Bhangra
Traditional Bhangra
Bhangra music comes from the Punjab region of India. Dancing is VERY important in Bhangra music! Performers and dancers dress up in very bright clothing and musicians decorate their instruments with colourful ribbons. Traditional Bhangra is performed around harvest time to celebrate a good harvest. Click play on the YouTube video to listen to an example of traditional Bhangra.
Features of Traditional Bhangra
If Bhangra music comes up on your exam, you will most likely be asked to list typical features for this style of music. If this question comes up, the following features are an ideal answer for this type of question. We will look at modern Bhangra further down this page - all of these features are carried over into modern Bhangra.
TOP TIP: if you are asked to list typical features of Bhangra in your exam, you will not be asked to explain what they are. Single worded answers are fine for this type of question.
Chaal Rhythm
The Chaal rhythm is a traditional rhythm that features in ALL Bhangra music. It is performed on the Dhol drum, which is a traditional drum used in Bhangra music. Click here to hear the chaal rhythm being performed on the Dhol drum. The Dhol drum is a double headed drum, meaning it has two drum heads (one high pitched and one low pitched).
Vocals / Lyrics
The lyrics in Bhangra music are performed in Punjabi. Bhangra singers use lots of decoration in the way they sing the lyrics; melisma is a significant feature of Bhangra singing. As with styles of Western pop music, there is often a narrow range of notes used in the main melody. Backing singers will often join in with shouts of Hoi. Singers will often use microtonal intervals within the melody of a Bhangra song.
Microtonal Intervals
In Western music we have Tones and Semi-Tones. A Tone is moving up (or down) a whole note. To move up or down a Tone on a Piano we move up or down by two keys; on a Guitar we move two frets. A Semi-Tone means moving up or down by half a note (one key on a Piano or one fret on a Guitar). A microtone is a movement smaller than a Semi-Tone; this is very difficult to replicate on most Western instruments.
Verse and Chorus Structure
Bhangra music will use a verse and chorus structure, with the chorus repeating several times throughout the song. This is similar to Western music.
4 Beats in a Bar
Bhangra music will usually have a 4/4 time signature, meaning there are 4 beats in a bar. Again, this is similar to Western pop music.
Fast Tempo
Bhangra music is lively, upbeat and celebratory. It has a fast tempo. Bhangra music also has a Major tonality.
Instruments
Bhangra music can use quite a few instruments, so it would be difficult to learn them all. We have already spoken about the Dhol drum. Other common instruments used in Bhangra are...
Tumbi - a simple and small string instrument used to play riffs and melodies. Click here to see and hear a Tumbi being played.
Harmonium - a keyboard type instrument. This can be used to play riffs and melodies and to fill out the texture of a song. Click here to see and hear a Harmonium being played.
Riffs
Riffs are short repeated melodies used to make music catchy and memorable. They are normally used in key parts of a song, such as the introduction and chorus. Riffs are used within Bhangra music.
Simple Diatonic Harmony
Bhangra music is often musically simple in terms of its composition. Bhangra music will use diatonic chord sequences, meaning songs will be composed using the chords that belong to a musical key.
Modern Bhangra
Modern Bhangra is a Fusion (mix) of traditional Bhangra and Western dance and pop music. Many modern Bhangra groups started here in the UK in cities such as Birmingham and London. ALL of the features listed above feature in modern Bhangra as well as the introduction of Music Technology. Press play on the YouTube video to hear an example of modern Bhangra. Can you hear how this sounds different to traditional Bhangra? Can you hear the influences of traditional Bhangra? Can you hear electronic instruments being used?
Music Technology
Music Technology plays a BIG part in modern Bhangra. If Bhangra comes up on your exam and the extract is modern Bhangra, you will most likely be asked how Music Technology has been used.
The following are ideal answers. TOP TIP: it is unlikely you will be asked to describe these features of Music Technology (as in exampling what they are and how they work). You will most likely be asked to list how technology has been used. Single worded answers are fine for this type of question.
Electric Drums / Drum Machine
As well as featuring the Dhol Drum performing the Chaal rhythm, modern Bhangra will also feature electronic drums playing a drum beat. The electronic drum beat will normally be performed by a drum machine. TOP TIP: you will not got two marks for listing electric drums and drum machine as two different forms of music technology. This is just two different ways of saying the same thing.
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is the correct name for a keyboard. Synthesizers can replicate many different sounds. They are an electronic instrument; the sound they produce comes from circuit boards rather than from moving strings etc.
Sampling
Sampling is when an artist will take a piece of a song that already exists and then use it in their song. They can speed it up, slow it down, loop it and change the pitch. It is normally played on a loop within the song. Click here to here examples of songs where sampling has been used.
Multitracking
This is a recording technique. It allows you to record something, rewind back to the start and then record something else alongside the first thing you recorded. This technique is used to create multiple layers in a song. Have you you ever listened to a band with just one guitarist or one singer but the song has lots of backing singing and multiple guitar lines and wondered how they did it? The answer is multitracking! Click here to find out more about multitracking.