Anoushka Shankar Overview

Background

• She was born in london,1981 and lived in delhi and san fransisco

• She has a hyphenated identity (Anglo-American-Indian). The music exists in these “hyphens”

• Her music is very much Fusion - Blends Indian Classical Music with other styles.

Indian Classical Music(ICM)

Divided into two strands :

• Hindustani (North Indian - influenced by Muslim culture)

• Carnatic (South Indian - influenced by Hindi culture)

• She was born into the Hindustani tradition

Instrument and Features

• Sitar - uses śruti (microtones – important).

• Has sympathetic strings (Underneath the sitar).

• Tanpura (Tempura) - the drone.

• Tabla - provides accompaniment

Two Fundemental elements

• Raga (Melody and a Scale):
  • A raga creates a mood.
  • Each raga is linked to different times of day and seasons.
  • There are thousands of ragas.

• Tala (Rythm):
  • Hundreds of rhythmic cycles
  • Most common is Tintal (16 beats)
  • Each beat has a name

Guru–Shishya Tradition

• Based on the relationship between guru (teacher) and shishya (student).

• Students begin with duties like cleaning feet.

• When ready, they pick up the instrument and learn to hold it.

• The training is very long.

Structure

• Alap – slow unfolding of the music, starts in lower register.

• Jhor – when the rhythm comes in.

• Jhala – fast-paced rhythmic section

• Tihai – a pattern repeated three times (by the tabla or other instruments).

Registers (Saptak)

• Mandra Saptak – low register.

• Madhya Saptak – middle register.

• Tār Saptak – high register.

Wider Listening

• Karsh Kale – Indian fusion artist in London.
  • Example: Up (2017).
  • Very much fusion.
  • All instruments are live, combined with programmed synths.
  • Mixes Indian Classical Music with electronic dance music, Bollywood, and pop.
  • What to look out for: instrumentation, structure, static tonality.