Music in India: The Classical Traditions

by Bonnie C. Wade

Book focuses on the two traditions of Indian Classical Music: North Indian, or Hindustani and South Indian, or Karnatak. It is an introduction to principles, ideas, and systems of the above two traditions and is geared to the listener as well as to the performer.

Genres: Music

Paperback

First published April 1, 1997

Reviews

[Carol]

I've been reconnecting with my love of Indian classical music lately, and decided to do some reading on the subject to help me better understand how the music works. Wade's book is very much written for western audiences who are interested in Indian music. A reasonable amount of knowledge of western music theory is assumed. Wade does a good job of explaining raga and tala to the reader, and uses comparisons to western music that are helpful without implying any hierarchy between the two.

[Richard]

This is a well-known text that covers a broad range of musical concepts in both Hindustani and Carnatic traditions of Indian music. All the basics are here, including info on major instruments, rhythmic modes, ragas. A very good intro to the concepts. It's a college-level or higher text, and you will probably get the most out of it if you already have a solid background in western music. I read it once and have returned several times to dip in and look up specific concepts, etc. Good as a reference book for your home music library.