From theory — Eastern theory · Alankār. The vocabulary these gestures come from.

Ornaments

Three small movements do most of the work: a shake, a fast knot of notes, and a grace note leaned on and left. All of them are slides — meend at a smaller scale.

Gamak — the shake

A note pulled repeatedly from a neighbour and back, on one bow, fast enough that the ear hears one thick vibrating note rather than an alternation. On a sarangi this is done by the left hand rocking, not by the bow.

The plain note is inert by comparison. Gamak is how a held note stays alive on an instrument with no vibrato tradition of the violin kind.

  • From below, usually. The shake comes up to the note from the note beneath it, so the target still sounds like the main pitch.
  • How wide? A whole step is standard, a semitone is subtler, a third is a statement. The width is a stylistic choice.
  • Keep the bow steady. If the bow pulses with the hand you get a wobble, which is a different and much less good effect.

Kan — the grace note

A note touched on the way in and immediately left, too short to be heard as a note of its own. It gives the main note a direction — it arrives from somewhere instead of just starting.

The difference is small and it is the difference between a phrase that sounds Nepali and one that sounds like an exercise.

A kan from above sounds like a sigh or a settling; from below it sounds like a push. Same technique, opposite meaning.

Murki — the knot

A tiny cluster of notes around the main one, over almost before it starts. Unlike gamak it has a shape you could write down; unlike a palta it is fast enough that the individual notes are not heard as melody.

Play them slowly first — data aside, a murki you cannot play slowly is a murki you cannot play.

In context

The murki sits on the first beat of a phrase and then the phrase continues. Slowed down here so you can see the shape.

How much

Every one of these can be overdone, and a beginner who has just learned gamak will put it on every note. The Gandharba style is not lavishly ornamented — it is a style built around a singing voice and a walking pace, and the ornaments mark the notes that matter rather than decorating all of them.

  • Ornament the long notes. A note held for two beats can take a gamak. A note that lasts half a beat cannot.
  • Ornament the resting notes. Sa and Pa, where a phrase settles, are where the ear has time to listen.
  • Leave the fast bits plain. In a jhyaure at dance tempo there is no room, and the rhythm is the interest.
The test. Play a phrase completely plain, then add exactly one ornament. If it sounds better, keep it and stop. Almost nothing needs two.

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Jhyaure & the madal Folk tunes