The title of this paper is taken from a standard media description of Toronto-based Japanese taik... more The title of this paper is taken from a standard media description of Toronto-based Japanese taiko drumming ensemble Nagata Shachu, in which the group promises to take the audience on "a musical journey beyond all borders." The author, who has been a performing member of the group since 2002, examines through her own experience in the group and through an interview with artistic director Kiyoshi Nagata, the motivation behind the use of this phrase, and how the musical and cultural crossings of borders are manifested in and shapes the group's repertoire, practices, image, and marketing strategies within the Toronto world music scene.
the 13th International Music Theory Conference
PRINCIPLES OF MUSIC COMPOSING:
THE PHENOMENON OF... more the 13th International Music Theory Conference
PRINCIPLES OF MUSIC COMPOSING:
THE PHENOMENON OF RHYTHM
The Tamil term nadai (or gati in Sanskrit) is associated with the South Indian (Karnatic) rhythmic system, describing the rhythmic subdivisions within a musical pulse. It is a component of the Laya concept, one of the ten principles of South Indian rhythmic theory, the Tala Dasa Pranas. Within the broader concept of Laya, which denotes a sense of tempo as well as the orderly flow of time, nadai suggests “the rate of speed or movement”, or “the number and the rate at which the inner pulse divisions of each akshara [beat] of a tala [rhythmic cycle] is known.”1 Nadai can be considered a counterpart to the Western musical concepts of beat subdivision and polyrhythmicity.
But while the concept of beat subdivision have been, in the West, a focus of many compositions, theoretical discussions, and expository books on rhythm (Cooper & Meyer 1960; Magadini 1968; Schillinger 1966), the concept of nadai has rarely been a topic of academic or theoretical discussion in the Karnatic field. Nadai bhedam (gati bhedam in Sanskrit) – changing the inner pulse divisions within a tala – is considered more of a practical and applied skill rather than a theoretical concept in Karnatic performance, because such a relationship between tala and rhythmic line can be perceived only when it is performed. As South Indian master drummer Trichy Sankaran explains, nadai relates more to the flow of rhythms in and throughout an underlying rhythmic cycle rather than to the idea of polyrhythmicity and of playing one rhythm against another.2 Just as the melodic aspect of Indian music has often been described as a horizontally focused system compared to the harmonically, vertically developed system of the West, the development of rhythmic sophistication in Indian music may also be perceived in a similar fashion.
This paper aims to elucidate the concept of nadai within the framework of the aforementioned principles of the Karnatic rhythmic system. Emphasis will be placed on discussing nadai as a performative and practical concept, demonstrated through rhythmic exercises learned by the author through her kanjira (South Indian frame drum) studies with Trichy Sankaran, renowned mrdangam master and Professor of South Indian Music at York University, Toronto.
The title of this paper is taken from a standard media description of Toronto-based Japanese taik... more The title of this paper is taken from a standard media description of Toronto-based Japanese taiko drumming ensemble Nagata Shachu, in which the group promises to take the audience on "a musical journey beyond all borders." The author, who has been a performing member of the group since 2002, examines through her own experience in the group and through an interview with artistic director Kiyoshi Nagata, the motivation behind the use of this phrase, and how the musical and cultural crossings of borders are manifested in and shapes the group's repertoire, practices, image, and marketing strategies within the Toronto world music scene.
the 13th International Music Theory Conference
PRINCIPLES OF MUSIC COMPOSING:
THE PHENOMENON OF... more the 13th International Music Theory Conference
PRINCIPLES OF MUSIC COMPOSING:
THE PHENOMENON OF RHYTHM
The Tamil term nadai (or gati in Sanskrit) is associated with the South Indian (Karnatic) rhythmic system, describing the rhythmic subdivisions within a musical pulse. It is a component of the Laya concept, one of the ten principles of South Indian rhythmic theory, the Tala Dasa Pranas. Within the broader concept of Laya, which denotes a sense of tempo as well as the orderly flow of time, nadai suggests “the rate of speed or movement”, or “the number and the rate at which the inner pulse divisions of each akshara [beat] of a tala [rhythmic cycle] is known.”1 Nadai can be considered a counterpart to the Western musical concepts of beat subdivision and polyrhythmicity.
But while the concept of beat subdivision have been, in the West, a focus of many compositions, theoretical discussions, and expository books on rhythm (Cooper & Meyer 1960; Magadini 1968; Schillinger 1966), the concept of nadai has rarely been a topic of academic or theoretical discussion in the Karnatic field. Nadai bhedam (gati bhedam in Sanskrit) – changing the inner pulse divisions within a tala – is considered more of a practical and applied skill rather than a theoretical concept in Karnatic performance, because such a relationship between tala and rhythmic line can be perceived only when it is performed. As South Indian master drummer Trichy Sankaran explains, nadai relates more to the flow of rhythms in and throughout an underlying rhythmic cycle rather than to the idea of polyrhythmicity and of playing one rhythm against another.2 Just as the melodic aspect of Indian music has often been described as a horizontally focused system compared to the harmonically, vertically developed system of the West, the development of rhythmic sophistication in Indian music may also be perceived in a similar fashion.
This paper aims to elucidate the concept of nadai within the framework of the aforementioned principles of the Karnatic rhythmic system. Emphasis will be placed on discussing nadai as a performative and practical concept, demonstrated through rhythmic exercises learned by the author through her kanjira (South Indian frame drum) studies with Trichy Sankaran, renowned mrdangam master and Professor of South Indian Music at York University, Toronto.
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PRINCIPLES OF MUSIC COMPOSING:
THE PHENOMENON OF RHYTHM
The Tamil term nadai (or gati in Sanskrit) is associated with the South Indian (Karnatic) rhythmic system, describing the rhythmic subdivisions within a musical pulse. It is a component of the Laya concept, one of the ten principles of South Indian rhythmic theory, the Tala Dasa Pranas. Within the broader concept of Laya, which denotes a sense of tempo as well as the orderly flow of time, nadai suggests “the rate of speed or movement”, or “the number and the rate at which the inner pulse divisions of each akshara [beat] of a tala [rhythmic cycle] is known.”1 Nadai can be considered a counterpart to the Western musical concepts of beat subdivision and polyrhythmicity.
But while the concept of beat subdivision have been, in the West, a focus of many compositions, theoretical discussions, and expository books on rhythm (Cooper & Meyer 1960; Magadini 1968; Schillinger 1966), the concept of nadai has rarely been a topic of academic or theoretical discussion in the Karnatic field. Nadai bhedam (gati bhedam in Sanskrit) – changing the inner pulse divisions within a tala – is considered more of a practical and applied skill rather than a theoretical concept in Karnatic performance, because such a relationship between tala and rhythmic line can be perceived only when it is performed. As South Indian master drummer Trichy Sankaran explains, nadai relates more to the flow of rhythms in and throughout an underlying rhythmic cycle rather than to the idea of polyrhythmicity and of playing one rhythm against another.2 Just as the melodic aspect of Indian music has often been described as a horizontally focused system compared to the harmonically, vertically developed system of the West, the development of rhythmic sophistication in Indian music may also be perceived in a similar fashion.
This paper aims to elucidate the concept of nadai within the framework of the aforementioned principles of the Karnatic rhythmic system. Emphasis will be placed on discussing nadai as a performative and practical concept, demonstrated through rhythmic exercises learned by the author through her kanjira (South Indian frame drum) studies with Trichy Sankaran, renowned mrdangam master and Professor of South Indian Music at York University, Toronto.
PRINCIPLES OF MUSIC COMPOSING:
THE PHENOMENON OF RHYTHM
The Tamil term nadai (or gati in Sanskrit) is associated with the South Indian (Karnatic) rhythmic system, describing the rhythmic subdivisions within a musical pulse. It is a component of the Laya concept, one of the ten principles of South Indian rhythmic theory, the Tala Dasa Pranas. Within the broader concept of Laya, which denotes a sense of tempo as well as the orderly flow of time, nadai suggests “the rate of speed or movement”, or “the number and the rate at which the inner pulse divisions of each akshara [beat] of a tala [rhythmic cycle] is known.”1 Nadai can be considered a counterpart to the Western musical concepts of beat subdivision and polyrhythmicity.
But while the concept of beat subdivision have been, in the West, a focus of many compositions, theoretical discussions, and expository books on rhythm (Cooper & Meyer 1960; Magadini 1968; Schillinger 1966), the concept of nadai has rarely been a topic of academic or theoretical discussion in the Karnatic field. Nadai bhedam (gati bhedam in Sanskrit) – changing the inner pulse divisions within a tala – is considered more of a practical and applied skill rather than a theoretical concept in Karnatic performance, because such a relationship between tala and rhythmic line can be perceived only when it is performed. As South Indian master drummer Trichy Sankaran explains, nadai relates more to the flow of rhythms in and throughout an underlying rhythmic cycle rather than to the idea of polyrhythmicity and of playing one rhythm against another.2 Just as the melodic aspect of Indian music has often been described as a horizontally focused system compared to the harmonically, vertically developed system of the West, the development of rhythmic sophistication in Indian music may also be perceived in a similar fashion.
This paper aims to elucidate the concept of nadai within the framework of the aforementioned principles of the Karnatic rhythmic system. Emphasis will be placed on discussing nadai as a performative and practical concept, demonstrated through rhythmic exercises learned by the author through her kanjira (South Indian frame drum) studies with Trichy Sankaran, renowned mrdangam master and Professor of South Indian Music at York University, Toronto.