Google
Web         Gaudiya Discussions
Gaudiya Discussions Archive » DEVOTIONAL PRACTICES
Discussions specifically related with the various aspects of practice of bhakti-sadhana in Gaudiya Vaishnavism.

Ragas for the Astakaliya Lila Cycle -



Mina - Fri, 29 Aug 2003 08:17:05 +0530
Here is the link:

http://www.iskconsf.org/music/saptasvarah.pdf

The chart showing the various ragas that correspond to the lilas for the eight periods is at the very end of the article, in Appendix 2.

The information on pure intervals v.s. tempered tuning is a bit esoteric for those that have not studied music theory or physics of music (I was fortunate enough to have a formal education in both, so it was not a problem for me personally). The experiments he conducted sound interesting, but should probably be verified independently before we can put that much stock in them.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading the article, which is very well thought out. Hopefully you will get something out of it as well. The one thing I wonder is if it is possible to get recordings of Indian musicians performing all of the different ragas. Usually there are only a few of them, apparently the more popular ones, that you can find recordings of.
Mina - Sat, 30 Aug 2003 03:04:02 +0530
There is something else about his whole thesis about pure intervals in Indian music as superior to the Western tempered tuning system that strikes me as very odd. Prabhupada used the harmonium, which is a Western keyboard instrument using tempered tuning! Also, many Indian kirtaniyas use harmoniums. Personally, I think it detracts from the exotic color of the ragas, which IMO are better performed with sitar, sarangi, tamboura, etc. - the traditional instruments.

Digital keyboard instruments, on the other hand, can be easily tuned to pure intervals to fit the key a raga is played in - so there are some new possibilities. Of course, you could also do the same with a stringed instrument like a piano, but it would require enlisting the services of a professional piano tuner.

Many South Indian musicians have used violins for years, but then again those instruments have no frets and are only tempered when Western orchestra musicians play them that way. I guess genuine Raga-rock genre would require only non-tempered instruments, which would rule out guitars, bass guitars, non-tweaked keyboards, saxophones and trumpets. Open-holed (French model) flutes can be played bending the notes to be in natural tuning, but it requires some extra effort on the part of the flautist. The drums - well those can be tuned fairly easily to whatever system you choose to use.

We in Western culture for the most part do not notice the slightly out of tune tempered instruments being just a little off, because we have conditioned our listening apparatus to be forgiving. I did really notice the difference after spending a few years only listening to Indian music. It took a while to get used to Western music again.