Indian Classical Music and The Blues

Indian Classical Music and The Blues

   One of the other genres (besides the blues) that I absolutely adore is Indian Classical Music, or more simply called, Raga. Blues is often times spoken of as having a deep, emotional, almost spiritual affect on the listener and taking the listener to another world; I like to think of I.C.M. in the same way. With "an open and relaxed mind" (as Ravi Shankar put it), the Western listener can be taken to a whole different dimension! I may be romanticizing a little bit, but after all, who doesn't when talking about the music they love? More importantly, I read this piece below on blues-rock pioneer Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson's musical tastes a while back. This piece is not only somewhat relate able, but is an interesting read and provides some great food for thought:

"What do traditional Mississippi Delta blues and classical Indian music have in common? Not much you may think but although Alan enjoyed a wide range of music he was particularly captivated by the modal, non harmonic structure that these two genres share. In Alan’s Biography, “Blind Owl Blues” by Rebecca Davis Winters John Fahey offered a possible explanation for Alan’s intense focus on this musical structure:

“According to Fahey’s personal interpretation, certain emotions seemed to be repressed or even missing in Wilson. ‘Only if you got to know him real well would you realize that there were certain things that he didn’t feel,’ said Fahey. ‘He didn’t have certain emotions like affection, or love, or even strong hate. He might get mad sometimes, but not half as bad as I can get, or anybody else.’

Fahey felt that this seemingly limited emotional range somehow related to Wilson’s preferences in music. ‘He had a very small repertoire of emotions,’ Fahey mused. ‘It was limited. Also his music was limited to the same kind of emotions. Like, he liked only modal music. It had to be one chord. Like Son House, Skip James, and Robert Pete Williams, he liked a lot. But that was about it.’"

For the entire article, click on this link: http://alanwilsoncannedheat.com/woodstock-alans-tambura-veena-jawharp.php

A lot of great material on this site for fans of both the Blind Owl and music as a whole.

   Another great musician worth mentioning is the blues-infused Gospel singer and bottleneck guitar master Blind Willie Johnson; regardless of what he used for a slide (a whole different discussion), he was a genius in his craft and is said to have used Eastern inspired drones and approaches to his bottleneck playing. As an example of that idea, I'd like to share his most famous (and arguably, his best) song: "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground." This song is (IMO) one of the greatest pieces ever recorded, and gives a great study into the human condition (more on that here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QPcclYWOr4). In conclusion, I believe as of now that both rural African American music (spiritual and secular alike) and that of Eastern Asia share similarities both in form and their ability to connect us all with our natural, human emotions.

If you have any thoughts on my ideas presented here, please share them; I'd love to hear!