So, since it's Holi, I've decided to go on an Indian cultural spree!
Tomorrow, the devotional music class my mother teaches will be performing at the annual Holi program at my temple. The group will be singing an Indian prayer, followed by a song that celebrates the Holi festival. I will be helping them out be playing the harmonium, a Indian instrument. The harmonium is like a one-handed piano - accordion. Sound is produced by air, supplied by hand-operated bellows, being blown through sets of free reeds.
Though derived from the designs developed in France, the harmonium was developed further in India in unique ways, such as the addition of drone stops and a scale changing mechanism. South Asian music is based on melody, rather than harmony, which makes two-handed playing unnecessary, and South Asian musicians are used to sitting cross-legged on the ground or kneeling to play, rather than on a chair or bench.
This is how it is played and what it sounds like:
Here's a cool video of T.I., an American recording artist, and film and music producer learning about some Indian instruments, including the harmonium!
Tomorrow, the devotional music class my mother teaches will be performing at the annual Holi program at my temple. The group will be singing an Indian prayer, followed by a song that celebrates the Holi festival. I will be helping them out be playing the harmonium, a Indian instrument. The harmonium is like a one-handed piano - accordion. Sound is produced by air, supplied by hand-operated bellows, being blown through sets of free reeds.
Though derived from the designs developed in France, the harmonium was developed further in India in unique ways, such as the addition of drone stops and a scale changing mechanism. South Asian music is based on melody, rather than harmony, which makes two-handed playing unnecessary, and South Asian musicians are used to sitting cross-legged on the ground or kneeling to play, rather than on a chair or bench.
This is how it is played and what it sounds like:
Here's a cool video of T.I., an American recording artist, and film and music producer learning about some Indian instruments, including the harmonium!
0 comments:
Post a Comment