irish melodies and indian raagas

The group consists of woodwinds (recorders, tin whistle, irish and indian flutes), classical guitar, steel string guitar, tabla and vocals. We make our own arrangements of traditional material from Celtic and Indian music. Below we describe elements from these traditions that we are working to fuse together.

Hindustani Classical Music - Raags and Taals
(Hindustani is one of the main styles of Indian classical music)
The melodic heart of Indian music is the Raag system. The Raag describes the skeletal framework of a piece of music. The performer's improvisation fills out this framework, making the performer partly composer. On a practical level the framework for a particular Raag is a set of notes and melodic phrases. On an emotive level the framework also includes the tone or mood that the music should convey.

For centuries music theoreticians have classified Raags according to their characteristics and mood. Quoting Shivkumar Sharma (one of the great present day Hindustani musicians): “How do you feel when the sun rises? You have a particular feeling when you see full moonlight. You react to Nature in different ways. Raags are connected with that and each Raag expresses a different mood.” One of the pleasures of listening to Hindustani music is recognizing a Raag. Traditionally it will never be announced at a concert; it is left to the listener to detect the Raag from the mood woven by the musicians.

The rhythmic structure of Indian music is called the Taal. There are many Taals and they are classified according to how the rhythmic cycle is subdivided. Each subdivision can contain a different number of beats (from 2 to 5 beats). Dhamar Taal, 5+2+3+4, is an extreme example. Dadra Taal 3+3 (where the first 3 beats are played differently from the second 3) is a simpler example. We have used Dadra Taal in Off the Hook, Butterfly and Huntingtone Castle to bridge the Irish and Indian traditions.

The tabla is the main rhythmic instrument in Hindustani music. The name tabla refers to two hand-drums. The larger drum (the baya) produces the deeper tones. Both drums can be played with fantastic tonal variation, so much so that the bayan can play the role of a bass instrument in our music.

Celtic Music – Jigs and Reels
Celtic music refers to the traditional songs and dance tunes that have originated in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England. Some of the music has been passed down many generations. Other tunes are relatively young. Today much of the music has been written down. Musicians still gather together, however, for traditional evening sessions where they play tunes and learn new tunes by ear. Anywhere in the world where there are large numbers of Celtic immigrants you will find these sessions.

In Berkeley, visit the Starry Plough on a Sunday evening.

Jigs and reels refer to dances and the types of tunes played with these dances. Tunes for jigs and tunes for reels have different rhythmic structure. Reels squeeze 4 notes into each pulse of the beat - for example, Cooley's Reel and Drowsey Maggie. Jigs use 3 notes per pulse – for example, Lark in the Morning and Over the Ocean. The total number of beats in a tune strictly follows the dance steps so that the dance will be compatible with the music.