Lesson ideas on the two music traditions, their instruments and other fundamental components
Subject: Music
Level: Lower Primary, Upper Primary, Lower Secondary
By: Sushma Soma
Note to educators:
If you are carrying out the activities with a lower primary class, it is recommended that you carry out activities 1 and 2. The rest of the activities are recommended for students who have some knowledge of Western music. However, activities 3 and 4 can be adapted for use in a lower primary classroom if students have some exposure to Western music. In activity 4, knowledge of the Western solfege system would be helpful as students will be introduced to the Indian solfege system.
Please ensure that your students have access to either laptops, PCs or phones in order to access the links given in the activities.
Learning Objectives
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:
After completing all four activities, you may wish to conduct a short quiz for your students. Download the Educator's Handout – Suggested Quiz List below.
What your students need: iPad, laptop or computer and access to YouTube.
Duration: 10 minutes
In this activity, students will be exposed to the various sounds of and instruments from the Carnatic and Hindustani traditions and to learn to identify them.
Carnatic and Hindustani music are two forms of music traditions which are considered to be some of the oldest in India. They are now considered Indian Classical music forms.
In this introduction to instruments, students will watch the video Indian Music Instruments (Types and Classification) and share their responses afterwards. If you wish to focus on any of the instruments in particular, you may also look up each instrument individually on YouTube and find an appropriate clip to play for the students.
Watch the video below to find out more about the different Carnatic and Hindustani musical instruments, sounds and groupings.
After watching the video, instruct students to form groups of 4 or 5 and discuss where they would have heard some of the instruments. They can also share with each other if any of the instruments remind them of other instruments from other music genres or traditions. Then, invite the groups to share their answers with the class. This can either be done verbally or through an online platforms such as padlet.
At the end of this activity, the students should be able to identify the sounds of the different Carnatic and Hindustani instruments. They should also be able to identify the different instruments and the groups that they fall under.
What your students need: iPad, laptop or computer and access to YouTube.
Duration: 20 minutes
In this activity, students will watch the video I Kid You Not #7: The Art of Indian Percussion.
By the end of the activity, students will learn about two different rhythmic instruments, the mridangam and tabla from the Carnatic and Hindustani traditions respectively. They will learn about the history of the instruments, their roles in a concert and how the instruments are played. They will also learn about konakol, the art of vocal percussion and how the art of playing these instruments has a strong Mathematical element to it.
Watch the video below. After watching the video, split the groups up into groups of 4 or 5. Assign half of the groups to work on the mridangam and the remainder, the tabla. Assign your students into groups of 4 or 5. Evenly split the groups and assign each group to either the mridangam or a tabla.
Each group is to sketch out their assigned instrument. Alternatively, you can print out copies of the instruments and distribute them to the class. The sketches to follow can be found here.:
After students have received / completed the sketches, give them the following instructions depending on the instrument they were assigned to.
For the mridangam, draw arrows to the instrument and identify and label the following parts:
For the tabla, draw arrows to the instrument and identify and label the following parts:
At the end of this activity, students should be able to distinguish between the sounds of the tabla from that of the mridangam. When presented with the actual instrument, students should be able to point out which parts produce a sharp sound, and which are used for the bass. Students should be also be able to recall the materials used to make the mridangam.
What your students need: iTanpura on iPhone or iPad or Tanpura Droid on Android, and another device to access YouTube
Duration: 15 minutes
In this activity, students will watch the video Introduction to Carnatic Music and learn to identify their ideal sruti, or pitch, to sing in. Students can either work on their own or with a partner to be their listening ear and to help align their sruti.
Using iTanpura: Download the app onto their iPhone or iPad. Click on Pa for on Tanpura 1 and they will now hear Sa Pa Sa played on a tanpura.
Using Tanpura Droid: Download the app onto their android device and choose Pa as the first string.
Next: Once they have the tanpura app downloaded, students may start the Sa Pa Sa exercise listed in the video starting at the Sruti A. Watch the video together as a class first. The teacher may follow up with a demonstration on how to find the ideal sruti, or pitch, using the following instructions:
Finding the right pitch: Make sure students able to align their Sa and Pa correctly with the pitch. Follow the exercise listed in the video to ensure their Sa and Pa are not lower or higher.
Modify the exercise a little by adding a Pa in the lower octave and a Pa in the higher octave. This exercise will now sound as follows: Pa Sa Pa Sa Pa with a Pa in the lower, middle and higher octave. Some might notice that they are not able to sing their lower Pa or higher Pa comfortably while some might realise they are not able to sing both comfortably. Explain to them that they will find their ideal sruti when they can hit the lower Pa and higher Pa comfortably.
Explain to them that the reason for this is because many of the songs in the Carnatic repertoire and improvisation reach Pa in both the lower and higher octaves. Hence, it is not enough if they are comfortable singing just Sa Pa Sa in the middle octave. They should ensure that they are able to reach the lower and higher octaves. Usually, female singers can sing anywhere between G to A sharp. Male singers sing from C to D sharp.
In the video, the instructor has used G# as she has identified that to be her ideal pitch. Students will have to find the sruti that is suitable for them. The teacher should walk around the class and help students if needed.
As mentioned, this activity can also be done in pairs. Pair a student up with a partner and ask them to try the exercise. They can be each other’s listening ear and help their partner align perfectly with the sruti.
At the end of this activity, students should be able to sing the tonic note Sa and the other fixed note Pa in a sruti that is comfortable for them.
Keywords to note during this activity:
Swaras: Notes (Indian Solfege)
There are seven fundamental notes: Sa Ri Ga Ma Pa Da Ni Sa
Raga: Melody
Ragas are formed by bringing together a given set of swaras in a particular order.
Sruti: Pitch
The smallest interval of pitch that the human ear can detect and produce.
Tala: Rhythm
The rhythmic pattern in Carnatic and Hindustani music.
What your students need: iPad, laptop or computer and access to YouTube.
Duration: 15 minutes
Having identified the tonic note Sa, and the fixed note Pa, the students will now proceed to learn about the remaining five swaras.
In this activity, students will watch this video The 12 Swaras of Carnatic Music and identify the different swaras. This will give them a better understanding of the solfege system within the Carnatic form.
Before starting the next series of activities, remind students that in the previous exercise, the instructor in the video had shown how to sing in tune with the swara. Switch on the iTanpura app or Tanpura Droid app to the ideal sruti that each student identified in the previous activity.
1. Now, instruct each student to use their own device and go back to the video to the following timestamps to sing the 3 ragas given in the links below.
For each raga, listen to the instructor singing the raga as many times as needed. Then, attempt to sing this raga along with the instructor. Next, try to sing the raga in the correct sruti without the assistance of the instructor. Repeat the same set of instructions for every raga.
2. For a better understanding of the different swaras, their names and positions, refer to this image. For a better understanding of the different swaras on the keyboard, refer to this image.
Now, try singing the following ragas. The ragas are:
For each of the swaras, students are to answer the following question:
Using the images, students should be able to identify the swaras on a keyboard. They should be able to identify the major scale and minor scale equivalents in Carnatic music.
At the end of this activity, students should be able to sing the different swaras and ragas listed.
Contributed by:
Sushma Soma is a Singaporean Carnatic Vocalist based in Singapore and Chennai. In December 2020, Sushma was awarded the prestigious Young Artist Award, the highest honour for young arts practitioners in Singapore, by the Singapore National Arts Council. Sushma has toured various cities across the world over the last decade and is passionate about bringing Carnatic music to the uninitiated audience. Sushma is also a part-time lecturer at the National Institute of Education, Singapore, where she hopes to inspire students to learn more about Carnatic Music.
