Rag Desh (Area of Study Four) GCSE Music

GENERAL INDIAN MUSIC FEATURES

Every Indian piece includes 3 things...

• melody
• drone
• tabla (drums)

There are usually 4 sections

• Alap
• Jor
• Jhalla
• Gat (unless the piece uses vocals then this section is called a Bhajan)

In the pieces you study there are only 2 sections you need to know

The ALAP

and the GAT/BHAJAN

It is however important to know about the other 2 questions if a question such as "name another section of a traditional piece of Indian music" comes up

In the Alap section the piece is extremely slow and has no sense of pulse. It introduces each note individually and no note of the raga can be played until the note before it has. It consists of only a melody…