The Life of Music in North India: The Organization of an Artistic Tradition (Paperback)

by Daniel M. Neuman (Author) "This is an inquiry into the relationship between a people and their music..." (more)
Key Phrases: sociomusical identity, khandani musicians, sarangi accompaniment, All India Radio, Chand Khan, Mamman Khan (more...)

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Product Description

Daniel M. Neuman offers an account of North Indian Hindustani music culture and the changing social context of which it is part, as expressed in the thoughts and actions of its professional musicians.

Drawing primarily from fieldwork performed in Delhi in 1969-71—from interviewing musicians, learning and performing on the Indian fiddle, and speaking with music connoisseurs—Neuman examines the cultural and social matrix in which Hindustani music is nurtured, listened and attended to, cultivated, and consumed in contemporary India. Through his interpretation of the impact that modern media, educational institutions, and public performances exert on the music and musicians, Neuman highlights the drama of a great musical tradition engaging a changing world, and presents the adaptive strategies its practitioners employ to practice their art. His work has gained the distinction of introducing a new approach to research on Indian music, and appears in this edition with a new preface by the author.

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Product Details Paperback: 302 pages Publisher: University Of Chicago Press (March 15, 1990) Language: English ISBN-10: 0226575160 ISBN-13: 978-0226575162 Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #213,663 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books) Popular in this category: (What's this?) #76 in  Books > Entertainment > Music > Musical Genres > Folk & Traditional

Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
This is an inquiry into the relationship between a people and their music. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
sociomusical identity, khandani musicians, sarangi accompaniment, hereditary musician families, tanpura player, casual artists, sarangi players, hereditary musicians, tabla player, musical specialists, melodic accompaniment, khan sahib, marriage links, solo instrumentalists, staff artist, music conference, hereditary families

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
All India Radio, Chand Khan, Mamman Khan, Vilayat Khan, North India, Tanras Khan, Ravi Shankar, Bande Ali Khan, Hafeez Ali Khan, Wahid Khan, Agra Marriage Links, Haddu Khan, Wazir Khan, Ali Ahmed, Ali Akbar Khan, Alladiya Khan, Bundu Khan, Fayyaz Khan, Amir Khan, Muhammad Ali Khan, Uttar Pradesh, Ahmed Jan Thirakwa, Imdad Khan, National Orchestra, Ustad Sabri Khan

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 51 books:

• The String Instruments of North India by Sharmistha Sen on page 256, and Back Matter
• Hindu Music from Various Authors by Sourindo M. Tagore in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
• Theory and Method in Ethnomusicology by Bruno Nettl on page 27, and Back Matter
• The Courtesan of Lucknow by Mirza Ruswa on page 262, and Back Matter
• Hindu Music by Sourindro Muhan Tagore in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)

See all 51 books this book cites

 

10 books cite this book:

• Ethnomusicology and Modern Music History by Stephen Blum in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
• Gurudev's Drumming Legacy: Music, Theory And Nationalism in the Mrdang Aur Tabla Vadanpaddhati of Gurudev Patwardhan (Soas Musicology Series) (Soas Musicology Series) by James Kippen on page 87, and Back Matter
• Love in South Asia: A Cultural History (University of Cambridge Oriental Publications) by Francesca Orsini on page 65
• Cassette Culture: Popular Music and Technology in North India (Chicago Studies in Ethnomusicology) by Peter Manuel in Back Matter
• Music and the Poetics of Production in the Bolivian Andes (Soas Musicology Series) (Soas Musicology Series) by Henry Stobart in Back Matter

See all 10 books citing this book

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Books on Related Topics (learn more)

A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth

Discusses:

• tanpura player
• casual artists
• sarangi players

All Music Guide by Bogdanov V

Discusses:

• khan sahib
• Vilayat Khan
• Ravi Shankar

The Jazz Book by Joachim-Ernst Berendt

Discusses:

• tabla player
• khan sahib
• Ravi Shankar

Rethinking Music by Nick Cook

Discusses:

• khandani musicians
• hereditary musicians
• North India

Ethnomusicology and Modern Music History by Stephen Blum

Discusses:

• hereditary musicians
• musical specialists
• Vilayat Khan

"Here's Someone I'd Like You to Meet" by Sheila Dhar

Discusses:

• tanpura player
• sarangi players
• Vilayat Khan

A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth Discusses: tanpura player casual artists sarangi players All Music Guide by Bogdanov V Discusses: khan sahib Vilayat Khan Ravi Shankar The Jazz Book by Joachim-Ernst Berendt Discusses: tabla player khan sahib Ravi Shankar Rethinking Music by Nick Cook Discusses: khandani musicians hereditary musicians North India Loading...

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3 Reviews 5 star:  (3) 4 star:    (0) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 5.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Highly readable, December 4, 2003 By  Erika Mitchell (E. Calais, VT USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)       This review is from: The life of music in north India: The organization of an artistic tradition This book is a highly readable description of the relationship between music and society in North India. Topics include: becoming a musician, being a musician, social organization of specialist knowledge, gharanas (musical traditions), adaptive strategies of Hindu music culture, ecology of Hindu music culture, and the cultural structure and social organization of a music tradition. As an outsider, Neuman is quite attuned to the special characteristics of Hindu music culture that make it unique. He points out that in the Indian culture, "there is a high premium on musical knowledge. The more esoteric, the more it is valued," which goes a long way towards explaining the complexity of Indian rhythms and modes. In the chapter on becoming a musician, Neuman relates how beginning students are evaluated not so much on how well they play, but on the thicknesses of their calluses. Students are expected to practice 8, 12, even 18 hours a day, just as mature performers do. Neuman describes the relationships between the teacher and the student, and between the soloist and the accompanists, between the musicians and the audience. In his chapter on gharanas, he discusses the history of gharanas and how this ancestral system of musical `heredity' works. He also provides an informative discussion of All India Radio, and what it means to be employed as a musician at AIR. The appendices include a variety of material, from charts diagramming connections and marriage links between gharanas, to types of musicians employed at AIR and the fees they receive. There is also a glossary, in addition to a list of references and index. 4 of 6 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars The Life of Music in North India, January 18, 2000 By A Customer This book is a must for all those interested in the tradition of Hindustani music (the 'classical' music of North India). It covers the cultural structure, social organization, and adaptive strategies of the musicians, from both an historical and current perspective. 0 of 1 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars good condition, took a while, May 8, 2009 By  Jeff Nisen - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    The book was in great condition, but unfortunately took a while to get here. Not too worried about it though, no complaints!		Ad feedback   Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 302 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press (March 15, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226575160
• ISBN-13: 978-0226575162
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #213,663 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #76 in

  Books > Entertainment > Music > Musical Genres > Folk & Traditional

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly readable, December 4, 2003

By	Erika Mitchell (E. Calais, VT USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The life of music in north India: The organization of an artistic tradition

This book is a highly readable description of the relationship between music and society in North India. Topics include: becoming a musician, being a musician, social organization of specialist knowledge, gharanas (musical traditions), adaptive strategies of Hindu music culture, ecology of Hindu music culture, and the cultural structure and social organization of a music tradition. As an outsider, Neuman is quite attuned to the special characteristics of Hindu music culture that make it unique. He points out that in the Indian culture, "there is a high premium on musical knowledge. The more esoteric, the more it is valued," which goes a long way towards explaining the complexity of Indian rhythms and modes. In the chapter on becoming a musician, Neuman relates how beginning students are evaluated not so much on how well they play, but on the thicknesses of their calluses. Students are expected to practice 8, 12, even 18 hours a day, just as mature performers do. Neuman describes the relationships between the teacher and the student, and between the soloist and the accompanists, between the musicians and the audience. In his chapter on gharanas, he discusses the history of gharanas and how this ancestral system of musical `heredity' works. He also provides an informative discussion of All India Radio, and what it means to be employed as a musician at AIR. The appendices include a variety of material, from charts diagramming connections and marriage links between gharanas, to types of musicians employed at AIR and the fees they receive. There is also a glossary, in addition to a list of references and index.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Life of Music in North India, January 18, 2000

By A Customer

This book is a must for all those interested in the tradition of Hindustani music (the 'classical' music of North India). It covers the cultural structure, social organization, and adaptive strategies of the musicians, from both an historical and current perspective.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars good condition, took a while, May 8, 2009

By	Jeff Nisen - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The book was in great condition, but unfortunately took a while to get here. Not too worried about it though, no complaints!