Indian Classical Music And Sikh Kirtan
by Gobind Singh Mansukhani (M.A., LL.B, Ph.D.) © 1982
Gamak
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by Gobind Singh Mansukhani (M.A., LL.B, Ph.D.) © 1982
Gamak
Indian Classical Music And Sikh Kirtan by Gobind Singh Mansukhani (M.A., LL.B, Ph.D.) © 1982 Gamak |
| Gamak Gamak is a kind of grace or embellishment or ornament of a melody. It may consist of a graceful jerk on a note or notes sor gliding over a note like a shadow or some other e\way in which the musical piece becomes graceful and attractive. Though tan comes close to gamak, it produces varieties of svara designs, but not designs of euphony. Gamak consists of various ways of touching and inflecting individual notes. Gamak differs from tan which consists of melodic figures. Some of the common gmarks are given as follows. 1) Tripura (flurry). This a slight touch on a note equivalent to one-eighth of a matra. It is also called Hillola. 2) Sphurita (throb). This is a quick stroke on a note equivalent to one-sixth of a matra. Similar strokes of quarter and half of a matra called kampita (shake) and lina (melting) respectively. 3) Andolita (swing). Here the stroke has the duration of a matra (may be slow, medium or fast tempo). 4) vali (ripple) any fast sliding. 5) Ghasit (sliding). This is sliding from one point to another point or points. 6) Tribhina (threefold). This is running with one stroke through three notes without any rest. 7) Meend. It is a kind of shake of strings- “ a shake produced by rapidly pulling the strings between the frets of the stringed instruments giving out two notes whose interval may be as much as four semi-tones.” 8) Murki (trill). This is attacking two or three notes in a given time. When the quick “trill rises to a crescendo, giving a sense of their merging in one another with a frenzy”, it is called jamjama/zamzama. Gamaks are a kind of “adventure in subtle portamento, gliding and vaccilating variants in microtonality; without them a melody cannot smile.” The duration of the gamaks will vary according to the nature of the raga and the skill of the artist. There are more than 15 kinds of gamaks in addition to mixed gamaks. |