Lesson video

Hi, everybody.

Welcome to lesson number six.

This is the final lesson in our compose and create series, improvising with Hindustani classical music.

And in this final lesson, we bring together those three main components: the taal, the raag, and now the drone.

By the end of this lesson, you'll have added a drone to our taal and our raag for an effective Hindustani classical music performance.

Let's begin by looking through our keywords.

The first is drone.

Now, in Hindustani classical music, this is a constant, pitched sound that continues right throughout the piece of music and right throughout the performance.

Improvisation, that creative, in-the-moment musical composition where we make up as we go along.

The tanpura, that long-necked Indian instrument, which we pluck, and that's the instrument on which the drone is commonly played.

And texture, that musical word we use where we combine different layers of sounds, and the more layers we add, the thicker that texture becomes.

We know we're going to warm up because we know how important that is to help us make music together, when we warm up, when warming up our mind, as well as our voice.

And we do that with some rhythm and pulse warmups 'cause that helps us really tune into the pulse to keep a tempo as a collective, as a whole group, as an ensemble.

And that's really important when we're playing music together.

And warming up using pitch to help us sing in tune together as we'll be singing the raag today.

Work through these three warmup exercises to focus your minds and to gently warm your voices where you are.

Off you go.

And we'll know if we've warmed up successfully because we're really in tune with that pulse and we're singing in tune and we feel alert.

We feel focused and ready to work together as a group.

Looking at our two learning cycles for today, we have exploring drones using our voice, and then playing taal, raag and drone together.

Let's start by exploring drones with voice.

Now, there's a wonderful concept in Indian philosophy, this ancient concept called Nada Brahma.

I'm gonna break that down into those two words.

Nada is the Sanskrit word for sound, and Brahma is the name of the Hindu God known as the creator.

And so when we put Nada Brahma together, we can see that the translation is like God is sound or more broadly, the universe is sound.

And in physics, we understand that everything in the universe is vibrating.

So Nada Brahma is a really good comparison for that.

If we think to those three components of Hindustani classical music, we have the drone.

And the drone is that constant sound that we know is played on the tanpura.

We're gonna be bringing that together today with the raag, the melodic structure, and the taal, the rhythm cycle.

Focusing though on the drone, on that tanpura, which you can see, that four-strung instrument, this provides us with a constant sound.

It starts right at the beginning of the performance.

It's usually the first sound we hear and the last sound we hear.

And everything is based on this constant vibration that runs through.

There's a video clip coming up now of Justeep explaining this a little bit further.

<v ->Now, some of you may wonder what we mean by drone.

</v> Now, in Western music, when we have a guitar or a piano, they normally play chords.

And the beauty of Western music is how the chord progression might happen.

And you'll hear very, very intricate things happening in the harmony.

Now, in Indian classical music, we don't have a very rich tradition of chords and modulation and all these wonderful words associated with harmony.

Now, in Indian classical music, all our focus goes on the melody and the rhythm.

Our systems of melody and rhythm is very, very highly developed, whereas our drone is basically one static note that we play our music upon.

Now, we could say spiritually that could mean anything.

I know in Indian classical spirituality, which some musicians are very, very spiritual, they may believe that just like everything comes from God or the higher being, they would also say that all the music comes from this one note.

And I think that's a really beautiful and poetic way of describing what the drone means for Indian classical music.

As we do all the music, we have so many hundreds of different raags and melodies and rhythm, but ultimately, it's all based on the one drone, or the one string.

And I think that's a beautiful way of describing what Indian classical music means to Indian classical musicians.

<v ->So the tanpura's strings are plucked</v> so that they constantly vibrate, and they play their sound throughout the entire performance.

And it symbolises, it's a symbol of Nada Brahma, that concept that God is sound or the universe is sound.

So a quick recap for us then.

The drone is played on which instrument? Is that drone, that constant sound, is it played on the tabla, the tanpura or the sitar? Is it A, B, or C? Yep, well, remembered, it is B, the tanpura, that four-stringed, long-necked instrument, which plays the drone.

Now then, the four strings are most often tuned to sa, the first note and pa, the fifth note, as well as the high sa, the higher C that's an octave above.

So we've got.

♪ Sa, pa, sa ♪ And they are constantly pluck throughout to play that as a constant drone.

The first note of the saptak is sa, and the fifth one is pa.

And you can see that on the keyboard in front of you as how far apart those notes are.

So we're gonna have a try at creating a drone using our voice.

So the three notes we can choose from is the low sa, ♪ Sa ♪ the middle pa, ♪ Pa ♪ and the high note.

♪ Sa ♪ And you're gonna choose one of them.

So in a minute, you'll hear that played on a glockenspiel.

So you can pitch that, choose that note if that's the one for you.

And you don't all have to choose the same one in your class.

There's three notes to choose from.

So pick and they will blend together and you're gonna breathe in, sing that note, nice open mouth from ♪ Sa ♪ and keep the mouth open.

And as you run out of air, pause, breathe in again, and begin to sing gently again.

And this constant sound is called a drone.

Here come the three notes, the first sa, (music note dinging) the middle, pa, the fifth note up, (music note dinging) and then the high sa.

(music note dinging) Choose one of those, pause the video for a moment and experiment in creating a drone.

Off you go.

Very well done, a lovely sound.

And the more we explore with the dynamics, we realise the volume that sounds just right, it's not too loud.

And that constant sound that we'll achieve starts to feel more blended as we relax into it.

So how do we create an effective drone? Let's check.

Do we sing gently and then when we run out of breath, we stop? Or do we sing and breathe gently as we hold and then repeat the note? Or do we sing and breathe gently and gradually get louder? What do you think? Do you think it's A, B or C? Take a moment.

Well done.

It's B.

We're singing gently, we're breathing gently.

And as we hold that note, breathe and repeat.

Now it's time to sing our melody in Raag Bhupali.

So there's a sound button there if you need to pause to remind yourself of the tune.

You can get your pitch from there as well.

And when you've sung it, we can pause the video in a second, when you've sung it, we're going to add in a drone note.

And again, you can use those three notes, the ♪ Sa, pa, sa ♪ to decide which one you're going to sing.

Keep to the same one or change, up to you, and breathe when you need to.

So you'll have two groups in your space, in your classroom.

So the drone group and then the melody group.

Okay? So everyone could be reminded of the melody.

You can all sing that.

Everyone can have a go at singing the drone note.

And then at point three, this is where you split into two.

Decide in that group, they can still choose their own drone note out of sa, pa or sa.

And the other half will sing the melody.

You remember that the melody needs to keep a steady pulse so you're all singing and not rushing.

The drone group will begin.

And once that drone's established, not too loud, then add the raag melody when you're ready, okay? That's your practise task.

Pause the video.

Off you go.

Great stuff.

So now we've got another level of sound, another layer of sandwich is that drone.

And I'm interested to know how did those two layers sound? Did you need to adjust the dynamics? Did one need to be a bit louder than the other? What worked well for you? Have a listen to this one.

This is an example of someone singing a raag against a drone.

Here it comes.

(people singing in foreign language) Great stuff.

Now, Lucas says that in his group, most people sang sa and some sang pa and the sound of those together made a good drone sound.

So not everyone sang.

There were some pas in there, that fifth note up.

And then in Aisha's group, they were singing the raag melody and they said singing it gently just helped the sound and it gave the raag a relaxed feel, which is great for Raag Bhupali.

It's time to move on to second part of our lesson, which is bringing together those three components of taal, raag, and drone.

Here it comes.

We remember that the taal is our rhythm cycle.

The one we're using, the one we've decided is that 16 beat rhythm cycle called Teentaal.

And the bols that we speak is the sound that kind of reflect the sounds, imitate the sounds that the tabla drums make.

And we're gonna accompany those with the taps, claps, and the waves.

Ordinarily this will be played on the tabla drums. So which of these activities then belongs to the taal? Do we improvise a melody in a taal? Do we clap, tap and wave a rhythm cycle of a taal? Or does the drone belong to the taal? Let me know.

Have a think.

Is it A, B or C? Well done.

B.

So when we clap, tap and wave, that is belonging to the taal, that's belonging to the rhythm cycle.

And the raag, that melodic framework, like a scale.

The notes that we use in Raag Bhupali are because they are the notes we're allowed to use in that raag.

And there's hundreds of different raags, each with their own set of notes.

And sometimes they are played at a certain time of day or in a season, like monsoon when they're more commonly played or when they were written to be played.

And the raag in many Hindustani classical performances is played on the sitar.

So which activity belongs to the raag? Can we improvise a melody in a raag? Can we clap, tap and wave a rhythm cycle in a raag? Or does the drone belong to the raag? I think you know the answer.

Yes, you're right.

It's A, we improvise a melody and we are doing it using Raag Bhupali.

Lastly, the drone, this is the third component that we're bringing together today.

That constant sound.

Normally the first and last sound we hear in a concert.

Now, it plays what we call the root note or the first note.

So in our raag, this is sa or C on our instruments.

And then we also, in this raag, we add the fifth note to the drone, which is pa or G on our instrument, the fifth one up.

And then we can add the high sa as well.

So we're gonna be singing and holding those two notes, sa, pa and the high sa, one of those to create our drone, to create our constant sound.

So then just a check.

I'm sure you'll know which activity belongs to the tanpura.

Ah, the instrument tanpura, do we improvise a melody? Do we clap, tap and wave the rhythm cycle? Or does the drone, that constant sound belong to the tanpura? And I'm sure by process of elimination, you've got it.

It's C, the drone, that constant sound.

Now, we're gonna build the texture of our piece by layering taal, raag, and drone.

So what's gonna happen ultimately is there's a part one, a part two, and a part three, so you can decide in your class.

Maybe split into three groups and each group might have a go at at each part eventually.

So part one is where we sing the drone.

Now, it's worth pointing out here if there's anyone in your class who is maybe learning the violin or the flute or another instrument that can hold a note, a lengthy note that's gentle, an open C or an open G would be perfectly feasible to add that in at this point.

So you can sing the sa or the ♪ Pa or the sa ♪ but you could also play it on an instrument, such as a violin or a flute.

And these are instruments which we we do on occasion see in Hindustani music as well.

So they certainly wouldn't be out of place.

Part two, that's the part that's gonna be clapping, tapping, waving, and speaking the bols of the taals.

So that's the responsibility for part two is of the rhythm side of things.

And then part three is where we sing Raag Bhupali, the melody in phrase one, and we will improvise on our instrument in phrase two.

Okay, so they're the three components, drone, the taal, and the raag, the constant sound, the melodic framework and the rhythm cycle.

So what I'd like you to do now is just so you are 100% clear is match up what are we doing for the drone? What are we doing for the raag? And what are we doing for the taal? So for one of those we will have claps, taps, and waves.

For one of them, we'll be singing a melody.

And for one of them, we'll be singing and holding a note.

Okay? Check you are gonna match A, B, and C to those.

There's a big clue in one of them.

Okay, great.

So with A, we're gonna sing and hold a note, that sa or the pa or the sa, that is our drone, our constant.

The raag, we're gonna sing the melody, and we can also then follow that by improvising.

And then with the taal, that's our claps and our waves, as well as speaking the bols.

So here it comes, part one, the drone.

Your job is to set the note by playing sa or pa.

And that if you need to pause the video to get those notes, they're on the screen there as sound buttons.

When you begin singing, your job is simply to hold the note gently and breathe when you need to.

If you're part two, responsible for the taal, there'll be a steady count to 16.

By counting steadily to 16 first is gonna help everyone feel that pulse and keep in time.

Then you'll begin with your da, deen, deen, da clapping and speaking the rhythm cycle.

And then the third part, the raag in which we both sing and have that opportunity for improvisation.

So we wait until the ninth beat, we remember the first eight beats are empty.

So one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

♪ Sa, da, pa ♪ We remember that.

And then we play a short improvisation for the second phrase.

So we sing the first part, the first part of the melody, and we improvise on our instruments in the second part.

So you can pause the video now and take the time in your space, in your setting to be in three groups for the drone, taal and raag.

And make sure everyone rotates so every group has a turn.

Now, you can learn from each other as well.

Think, "How do I want the drone to sound? I heard that group do it.

How can I do it? How would I like the dynamics to be? When I'm playing the taal, do I need to really be aware of keeping the steady pulse so when not getting quicker?" And the more you do it, the better you'll get each time.

You could choose to record this and listen to it back so you can hear what bits are sounding really good and where any work's needed.

Pause the video and spend some time on this where you are.

Fantastic.

Really, really well done.

So we've brought together the three key elements of Hindustani classical music, the taal, the raag, and that all important fundamental drone.

Now, if you did record and listen back to your work, you can check for the following.

It may be that you had someone in your classroom to provide that feedback to you and tell you where to improve each time.

Recording it can be really useful and this is what you're going to be listening out for.

With the drone, did you hold the correct notes? If you chose the sa, or pa or the high sa, did you hold that same note? Did it stay in tune each time so that the drone sounded like a constant? And did you breathe and continue to sing that same note gently? So when you run out of breath and you carry on singing.

With part two with the taal, did you remember to count the 16 beats before starting? That I'm sure helps keep a steady pulse so that you're all far clearer on starting and keeping in time together.

And did you remember to clap and tap and wave throughout that rhythm cycle? Could you speak the bol, clap, tap, and wave at the same time? If you did, fantastic.

And then part three, this is the raag, the melody where we sing and improvise.

So did you wait the first eight beats and then on the ninth beat you start the sa? And did you remember to hold the ♪ Sa part ♪ so that you've got the first note is held for two beats? And lastly, when you played your improvisation, was it simple? Did you remember to play it in the right place? I imagine you may have just chosen maybe three notes so that it sounds simple but effective.

Really well done.

You can choose to pause the video, listen back if you've recorded it, reflect on where you can improve and have another go.

Fantastic, well done.

Really, really well done.

There's a lot of effort that's gone into that from learning the melody, learning the rhythm cycle, refining that drone, and bringing them all together as a performance.

So fantastic work.

We're almost finished for this lesson and indeed, this set of lessons on Hindustani classical music.

Let's just have a quick recap to finish off.

We remember that Nada Brahma in Indian philosophy means God is sound or the universe is sound more broadly in the idea that everything is vibrating.

And the drone played on the tanpura is that constant sound that runs right throughout Hindustani classical music.

The drone symbolises the idea of Nada Brahma, that fundamental constant sound.

And we remember that the three main components of Hindustani classical music are the taal, the raag, and the drone.

And we've recreated these by clapping and tapping the taal, speaking the bols, playing and improvising in the raag and singing or maybe playing the drone.

Really well done for this series of lessons.

I hope you've enjoyed yourself and I will see you soon.

Bye-bye.