Importance of Stringed Instruments in Gurbani Kirtan

[shaheediyan]

Importance of Stringed Instruments in Gurbani Kirtan

Guru Das Singh & Kudrat Kaur Khalsa

From the beginning of the Sikh musical tradition, instruments have been considered very important to the accompaniment of Gurbani Kirtan. In line with the Bhakts and Sufis, whose Kirtan won over the masses of India to a universal appreciation of the Creator through the singing of Divine Hymns, the Sikh Gurus distilled the art as a comprehensive technology of life based on musical meditation.

Guru Nanak regarded hymn-singing and hymn-listening with devotion as a link between man and God: ‘Musical sound (naad) originated from God. It's holy in every sense. The best way to worship God is to blend the Divine Word with sacred music’ “The singing ([Ahat] Naad) produces a response or echo (Anahad Naad) within the soul. He [Guru Nanak] felt that Gurbani and Kirtan are superior to all spiritual practices and as such they lead to the door of salvation.†(Mansukhani: 92)

It was in this spirit that Gurbani was composed and performed, an outgrowth of Indian spiritual practices and music, from Samvedic chanting to the great North Indian classical forms such as dhrupad and khayal, South Indian forms (Dakhnee), and blended with various simple, though soulful, local folk traditions.

String Instruments in Sikh History

The first performance of Gurbani Kirtan, conceptualized by Guru Nanak, was a special sound founded in Raga, as was all Indian music of the time. A mirasi (professional Muslim musician), Mardana, was Guru Nanak’s favorite traveling companion and fellow Kirtani. The Rabab, a plucked string instrument resembling the modern Sarode (but without the metal plate), provided a quality that was compatible with Guru Nanak’s voice and style for communicating his divine message in verse and rhyme. In fact, the Rabab was used to set the mood in Raga before Guru Nanak began his shabads. “He used to tell Mardana which string (notes) to play for a particular hymn. After Mardana had played on the rabab for a few minutes, so as to create an appropriate atmosphere, Guru Nanak would start singing his song in that raga.†(ibid.: 91)

As was traditional at the time, Kirtan was also often accompanied by the Pakhawaj (Mridangam) or Dholak, popular percussion instruments of the 15th and 16th Centuries. The Taanpura, though not considered essential in 16th century Indian music, became increasingly prominent, over time, in providing a droning background, especially in classical styles. Mirasis who sang and performed Gurbani Kirtan, were renamed Rababis, and became the established singers of the Guru’s Court (in 1521 at Kartarpur). Later, the professional Rababis became largely displaced by amateur Sikh musicians and bards, known as bhatts and ragis, especially during the time of Guru Arjan Dev Ji, when the Golden Temple became the official Court of the Guru.

Pictues of raditional stringed instruments of the Sikhs. Rabab, Saranda/Sarinda/Surinda, Sarangi, Taus/Taoos and Dilruba.

Sikh Gurus following Guru Nanak, all placed primary spiritual importance on the singing of Gurbani Kirtan, accompanied by stringed instruments in a traditional Indian style. Other instruments grew in popularity in the Guru’s Court, as the succeeding Gurus felt the need to enhance the technology of Naad in the Sikh hymns with the invention or promotion of new instruments. Guru Arjan Dev compiled the Aad Granth as the comprehensive technology of Naad, a universal collection of hymns from many spiritual traditions. He organized the hymns according to Raga and often included instructions about style and specific tunes to be applied to the hymns.

Guru Arjan Dev (1563-1606), sixth Sikh Guru, was a master musician and musicologist. He is said to have designed the Sarinda (a large bowl-shaped string instrument, played with bow), which he himself played and used as the ideal accompaniment for the male voice. The Sarinda produces a hauntingly beautiful deep tonal quality which sings in alternation and in support of the human voice in Kirtan. The next Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Hargobind, incorporated the Sarangi (also played with a bow), a much-maligned string instrument (known to be popular in commercial venues and brothels) in the singing of Gurbani Kirtan. Because of its bold and melodious sound, he considered it an important accompaniment and alternate solo voice in the performance of heroic ballads (Vars), a song form long promoted by the Sikh Gurus for raising the spirits of the oppressed and promulgating self-respect and fearlessness, including the traditional Asa ki Var.

In the Guru’s Court, the Sarangi was played in a vocal style and in the field it played in a martial manner, like a folk fiddle. The use of Sarangi became a tradition of soldier-saint warriors in battle. During the time of British occupation, in the nineteenth century, a new generation of Kirtanees, called dhadhis, began. In later versions, the Sarangi became equipped with small bells (gungroos) attached to the bow, and was often accompanied by Dhadh (small drum). The folk ballads sung by dhadhis became standardized into the form known today, with two dhadh-players singing a tale of heroism, while the Sarangi player accompanies the singers.

Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708), the Tenth Sikh Guru, was also a master musician and composer, as were his predecessors. In his time, khayal was the upcoming style to become popularized in the Muslim courts of North India. It was also influential on the style of Kirtan played in the Court of the Sikh Guru, where opulence and majesty were in vogue. It is said the Guru’s Kirtan was often accompanied by a large ensemble of beautiful instruments, including the Taus (a peacock-shaped bowed string instrument), which he himself designed. A smaller version, designed by Sikhs to be used often on the battlefield or on horseback, was the Dilruba (meaning “heart stealerâ€). Again, these instruments were designed for the sole purpose of enhancing the technology of Naad instituted in Gurmat Sangeet (the Guru’s music) and were considered to be essential in the performance and “sound current†of shabads composed in the Guru’s Court.

How String Instruments enhance the impact of Gurbani

To understand the importance of stringed instruments in Gurbani Kirtan, one must have some familiarity with Indian music. In western classical music, melody and harmony (especially since the introduction of tempered-scale tuning in the 17th century) are intertwined, thus when a singer presents a beautiful melody, it must fit within a strict harmonic-pitch structure. There is a tendency to polish the sound and move accurately and quickly between notes. Ornaments and graces are always on pitch, except in later Romantic and Twentieth-century opera, string literature, and music inspired by folk idioms, especially in Eastern Europe and Russia, where portamenti (sliding between pitches) are richly employed.

Indian music emphasizes melody and rhythm against a static harmonic background (a drone). There is much more freedom to move between the pitches in ways that play with harmonic possibilities. Also, instead of being locked into a strict twelve-tone chromatic scale, as in the West, microtonal shading and bending of pitches gives the tunes added color and variety. In each raga, various pitches are emphasized or exaggerated, some of which are made to be extra-flat or sharp in relation to each other, thus creating a natural, melodic and ‘perceived’ harmonic emphasis. In addition, melody includes much sliding (meend and gamak) between, within, and around pitches.

Voice quality in Indian music is resonant but natural to the singer. Each voice has its own natural beauty and needs not conform to an artificial ‘standard’ such is found in Western music. Pitch accuracy is practiced in great detail, but with the added artistry of graceful sliding and ornamentation. The music must seem to come from ‘within’, expressing the devotion of the soul, while allowing great freedom and flexibility. Indian melody is not just a sequence of pitches, but is a flowing stream of sound, gliding in various directions, bound only by the guiding rules of raga. For instruments to enhance and support this vocal quality, they must be ‘voice-like’. Indian string instruments are designed to follow and mirror the Indian vocal style perfectly, gracefully sliding between and around pitches. The stringed instruments created and incorporated by the Sikh Gurus (especially the bowed Taus, Sarinda, Dilruba, and Sarangi) provide for a beautiful instrumental companion voice to reflect and expand the message of the poetry. Also, these instruments, especially as they are currently designed, have resonating sympathetic strings to echo and enhance the sound box, creating a rare and enchanting ‘halo’ to the sound.

Students practicing Gurmat Sangeet using these precious instruments also find it much easier to learn in this manner and their vocal abilities are said to improve quickly as matching the natural voice to the string instruments is a very exact process. The sound of the instrument helps to pull the voice into the correct pitch and guides the voice into the graceful sliding movements associated with improvised melody.

The Rabab, as well as the popular Sarod and Sitar, whose strings are plucked, are also suited for accompaniment of Indian vocal music but are not as naturally capable of the vocal style as the bowed instruments. They are, however, excellent accompanying instruments, especially in a large Kirtan jatha or ensemble.

It has become obvious to many, after hearing Gurbani Sangeet with the inclusion the Gurus’ beloved stringed instruments, that this is the way Kirtan was intended to be accompanied, along with a drone and percussion rhythm background. It comes into the realm of common sense, that these instruments, designed and promoted by the Gurus were definitely part of the concept of sound as consciousness-raising technology.

Why is it that the Sikh community is now unaware of this rich tradition of stringed instruments?

Why is it that the Sarinda is no longer found in the Gurdwaras and places where Sikhs gather to sing the shabad of the Guru?

Why is the Sarangi vehemently disallowed? Is it because it was known to be played in houses of ill repute, even though the Tabla was also found in the same places? Is it because of the construction using animal skins? Again, the Tabla and Pakhawaj are fully approved to this day.

It is incumbent upon the Sikh community to come to grips with its extraordinary tradition, using the technology which is its birthright, as was directed and prescribed by the Gurus. It is not to say that tradition should be the only guide, but rather to say that if the Sikh Gurus gave the tradition as a prescription, should it not at least be acknowledged and given first priority, according to the definition of Gurmat Sangeet? If social taboos are to have an influence, concerning instruments such as the Sarangi, they should be evenhandedly weighed against all instruments used in such circumstances (like the Tabla and Harmonium). Even so, if five of the Sikh Gurus, beginning with Guru Harbogind Sahib Ji, blessed and treasured the wealth of such a magnificent instrument, why should anyone now quibble with its use in Kirtan, as long is it is respectfully played in the sadhsangat?

Is it not time for Sikhs to explore and utilize the rich heritage, preserved for the benefit of the entire world, which is contained within Sikh musical tradition? People of this planet are ‘seeking’ an enlightened and healing technology, a universal solution which can uplift and inspire. It was for this time and purpose, and all times, that the Guru gave us music and poetry, accompanied by the instruments that best help to define it.