NAVDEEP SINGH 12204266

 GAMAK 

 The term gamaka itself means "Ornamented Note" in Sanskrit. Gamakas involve the variation of pitch of a note, using oscillations or glides between notes. On the other hand, it can be understood as any movement done on a note or in between two notes. It is used in the performance of North and South Indian Classical Music.  

               

Type of Gamak in Indian Music

There are two opinions on the number of gamakas (10 and 15). Some accept the no. as 10 and some 15. Some opine that the number comes to 15 due to the subdivisions within the 10 gamakas. The 10 gamakas are called Dhasavidha Gamakas.

Dhasavidha Gamakas -:

Aarohanam : singing the swaras in the akara brigas according to the aarohna krama of the raga.

Avarohanam : singing the swaras in the akara brigas according to the avarohana krama of the raga.

The aarohana, avarohana are generally referred to as brigas.
AROHANA : is a series of notes in the ascending order of pitch.
AVAROHANA : is the descending scale of notes of a raga.

Dalu : Starting from the base Shadja and basing on the raga bhava jumping to the higher notes. e.g., sm, sp, sr

Spuritham : Repeating the same swara wice. While doing so, the second time the swara is said with force. e.g., sasariri

Kampitham : Oscillating the same swara without mixing with its preceding or succeeding note.

Aahatham : Singing the swaras in the aarohana krama, giving the stress on alternate swaras.

Prathyahatham : Singing the swaras in the avarohana krama while stressing the alternate swaras.

Thripuchcham : The swara above will join the two swaras below in the same sruthi. e.g., risasa - gariri

Aandholam : Generally associated with combination of swaras which produce swinging movement. It involves jumping in a swinging manner. e.g., Sarisapapa Sarisamama Sarisagaga

Murchchana : For delineating the character of a raga the arohana, avarohana are successively delineated in a regular ascent from a swara through seven notes and a descent back to the starting note. e.g., Sarigamapadani Rigamapadanisa Nidapamagarisa

The 15 gamakas according to the other school of thought :

Thripam, Spuritham, Kampitham, Leenam, Aandholitham, Vali, Thribinnam, Kurulam, Aahatham, Ullaasitham, Plavitham, Hoompitham, Mudhritham, Naamitham, Misritham.

• Gamak in Carnatic Music are mentioned in various treatises and compositions including Arohana (ascending patterns), Avarohana (descending patterns), ahata & pratyahata.

•  "Why Gamak is most important factor in  Indian Classical Music?" 

"The gamaka has come to occupy a vital place in our system of music. It is not simply a device to make melodic music tolerable, and it is not its function merely to beautify music. It determines the character of each raga, and it is essential to note that the same variety of gamaka appears with different intensity in different ragas". The function of the same gamaka in different ragas varies subtly and establishes all the fine distinctions between kindred melodies by an insistence, which is delicate but withal emphatic, on the individuality of their constituent notes. The gamaka makes possible the employment of all the niceties in variation of the pitch of the notes used and is therefore of fundamental importance to our music. If the personality of any raga is to be understood it cannot be without appraising the values of the gamakas which constitute it.

Features of Gamaka

There is no equivalent of Gamaka in Euro-American music. Musical notes are so produced as to touch upon the lower as well as the upper adjacent notes by resorting to a vibratory mode of vocalizing. The reproduction of Gamaka is critical on most musical instruments as it is a specific vocal sound. It is produced by a very fast back-and-forth oscillation between lower and upper pitch, during which the diaphragm rhythmically contracts and relaxes. An alternative could be a trill or other ornaments that focuses around the centre pitch.

Gamaka in Different Musical Instruments

It is obvious that the vocal template most closely resembles with the sarangi part. The sarangi indeed "shadows" the voice, and since the Gamaka effect can be emulated fairly well on a sarangi, reproduction is not a problem at all. On the other hand, the harmonium player cannot alter the pitch of the sound that he is producing, after striking the key once. Therefore, it is not possible for him to inflect pitch, let alone step-lessly glide back and forth between two pitches. Instead, he employs appoggiaturas and quick returning notes in order to demarcate the narrow framework of the tonal spectrum that he is covering. By subdividing beats into rhythmic units that are interlocking with, the Sarangi's melodic line, he thickens the heterophony music texture and at the same time intertwines the harmonium's part with the remaining parts. In doing so, he in one aspect achieves an overall effect that is not too far from that of the vocal lines gamaka: rather than proposing a horizontal melodic line, he seems to produce a sound band, saturating the overall musical texture

• How to sing Gamak? you can see in this vedio. (Tap me)

Reference-:

Reference 1 -  Viswanathan T (1977). "The Analysis of Rāga Ālāpana in South Indian Music". Asian Music. 9 (1): 13–71. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamaka_(music)

Reference 2 - Powers, Harry S. (1958). "Mode and Raga". The Musical Quarterly. 44 (4): 448–460

Reference 3 -  https://www.indianetzone.com/60/gamaka_hindustani_music.htm

reference 4- https://www.indian-heritage.org/music/gamaka.htm

Reference 5 - Ragas of Carnatic music by N S Ramachandran, University of Madras, 1938, CHAPTER V. Gamakas and the Embellishment of Song, pp. 112-158

URL: https://archive.org/details/RagasOfCarnaticMusicByNSRamachandran

RAMIKA BAKSHI 12200793

JOD ALAAP 

In Hindustani Classical music, Jod also spelled as Jor or Jhor is a formal section of composition in the long elaboration ( Alap ) of a raga that forms the beginning of a performance. It comes after Alap and precedes Jhala, the climax.

     
Jor is the instrumental equivalent of nomtom in dhrupad vocal style of Indian music. Jor is present in most Hindustani Classical music through the raga, as an articulate pulse that the alap transitions into, followed by jhala.

 

• Jod Alap can also be defined as the improvisation of a section of a raga from slow to medium rhythm bounded to a leh. It is usually not accompanied with a tabla because it is not bound to taal.
• The transition between the three section, alap-jod-jhala, is continuous and each part builds from its predecessor.
• Jod acts the second introduction after the alap, within a raga performance It follows a similar structure to alap, with a shift in rhythmic style.
• As the Raga transitions into the Jod, the pulse is introduced by the melody instrumentalist. The Jod utilises the features of scale and patterns in the previous section (Alap) and improvises to create a new variation of these features. During jod, the performance must maintain a steady pulse with the exclusion of drums or tabla, which remains the same throughout Alap, Jod and Jhala.
• In musical notation, jod follows the same notes as alap, with a constant steady beat between each.

The distinction between alap and jod is made between the increase in regularity in the jod in comparison to previous alap section.The theme formed in the introduction of the Alap, is continued to Jod, where the drums and rhythmic beats are excluded, and the chosen melodic instrument is strummed at an accelerated pace or the performer increases the phrasing of each syllable.

The traditional recital begins with Alap section- the serene exploration of the raga. After this slow introspective beginning, the musician moves on to the Jod. In this part the basic theme of the Raga is elaborated and the artist tries to bring the emotional mood of the Raga to the surface. 

The Alap and Jod evolve into the Gat or Bandish, the fixed compositions of the Raga.

JOD ALAAP IN DHRUPAD

Dhrupad is another form of Raga that is older and restricts the Alap, Jor and Jhala sections in such a way that is heard more frequently in present day. This genre of Indian Music formed the foundation for the Alap-Jor-Jhala-Gat structure to be welcomed to the West in the 20th Century. 

In Dhrupad, its distinctive feature is the climatic beginning in comparison to Raga's ascending composition. The word Dhrupad meaning ‘fixed verse’ refers to the complex opening section (Alap) allowing the other sections to grow and expand.  

• It is common in Dhrupad, for the Alap to be extended and unaccompanied, similar to most instrumental genres in Norther Indian music. It also focuses on a longer and more structured version of the alap-jor section. 
• In comparison to Khayal there is a clear structural division between the opening of Raga-alap and Jor.
•  The Jor section in Dhrupad can be heard by its increasingly articulated and rapid pulse. Within this section, Jor follows the most common rhythmic cycle in Dhrupad, being the twelve beat. 
•  The theme of intensification is prominent as the subsequent switch from the alap to jor, is identified as more rhythmic once it reaches the Jor section. 
• A common instrument utilised throughout Dhrupad, in the jor, is the Rudra Vina a string instrument that evokes a melodic rhythm.

REFERENCES:

• Wikipedia contributors. (2022, May 24). Jor (music). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 18:59, March 6, 2023, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jor_(music)&oldid=1089597526
• Appreciating Alap, Jor and Jhala. (2009, September 25). Indian Raga. https://indianraga.wordpress.com/2009/09/23/appreciating-alap-jor-and-jhala/
• Wikiwand - Jor (music). (n.d.). Wikiwand. https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Jor_(music)

ZAMZAMA HARSH PREET KAUR BAGGA

                WHAT IS ZAMZAMA...?

A zamzama is an unevenly accented sequence of notes sung using sharp gamaks. The length of the notes in the sequence also varies, giving it a choppy effect. This ornament is very characteristic of folk music in the western parts of India, and also of a genre of semi-classical music called tappa which evolved from folk songs sung by camel riders in Punjab,

                                                      sequence of notes sung using sharp gamaks. The length of the notes in the sequence also varies, giving it a choppy effect.

 

Zamzama is a Persian word meaning "Thunder," or "Roar", but can also mean "murmur" or "whisper to oneself". As with many Arabic and Persian words, it has been taken into Urdu and is now considered indigenous to that language. The meaning is: addition of notes                      

. In Indian traditional music, the note ornamentation includes the Zamzama style of Alankar.

• Zamzama is a group of sounds, similar to a khatka, another kind of Alankara, that the musician uses to accentuate the landing note. The notes in a zamzama are played in progressive combos and permutations as opposed to a khatka. It appears to the observer to be a challenging taan pattern with sharp gamaks.

Zamzamas play a crucial role in tappa music. Depending on the rag, the vocalist must use it with extreme care in Khayal renditions

•  ZAMZAMA IS NOTHING BUT CLUSTER OF KHATKA TAKEN TOGEATHER 

• SOME MUSICOLOGISTS SAY THAT ZAMZAMA IS PURELY AN INSTUMENTAL ORNAMENT PLAYED SPECIALLY ON STRING INSTRUMENTS LIKE SITAR

 The zamzama is a kured, with a simultaneous mizrab stroke.

This creates two notes in one stroke of the mizrab in a descending movement, the dominant note being the second.

For instance, to play the note Sa, the LEFT hand's middle finger is struck kured or jerkily at the fret of the next note (Re), while the LEFT hand's index finger presses down on the fret at Sa. Re Sa is audible playing in rapid succession.,

This is referred to as the zamzama of Sa, with Sa serving as the main note. One-fourth of the time is spent on Re and three-fourths of the time is spent on Sa. The zamzama is a widely used method.

a sitar player. The zamzama-specific tonal characteristics of the notes made using this method help to maintain the sound's continuity."

Note: Preceding zamzama is a definition and demonstration of kured