ShadjaMadhyam Online Certificate course in Indian Classical Music
The ShadjaMadhyam Online Certificate Course (Basic) is meant to introduce the student to the key concepts of Indian Classical Music (ICM), and has been designed with three different segments of students in mind, depending upon their objectives and interest in learning Indian Classical Music:
- Students who wish to become performers of vocal or instrumental music and attain a reasonable degree of proficiency to be able to present a solo concert.
- Students who are performers of other genres of music such as Western Classical, Jazz, popular music etc., and wish to learn Indian Classical music in order to adapt and perform a “blend” or “fusion” genre of music.
- Students who wish to appreciate Indian Classical Music and become “informed” listeners of ICM.
The course will introduce the student to some of the concepts of ICM, and familiarize the student with some of the common raags and taals that are prevalent in performances and concerts of ICM all over the world. On completion of the course, the student would be able to:
- Understand and define the basic concepts
- Identify the raags and taals taught
- Be able to render the bandishes taught with a fair degree of ease, with sufficient practice on his/her own
This is intended to be a “school level” course, conducted part time with a mix of interactive and computer assisted methodologies, as well as periodic face-to-face learning. It is also desirable for the student to get an exposure to live performances by accomplished performers of ICM.
The ShadjaMadhyam course has an optional module for students not familiar with Indian culture as some exposure and familiarity with the culture and its customs is important for an appreciation of the music. The India Heritage Module is designed to acquaint the student with the Indian cultural ethos, and appreciate ICM in that context. The contents of this module are included in Annexure I.
Course Contents
The course consists of Theory/Concepts, which the student learns through multimedia self study material as well as lectures, and Interactive Practicals, where the teacher sings or plays the instrument concerned, and the student repeats after the teacher.
The syllabus of this course includes the basic elements of ICM, such as swar (note), shruti (microtone), saptak (octave), laya (tempo), taal (beat pattern), thaat and raag, etc. The student is taught 10 raags, with various compositions in slow and fast tempos. The actual course covers about 70 contact hours, and is divided into 3 modules. Students can get themselves evaluated periodically to assess their own progress, and there will be a test at the end of each module and a final exam at the end of the year.
Students who have already undergone some formal or informal training in ICM, and are confident about their familiarity with the concepts, and ability to render bandishes in these raags need not attend all the classes for the entire year. They can appear for the exam for the module directly. The study material covering the syllabus as described below, can be provided to students wishing to attend the online classes, as well as those wishing to take the exams directly.
Study Material
The study material, which is in English, consists of textual as well as multimedia content, covering the following:
Concepts/Theory
As study material for the course, a multimedia CD containing the following topics will be provided to the student. (Samples of this CD are available on www.ShadjaMadhyam.com):
- Basics of Naad, Swar, Raga, the Musical Scale etc
- Evolution of the Raga from the Sama Vedas to the Khyaal
- Khyaal form of presentation
- Importance of Taal and Laya in Indian Classical Music
- Fundamentals of aesthetics of music
Practicals
Notations and words of the compositions in each module, along with audio clips of the compositions, as supporting material will be provided.
Course Syllabus
The syllabus is divided into 3 modules, as follows:
MODULE 1:
Theory:
Basic concepts in Indian Classical Music:
- Swar, Saptak
- Laya
- Taal, Maatra
- Raag, and characteristics of a raag, such as aaroha/avaroha, chalan
- Notation systems devised by Pt. D. V. Paluskar and Pt. Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande
Practicals:
Raga:
- Yaman
- Bhimpalas
- Bageshree
Taal:
- Teentaal
- Jhaptaal
MODULE 2:
Theory
- The ten thaats in ICM
- Origin of Indian Classical Music and Music in the medieval period
- The structure of a performance, and concepts of alaap, taan, etc.
Practical:
Raga:
- Bihag
- Khamaj
- Tilak Kamod
Taal:
- Ektaal
- Rupak
MODULE 3
Theory:
- The Ancient and Modern Shruti systems
- Classification and basic information of instruments used in Indian Classical Music
Practical:
Raga:
- Malkauns
- Darbari Kanada
- Bhairav
- Bhairavi
Taal:
- Dadra
- Keherwa