sukhasingh Posted August 3, 2003 Report Share Posted August 3, 2003 Gurfateh and Welcome to this brief compilation of information about Raag and Gurmat Sangeet. Literally, raga means to color or to please. Basically, raga is a scheme of melody. It is also a tool we can use in our mission to become closer to Waheguru (God) through Keertan. Keertan is the devotional singing of the praises of God in melody and rhythm and in the words of the Ninth Guru Ji, the “glory of God with words, mind and actionâ€. As we shall explore, GURMAT SANGEET is the tradition of Keertan started by Guru Nanak Dev Sahib Ji at Kartapur in 1521 and was continued by His successors, particularly by Guru Arjan Dev Sahib Ji Dev Sahib Ji Ji. To fully appreciate the History and Tradition of Keertan (Part 2) it is interesting to first touch upon the History and Fundamentals of Raag – since the practical essence of Gurmat Sangeet lies in the understanding of Raag and elements of notation, melody etc. Information about the Spiritual essence of Gurmat Sangeet and Keertan can be found later in Part 2. The aim of reading this is to give students, including myself, some basic and relevant grounding in history and the introduction to some KEYTERMS that will be used often in the actual teaching of Keertan in the Gurmat Sangeet tradition. May Guru Ji bless us with His Divine Grace and please forgive Daas for any mistakes or inaccuracies made here. Jasjeet Singh [October 13th 2001] ----- PART 1: HISTORY AND FUNDAMENTALS OF RAAG Indian Classical Music dates back over 4,500 Years. The music was handed down orally from guru (teacher) to shishya (student). The art was known as Sangeet and included vocal and instrumental music. It was mostly devotional music intended to take man towards God and give him an inner happiness and self-realisation. VEDIC TIMES (2500 BC TO 200 AD) The arts of vocal music, instrumental music and dance were quite popular in this age. Even the common man had some knowledge of these arts. Different types of instruments like ban (similar to veena), karkari (somewhat like a lyre), nadi (flute) and aghati (cymbals) were used as accompaniments to vocal music. All this indicates that music was quite popular and was regarded as a valuable achievement. CLASSICAL TIMES (100 AD TO 1200 AD) The first authentic book on musicology was written in the second century A.D. by Bharata. He mentions three types of grama (scale), Shajda grama, madhyama grama and gandharva grama. He has mentioned the 22 shruties (microtones), svaras (notes), moorchana (scales ) and 18 kinds of jatis (ancient melodic schemes). Not much progress was made during the regime of the Rajput rulers of India. MEDIEVAL TIMES (1200 TO 1800) During the thirteenth century Sarangdev (1210-1247) wrote a scholarly manual of music called Sangeet Ratnakar, in which he brought up-to-date the musical development of the centuries right from Bharata onwards. He explained different musical modes and terms and vocal techniques of sharaj grama and madhyam grama. He divided the octave into 22 equal interval called shruties. Then came the Muslim invaders from outside the frontiers of North India. Generally they did not take kindly to music, though some of the Muslim rulers patronise professional singers in their courts. I will post the rest Section by Section 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sukhasingh Posted August 4, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2003 Are you ready for it yet ? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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