Re: Sitar Looping

[chrismandel@juno.com]

   It seems to me that the number of note being played at once by the 
drone instrument isn't really the point.  Indian music, by and large, 
lacks voice leading and modulation. You can play a C chord or even a C13 
chord till the cows come home and it would still be pretty minimalist, 
harmonically speaking, if there were no chord changes. 
   When I said that it isn't minimalist or repetitive what I meant is 
that, despite the strict structure, the variations will come.  And if the 
group is good, they may REALLY come.  They never abanden the raga, but 
they may add some out notes like a jazz or blues player would do.  And 
they dont abanden the tala but generally they don't play it straight over 
and over like a loop would.  The variations that you here in classical 
indian music reminds me more of Bach than Eno, outside of the harmonic 
content anyway.  The main thing though is the comunication.  Its split 
second, like in jazz.  As a listener, this element of unpredictability 
keeps me grounded, not spacing off and floating away the way I do with 
ambient and techno. 
-Chris




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