韩国裸舞

Could you share some insights into the roles of the harmonium and the tabla accompanist in a Hindustani vocal khayal presentation?

Hindustani khayal performances are based on improvisation, but the improvisation has a very well-defined framework of Raga. Raga is a distinct and layered concept, which in a broad sense, can be considered as a set of rules for melodic improvisation. In a regular Hindustani vocal performance, the vocalist presents a Raga while the roles of the tabla and harmonium player as the accompanists are strictly subordinate to the main vocalist. The vocalist directs the tabla player to perform a rhythmic cycle known as a "taal" and also sets the tempo for the performance. The primary responsibility of the tabla player is to take cues from the vocalist regarding the tempo to maintain and act as a timekeeper for the performance. The harmonium player provides melodic support by shadowing the main vocalist. This is quite a challenging task. The harmonium player must listen and recognize the notes sung by the vocalist and replicate the same melodic phrase on the spot, within a fraction of a second, while at the same time listen alertly for the next phrase that the vocalist has already begun singing! The accompanists generally adhere to their supportive roles, but they may engage in moderate improvisation during the solo sections or, at times, to add expressiveness鈥攐r, as we say, to put 'life' into the vocalist's performance!聽

What are your thoughts on the role of technology and innovation in preserving and evolving traditional musical instruments and practices?聽

Music Technology encompasses a broad range of applications. Specifically speaking about music acoustics involving non-Western musical instruments, I believe that there is a huge potential for research through collaborations with artists and instrument-makers. Many traditional instruments continue to be manufactured by artisanal means, using materials sourced from locally available plants and animals, and relying on skills passed down from generation to generation. While the traditional craftsmanship is invaluable, there are challenges such as the unavailability of specific woods or animal skins and a potential lack of interest from the next generation in continuing these traditions. Researchers can play an important role in supporting instrument-makers by helping to find alternative materials, simplify designs, and develop tools for manufacturing and quality testing of the instruments. In my experience, instrument-makers in India are generally receptive to innovation requests, if the requests come from established artists who play these instruments. However, they can be skeptical about engaging with scientists and sharing their family's 'secret sauce'. As music technologists, it is our responsibility to build trust and establish collaborative relationships with both the artists and the artisans. Demonstrated benefits of research would legitimize and encourage greater acceptance of the scientific process, which is essential for preserving and evolving the traditional instruments for future generations.聽

Considering the political and historical context of the harmonium鈥檚 integration into Indian music, in what ways do you believe your digital harmonium will impact the future of Hindustani music performance and pedagogy, as well as other types of music?聽

Although the harmonium is the most popular vocal accompaniment instrument in Hindustani khayal today, its rise to prominence has been quite controversial. Originally invented in France, the harmonium was introduced to India by the Portuguese and British settlers. Musicologists criticized the instrument for its use of European equal temperament tuning and its inability to perform continuous pitch ornaments, which are integral to the khayal form. Many prominent vocalists did not consider these aspects to be significant for accompaniment and used harmonium accompaniment in their concerts, nevertheless. Innovations in the design and performance techniques of harmonium ameliorated some of its deficiencies, leading to its general acceptance in the khayal music form.聽

My research, although different in its approach, also aims to reduce the deficiencies of the harmonium and make it more suitable for performing Hindustani khayal music. Acceptance of any innovation is challenging, and using a digitally synthesized sound in traditional music is a big change. But I would consider it a great success even if a single harmonium player, apart from myself, starts using this novel instrument regularly in conventional concerts. The digital harmonium will provide an easy-to-access, good-sounding and accurately tuned harmonium, making it a valuable tool for learning and ear training. A parallel example in the Western music world could be the way regular pianos and digital pianos are used today.聽

A collateral benefit would be the potential development of similar digital versions of other free-reed instruments, such as accordions, harmonicas, concertinas, and bandoneons, based on the free-reed models developed during my research. The greatest impact of my research would be inspiring further peer-reviewed scientific research into other traditional instruments.聽

What challenges did you face in developing the novel pitch control mechanism, and what resources have been most crucial to your development of this innovative instrument modification?聽

The continuous pitch ornaments, known as 'meend,' 'andolan,' and 'gamaka,' are intrinsic components of Hindustani khayal performances. The free reeds coupled with the Western keyboard interface make it nearly impossible to play these ornaments on a harmonium. However, expert harmonium players have devised specialized techniques to create an illusion of these ornaments. My research aims to use a harmonium sound synthesis model combined with these specialized gestures to turn this illusion into reality. The rationale is that if only minimal additional training is required to switch from a regular harmonium to a digital harmonium, every harmonium player can also be a 鈥榙igital鈥� harmonium player. However, capturing the nuances in a harmonium player鈥檚 gestures isn't possible with a standard piano-styled MIDI keyboard. The standard MIDI keyboard assumes that the keys are either pressed or not pressed, whereas harmonium players frequently use partially pressed keys to render their substitutes for the pitch ornaments.聽

For the interface development component of my research, I received a student award from the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music and Media Technologies (CIRMMT), in collaboration with Travis West, a PhD candidate at the Input Devices and Music Interaction Laboratory (IDMIL). With our combined skills, we are attempting to convert a regular harmonium into a digital harmonium by retrofitting it with infra-red proximity sensors to detect keypress nuances and map them to the appropriate pitch ornamentations. Our approach will retain the familiar harmonium keyboard for the performers, but they will have to adapt their ears and playing techniques to suit the synthesized sound and the presence of pitch ornaments. It remains to be seen how significant this change will be perceived by the performers and whether they will find it worth the effort to adapt to it. The interface development is progressing rapidly, and we hope to have a working prototype soon for trials with harmonium experts.聽