CROSS-CULTURAL PEDAGOGY IN NORTH INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSIC by Michael Hale Oppenheim B.A., Kenyon College, 2007 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in The Faculty of Graduate Studies (Music) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) August 2012 © Michael Hale Oppenheim, 2012 !!" Abstract This thesis is an investigation of pedagogy in North Indian classical music. Historical, cultural, and philosophical elements of pedagogy in the Hindustani musical tradition are addressed in an overview of music education in traditional Indian contexts, the twentieth century, and in cross-cultural contexts. Themes include orality in Indian culture, the traditional guru-shishya parampara, the role of nationalism in twentieth century educational reforms, and the impact of technology in the latter half of the twentieth century. Trends in music education in India are then compared and contrasted with the state of education in Indian music in cross-cultural contexts in the West. From this data a model of the essential elements of Indian pedagogy is synthesized. This model accounts for pedagogical devices utilized to impart musical information as well as methods of transmitting cultural and social values. This model is applied to the experiences of five North American students of Hindustani music interviewed during the research process for this thesis. !!!" Preface This thesis was completed in accordance with the mandates of The University of British Columbia Behavioural Research Ethics Board. The UBC BREB number for this research is H12-01430. !#" Table of Contents Abstract.............................................................................................................................. ii Preface............................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents............................................................................................................. iv List of Tables .................................................................................................................. viii Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... ix 1. Introduction....................................................................................................................1 1.1 Introduction........................................................................................................1 1.2 Motivation..........................................................................................................3 1.3 Methods .............................................................................................................5 1.3.1 Primary and Secondary Sources ...............................................................6 1.3.2 Observation and Informants......................................................................6 1.3.3 Self-Reflective Analysis ...........................................................................6 1.4 Defining Pedagogy ............................................................................................8 1.5 Structure of the Thesis .......................................................................................8 2. Historical Approaches to Indian Pedagogy...............................................................11 2.1 Music Transmission in North India .................................................................11 2.2 The Role of the Guru .......................................................................................13 2.3 The Role of the Shishya ...................................................................................17 2.4 The Role of the Guru-Shishya Parampara......................................................20 2.5 Gharana...........................................................................................................21 #" 2.6 The Nature of Talim.........................................................................................25 2.7 The Nature of Riyaz .........................................................................................28 2.8 Social Values in Indian Music .........................................................................30 3. Twentieth-Century Alternatives in Music Education ..............................................32 3.1 Changing Attitudes and Values .......................................................................32 3.2 The Status of Music in the Early Twentieth Century ......................................33 3.3 Nationalist Endeavors ......................................................................................35 3.4 Nationalizing and Modernizing Indian Classical Music..................................36 3.4.1 Notation ..................................................................................................37 3.4.2 Theory and Shastras ...............................................................................39 3.4.3 Bhatkhande’s Theory and Standardization of Raga Theory...................41 3.4.4 Mass Education and Institutionalized Training ......................................43 3.5 Music Schools in the Early Twentieth Century ...............................................44 3.5.1 The Marris College of Music..................................................................45 3.5.2 Gandharva Mahavidyalaya ....................................................................47 3.5.3 Shankar Gandharva Mahavidyalaya ......................................................50 3.6 Summary of the Early Twentieth Century.......................................................52 4. Contemporary Trends in Hindustani Musical Education .......................................53 4.1 Traditional Attitudes towards Musical Pedagogy............................................53 4.2 The Use of Modern Aids in Music Education .................................................55 4.3 Limitations of Modern Pedagogies..................................................................59 4.4 Attitudes towards Modern Pedagogy...............................................................63 4.5 Hindustani Music in the West..........................................................................65 #!" 4.6 Western Attitudes towards Hindustani Music .................................................66 4.7 Hindustani Music Education in the West ........................................................67 4.8 The Pedagogical Model: Western or Indian? ..................................................72 5. Representing Indian Pedagogy...................................................................................76 5.1 Introduction......................................................................................................76 5.2 Pedagogical Devices in Hindustani Music ......................................................76 5.2.1 Scalar Exercises ......................................................................................77 5.2.2 Oral Notations: Sargam and Bol.............................................................79 5.2.3 Compositions: Bandish, Cheej, and Gat.................................................80 5.2.4 Comparisons: Metaphor and Raga Tulna ...............................................82 5.2.5 Imitation and Memorization ...................................................................85 5.3 Uses of Pedagogical Devices in Self-Instruction Materials.............................87 5.4 Cultural Materials: The Experience.................................................................95 5.5 Representations of Hindustani Pedagogy ........................................................98 6. Personal Experiences.................................................................................................100 6.1 Introduction....................................................................................................100 6.2 Analysis of the Interviews .............................................................................101 6.3 Informant KT .................................................................................................102 6.4 Informant PE..................................................................................................104 6.5 Informant SH .................................................................................................106 6.6 Informant HT .................................................................................................109 6.7 Informant DA.................................................................................................112 6.8 Relationships to Hindustani Music................................................................114 #!!" 6.8.1 Group Lessons vs. Private Lessons.......................................................115 6.8.2 Oral/Aural vs. Notated Pedagogy .........................................................116 6.8.3 Intellectual vs. Practical Approaches to Music.....................................117 6.8.4 Imitative vs. Non-Imitative...................................................................119 6.8.5 Invented Practice vs. Prescribed Practice .............................................120 6.8.6 Cultural vs. Musical..............................................................................121 6.9 Relationships and Negotiations .....................................................................122 7. Conclusions.................................................................................................................126