What's the Tuning on a bansuri?

[ninjaaron]

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Rules for the sake of rules are lame. As cool as Indian music is, I've been reading a bit, and it seems that the rigidity in it is ridiculous. I'm very happy that I've been raised in the American Jazz/Rock tradtion, and trained in the modern classical tradtion, where we piss on rules (after learing them well).

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Yes, every tradition comes with packaging and some of it is tied with nasty knots. Other knots are not nasty at all - we just don't know how to appreciate their utility. One of the great things about the Indic tradition (when properly or shall I say appropriately digested) is its utility at assisting playing by ear music you may never have heard before.

The tradition has a predominantly melodic approach to music analysis and as it is a predominantly oral tradition, it employs a tonic sol-fa notation as a distilled way of conveying the basics of a piece. This requires a fundamental understaning of the primary modes (types or kinds) of scale. We are able to, say, hear a piece in Irish music and quickly discern it as Asawari thaat (Aeolian Mode) and be able to improvise with it on the spot. By repeated playing along we can identify the very particular melody.

This is why I know (as many here, who profess a modal perspective, know) that the basic keyless flute provides
from XXX XXX = Ionian Mode (Bilawal)
XXX XXO = Dorian Mode (Kaafi)
XXX XOO = Phrygian (Bhairavi)
XXX OOO = Lydian Mode (Kalyaan)
XXO OOO = Mixolydian Mode (Khamaaj)
XOO OOO = Aeolian Mode (Asawari)

The non diatonic 7 note scales of Bhairav, Maarwa, Todi, Pooravi, Kirwaani, Madhuvanti and Sarvari can never be played on a flute without significant half holing regardless of which tone hole is used for the tonic.

I cross finger like crazy to play the non-diatonic modes, especially the indian ones which can have... like three consecutive half-steps. I suppose cross fingering is against the rules as well (I hear it's even against the rules for hard-core traditionalists of Irish music, except possibly C natural, over which there is some kind of riff, I guess). I half hole too, but I like crossfingering a lot.

By the way, is that an oral, or aural tradtion?

[talasiga]

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By the way, is that an oral, or aural tradtion?

as long as it ain't anal, who cares?

[ninjaaron]

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By the way, is that an oral, or aural tradtion?

as long as it ain't anal, who cares?

your mama.