Year 10 - Music
Structure in North Indian classical music
North Indian Classical music and West African drumming
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
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Lesson Summary
You will learn to describe the structure of a piece of North Indian classical music and have recreated some of its key parts.
Key Notes
- North Indian classical music has a typical structure consisting of alap, gat and jhala.
- Alap is the introduction, with a free tempo and the sitar player improvising on the raga.
- In gat, there is a clear pulse on the tabla, and a more structured melody on the sitar.
- In jhala, it speeds up and the performers play more complex music in a virtuosic style, building to a frantic finale.
Vocabulary To Learn
- Alap: The introduction section to a piece of North Indian classical music is called alap.
- Gat: The second section, where the tabla joins in is called gat. It has a more fixed melody.
- Jhala: The final section, where the tempo and energy builds, is called jhala.
- Virtuosic: Playing in a virtuosic style means to play in a way that shows off your technical and musical ability.
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- The alap - gat - jhala structure is just about changes in tempo from slow, to medium to fast.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the lesson in two key points.
North Indian classical music has a typical structure consisting of alap, gat and jhala. Alap is the introduction, with a free tempo and the sitar player improvising on the raga.
2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'Alap'
The introduction section to a piece of North Indian classical music is called alap.
3. Correct this common mistake.
Mistake: The alap - gat - jhala structure is just about changes in tempo from slow, to medium to fast. Correction: While the tempo does change, the bigger changes are around melody. The alap explores the raga freely, the gat is more structured and the jhala is heavily improvised and virtuosic.
More Lessons In This Unit
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