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Re: Chords (was Adrenalinn)
Bill asked:
>Talking about Karnatic music and Hindustani traditions,
>is'nt a Serangi not a violn the melodic indtrument
>(traditionally) and the ragas flow with the time of day,
>like morning ragas, afternoon ragas, and evening
>ragas in order to flow with the rhythm of life. A musician
>has to be pretty tuned in to play them properly.
Not to dwell too long on (OT) Indian music, but here are some quick
answers:
In the Carnatic (South Indian classical) tradition, the violin is *the*
standard accompanying instrument in every recital, whether vocal or
instrumental. The western violin was first brought into India by
Portuguese explorers in the colonial era, and in South India it has been
in continuous use since the 1700's. So much so that it's no longer even
thought of as being a "foreign" instrument!
In the North Indian (Hindustani) tradition, the sarangi had for years been
the preeminent accompaniment for vocal music. Sadly, it has given way to
the (western) harmonium, due to several factors such as the difficult
playing technique, the near impossibility of retuning the 30+ strings for
each separate melody, compared to the relative ease of harmonium
technique. Unfortunately the harmonium cannot reproduce the microtonal
nuances of the Indian tuning system.
Violin is also sometimes used as vocal accompaniment in North Indian
music. In both Northern and Southern traditions, the violin is tuned
openly in fifths (e.g., d-a-d-a) and the instrument is balanced with the
scroll resting on the player's foot, and the body held against the chest
so that the left hand is free to move easily up and down the neck without
having to support the weight of the violin.
As far as the "time of day" and "seasonal" nature of melodies, this only
occurs in the North Indian system. There's no time association with South
Indian ragas. So even though there are some shared melodies in the
Northern and Southern systems, for instance a melody that will only be
played after sunset in the North may be performed at any time in the
Southern tradition.