@johncarlosbaez @mdreid @androcat I went hunting for the Locrian mode in Hindustani khayal music (north Indian art music), which uses a variety of different modes.

The building block of khayal music is a raga, which is, roughly speaking, a melodic template. Often the template (raga) prescribes a particular mode (thaat), but there are many ragas that mix modes or use non-standard modes. Locrian is not one of the standard modes.

There is a very popular raga, called raga malkauns, that is technically in Locrian mode. But is a pentatonic raga, involving only the notes 1, 3♭, 4♭, 6♭, 7♭ (where the unadorned numbers refer to the Lydian scale), so it is also (technically) in the Phrygian and Aeolian scale. In khayal music theory, it is classified under the Phrygian mode (bhairavi thaat).

Nevertheless, I did find a raga that uses the full Locrian scale: raga lalit-bilas. From the name, it seems like it is a mixture of raga lalit and raga bilaskhani todi, two fairly standard ragas. But the raga lalit-bilas itself is quite uncommon. It is listed with a recording of a performance on https://oceanofragas.com/. I am attaching the audio.

#Hindustanimusic #khayal

#TBT a day late. Last year we celebrated the 59th birthday of #DebashishBhattacharya with this project. It's one of his compositions, a "garland of ragas" for students, where all 11 #raag families are played. Apart from playing it, the other challenge for me was to take all 17 videos from the students, mix the audio, and sync everything. Diverse frame and sampling rates, metronome speeds, and file formats made for some work!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yq0jLzFzQUU

#raga #hindustanimusic slideguitar #india

My notes on the 3rd and 4th section of the alap in #RaagYaman transcribed from a recent lesson. Rather than use normal shorthand notation for the ornamentation I wrote out each note of the ornament. The v mark is a plucked note while the rest are glides. Yaman is parallel to Lydian mode. The notes are
SRGMPDN=
1 2 3 #4 5 6 7

#raga #Hindustanimusic

Morning #raga. The great Ustad Ali Akbar Khan performs raag mishra Bhairavi.

https://youtu.be/AvA-vog4srU

#hindustanimusic #sarod

Sunday #raga. An extraordinary live performance of #raag #Bhimpalasi. This has been in my regular listening rotation since it first showed up on YouTube.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRE-vfAxwtXNPMb1U406EDx3LZZacYWNS

#sundaymusic #mastomusic #hindustanimusic

I studied #Hindustani #tala for a few years with Maya Misra, widow of Pt Ramesh Misra. Tala (or taal) is the system of counting beat cycles using the various sounds (bols) that a tabla makes. A few years ago I presented a lecture on the most basic taals. Each tala has a characteristic set of bols (called the theka). After you learn the theka, you practice accelerating how many bols are on a beat.

https://youtu.be/i-yrMDTJxRw

#HindustaniMusic #raag #raga #musiclessons #percussion #rhythm #drums

A #raag for the #monsoons. Raag Miyan ki Malhar is based on Kafi thaat (Dorian mode in Western terminology). The ascending scale is 7 1 4 2 5 b7 b6 7 1. Descending is 1 b7 5 4 5 b3 4 2 1.

https://youtu.be/rgHjbPluXEQ

#raga #HindustaniMusic #SlideGuitar #SteelGuitar #dobro #tabla #DebashishBhattacharya

Great interview in the Amsterdam press with my friend and teacher, Pandit #DebashishBhattacharya . Discussing his innovative guitar designs and upcoming performances.

https://t2online.in/music/indian/pandit-debashish-bhattacharya-gets-into-festival-mode-and-speaks-about-the-need-for-innovation-with-musical-instruments/484990

#SlideGuitar #dobro #SteelGuitar #HindustaniMusic #raag #raga

Indian culture has a day where teachers are honored. Happy #GuruPurnima to all those who pass on their knowledge and expertise to humble students.

Here’s my wonderful teacher.

https://youtu.be/Y6ZfxiWv6xM

#Hindustanimusic #raga #raag #SlideGuitar

Last week we had days of unrelenting rain here in NC. nothing like the #monsoons in India, of course, but here a monsoon #raga anyway 😉.

Here is my friend and teacher #DebashishBhattacharya with a short version of #Raag Megh (cloud). Pentatonic scale of 1 2 4 5 b7

https://youtu.be/ApMoky6Sdmw

#mastomusic #hindustanimusic #slideguitar

Nice review of the album I helped produce this past fall featuring Pt #DebashishBhattacharya and Pt #SwapanChaudhuri.

https://acousticguitar.com/evocative-music-from-a-unique-instrument-on-debashish-bhattacharyas-the-sound-of-the-soul/

#slideguitar #hindustanimusic #raag #raga #tabla #steelguitar

#riaz (practice)!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cs8xUXdhKQX/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

#Hindustanimusic #raga #slideguitar #dobro #steelguitar

Nice interview with #DebashishBhattacharya produced by his label #AbstractLogix. Talks about his musical heritage, his relationship with #johnmclaughlin, and his latest recording.

https://youtu.be/j6U1YXY8GC8

#raag #raga #Hindustanimusic #SlideGuitar #SteelGuitar #dobro

I’m presently learning #raag Komal Rishab Asavari (flat 2nd minor), so am listening to various performances. Here’s a lovely version on #sarangi.

It’s based on #bhairavi thaat (Phrygian mode)

The ascending scale is 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 1’, while descending is
1’ b7 b6 5 4 b3 b2 1

https://youtu.be/wbbjrSNCkwE

#mastomusic #raga #Hindustanimusic

Forgot to honor the 101st anniversary of the birth of #AliAkbarKhan, the great master of #sarod. Westerners are probably most familiar with him from the great performance with #RaviShankar at the #ConcertForBangladesh. KhanSahib was a genius in his own right. I have been surprised to hear from several Indian musicians I know that they consider him superior to Ravi Shankar.

Here’s a stunning performance with #SwapanChaudhuri on #tabla
https://youtu.be/_znXkV13VBI

#raga #raag #Hindustanimusic

Westerners tend to think of Indian classical music as loose #improvisation but the exact opposite is true. Even the opening free time #alap section of a #raga is organized into chapters. #DebashishBhattacharya explains how he organizes alap in #RaagYaman.

https://youtu.be/odXQw1J4uho

#HindustaniMusic #SlideGuitar

Early morning transcribing yesterday’s lesson with #DebashishBhattacharya. #hindustanimusic is traditionally taught orally. The guru sings the lines, the student plays them back. This is a new #raga for me—#Raag Komal Nishab Asavari—meaning flat (komal), second (nishab), minor scale (asavari). Same as western Phrygian mode except the 3rd and 7th are always skipped when ascending. Written in the Sargam—Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni. I use an old lab notebook to write things out. :-)

Staying pretty busy in retirement. My latest project. I know a little html, but decided to go with #squarespace.

Took me a couple weeks to get familiar with how it worked, but here the current state of things.

Still al little primitive, but a vast improvement over the original site, which hadn't been redesigned since the late 90s.

https://www.debashishbhattacharya.com/

#slideguitar #hindustanimusic #steelguitar #dobro

A raga is more than just a scale. There are rules for the order that notes can be played in. Not only that, there are rules for which notes can be ornamented, and the tempo and width of the ornaments. Just shaking notes that “sound Indian” doesn’t make it Indian music.

Here’s #DebashishBhattacharya giving some examples.

https://youtu.be/HQuvr1ohzh4

#raga #slideguitar #steelguitar #dobro #Hindustanimusic

My latest project. I know a little html but wasn't familiar with Squarespace. After a few weeks I had enough of the basics to put this together from scratch. Always happy to hear comments or suggestions.

https://www.debashishbhattacharya.com/

#worldmusic #slideguitar #dobro #steelguitar #raga #raag #HindustaniMusic