Study of Some Features Responsible for Style of the Singers in Hindustani Music

Abstract

Identification of style of a musician is hard to recognize by an amateur listener, but to expert music listeners or to the musical ears can recognize the style easily. This article provides insights into aspects of styles with respect to signal characteristics in the performance of Hindustani vocal music, based on a study of recorded performances on a specific raga by prominent artists. With the time, vocal performers developed elements of vocal style (gayaki) to match the preferences of the conservative listening community. Although improvisation is allowed in Hindustani music but there must be some inherent features which definitely distinguish the style in performance among different singers. The performer has great freedom in exploring his/her own improvisational patterns in order to delve into the intricacies of the given raga. It is important to note that ornaments are intricate Indian music decorations which only experienced musicians can recognize and comprehend. A listener can distinguish styles of vocal performances by realizing phrases and ornamentation of a raga rendition. This includes catchphrases with repeated note articulation and discovery of repeating structures in music is fundamental to its analysis, understanding and interpretation. Besides this other attributes like, duration of steady states and duration of silence are important.

Keyword: Catch phrase, energy, note distribution, silence, style in HM