Shanti, Shanti: An Elemental Exploration of the Music of Southeast ...

Shanti
AOSA 2012-­‐ St. Louis, MO
Shanti, Shanti: An Elemental Exploration of the Music of
Southeast Asia
Manju Durairaj
Indian music is the music of the Indian subcontinent. It is the music of India,
Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bangladesh. Indian music has
two branches, North Indian or Hindustani music and South Indian or Carnatic
music. Carnatic music is practiced in the four South Indian states of Karnataka,
Tamil Nad, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.
1. Hum Honge Kamyab
Hum honge kamyab, Hum honge kamyab
Hum honge kamyab ek din
O mann may hay vishwas, poora hay vishwas
Hum honge kamyab ek din
2. Mirroring and Shadowing
Song: Mohini from Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Album:
e Working with a partner, A leads mirroring, then passes the lead to B. The pair
explores mirroring using non locomotor and locomotor movements.
e A leads shadowing, passing the lead to B when done.
Encourage exploration of contrasting movement; light/heavy, high/low,
strong/gentle, fast/slow, curved/zig-zag, accented/sustained.
e Combine 2 pairs, in a diamond shape, with partners placed across each other.
Explore shadowing. A begins, passing the lead to any one of the adjacent 2 people,
C or D.
A
C
D
B
e When all four have experienced leading, listen to the music they will be moving
to.
e Create a movement piece, with the lead passing from one to another at will.
e The first and last leaders decide the opening and final poses.
Manju Durairaj mdurairaj@latinschool.org 1

Shanti
AOSA 2012-­‐ St. Louis, MO
3. Peace Canon
e Echo sing the song by phrases, combining phrases until the melody and lyrics
are secure.
e Add the hand drum.
e Once melody is secure, divide into groups of four and create movement using
‘shadowing’
e First sing in unison then three more times in canon.
e The group that finishes first freezes or melts in place.
e Teach melodic ostinato using sargam.
(An ostinato is a repeated melodic or rhythmic pattern. 2 or more ostinati may be
layered to create an accompaniment. When ostinati are added, they should
complement the main melody, preferably by providing a rhythmic contrast)
Indian music uses sargam, a system similar to solfegge. The degrees of the scale
are Sa, re, ga, ma, pa, dha, ni, sa. The tonal centre is always sa, irrespective of
the melody being ‘do’ or ‘la’ based.
e Transfer melodic ostinato to bass xylophones.
e Use pat-clap to teach alto xylophone part and transfer to instruments.
e Use snap to teach soprano xylophone part. The timing is tricky and players
need to listen to the BX part to be accurate.
e Solicit and explore ideas for instrumental introduction and coda.
e Perform the piece including created movement.
4. Speech Piece using Bol
The concept of meter is precisely defined in Indian music. Each Tala or the ‘meter
system’ of a piece may be compared but is not identical to a rhythmic ostinato. It is
a beat cycle that consists of a specific number of measures with a specific number
of beats. The part that may confuse western music practitioners is that all
measures in the cycle may not necessarily contain an equal number of beats.
Indian percussionists use an extensive vocabulary. Every stroke, and every
combination of strokes played on their instruments, has a specific name. Each of
these is assigned a specific syllable. These are called ‘bol’. However, since
dancers and singers also use bol extensively, there may be a nebulous consensus
on the terminology.
Manju Durairaj mdurairaj@latinschool.org 2

Shanti
AOSA 2012-­‐ St. Louis, MO
Dha dha dhin dha, ta-ki-ta ta-ka dhin ((wave)
Ta-ka ta dhin dha, (wave) ta-ka dhin (wave)
Key:
5. Speech Piece
e Speak the rhythm of the above A section using Kodaly rhythm syllables
e Introduce Indian rhythmic syllables
e Using the 2 beat rhythm cards provides groups create their own 16 beat
sections
e Create body percussion to accompany the created sections
e Perform as a rondo
e Participants have created a speech piece in Teental, a beat cycle of 4 measures
with 4 beats in each measure.
6. Recorder Piece -­‐ Kafi Raga (dorian mode)
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Shanti
AOSA 2012-­‐ St. Louis, MO
Shanti
Peace within my heart
Peace within my mind
There is peace in every nation
There is peace in every land
Dil main shanti hay
Mann main shanti hay
Shanti shanty shant hay duniya
Jugg main shanti hay
La paix est dans mon coeur
La paix est dans mon âme
La paix dans tous les pays
La paix pour tout le monde
Paz en mi corazon
Paz en mi alma
En todos países hay paz
En todo el mundo hay paz
Peace within my heart
Peace within my mind
There is peace in every nation
There is peace in every land
Diwali
Diwali, diwali, Diwali, diwali, Diwali, diwali,
Hey o hey….(2)
Nacho, gao, diya jalao
Nacho, gao, mawj manao, hey o hey
refrain
Dance and sing and light the lamps
Dance and sing and let’s have fun, Hey o
hey……(2)
refrain
Hey o hey, Hey o hey Hey!
Ramadan
The ninth month of the lunar year
The month called Ramadan
Moslem children far and near
Celebrate Ramadan
Salam Ailekum, Ramzan Mubarak!
From dawn to dusk each day
Of the month of Ramadan
Moslem children fast and pray
To celebrate Ramadan
Salam Ailekum, Ramzan Mubarak!
It’s a wonderful happy day
At the end of Ramadan
Moslem children smile and say
Salam Ailekum, Eid Mubarak!
The End!
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