that categorization.
fermienrico 6y ago
Here is my basic understanding of Indian music: The northern and southern parts have their own styles but with overlaps. What's amazing is that Indian classical music has no key. There is no absolute sense of middle C or whatever. It is relative to the tuning of the drone. I don't have a strong background in music, but this seems to get rid of the complexity of the notation system in the west with a much more fluid aspects - pick a note and make it the root. Off you go. That's the key you're in. Furthermore, I find the construction of these musical scales (correct me if I am wrong but there is no analog in western classical music of what a raga is) very interesting. Going up in the scale is different than going down and there are some key phrases that identify a raga. Then its all about interpretation. Is there any specific tabla percussion associated with a Raga? Some of my favorites: - Raga Bhimapalasi: Beautiful lazy afternoon raga. - Raga Tilak Kamod: I would describe this raga as a playful and less serious, very romantic. - Raga Bhairav: Intense and great for early mornings. For reflective, pensive moods. - Raga Desh: Festive feel to it. I personally like vocal renditions of ragas. Spotify has a large selection.
- danans 6y ago
  > What's amazing is that Indian classical music has no key. There is no absolute sense of middle C or whatever. It is relative to the tuning of the drone Yes, but practically there are standard pitch zones based on the tunability of certain instruments, particularly percussion. > Going up in the scale is different than going down and there are some key phrases that identify a raga. Then its all about interpretation. Sometimes but not always. Most ragas are the same ascending and descending. They are more like the western modes system. > Then its all about interpretation. There is actually a huge body of fixed compositions, for both melodic and rhythmic instruments, especially in Carnatic and Dhrupad traditions. Of course improvisation still plays a more important role vs. western classical music, but it is driven by a set of standard canonical themes. > Is there any specific tabla percussion associated with a Raga? Not formally, but as one develops as an Indian classical percussionist, you develop an ear for what sorts of rhythmic passages pair with certain types of melodic structures. For example, the rapidly rolling rhythmic structure known as a Rela pairs with steady fast pulsating melodic patterns. In terms of the actual type of percussion instrument there is a strong pairing, however. Tabla in particular is used in the Khyal style (the most prominent style of North Indian classical music and what you have likely been listening to), and is also used extensively in folk music. The Pakhawaj, a much lower pitch drum, is used with the Dhrupad style. Carnatic percussion, however, comprises a much larger variety of instruments, prime among them and closely related to the aforementioned Pakhawaj is the Mridangam.
blizkreeg 6y ago
This is fantastic. Just downloaded.
rmk 6y ago
Cool! One request: Can you not auto-play when the website loads? It's an annoying UI design thing that has spilled over from ads and news sites (looking at you, CNN).
- OJFord 6y ago
  It didn't for me, but.. there's nothing to do but click play, so why not? I agree when there's content to read, especially if that's the main purpose. (YouTube for example might be more debatable.)
  - Rebuss 6y ago
    what if I'm in a work meeting?
- n3k5 6y ago
  In Firefox, auto-play (for audio) has to be manually enabled on a per-site basis. Ragya.com just quietly sits there waiting for the user to click play. I mention that as a positive because other sites are way worse: I'm occasionally annoyed by a video streaming site where I have deliberately enabled auto-play, but when establishing the connection takes a second longer than expected, it throws up a pop-up wrongly informing me that I have auto-play off — and the pop-up needs to be manually dismissed even when the video is already playing behind it. Honorary mention: Twitter. Every video is muted by default; you have to enable audio every single time. This option always exists, even when the video has no sound at all. Because life's like a box of chocolates. Sorry about the off-topic rant; the point is that the issue is more nuanced than ‘noise bad‘ and you'll get a better experience when the site and your user agent are cooperating nicely.
sean_the_geek 6y ago
Thank you!
rjakobsson 6y ago
Thank you, this was it.
um304 6y ago
Love it!
throwawayamzn1 6y ago
Beautiful, wow thanks for creating and bringing attention to Indian classical music. I like all sorts.. Coke studio and dream journey has done some good stuff to ease people into the genre. Not hard classical, more semi-classical https://youtu.be/BXmIpbBOSvI https://youtu.be/BXmIpbBOSvI https://youtu.be/JlMJhDHJ3t4 https://youtu.be/JlMJhDHJ3t4
GordonS 6y ago
Years ago I used to like Talvin Singh and Nitin Sawhney, and this reminded me of that. Lovely sounds, and I'll be listening to this tonight! Slight tangent, but anyone got suggestions for Asian electronica (tabla/raga inspired)?
- e2phd 6y ago
  Yes try Tabla Beat Science, Karsh Kale and Niraj Chag. Maybe even Asian Dub Foundation although that might not be electronica.
- colanderman 6y ago
  Ami Dang was featured in the Moog Original Series: https://www.moogmusic.com/media/moog-raag-ami-dang https://www.moogmusic.com/media/moog-raag-ami-dang
the_arun 6y ago
Wonder, is it difficult for Spotify to create this kind of feature from their collection? They already have curated playlists. But with AI, they could do this any day? or am I thinking crazy?
- dvtrn 6y ago
  I think this is what the “Daily Mix” playlist already does?
vram22 6y ago
Only connection is raga, but since a lot of us here are devs or other computer workers, sharing this, which a few others have told me they liked, for the same reason as me - it is good music to work by: Music video: Sitar - Vilayat khan - Rarely Heard Ragas https://jugad2.blogspot.com/2013/10/music-video-sitar-vilayat-khan-rarely.html?m=0 https://jugad2.blogspot.com/2013/10/music-video-sitar-vilaya...
the_arun 6y ago
Try searching for KappaTV Music Mojo in youtube if you like Carnatic. Also artist Mahesh Raghavan has good collection of fusion.
- polar 6y ago
  I love Music Mojo. A recent favourite is the set of recordings they did with Deepa Palanad ([1] for example). [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZBO5pK3rDI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZBO5pK3rDI
scoot 6y ago
What does "classical" mean in this context? My benchmark for the term "classical" is traditional European classical music, and so I'm having a hard time understanding where this fits in the Indian musical spectrum, either stylistically or temporally.
- embit 6y ago
  My definition of classical music is “always contemporary’
- brainless 6y ago
  Classical in general means music from 1800 period in Europe but you can easily imagine other cultures having their own music from older era that's termed as "Classical".
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - siltpotato 6y ago
    The meaning of "classical" with a lowercase 'c' refers to elite music with theory built around it from any culture; most people are not referring to the "Classical" with a capital 'C' period of European culture.
- abdullahkhalids 6y ago
  There are many people who think that the term "classical" does not apply to South Asian music of this form, because it is still being actively created and practiced. And while the style of this music has evolved quite a bit, new instruments introduced, the essential features have not gone away. This music is also not written down (intentionally, I might add), so while roughly the same forms have been practiced for 100s of years, most of what is remembered and played is from the past 150 years or so. You can call this era classical, if you will.
- bakul 6y ago
  You may wish to check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_classical_music https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_classical_music
srameshc 6y ago
I have been trying to find classical music and make my own playlist but this is incredible. I am learning to understand about both Hindustani and Carnatic classical and this would help me a lot in exploring more artists and songs.
njanirudh 6y ago
Few band suggestions for people with rock, metal background who want to listen to carnatic music . Agam https://youtu.be/AiPnyxPyVVw https://youtu.be/AiPnyxPyVVw Mother Jane https://youtu.be/3y2siWVi-GQ https://youtu.be/3y2siWVi-GQ Prasanna guitar https://youtu.be/QA5UWHFg-SE https://youtu.be/QA5UWHFg-SE
- thevardanian 6y ago
  Meshuggah uses a similar beat structure to Indian classical music, which I found interesting. Here's a sort of example https://youtu.be/ZAVZtCZV9aI https://youtu.be/ZAVZtCZV9aI
  - krtkush 6y ago
    Wow! Such synergy between two vastly different (IMO) music styles.
- globular-toast 6y ago
  Also Goa trance for those who like electronic music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4C6a38xPy0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4C6a38xPy0
kadal 6y ago
To clarify, I had nothing to do with the making of this service. Discovered it last night, loved it, and decided to share.
marsantwo 6y ago
Here is an interesting talk on Carnatic music, which is the south indian classical tradition. https://youtu.be/u9CGcusOz60 https://youtu.be/u9CGcusOz60 And because this is Hacker News, there has to be a LISP in the mix.
raindropm 6y ago
No one mention those goats herd? Just watching them grazing made me already relax. :)
- Zecc 6y ago
  Are you talking about the page's background? I'm seeing a bird perched on a tree. It probably varies according to time of day.
theashbhat 6y ago
hyyype
atulatul 6y ago
The best writings on the topic of Indian classical music, IMO: https://www.parrikar.org/vault/ https://www.parrikar.org/vault/
biz_booster 6y ago
Some SERIOUS questions as this app looks like it is a commercial app created to earn money by playing tracks of the legendary musicians WITHOUT TAKING THEIR PERMISSION violating the legal, moral and ethical values. 1. Idea for this app is stolen from 8 prahar concert 2. Why we have to pay money when the SAME classical music is available freely on YouTube and other platforms? Just bcuz is playing under the app. 3. Is legal permission taken from the musicians or their heirs to play their tracks as many musicians are no more. 4. Are they honestly giving any money back to musicians by playing tracks as a profit share. Pls make the info abt "no. of paid users and % money paid to musicians" public. 5. India being a country of 1300 million people, only 5000+ has downloaded the app means Indians have totally rejected this app. 6. Why non of musicians is promoting this app? something is drastically wrong with this app. 7. Due to corona, music industry & musicians all over the world are promoting their music thr their own channels hence apps like this are not required.
- altStoner 6y ago
  I don't know about the stolen idea but they have taken artists' permission. From The Hindu's article: > The app features artistes such as Bhimsen Joshi, Satyasheel Deshpande, Sanjoy Bandopadhyay, Anuradha Kuber and Anupama Bhagwat. “We reached out to artistes who provided us with exclusive songs, some from private baithaks,” he says. Apart from that, he has also reached out to lesser-known artistes. “Most existing platforms chase established artistes, but there is no other platform apart from Youtube and Facebook for these yet new talents to be discovered.” You don't have to necessarily pay money. It's a subscription app and there's a free version that you can enjoy with limited songs. >India being a country of 1300 million people, only 5000+ has downloaded the app means Indians have totally rejected this app. This is quite an absurd conclusion. >Why non of musicians is promoting this app? something is drastically wrong with this app. There's nothing wrong or shady about this product. Marico boss Harsh Mariwala had recommended this app to someone on Twitter. Apart from that, in my opinion, Indian classical music is nothing like your mainstream pop music where you'd expect the singer to jump and promote their app on instagram or tiktok. Classical music is much more than money or fame.
  - biz_booster 6y ago
zerop 6y ago
Thanks for sharing...Worked for me instantly... My infant slept with very less efforts, after I put it on my laptop...
- biz_booster 6y ago
  Great to see that your infant understands the classical music. pls do read my comments on this thread.
bravura 6y ago
I am your target customer and would pay money for this. However, I don't want to install another app and would rather have this delivered through soundcloud and mixcloud, and pay for exclusive (secret) tracks through patreon or whatnot

341 points by kadal 6y ago

Thank you! I was literally looking for an Indian music alternative to Generative.fm. May not have been the use case you are trying to target, but it is the use case for me :) Big shout out to Generative.fm as well!

neduma 6y ago
Thanks for Generative.fm info. Never heard of that before. Wondering what would be mix of both generative and ragya with some AI magic.
indysigners 6y ago
Haven’t heard about generative.fm either so thanks for sharing it!

dharma1 6y ago

Love it. Thank you

tudorw 6y ago

If you like that you might like this film on the Dhrupad genre; https://youtu.be/Lye2FSx0F4c https://youtu.be/Lye2FSx0F4c

danans 6y ago
Dhrupad is a fascinating style of Indian classical music, whose origins predate many of the musical system schisms, identities, and boundaries that have emerged in Indian Classical music over the recent couple centuries. Every time I attempt to categorize it as one or the other, either by theory, language, religion, or culture, I learn about a new facet that defies that categorization.

fermienrico 6y ago

Here is my basic understanding of Indian music: The northern and southern parts have their own styles but with overlaps. What's amazing is that Indian classical music has no key. There is no absolute sense of middle C or whatever. It is relative to the tuning of the drone. I don't have a strong background in music, but this seems to get rid of the complexity of the notation system in the west with a much more fluid aspects - pick a note and make it the root. Off you go. That's the key you're in. Furthermore, I find the construction of these musical scales (correct me if I am wrong but there is no analog in western classical music of what a raga is) very interesting. Going up in the scale is different than going down and there are some key phrases that identify a raga. Then its all about interpretation. Is there any specific tabla percussion associated with a Raga? Some of my favorites: - Raga Bhimapalasi: Beautiful lazy afternoon raga. - Raga Tilak Kamod: I would describe this raga as a playful and less serious, very romantic. - Raga Bhairav: Intense and great for early mornings. For reflective, pensive moods. - Raga Desh: Festive feel to it. I personally like vocal renditions of ragas. Spotify has a large selection.

danans 6y ago
> What's amazing is that Indian classical music has no key. There is no absolute sense of middle C or whatever. It is relative to the tuning of the drone Yes, but practically there are standard pitch zones based on the tunability of certain instruments, particularly percussion. > Going up in the scale is different than going down and there are some key phrases that identify a raga. Then its all about interpretation. Sometimes but not always. Most ragas are the same ascending and descending. They are more like the western modes system. > Then its all about interpretation. There is actually a huge body of fixed compositions, for both melodic and rhythmic instruments, especially in Carnatic and Dhrupad traditions. Of course improvisation still plays a more important role vs. western classical music, but it is driven by a set of standard canonical themes. > Is there any specific tabla percussion associated with a Raga? Not formally, but as one develops as an Indian classical percussionist, you develop an ear for what sorts of rhythmic passages pair with certain types of melodic structures. For example, the rapidly rolling rhythmic structure known as a Rela pairs with steady fast pulsating melodic patterns. In terms of the actual type of percussion instrument there is a strong pairing, however. Tabla in particular is used in the Khyal style (the most prominent style of North Indian classical music and what you have likely been listening to), and is also used extensively in folk music. The Pakhawaj, a much lower pitch drum, is used with the Dhrupad style. Carnatic percussion, however, comprises a much larger variety of instruments, prime among them and closely related to the aforementioned Pakhawaj is the Mridangam.

blizkreeg 6y ago

This is fantastic. Just downloaded.

rmk 6y ago

Cool! One request: Can you not auto-play when the website loads? It's an annoying UI design thing that has spilled over from ads and news sites (looking at you, CNN).

OJFord 6y ago
It didn't for me, but.. there's nothing to do but click play, so why not? I agree when there's content to read, especially if that's the main purpose. (YouTube for example might be more debatable.)
- Rebuss 6y ago
  what if I'm in a work meeting?
n3k5 6y ago
In Firefox, auto-play (for audio) has to be manually enabled on a per-site basis. Ragya.com just quietly sits there waiting for the user to click play. I mention that as a positive because other sites are way worse: I'm occasionally annoyed by a video streaming site where I have deliberately enabled auto-play, but when establishing the connection takes a second longer than expected, it throws up a pop-up wrongly informing me that I have auto-play off — and the pop-up needs to be manually dismissed even when the video is already playing behind it. Honorary mention: Twitter. Every video is muted by default; you have to enable audio every single time. This option always exists, even when the video has no sound at all. Because life's like a box of chocolates. Sorry about the off-topic rant; the point is that the issue is more nuanced than ‘noise bad‘ and you'll get a better experience when the site and your user agent are cooperating nicely.

sean_the_geek 6y ago

Thank you!

rjakobsson 6y ago

Thank you, this was it.

um304 6y ago

Love it!

throwawayamzn1 6y ago

Beautiful, wow thanks for creating and bringing attention to Indian classical music. I like all sorts.. Coke studio and dream journey has done some good stuff to ease people into the genre. Not hard classical, more semi-classical https://youtu.be/BXmIpbBOSvI https://youtu.be/BXmIpbBOSvI https://youtu.be/JlMJhDHJ3t4 https://youtu.be/JlMJhDHJ3t4

GordonS 6y ago

Years ago I used to like Talvin Singh and Nitin Sawhney, and this reminded me of that. Lovely sounds, and I'll be listening to this tonight! Slight tangent, but anyone got suggestions for Asian electronica (tabla/raga inspired)?

e2phd 6y ago
Yes try Tabla Beat Science, Karsh Kale and Niraj Chag. Maybe even Asian Dub Foundation although that might not be electronica.
colanderman 6y ago
Ami Dang was featured in the Moog Original Series: https://www.moogmusic.com/media/moog-raag-ami-dang https://www.moogmusic.com/media/moog-raag-ami-dang

the_arun 6y ago

Wonder, is it difficult for Spotify to create this kind of feature from their collection? They already have curated playlists. But with AI, they could do this any day? or am I thinking crazy?

dvtrn 6y ago
I think this is what the “Daily Mix” playlist already does?

vram22 6y ago

Only connection is raga, but since a lot of us here are devs or other computer workers, sharing this, which a few others have told me they liked, for the same reason as me - it is good music to work by: Music video: Sitar - Vilayat khan - Rarely Heard Ragas https://jugad2.blogspot.com/2013/10/music-video-sitar-vilayat-khan-rarely.html?m=0 https://jugad2.blogspot.com/2013/10/music-video-sitar-vilaya...

the_arun 6y ago

Try searching for KappaTV Music Mojo in youtube if you like Carnatic. Also artist Mahesh Raghavan has good collection of fusion.

polar 6y ago
I love Music Mojo. A recent favourite is the set of recordings they did with Deepa Palanad ([1] for example). [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZBO5pK3rDI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZBO5pK3rDI

scoot 6y ago

What does "classical" mean in this context? My benchmark for the term "classical" is traditional European classical music, and so I'm having a hard time understanding where this fits in the Indian musical spectrum, either stylistically or temporally.

embit 6y ago
My definition of classical music is “always contemporary’
brainless 6y ago
Classical in general means music from 1800 period in Europe but you can easily imagine other cultures having their own music from older era that's termed as "Classical".
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- siltpotato 6y ago
  The meaning of "classical" with a lowercase 'c' refers to elite music with theory built around it from any culture; most people are not referring to the "Classical" with a capital 'C' period of European culture.
abdullahkhalids 6y ago
There are many people who think that the term "classical" does not apply to South Asian music of this form, because it is still being actively created and practiced. And while the style of this music has evolved quite a bit, new instruments introduced, the essential features have not gone away. This music is also not written down (intentionally, I might add), so while roughly the same forms have been practiced for 100s of years, most of what is remembered and played is from the past 150 years or so. You can call this era classical, if you will.
bakul 6y ago
You may wish to check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_classical_music https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_classical_music

srameshc 6y ago

I have been trying to find classical music and make my own playlist but this is incredible. I am learning to understand about both Hindustani and Carnatic classical and this would help me a lot in exploring more artists and songs.

njanirudh 6y ago

Few band suggestions for people with rock, metal background who want to listen to carnatic music . Agam https://youtu.be/AiPnyxPyVVw https://youtu.be/AiPnyxPyVVw Mother Jane https://youtu.be/3y2siWVi-GQ https://youtu.be/3y2siWVi-GQ Prasanna guitar https://youtu.be/QA5UWHFg-SE https://youtu.be/QA5UWHFg-SE

thevardanian 6y ago
Meshuggah uses a similar beat structure to Indian classical music, which I found interesting. Here's a sort of example https://youtu.be/ZAVZtCZV9aI https://youtu.be/ZAVZtCZV9aI
- krtkush 6y ago
  Wow! Such synergy between two vastly different (IMO) music styles.
globular-toast 6y ago
Also Goa trance for those who like electronic music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4C6a38xPy0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4C6a38xPy0

kadal 6y ago

To clarify, I had nothing to do with the making of this service. Discovered it last night, loved it, and decided to share.

marsantwo 6y ago

Here is an interesting talk on Carnatic music, which is the south indian classical tradition. https://youtu.be/u9CGcusOz60 https://youtu.be/u9CGcusOz60 And because this is Hacker News, there has to be a LISP in the mix.

raindropm 6y ago

No one mention those goats herd? Just watching them grazing made me already relax. :)

Zecc 6y ago
Are you talking about the page's background? I'm seeing a bird perched on a tree. It probably varies according to time of day.

theashbhat 6y ago

hyyype

atulatul 6y ago

The best writings on the topic of Indian classical music, IMO: https://www.parrikar.org/vault/ https://www.parrikar.org/vault/

biz_booster 6y ago

Some SERIOUS questions as this app looks like it is a commercial app created to earn money by playing tracks of the legendary musicians WITHOUT TAKING THEIR PERMISSION violating the legal, moral and ethical values. 1. Idea for this app is stolen from 8 prahar concert 2. Why we have to pay money when the SAME classical music is available freely on YouTube and other platforms? Just bcuz is playing under the app. 3. Is legal permission taken from the musicians or their heirs to play their tracks as many musicians are no more. 4. Are they honestly giving any money back to musicians by playing tracks as a profit share. Pls make the info abt "no. of paid users and % money paid to musicians" public. 5. India being a country of 1300 million people, only 5000+ has downloaded the app means Indians have totally rejected this app. 6. Why non of musicians is promoting this app? something is drastically wrong with this app. 7. Due to corona, music industry & musicians all over the world are promoting their music thr their own channels hence apps like this are not required.

altStoner 6y ago
I don't know about the stolen idea but they have taken artists' permission. From The Hindu's article: > The app features artistes such as Bhimsen Joshi, Satyasheel Deshpande, Sanjoy Bandopadhyay, Anuradha Kuber and Anupama Bhagwat. “We reached out to artistes who provided us with exclusive songs, some from private baithaks,” he says. Apart from that, he has also reached out to lesser-known artistes. “Most existing platforms chase established artistes, but there is no other platform apart from Youtube and Facebook for these yet new talents to be discovered.” You don't have to necessarily pay money. It's a subscription app and there's a free version that you can enjoy with limited songs. >India being a country of 1300 million people, only 5000+ has downloaded the app means Indians have totally rejected this app. This is quite an absurd conclusion. >Why non of musicians is promoting this app? something is drastically wrong with this app. There's nothing wrong or shady about this product. Marico boss Harsh Mariwala had recommended this app to someone on Twitter. Apart from that, in my opinion, Indian classical music is nothing like your mainstream pop music where you'd expect the singer to jump and promote their app on instagram or tiktok. Classical music is much more than money or fame.
- biz_booster 6y ago

zerop 6y ago

Thanks for sharing...Worked for me instantly... My infant slept with very less efforts, after I put it on my laptop...

biz_booster 6y ago
Great to see that your infant understands the classical music. pls do read my comments on this thread.

bravura 6y ago

I am your target customer and would pay money for this. However, I don't want to install another app and would rather have this delivered through soundcloud and mixcloud, and pay for exclusive (secret) tracks through patreon or whatnot