RMIM Archive Article "396".

From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian
#
# RMIM Archives..
# Subject: Qawaali  part 7
#
# 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
			   (Raag and Taal)

				  by
			Teginder Singh Dhanoa
    --------------------------------------------------------------

				Raags
				-----

    Raag: also known as Raga or Ragan.  

    A Raag is "a unique combination of scale-pattern, dominant notes,
    specific rules to be obeyed in ascending or descending order, and
    certain melodic phrases associated with it".  Raags are associated
    with specific times of day, seasons, feelings, and can be either
    masculine or feminine.  There are thousands of Raags in existence but
    only a few hundred are commonly used.  A Raag uses the Indo-Pak
    musical scale which corresponds to the western scale as follows:

    Indo-Pak  Note	Western	Meaning
    Sa	  C	Do	The cry of the peacock
    Ri	  D	Re	The sound made by a cow calling her calf
    Ga	  E	Mee	The bleat of a goat
    Ma	  F	Fa	The cry of the heron, and the tonic note of nature
    Pa	  G	So	The note of the cuckoo or Kokila,the Indian nightingale
    Dha	  A	La	The neighing of a horse
    Ni	  B	See	The trumpeting of an elephant

    An example of a Raag

    Sa Ri Sa
    Ni Sa Pa Ni Ma Pa 
    Ma Pa Ni Ga Re Ga Re
    Sa Sa Sa Ri Ri Ri
    Ga Ga Ga Ri Ri Ri
    Sa Sa Sa Ri Ri Ri
    Ga Ga Ga Ri Ri Ri
    Sa Ri Sa Ga 
    Ri Ga Ri Ma
    Pa Ma Ga Ma Ga Ri Sa

  --------------------------
    References
  --------------------------    
    Bhavnani, Enakshi. The Dance in India Bombay : D. B. Taraporevala Sons
    & Co. Private Ltd., 1965

    World Music, The Rough Guide.  Ed. Simon Broughton, Mark Ellingham,
    David Muddyman and Richard Trillo.  London : Rough Guides Ltd., 1994

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				  Taals
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    "Just as the Raag organizes melody, so the rhythm is organized by
    highly sophisticated structures expressed through cycles known as
    Taals, which can be clapped out by hand.  A Taal is made up of a
    number of beats (matras), and each beat is defined by a combination of
    rhythm pattern and timbre".(1)

    An example of a Taal

	    Drum Beats:	DADEE	NAKA	NAKA	DINA
			    1	2	3	4

			    DADEE	NAKA	NAKA	DINA2
			    5	6	7	8

  --------------------------
    References
  --------------------------    
    
    (1)
    World Music, The Rough Guide.  Ed. Simon Broughton, Mark Ellingham,
    David Muddyman and Richard Trillo.  London : Rough Guides Ltd., 1994

    (2)
    Bhavnani, Enakshi. The Dance in India Bombay : D. B. Taraporevala
    Sons & Co. Private Ltd., 1965

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From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian