Lesson video

Hello again, everybody.

Welcome to lesson number four in our Compose and Create series, Improvising Within Hindustani Classical Music.

Now, today's lesson is called Improvising using a five note raag.

So we've explored raags, we've sung a melody from a raag, and now we are going to improvise within one and we'll find out what that means together.

By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to improvise a short musical phrase using a five note raag.

Let's look at our keywords for today.

The first one is improvisation.

Improvisation is that creative, in the moment musical composition, making it up as we go along.

Ras, or rasa, is the Sanskrit word meaning essence, that feeling that you might get from a piece of music.

The raag, that musical notes, the melodic framework that we can improvise within or make a composition from.

Dynamics, how loud or how quiet we are playing that music or singing.

And the tempo, how fast or how slow the music is played.

Before we begin, we're going to warm up because we know how important it is to warm our minds and warm our voices so that we're ready to play music and sing together.

When we have those rhythm and pulse warmups, they're really helping us, as a whole group stay in time.

And this will be really useful when we're playing and singing together.

And when we warm up using pitch, this is helping us sing in tune together.

In a moment, you're going to pause the video and practise Hi Lo Chickalo 1, 1, 2, 1, and TeenTaal.

Now, when you practise Hi Lo Chickalo, choose a new partner, start off at a steady tempo and only build quicker when you are both keeping that tempo and singing at the same pitch.

When you try 1, 1, 2, 1 is the pitch when you are all singing together accurate and are you keeping a steady pulse? And finally, with TeenTaal, when you explore counting and speaking the balls along to the video, perhaps notice if you can join in with the hand claps and taps too.

See how far you get.

Take up to 10 minutes and I'll see you in a moment.

You'll be ready to sing if you have been feeling the pulse, if you are starting to sing in tune with your partner or your whole group, and you're feeling alert, focused, and ready for music.

Looking at our learning cycles today, we're first of all going to play some short improvisations, and secondly, we're gonna see if we can put some emotion and some feeling into those improvisations too.

First of all, playing short improvisations.

Now, improvisation happens across all art forms in music, art, dance, and drama.

And when we create something in the moment, we can play freely.

In music, we are making a new piece of music as we go along.

Improvisation in Hindustani classical music follows a strict set of rules in which we only use the notes from a set raag.

Here's Jasdeep to explain more.

<v ->Now, you would've heard me talking</v> about something called improvisation.

Now, what is improvisation? Indian classical music is about 90% improvisation, which means music that happens on the spot.

I don't have anything written down and it isn't preplanned.

It's music that comes outta my head and comes out my hands on the spot.

Now, in Indian classical music, we have many rules around improvisation.

It doesn't mean that I can just play any note and I can start tapping the sitar and playing as many different notes as possible.

We have a very strict rule of if I'm playing in Raag Bhoopali, I'm only allowed to use them notes.

So the notes in Raag Bhoopali is.

(gentle sitar music) So then if I played, that is not allowed.

I'm not allowed to do that in a concert if I'm playing Raag Bhoopali.

If I played that, it would be wrong.

So I have to make sure that I only play these notes.

(upbeat sitar music) So this was all improvised.

So I can do many different types of improvisation.

I can do a slow improvisation.

(gentle sitar music) Or I could do a more faster improvisation.

(upbeat sitar music) <v ->Thanks, Jasdeep.

</v> Now then, let's have a quick check-in.

Which of these statements is not true? A, improvisation is where we create music in the moment.

B, we can use any note from the raag we are playing to improvise.

C, we can use any note we like when we improvise in a raag.

And d, we can improvise at a slower or a quicker tempo.

Which do you think? Three of them are true, but one is not.

Well done if you got it, the answer is c.

That's not true.

We can't use any note we like When we improvise in a raag.

We can use the notes given to us from that set raag.

For example, before we are going to improvise now using Raag Bhupali, we're going to pause the video and you're going to remind yourselves which notes you are allowed to use in this raag.

This is a five note raag, and we have the notes ♪ Sa, re, ga, pa, dha ♪ And then the higher ♪ Sa ♪ So pause the video and just make sure that on your instrument you know which notes you're going to be using and which notes not to play.

Take about a minute.

Off you go.

Next you're going to play the aaroh, the notes ascending, and the avroh, the notes descending.

So you'll play.

♪ Sa, re, ga, pa, dha, sa ♪ ♪ Sa, dha, pa, ga, re, sa ♪ Take about a minute.

Off you go.

Well done.

Now that we know which notes we're going to use, we're going to sing our melody in Raag Bhupali.

Here comes Jasdeep.

I'd like to be ready to sing straight away.

Here it comes.

<v ->So the whole thing.

</v> ♪ Sa, dha, Ga, Re, Sa, Re, ♪ ♪ Ga, ga, re, pa, re, ga ♪ ♪ Sa, dha, pa.

Ga, re, sa, re ♪ ♪ Ga, ga, re, pa, re, ga ♪ ♪ Sa, dha, Ga, Re, Sa, Re, ♪ ♪ Ga, ga, re, pa, re, ga ♪ <v ->Brill.

</v> Now that we've sung the melody, we're now going to play it.

So you're going to be playing.

♪ Sa, dha, pa, ga, re, sa, re ♪ ♪ Ga, ga, re, pa, re, ga ♪ And on your instruments, those notes will likely be ♪ C, A, G, E, D, C, D, E ♪ ♪ E, D, G, D, E ♪ So in a moment you're gonna pause the video, you need to make sure everyone's had a turn, and I recommend that you play at a slow tempo.

That's gonna give chance for the beater to be over the right note when you play.

So take your time, give yourself that breathing space, about four or five minutes, and I'll see you in a moment.

Off you go.

Really well done.

So that's our tune, our melody.

Now we are going to improvise using those notes, the notes from the raag.

Here's Jasdeep to explain a bit more and give us some examples.

<v ->So, I think we should all have a little go</v> at doing some improvisation.

And don't be worried about it.

The whole point is that we can make mistakes.

I've made loads of mistakes in my concerts, but it's made me a better musician.

So let's try it.

So I'm gonna play a few phrases, but the whole point is that I can only use the notes of the dark.

So what's gonna happen is that I'm going to sing a bit of the melody line and then I'll play a few improvisations.

Now, remember, in the improvisation, I don't have to play all the notes and I don't have to fill everything with loads of different music.

I could only just play one note if I wanted to.

So what we'll do is I'll do a couple of examples first and then I'll leave a gap for you to fill in with your music.

Are we ready? (gentle sitar music) ♪ Sa, dha, pa, ga, re, sa, re, ga ♪ ♪ Sa, dha, pa, ga, re, sa, re, ga ♪ ♪ Sa, dha, pa, ga, re, sa, re, ga ♪ ♪ Sa, dha, pa, ga, re, sa, re, ga ♪ ♪ Sa, dha, pa, ga, re, sa, re, ga ♪ ♪ Sa, dha, pa, ga, re, sa, re, ga ♪ <v ->So we notice we can have slower improvisations</v> and quicker ones.

Your task now is to create your own short, slow improvisation.

Just using two or three notes from Raag Bhupali.

So have a look at your instrument or the keyboard on the board, on the screen here, and think, oh yes, I've got.

♪ Sa, re, ga, pa, dha, sa ♪ I won't use them all, but I might explore using two or three of those, just to begin with.

So pause the video and spend about three or four minutes just exploring.

Think about the change of tempo just like Jasdeep did.

Off you go.

Great work.

Now then, if you'd like to, you could pause the video at this bit and watch that clip again.

Just compare, did some of your improvisations sound a bit like the ones Jasdeep was showing for us? Sophia says that using fewer notes was really helpful to create just a simple tune that she could play really well.

And June says, "I played slowly and I really thought about the notes that I wanted to use." So, maybe you align more with what Sophia was thinking, or with June.

Did you play slowly? Did you just choose two or three notes? Was that effective for you? Feel free to have another try and feel free to pause the video if you'd like to, to watch the video of Jasdeep reminding us what those improvisations could sound like.

Okay, we're now ready for our task.

In a moment, Jasdeep is going to play the first part of the melody that we've been learning in Raag Bhupali on the sitar.

Then he is gonna leave a gap.

So each time he'll play the first part of the melody and leave a gap.

In the gap, you are going to improvise your responses, so just use two or three notes, maybe four if you're feeling super ambitious, and explore playing it a slower, calmer tempo, and maybe a quicker one too.

Here comes Jasdeep.

Have your instrument ready, make sure everybody has a turn, and I'll see you in a moment.

(gentle sitar music) ♪ Sa, dha, pa, ga, re, sa, re, ga ♪ Your turn.

♪ Sa, dha, pa, ga, re, sa, re, ga ♪ ♪ Sa, dha, pa, ga, re, sa, re, ga ♪ ♪ Sa, dha, pa, ga, re, sa, re, ga ♪ ♪ Sa, dha, pa, ga, re, sa, re, ga ♪ <v ->Brilliant.

Really well done.

</v> Now, do remember that you can pause the video and use that clip again and again to make sure everybody's had a turn.

So, now we've tried, let's think what went well and what might we do differently next time.

So June says that he tried to use all of the notes in the raag and it sounded very fast.

And so his feedback to himself was, "I'll choose fewer notes next time." Sophia says, "I used three notes and I played them at a slow tempo." And for her that was controlled and calm.

I think she was pleased with that.

And Aisha says, "I only used three notes, but I did play them a lot and it sounded fun.

And next time I'll try at a different tempo." So think about yours.

You could have a different try now and explore maybe playing at a different tempo, maybe playing with fewer or more notes.

In our second part of the lesson, we're going to be thinking about how emotion is conveyed in music.

And importantly, can we put that emotion in when we're improvising? Now, a raag can be played in many different ways.

There's a wonderful Sanskrit word called ras or rasa, and it means essence or sometimes even juice.

And it's that emotional, that feeling that the musician is trying to convey through their music so that we, the listener, can hear it.

Jasdeep is gonna explain to us now.

He's gonna use a new raag called Raag Bhimpalasi and I'd like to listen to the video and hear him talk about the way he can put different emotions or feelings, or ras, into a raag.

He's gonna ask you to listen for a more serious feel, a romantic feel with lots of imagination and storytelling, and a more fierce feel too.

I just want you to listen and see if you can notice the difference.

See what he's doing differently.

Here it comes.

<v ->So, in Indian classical music,</v> we have something called ras or rasa, which means emotion.

And we have nine different emotions that we bring into our musical playing.

Some people may say that different raags have one different emotion, but I don't quite agree with that.

I think every raag can be played in each of the nine different emotions.

And maybe in one concert I might go through three or four different emotions in the same raag.

So I might try that in Raag Bhimpalasi.

I think I'm gonna play, I think I'll start off playing a bit more serious and then maybe I'll get a bit more romantic afterwards.

See if you can spot that.

(gentle sitar music) And now I'll go a bit more romantic.

(romantic sitar music) I could play with a bit more fierceness.

(upbeat sitar music) <v ->Nice, so we know that we can add emotion</v> into our raag improvisations.

One way I noticed that Jasdeep was doing, he was changing the tempo, so he was cramming more or fewer notes in, and he was changing dynamics as well.

Sometimes he was a bit louder and sometimes it felt gentler.

So how do you think changing the tempo and the dynamics might affect how a piece feels? Just have a pause and maybe a quick classroom discussion to see if anyone's got ideas that maybe some emotions you might play at a quicker tempo, or if you're trying to convey another emotion, how you might change the tempo or the dynamics, how loud or quiet.

Off you go.

It can be really interesting, and sometimes there's more than one answer as well.

And that's certainly gonna be the case here.

I'm not expecting all of you to agree on each of these, but maybe you will.

So what we're going to do is there's an a, b, and c, which gives us the tempo and the dynamic.

So, for example, a is moderately fast and medium loud, and you're going to try and match that to one of the ras or rasa on the other side.

So does it give a feeling calmness? Might it give a feeling of anger or maybe a feeling of joy? Look at b, that's slow.

The tempo is slow, it's it's quite quiet, medium quiet.

Which one of those might relate to that? And c, it's getting faster and it's very loud.

So pause the video just for a moment.

Have a chat in your class.

Maybe take up to one minute and decide which a, b, and c might suit which ras or rasa.

So, calmness, shaanti, anger, raudra, and joy, hasya.

Off you go.

Now, you'll be pleased to hear there's no lines going to match a, b, and c to calmness, anger, and joy, because you can justify what you think that there might be more than one answer.

So, for me, getting faster and very loud is anger.

That's what it feels like to me when it builds up and builds up.

Quite fast, but quite loud is joy.

It seems something I might want to dance to.

And that slow, gentle, medium and quiet feels like calmness to me.

But it might be different to you.

We're now going to improvise using Raag Bhupali and it's a call and response exercise.

So there's gonna be three clips.

And so you're gonna have your instrument ready, same as before.

Don't use too many notes, remember to only use the notes in the raag, and they're laid out on the screen in front of you, and you're gonna respond to each clip by improvising with a similar feel.

So whatever you get from that clip, if it feels slow, gentle, calm, try and play in that way.

If it feels fast and exciting, maybe play in that way too.

So remember, don't use too many notes.

That's gonna help you.

Respond with a similar tempo.

Try and match the tempo of the clip and also respond with similar dynamics.

Is it loud or is it not so loud? Have your instrument ready.

Here comes the first one.

<v ->Let's try a slower improvisation.

</v> (gentle sitar music) <v ->You try it.

</v> <v Instructor>Well done.

</v> That one was slow and medium quiet.

Here comes the next one, a steady tempo and still not very loud.

Off you go.

<v ->I'll do another one.

</v> (gentle sitar music) You try.

I'm gonna do a slightly faster one now.

(upbeat sitar music) You try.

<v ->And that third one, again, it didn't get too loud,</v> but it was a little bit quicker.

Really well done.

Remember, you can pause the video, play each of those clips again if you need to where you are and respond and make sure everyone's had a turn.

Brilliant.

It's now time to create our own improvisation.

This is our practise task for today.

So to create your own improvisation, I'd like you to decide on an emotion, that ras, that rasa, that essence or feeling that you want to convey to the listener.

Would you like them to feel a sense of calm, or a sense of joy, a sense of anger? What is it you'd like to share with your listener? And then you're gonna think about what tempo would suit that? Do I need to play quite fast, or can I afford to play more slowly? What's gonna give that feeling to the person listening? And lastly, you'll think about the dynamics.

How loud or quiet? Do I really need to hammer it or am I going to tap gently and let those notes linger? Remember, only use the notes from Raag Bhupali, explore with different tempi, hear what feels right to you, it's your music and you can use as few as just two or three notes.

Don't make it difficult for yourself.

And lastly, match the dynamics to fit the emotion.

Know what emotion you're going for and create your own improvisation.

For everyone to have a turn, you might want to give yourselves up to 10 minutes.

Off you go.

Fantastic.

Well, great exploring.

So what we want to do to feed back is to have our opportunity for each of you to play to each other so that you can say, "Oh yes, I think yours sounded like joy," or, "Yours sounded like anger," whatever it might be.

The questions you might ask to yourself is, well, how did that improvisation feel? Am I getting any clues from the tempo and from the dynamics? You could have a go at saying, "Ooh, thanks for playing yours.

I think yours was calm.

Was yours about calmness?" And see if you were right.

See if you picking up what the musician, the person in your class is playing to you.

And then think, were you successful? Did what you play or what someone else played match what you thought it sounded like? Take a moment, listen to each others', and see if you were successful in conveying that emotion.

Did you get the ras into your raag? And that's almost it for today.

So let's recap on what we've learned.

We know that improvisation is creating music in the moment.

We are making it up as we go along.

And in Hindustani classical music, we only improvise using the set notes from the raag.

When we improvise, it doesn't have to be complicated.

We can just choose to use a few notes and that can be really effective when we're trying to convey a feeling or an emotion.

And when we play a raag, we can add that emotion in that we want our listener to hear and feel, and that's what we call the ras or the rasa.

And we've explored doing that today by changing the tempo and changing the dynamics of our playing that can give that music a different feel or a different emotion.

Really well done for today and I'll see you next time.