- Year 10
- OCR
Melody and timbre in North Indian classical music
I can describe some of the key features of North Indian classical music and can improvise an alap using a raga.
Copyrighted materials: to view and download resources from this lesson, you’ll need to be in the UK and
- Year 10
- OCR
Melody and timbre in North Indian classical music
I can describe some of the key features of North Indian classical music and can improvise an alap using a raga.
Copyrighted materials: to view and download resources from this lesson, you’ll need to be in the UK and
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Lesson details
Key learning points
- North Indian classical music typically involves three features - rhythm, melody and drone.
- The sitar typically plays the melody, accompanied by rhythms on the tabla and a sustained drone on the tanpura.
- North Indian classical music is based on raga. Each raga is a set of notes that has a specific mood associated with it.
- Performers improvise using a raga to create the alap section.
- This is the first section in a piece of North Indian classical music, in which there is no clear pulse.
Keywords
Tabla - A tabla is a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent consisting of a small drum (dayan) and a larger drum (bayan).
Sitar - A sitar is a stringed instrument from the Indian subcontinent. It has up to 21 strings and a distinct, resonant timbre.
Tanpura - A tanpura is a stringed instrument from the Indian subcontinent that plays sustained drone sounds.
Alap - The alap is the introduction in North Indian Classical music, in which a performer improvises using a raga with a free tempo.
Raga - A raga is a set of notes used to create a composition. Each raga has a specific mood associated with it.
Common misconception
A raga is just a scale.
A raga is a bit more complex than being just a scale. It has specific times of day, moods and emotions associated with it, as well as rules about how it should be played.
To help you plan your year 10 music lesson on: Melody and timbre in North Indian classical music, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 10 music lesson on: Melody and timbre in North Indian classical music, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
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Explore more key stage 4 music lessons from the North Indian Classical music and West African drumming unit, dive into the full secondary music curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Files needed for this lesson
- Alap template 13.15 MB (ZIP)
- Tanpura drone backing track 1.6 MB (MP3)
Download these files to use in the lesson.
Equipment
DAW and/or live instruments
Licence
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