Time in Indian Music: Rhythm, Metre, and Form in North Indian Rag Performance (Oxford Monographs on Music)

Rating:
Summary: Illuminating
Review: This book is an in-depth academic analysis of meter in North Indian music. Based on the author's doctoral research, the book includes theoretical perspectives, types and uses of tal, rhythm and meter in performance, and cross-culture perspectives. Clayton crafts his descriptions of meter and rhythm carefully so that they are general enough to cover all genres of North Indian music. As a result of this generality, much of the analysis can be applied to South Indian music as well. He points out that meter in North Indian music is hard to reconcile with "universal metrical" theory, such as that proposed by Lerdahl and Jackendoff, and he argues that any universal theory of meter must take into account North Indian music. Much of the book is highly technical and may only be accessible to specialists in music theory. Nevertheless, novices who are interested in Indian music will still find much of interest, as Clayton explains such topics as the sequence of events in an Indian classical concert, and the cyclic nature of Indian rhythms quite clearly. The accompanying CD contains clips that demonstrate many of the rhythms and meters discussed in the text.

Rating:
Summary: Illuminating
Review: This book is an in-depth academic analysis of meter in North Indian music. Based on the author's doctoral research, the book includes theoretical perspectives, types and uses of tal, rhythm and meter in performance, and cross-culture perspectives. Clayton crafts his descriptions of meter and rhythm carefully so that they are general enough to cover all genres of North Indian music. As a result of this generality, much of the analysis can be applied to South Indian music as well. He points out that meter in North Indian music is hard to reconcile with "universal metrical" theory, such as that proposed by Lerdahl and Jackendoff, and he argues that any universal theory of meter must take into account North Indian music. Much of the book is highly technical and may only be accessible to specialists in music theory. Nevertheless, novices who are interested in Indian music will still find much of interest, as Clayton explains such topics as the sequence of events in an Indian classical concert, and the cyclic nature of Indian rhythms quite clearly. The accompanying CD contains clips that demonstrate many of the rhythms and meters discussed in the text.