5 ms·

Rhythm (taal) in Indian Classical Music (2011)

154 points by brudgers 4y ago

cush 4y ago
I remember first learning about taal from this Sarah Thawer video. It's a really fun watch https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tXGD4Ik7BI4 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tXGD4Ik7BI4
tudorw 4y ago
Here's a fascinating film on Dhrupad https://youtu.be/Lye2FSx0F4c https://youtu.be/Lye2FSx0F4c
chimineycricket 4y ago
I'm a tabla player in (classical) training (still noob though). One of my favorite tala is called "Sardha Roopak", and it's a cycle of 10.5 beats which is trippy. There are other X.5 beat cycles as well. Here's a video of someone playing a tabla solo in 10.5 beats https://youtu.be/8e2L2mr3_W0?t=33 https://youtu.be/8e2L2mr3_W0?t=33
- dekhn 4y ago
  I like teen thal and allochotal (not sure of spelling). What really blew me away was listening to zakir Hussein speaking drums, there's some very well developed verbalization of percussion that is a form of poetry I'm not sure what it's called.
  - delta_p_delta_x 4y ago
    > there's some very well developed verbalization of percussion It's called bol[1] in Hindustani music, and koṉṉakkōl[2] in Carnatic music. The basic 4-count syllables are 'na dhin dhin na' in the former, and 'ta ka dhi mi' in the latter. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bol_(music) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bol_(music) [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konnakol https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konnakol Both are easily heard and seen performed by live musicians in the archetypal North and South Indian dance forms, Kathak and Bharatanatyam respectively.
    - dav_Oz 4y ago
      For the life of me I couldn't cope with western bar notations especially regarding polyrhythms/polymeters trying to follow accents and groupings ... it gets unwieldy So in the spirit of "pass the goddamn butter" [0] I was introduced to konnakol via this book [1] some time ago. There seems to be a lot of truth in the the notion: "if you can say it you can play it". Once I can "vocalize it" it is way easier to translate that into the instrument itself. It is very intuitive to learn this e.g. the "takadimi" route. [A pretty fun dissection of a Meshuggah song with the help of konnakol.][2] [0]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1NI4QAh_V3w https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1NI4QAh_V3w [1]https://www.amazon.com/You-Can-Ta-This-Precision/dp/1930080026 https://www.amazon.com/You-Can-Ta-This-Precision/dp/19300800... [2]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2iyd2zkgOU0 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2iyd2zkgOU0
      - rolfea 4y ago
        I think you are exactly correct. My big revelation in graduate school (music performance) was the idea that vocalizations of music "short circuit" our learning process and tend to get a performer closer to what we'd call an "expressive" or "musical" rendition. Notated music's function is simply to give a systematic way to for people to reproduce/recreate an aural experience, but it is a "lossy" format that western classical musicians have to spend years training in performance practice and interpretation to adequately recapture the expressive elements that are not easy to capture in notation but are vital for engaging performances.
  - chimineycricket 4y ago
    Teen taal definitely, everyone loves that. Usually the first taal people begin to learn playing. I think you mean "ada chautaal"? Yes the verbalization is called the "bol". "Bol" in hindi means things like "word", "speak", "lyrics", etc. Indian classical musicians don't use sheet music, so they have to orally pass down their teachings. The bol that Zakir Hussain (and all other tabla players) say _are_ the notes that they play. Word for word/note for note. Each sound on the tabla has its own name, which is expressed as an onomatopoeia like "dhin". Then you can verbalize the percussion you're about to play. https://youtu.be/e8tfg2GBYP8?t=1549 https://youtu.be/e8tfg2GBYP8?t=1549 Here's a great composition being verbalized, explained, and played by Zakir Hussain and his brother.
    - dekhn 4y ago
      Thanks, I've been looking for that video.
    - dekhn 4y ago
      The track I'm thinking of is Raag Bhimpalasi (from the excellent album, "Ravi Shankar: Sounds of India") which seems to be ada chautaal.
- PaulDavisThe1st 4y ago
  I first heard L. Shankar playing against a 9.5 beat tala, and the concept blew my mind. In western terms, it means that the relationship between the rythm and melody (plus any harmony if there is any) shifts 0.5 beats every cycle: for one cycle, the rythm may feel ahead, or on time, and for the next it may feel on time, or late. It's a fascinating technique that I think has no true analog in western music. It is true that many forms of african-derived music in the US will shift the precise position of beats to create swing/syncopation/dilla-time, but this is generally done on a per-note basis, not on a per-cycle basis as happens with a half-beat tala.
  - AlecSchueler 4y ago
    > It's a fascinating technique that I think has no true analog in western music. Closest thing I could think of would be pieces like Piano Phase by Steve Reich.
  - DontchaKnowit 4y ago
    Perhaps I am not conceptualizing this right, but it sounds to me like it is basically a hemiola, which can be found in a lot of western music, albeit not much in classical or pop. If you listen to math rock or stuff like meshuggah though, its all over the place.
    - rolfea 4y ago
      Typically in music theory, we would talk about a hemiola as a rhythmic technique in which a rhythm in a simple (2) metric division is introduced in the context of a compound (3) division of the beat, or vice versa. What the parent post describes isn't an isolated gesture like that, but a sustained state of overlapping meters, if I'm understanding correctly. In the case of the ICM described, as well as math rock/meshuggah/etc, I would describe the technique as "Polymetric" or maybe a "Sustained polyrhythm," and not a hemiola.
      - DontchaKnowit 4y ago
        Gotcha, so does share structure with some niche western music but hemiola is kot quite the right term for it.
- OJFord 4y ago
  I'm a Hindi speaker in training, but not music theory. I'm curious what they're named for? Quoting the article: > For instance, Teentaal (16 beats) is made up of four sections of four beats each, while Ektaal (12 beats) is made up of six sections of two beats each. why is 'three rhythm' four beats/bar (and four bars repeating) and 'one rhythm' two (six)?
  - d13 4y ago
    It’s the number of claps that matter. Teentaal: there’s a clap on beats 1,4 and 12. No clap on 9. Ektaak: Just one clap on the first beat.
delta_p_delta_x 4y ago
There are two major Indian classical music traditions, Hindustani (North Indian) and Carnatic (South Indian). The link is focused on the former. I'd like to add some (general, not just rhythmic) notes on the latter. 1. Both derive from the Sāmaveda, and took their modern forms beginning from the 15th century CE. What would eventually become Hindustani music took on Persian and Arabic influences, whereas Carnatic music—as the name suggests—is mostly limited to South India and therefore relatively insulated from the cultural changes in the North, and is considered closer to ancient Indian music. 2. Perhaps the most important difference between Indian and Western classical music is that the former is relative, not absolute. The main artiste picks a comfortable śruti, or tonic: males typically choose B to D, solo instrumentalists typically tune their instruments to D - F, and female artistes choose F# to A (and an octave higher). This is just a rule of thumb; some instrumentalists (flautists, for instance) prefer C. Note that I refer to only the note; the precise frequency/octave is irrelevant insofar as defining śruti is concerned. Once the main artiste has selected their śruti, all other accompanying instruments are tuned to the same. This is why ICM notation is solfège-based, staff notation does not work for ICM, and why Indian classical musicians have a taṃbūrā (could be electronic, too) on stage. 3. The ICM solfège is called swara. There are seven of these, called sa, ri, ga, ma, pa, dha, ni, just like in the West (do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti). Similarly, they expand to twelve when accounting for semitones. 4. The basic melodic framework for ICM is the rāga; loosely put, this defines a certain scale that a composition, or parts of a composition, or some improvisation is set to. rāgas also define the gamakas, or ornaments for their scales; this is fundamental to ICM. There exist notationally equal scales with and without gamaka, but they are considered completely different rāgas. 5. There are loose analogues between ICM rāgas and Western modes. For instance, the Ionian mode is equivalent to Śankarābharaṇaṃ in Carnatic music, or Bilāval in Hindustani music. 6. Carnatic music rāga classification has an interesting tree structure. There are 72 'roots', called mēḷakartā, which have a complete scale of 7 notes ascending, and 7 notes descending. Delete some notes, or reorder them, or introduce one or more notes from another scale, and you get a veritable sea of janya rāgas. 7. Carnatic music has a few classifications for its rhythmic patterns. The suladi sapta tāla system is most commonly taught to beginners. In this, there are three angas (or parts): laghu, dhrutam, and anudhrutam. laghus can have 3, 4, 5, 7, or 9 beats (or akṣara), called jātis. There are seven arrangements (ergo, sapta) of angas under this system, and with five jātis, there emerge 35 talas with different akṣara sums for each. The typical 8-akṣara rhythm (again, similar to Western music) is called ādi tāla, or catusra jāti triputa talā. Some exemplary Carnatic music: Vocal: Ramakrishnan Murthy, ānanda naṭana prakāśam, Muttusvāmi Dīkṣitar, Kēdāram, Misra Cāpu tāla: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu-tFbGpoTQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu-tFbGpoTQ Violin solo: Charumathi Raghuraman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lESyDHH_E7Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lESyDHH_E7Q Vīṇā solo: Ramana Balachandran: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgW3j9OVpJo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgW3j9OVpJo Flute solo: J.B. Sruthi Sagar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6InFwzX8kk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6InFwzX8kk
mastazi 4y ago
The website linked by OP is really good, simple explanations that are easy to understand. The section about Ragas is also well done. Is there a similar source for Southern Indian (Carnatic) music? PS also any good sources for watching performances? This is a YouTube channel that I started following recently https://www.youtube.com/@darbarfestival https://www.youtube.com/@darbarfestival
- delta_p_delta_x 4y ago
  > Is there a similar source for Southern Indian (Carnatic) music? https://www.ragasurabhi.com/ https://www.ragasurabhi.com/ is decent. > PS also any good sources for watching performances? - First Edition Arts has similarly high-quality videos: https://www.youtube.com/@FirstEditionArtsChannel https://www.youtube.com/@FirstEditionArtsChannel - Madras Music Academy: https://www.youtube.com/@themusicacademymadras/videos https://www.youtube.com/@themusicacademymadras/videos You can follow some of the artistes themselves, such as: - TM Krishna: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl-HdkpIxPECiTpxWSaVHqA https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl-HdkpIxPECiTpxWSaVHqA - Sanjay Subrahmanyan: https://www.youtube.com/@sanjaysubmusic https://www.youtube.com/@sanjaysubmusic - Dr L Subramaniam: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdYNQApXy7MN4ynEzWf1HlQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdYNQApXy7MN4ynEzWf1HlQ - Dr Jayanthi Kumaresh: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW7OT_-mpbTu3OcS9VwCtUQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW7OT_-mpbTu3OcS9VwCtUQ - Sangeethapriya, audio recordings only: https://www.sangeethapriya.org/display_tracks.php https://www.sangeethapriya.org/display_tracks.php
  - samarthr1 4y ago
    In addition, karnatik.com has a very nice directory of concert music by well known composers, featuring lyrics, raagam and taalam, along with some other information that changes from piece to piece
- butterNaN 4y ago
  You might be interested in this youtube channel: Rishabh Bhowmick https://www.youtube.com/@RishabhB/videos https://www.youtube.com/@RishabhB/videos "How to Listen to Indian Classical Music" is a common subject discussed on that channel
devnull3 4y ago
Highly recommend videos from Anuja Kamat: What is Raag? => https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBtFt3HUkT0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBtFt3HUkT0 Concept of 'Swara'- Hindustani, Carnatic and Western theory of swara => https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-nUTYRyuqk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-nUTYRyuqk (the entire video series has a nice, casual way of explaining things. Grab a coffee and enjoy)
ketanmaheshwari 4y ago
More about Indian classical music here: https://www.parrikar.org https://www.parrikar.org
uptownfunk 4y ago
One thing I realized was that different instruments have different capacities to express rhythms. Certain things you play on tabla you just can’t play on Mridangam and vice versa. And so the difference in the instrument itself allows for the taala to manifest in different ways. Listen to a teental peshkar and compare to an Adi taala thani and it’s just something completely different all together. Or even a North Indian bhajana compared to a keerthana or kriti in Carnatic.

154 points by brudgers 4y ago

cush 4y ago

I remember first learning about taal from this Sarah Thawer video. It's a really fun watch https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tXGD4Ik7BI4 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tXGD4Ik7BI4

tudorw 4y ago

Here's a fascinating film on Dhrupad https://youtu.be/Lye2FSx0F4c https://youtu.be/Lye2FSx0F4c

chimineycricket 4y ago

I'm a tabla player in (classical) training (still noob though). One of my favorite tala is called "Sardha Roopak", and it's a cycle of 10.5 beats which is trippy. There are other X.5 beat cycles as well. Here's a video of someone playing a tabla solo in 10.5 beats https://youtu.be/8e2L2mr3_W0?t=33 https://youtu.be/8e2L2mr3_W0?t=33

dekhn 4y ago
I like teen thal and allochotal (not sure of spelling). What really blew me away was listening to zakir Hussein speaking drums, there's some very well developed verbalization of percussion that is a form of poetry I'm not sure what it's called.
- delta_p_delta_x 4y ago
  > there's some very well developed verbalization of percussion It's called bol[1] in Hindustani music, and koṉṉakkōl[2] in Carnatic music. The basic 4-count syllables are 'na dhin dhin na' in the former, and 'ta ka dhi mi' in the latter. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bol_(music) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bol_(music) [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konnakol https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konnakol Both are easily heard and seen performed by live musicians in the archetypal North and South Indian dance forms, Kathak and Bharatanatyam respectively.
  - dav_Oz 4y ago
    For the life of me I couldn't cope with western bar notations especially regarding polyrhythms/polymeters trying to follow accents and groupings ... it gets unwieldy So in the spirit of "pass the goddamn butter" [0] I was introduced to konnakol via this book [1] some time ago. There seems to be a lot of truth in the the notion: "if you can say it you can play it". Once I can "vocalize it" it is way easier to translate that into the instrument itself. It is very intuitive to learn this e.g. the "takadimi" route. [A pretty fun dissection of a Meshuggah song with the help of konnakol.][2] [0]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1NI4QAh_V3w https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1NI4QAh_V3w [1]https://www.amazon.com/You-Can-Ta-This-Precision/dp/1930080026 https://www.amazon.com/You-Can-Ta-This-Precision/dp/19300800... [2]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2iyd2zkgOU0 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2iyd2zkgOU0
    - rolfea 4y ago
      I think you are exactly correct. My big revelation in graduate school (music performance) was the idea that vocalizations of music "short circuit" our learning process and tend to get a performer closer to what we'd call an "expressive" or "musical" rendition. Notated music's function is simply to give a systematic way to for people to reproduce/recreate an aural experience, but it is a "lossy" format that western classical musicians have to spend years training in performance practice and interpretation to adequately recapture the expressive elements that are not easy to capture in notation but are vital for engaging performances.
- chimineycricket 4y ago
  Teen taal definitely, everyone loves that. Usually the first taal people begin to learn playing. I think you mean "ada chautaal"? Yes the verbalization is called the "bol". "Bol" in hindi means things like "word", "speak", "lyrics", etc. Indian classical musicians don't use sheet music, so they have to orally pass down their teachings. The bol that Zakir Hussain (and all other tabla players) say _are_ the notes that they play. Word for word/note for note. Each sound on the tabla has its own name, which is expressed as an onomatopoeia like "dhin". Then you can verbalize the percussion you're about to play. https://youtu.be/e8tfg2GBYP8?t=1549 https://youtu.be/e8tfg2GBYP8?t=1549 Here's a great composition being verbalized, explained, and played by Zakir Hussain and his brother.
  - dekhn 4y ago
    Thanks, I've been looking for that video.
  - dekhn 4y ago
    The track I'm thinking of is Raag Bhimpalasi (from the excellent album, "Ravi Shankar: Sounds of India") which seems to be ada chautaal.
PaulDavisThe1st 4y ago
I first heard L. Shankar playing against a 9.5 beat tala, and the concept blew my mind. In western terms, it means that the relationship between the rythm and melody (plus any harmony if there is any) shifts 0.5 beats every cycle: for one cycle, the rythm may feel ahead, or on time, and for the next it may feel on time, or late. It's a fascinating technique that I think has no true analog in western music. It is true that many forms of african-derived music in the US will shift the precise position of beats to create swing/syncopation/dilla-time, but this is generally done on a per-note basis, not on a per-cycle basis as happens with a half-beat tala.
- AlecSchueler 4y ago
  > It's a fascinating technique that I think has no true analog in western music. Closest thing I could think of would be pieces like Piano Phase by Steve Reich.
- DontchaKnowit 4y ago
  Perhaps I am not conceptualizing this right, but it sounds to me like it is basically a hemiola, which can be found in a lot of western music, albeit not much in classical or pop. If you listen to math rock or stuff like meshuggah though, its all over the place.
  - rolfea 4y ago
    Typically in music theory, we would talk about a hemiola as a rhythmic technique in which a rhythm in a simple (2) metric division is introduced in the context of a compound (3) division of the beat, or vice versa. What the parent post describes isn't an isolated gesture like that, but a sustained state of overlapping meters, if I'm understanding correctly. In the case of the ICM described, as well as math rock/meshuggah/etc, I would describe the technique as "Polymetric" or maybe a "Sustained polyrhythm," and not a hemiola.
    - DontchaKnowit 4y ago
      Gotcha, so does share structure with some niche western music but hemiola is kot quite the right term for it.
OJFord 4y ago
I'm a Hindi speaker in training, but not music theory. I'm curious what they're named for? Quoting the article: > For instance, Teentaal (16 beats) is made up of four sections of four beats each, while Ektaal (12 beats) is made up of six sections of two beats each. why is 'three rhythm' four beats/bar (and four bars repeating) and 'one rhythm' two (six)?
- d13 4y ago
  It’s the number of claps that matter. Teentaal: there’s a clap on beats 1,4 and 12. No clap on 9. Ektaak: Just one clap on the first beat.

delta_p_delta_x 4y ago

There are two major Indian classical music traditions, Hindustani (North Indian) and Carnatic (South Indian). The link is focused on the former. I'd like to add some (general, not just rhythmic) notes on the latter. 1. Both derive from the Sāmaveda, and took their modern forms beginning from the 15th century CE. What would eventually become Hindustani music took on Persian and Arabic influences, whereas Carnatic music—as the name suggests—is mostly limited to South India and therefore relatively insulated from the cultural changes in the North, and is considered closer to ancient Indian music. 2. Perhaps the most important difference between Indian and Western classical music is that the former is relative, not absolute. The main artiste picks a comfortable śruti, or tonic: males typically choose B to D, solo instrumentalists typically tune their instruments to D - F, and female artistes choose F# to A (and an octave higher). This is just a rule of thumb; some instrumentalists (flautists, for instance) prefer C. Note that I refer to only the note; the precise frequency/octave is irrelevant insofar as defining śruti is concerned. Once the main artiste has selected their śruti, all other accompanying instruments are tuned to the same. This is why ICM notation is solfège-based, staff notation does not work for ICM, and why Indian classical musicians have a taṃbūrā (could be electronic, too) on stage. 3. The ICM solfège is called swara. There are seven of these, called sa, ri, ga, ma, pa, dha, ni, just like in the West (do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti). Similarly, they expand to twelve when accounting for semitones. 4. The basic melodic framework for ICM is the rāga; loosely put, this defines a certain scale that a composition, or parts of a composition, or some improvisation is set to. rāgas also define the gamakas, or ornaments for their scales; this is fundamental to ICM. There exist notationally equal scales with and without gamaka, but they are considered completely different rāgas. 5. There are loose analogues between ICM rāgas and Western modes. For instance, the Ionian mode is equivalent to Śankarābharaṇaṃ in Carnatic music, or Bilāval in Hindustani music. 6. Carnatic music rāga classification has an interesting tree structure. There are 72 'roots', called mēḷakartā, which have a complete scale of 7 notes ascending, and 7 notes descending. Delete some notes, or reorder them, or introduce one or more notes from another scale, and you get a veritable sea of janya rāgas. 7. Carnatic music has a few classifications for its rhythmic patterns. The suladi sapta tāla system is most commonly taught to beginners. In this, there are three angas (or parts): laghu, dhrutam, and anudhrutam. laghus can have 3, 4, 5, 7, or 9 beats (or akṣara), called jātis. There are seven arrangements (ergo, sapta) of angas under this system, and with five jātis, there emerge 35 talas with different akṣara sums for each. The typical 8-akṣara rhythm (again, similar to Western music) is called ādi tāla, or catusra jāti triputa talā. Some exemplary Carnatic music: Vocal: Ramakrishnan Murthy, ānanda naṭana prakāśam, Muttusvāmi Dīkṣitar, Kēdāram, Misra Cāpu tāla: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu-tFbGpoTQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu-tFbGpoTQ Violin solo: Charumathi Raghuraman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lESyDHH_E7Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lESyDHH_E7Q Vīṇā solo: Ramana Balachandran: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgW3j9OVpJo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgW3j9OVpJo Flute solo: J.B. Sruthi Sagar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6InFwzX8kk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6InFwzX8kk

mastazi 4y ago

The website linked by OP is really good, simple explanations that are easy to understand. The section about Ragas is also well done. Is there a similar source for Southern Indian (Carnatic) music? PS also any good sources for watching performances? This is a YouTube channel that I started following recently https://www.youtube.com/@darbarfestival https://www.youtube.com/@darbarfestival

delta_p_delta_x 4y ago
> Is there a similar source for Southern Indian (Carnatic) music? https://www.ragasurabhi.com/ https://www.ragasurabhi.com/ is decent. > PS also any good sources for watching performances? - First Edition Arts has similarly high-quality videos: https://www.youtube.com/@FirstEditionArtsChannel https://www.youtube.com/@FirstEditionArtsChannel - Madras Music Academy: https://www.youtube.com/@themusicacademymadras/videos https://www.youtube.com/@themusicacademymadras/videos You can follow some of the artistes themselves, such as: - TM Krishna: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl-HdkpIxPECiTpxWSaVHqA https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl-HdkpIxPECiTpxWSaVHqA - Sanjay Subrahmanyan: https://www.youtube.com/@sanjaysubmusic https://www.youtube.com/@sanjaysubmusic - Dr L Subramaniam: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdYNQApXy7MN4ynEzWf1HlQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdYNQApXy7MN4ynEzWf1HlQ - Dr Jayanthi Kumaresh: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW7OT_-mpbTu3OcS9VwCtUQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW7OT_-mpbTu3OcS9VwCtUQ - Sangeethapriya, audio recordings only: https://www.sangeethapriya.org/display_tracks.php https://www.sangeethapriya.org/display_tracks.php
- samarthr1 4y ago
  In addition, karnatik.com has a very nice directory of concert music by well known composers, featuring lyrics, raagam and taalam, along with some other information that changes from piece to piece
butterNaN 4y ago
You might be interested in this youtube channel: Rishabh Bhowmick https://www.youtube.com/@RishabhB/videos https://www.youtube.com/@RishabhB/videos "How to Listen to Indian Classical Music" is a common subject discussed on that channel

devnull3 4y ago

Highly recommend videos from Anuja Kamat: What is Raag? => https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBtFt3HUkT0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBtFt3HUkT0 Concept of 'Swara'- Hindustani, Carnatic and Western theory of swara => https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-nUTYRyuqk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-nUTYRyuqk (the entire video series has a nice, casual way of explaining things. Grab a coffee and enjoy)

ketanmaheshwari 4y ago

More about Indian classical music here: https://www.parrikar.org https://www.parrikar.org

uptownfunk 4y ago

One thing I realized was that different instruments have different capacities to express rhythms. Certain things you play on tabla you just can’t play on Mridangam and vice versa. And so the difference in the instrument itself allows for the taala to manifest in different ways. Listen to a teental peshkar and compare to an Adi taala thani and it’s just something completely different all together. Or even a North Indian bhajana compared to a keerthana or kriti in Carnatic.