By now you have probably noticed the profusion of melodic embellishment patterns in Hindustani classical music. Almost nothing is straightforward or easy to copy. Well, since Indian music has traditionally been about single-line melodic development, artists are trained to do amazing things with that one line of melody. Of course, except in the case of really gifted singers, it can take years and years of rigorous training and practice before the voice becomes capable of doing all those embellishments effortlessly. The good news is that one can still sing simplified versions, and the embellishments will happen in good time. That's what everyone does.
There are two parts to learning embellishment techniques. The first part is mastering the techniques themselves. This comes under voice training. The other part is to learn to apply them correctly/naturally. This would fall in the department of musical education. In practice, voice training and musical education take place side by side, but I think it is useful to recognize that there are these two distinct aspects to learning music.
Ancient texts list many different embellishment techniques (called alankar or ornamentation), some as many as 68 different kinds. Here are a few words used to describe those techniques, just to give you a feel:
- aaghaata (stricken)
- andolita (swung)
- gumphita (strung together)
- kampita (vibrating)
- kurula (spiraling/curling)
- mudrita (intertwined)
- plavita (flowing)
- sphurita (quivering)
- ulhasita (elated)
But the terms used to describe ornamentation have changed over the years, and today we talk of about 33 embellishment techniques in Hindustani classical music. This section describes a few of those. But first, a word of warning. Students of classical music learn ornamentation techniques by copying what they hear and practicing until perfect, rather than by studying the theory behind them. In fact, you could get stuck trying to execute an ornament if you stop to deliberately think about it. So, once you've learned the basics, you must learn to let go of the theory and follow your instincts instead. It's like dancing or riding a bike.
Meend (glissando)
A meend is essentially like a glissando in the sense that it is a smooth glide from one note to another, including all the intervening pitches, and often specific non-intervening pitches as well. Within the basic style of a meend there are many variations - different ways in which the meend must be applied depending on the what is being sung.
For instance, listen to the difference between the two examples below. They are both the same set of notes sung in legato, but the first one is sung simply, while the second one applies meends typical of Raag Bageshree.
Here's a clear demonstration of a meend between S and S' (spanning a whole octave) which touches all the intervening pitches in the octave:
But then, a meend between the same two notes can sound quite different depending on what pitches you touch en route (i.e., which raga is being sung). For instance, check out how different the note-combination "S m" sounds in the following two examples:
Talking of Raag Kedar, it is characterized by its use of what are called "undulating" meends. What this means is that instead of going straight up or straight down, Raag Kedar almost always combines its notes in a gently swaying back and forth motion.
In practice, a meend can be sung to a vowel sound, to a syllable of lyric, or to the sol-fa syllables of the start and end notes (even though technically other notes are also included). It can also be sung at different speeds. The point of a meend is that even though it only mentions the start and end notes, it is a continuum that includes all the relevant pitches in a smooth transition. Skilled artists are so good at singing meends that they not just include every relevant note, they also know exactly how much to emphasize each of these notes. Because, depending on the raga, some notes are very prominent, while others are barely present.
Kan-Swar (grace notes)
Listen to the difference between the two examples below. They both involve singing the same notes, but the second version sings the bold-highlighted notes with grace notes.
The examples below are two ragas that are very easy for me to slip from one into the other. Notice the difference in the way the note g is sung in these ragas.
An andolan is a slow swing applied to a note. It is a very special feature of certain ragas and is only applied to specific notes in those ragas. In other words, you may not indiscriminately swing any note you please. So, in an andolan, this slow gentle oscillation from the note in question touches microtones on one or both sides of that note, never quite reaching the adjacent note(s). For instance, the andolan on d in Raag Darbari sways gently downward from d, but never quite reaches P (the note below it), while the andolan on g in the same raga sways gently downward from g but never quite reaches R.
Another example of andolan is the g in Raag Jog on the way down, which is quite distinct from the Raag Darbari andolan on the same note.
Gamak (a very powerful oscillation)
An andolan (swing) is tentative. It wanders the periphery of a note, as though unable to make up its mind where to settle. A gamak is just the opposite. It is quite sure of itself. It has declared possession of two or three notes and vigorously shuttles back and forth between them. Gamaks are a somewhat masculine embellishment technique and suit some ragas better than others. Like andolans, gamaks are also applied selectively.
A khatka (also called geetkari) is a small cluster of notes sung rapidly but with enough gusto that each note is clearly audible. Here are two examples from Raag Yaman, which often features khatkas on the notes S and P. In the first example, S' is actually a rapid combination of the notes (S' R' S' S' N).
And below that, the P is a combination of the notes (P D P P M).
Murki (a subtle khatka)
A murki is a very subtle khatka. This extremely pretty embellishment technique involves singing a cluster of notes so quickly and lightly that it sounds like a little flutter in the throat. My personal view is that the best murkis happen of their own accord. You have to lead up to a murki very deliberately, and your vocal cords must be flexible and agile enough to enable them to happen, but after that, you just have to let go and allow your vocal cords to take command. Different singers produce murkis differently, so they are like a singer's personal signature.
A zamzama is like a khatka except that the notes used in a zamzama are usually in orderly sequences. Zamzamas are not found in serious classical music because of their extremely folksy flavor. They are very characteristic of a style of semi-classical singing called tappa, which derives from folk songs sung by camel riders in Punjab.
Vidushi Malini Rajurkar
Tappa in Raag Bhairavi
