RMIM Archive Article "393".

From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian
#
# RMIM Archives..
# Subject: Qawaali  part 4
#
# Posted by: Satish Subramanian
# Source: Teginder Singh Dhanoa's paper in UC Davis 
# Author: Teginder Singh Dhanoa ez054777@ucdavis.edu
#



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       Qawwali - Devotional Songs of the Sufi Mystics
 		     (Instruments)

			  by
		 Teginder Singh Dhanoa
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The Raag is "obeyed" by the  singers  and  the  accompanying
instruments.   In  Qawwali  the original accompanist was the
Sarangi, a fret-less bowed instrument which has  an  unknown
origin  of  time or place.(25) It has a double belly, a wide
finger board, and the hollow  is  covered  by  a  parchment,
usually  deer  skin.   The whole instrument is carved from a
single block of wood, including both finger-board and  body.
It  has  three or four main strings and anywhere up to forty
sympathetic ones.

The Sarangi is said to be  the  closest  instrument  to  the
human   voice   in   the   world.   Because  of  its  unique
characteristics,  it  is  the   most   common   accompanying
instrument  in  Indian music.  The instrument of one-hundred
colors (the Sarangi's literal meaning)  is  also  considered
the  hardest  to  play in the world.  Accessibility is not a
problem, as many Sarangi players are available.(26)

The problem of using the Sarangi  in  Qawwali  is  the  time
needed  to  re-tune  the  Sarangi between Qawwalis.  Because
each Qawwali is sung in a different Raag, the Sarangi has to
be  re-tuned  every  time which can take up to half an hour.
The Sarangi was eventually replaced by  a  new  accompanist,
the Harmonium.

The  Harmonium  is  a  small,  portable,  hand-pumped  organ
introduced  to  South India by Christians in the seventeenth
century.  It "is pumped by moving the bellows  at  the  rear
with  the  left  hand  while  playing  the keyboard with the
right."(27) Being much  more  portable  and  "practical"  in
Qawwali  than  the  Sarangi,  the  Harmonium is now the main
accompanist for Qawwalis.

The Harmonium replaced the Sarangi in keeping melody due  to
its  "practicality",  but  there  is  no  data  on  why  the
Dholak(28) was replaced by the Tabla in keeping rhythm.

"The Tabla is a set of two small drums played with the palms
and fingertips capable of producing an incredible variety of
sounds and timbres, in a range of about one octave."(29) The
little  drum,  called the Tabla, provides the higher pitched
notes and is usually played with the right hand.  The larger
drum  is  called  the  Bayan  (which means left in Hindi) or
Dhama in  the  Panjabi  language.   It  provides  the  lower
pitched sounds and is usually played with the left hand.

With the beat of the Tabla  and  the  hand-clapping  of  the
chorus   the   Qawwali  performance  is  able  to  reach  an
electrifying crescendo.


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			 END NOTES
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(25)
The are many theories, but it is generally agreed  that  the
Sarangi had its origin in India.

(26)
The Sarangi started out as a folk instrument but  eventually
found its way into classical music.

(27)
Takako, Tanaka. "Pakistan - Continued" JVC  video  anthology
of  world music and dance.  Japan : Victor Company of Japan,
Ltd., 1988.

(28)
A small barrel-shaped drum with goatskin on both sides  that
is played with the fingers and palms.

(29)
World Music, Pg. 211.


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From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian