Page 208 - Communication Processes Volume 3 Communication Culture and Confrontation

Say It in Singing! 183

Figure 6.1
–
Beginning of Calana (Raga As´a) Sung in North indian Classical Music (D.C. Vedi)

Source: Bel, Bernard. 1988. ‘Raga : Approches Conceptuelles et Expérimentales’
[Raga: Conceptual and Experimental Approaches]. Actes, Colloque
Structures Musicales et Assistance Informatique (Juin 1988 : Marseille,
FRANCE): 87–108. Archived at http://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-
00008280.

Figure 6.1 seem perfectly coherent with the detailed melodic line, so
that ‘note treatment’ may be conceptually distinguished from notes as
such (Bor et al. 1985).
The melodic material of performed grindmill songs is far from
lending itself to this type of differentiation between notes and note
treatment. Therefore, a better way to go might be to rely on the idea
.
of ‘melodic phrasing’ (anga), as it better reflects similarities between
ragas that do not share the same scale structure, such as for instance
Todi and Bilaskani Todi.
Veteran singers of grindmill songs seem to have developed vocal
styles of their own reflecting personal concepts of ‘musicality’. Women
with a high social status often cultivate a voice culture and tuneful-
ness that they perceive as characteristic of classical, filmi and temple