St.

Mary’s College of Baliuag

Baliuag, Bulacan
SY 2022-2023

ISO 9001:2015 Certified

Certificate No. 01 100 1534708
PAASCU Level III Accredited

Subject: MUSIC Grade Level: 8 Quarter: 3rd

Module Number: 12 (2 Weeks) Topic: Music of South, West Asia and Middle East

I. INTODUCTION

Time to travel again! Did you enjoy learning and experiencing the music of East Asia?
Then let us experience how music is performed in South, Central, and West Asian
countries. In this module, you will learn things about vocal and instrumental music of India,
Pakistan, Israel, and West Asian countries. You will also get a glimpse of their cultural
context, social functions, and performance styles in their music compositions.
What do you know about the music of India? Israel? Pakistan? Explore this module and
appreciate the beauty of the music of the South Asia and Middle East.

II.THIS MODULE WAS MADE FOR YOU TO:

 evaluate music and music performances using guided rubrics applying knowledge of
musical elements and style. listens perceptively to music of South Asia and the Middle
East;
 analyze musical elements of selected songs and instrumental pieces heard and
performed;
 explore ways of producing sounds on a variety of sources that would simulate
instruments being studied;

 improvise simple accompaniment to selected South Asia and the Middle East music.
 perform music from South Asia and Middle East with own accompaniment;
 evaluate music and music performances using guided rubrics applying knowledge of
musical elements and style.

III. DISCUSSION
A. Presentation of the lesson
Before you start the lesson, let us find out what you know about South, Central and
West Asia. Here are some activities prepared for you. Are you ready?

Activity : “ Where in the World is...”

You will need:

 blank map and coloring materials

Directions:
1. Listen to the different music samples listed below. You may find them on the internet or
let your teacher provide them for you. Match the music with the Asian region it came from.

Color each region with:

Central Asia – VIOLET

South Asia – RED

West Asia – GREEN

1. Carnatic Music
2. Hindustani Music
3. Punjabi Music
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 4. Arabic Music

https://images.app.goo.gl/izTN7VrczH64CAfd9

Were you able to match the music to its region?

How about naming the countries in each region? Can you name them?

Central Asia South Asia West Asia

INDIA

India is the 7th largest country and 2nd

most populous country in South Asia. One of
the countries in the Southeast Asia colonized
by the British empire but was able to retain its
culture. music is as vast as its geographic
location and as large as its demographic
population. The music of India reflects different
aspects of Asian culture through its timbre,
rhythm, melody, texture, form, and style. In
general, Indian music remains fundamental to
the lives of the people of India as a source of
spiritual inspiration, cultural expression, and
https://images.app.goo.gl/x3dqj1pVXsiNwmSYA entertainment.

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VOCAL MUSIC OF INDIA

India's classical music tradition, includes Carnatic and Hindustani music which have
developed over many centuries. Music of India also includes several types of folk and
popular music. One aspect of vocal music uses melismatic singing with nasal vocal quality,
when compared with the Philippine music which uses melismatic singing is only used in
chanting epics and the pasyon.

Musical Elements
Rhythm – Uses Teal (elaborate Indian metric system)
Melody – Uses of Raga (melodic element in Indian classical music)
- Uses ornamented and complex modal system
- Uses drone
Timbre – Vocal – Nasal
- Instrumental – vibrating stringed instruments
Harmony and Texture – Heterophonic
- Highly ornamented
Form – Highly improvisational
- Pre-composed pieces – uses strict tala.

TRADITIONAL MUSIC OF INDIA:

1. Carnatic music
o refers to music from South India
o directed to a Hindu god, which is why it is called “temple music”
o unlike Hindustani music, Carnatic music is unified where schools are based on
the same ragas, the same solo instruments (veena, flute, violin) and the same
rhythm instrument (mridangam and ghatam)
o music pieces are mainly set for the voice and with lyrics
o compositions called krti are devotional songs

2. Hindustani music
 goes back to Vedic period times around 1000 BC
 further developed in the 13th and 14th centuries AD with Persian influences and
from existing religious and folk music
 predominantly found in the northern and central regions
 influenced by ancient Hindu musical traditions, historical Vedic religion/Vedic
philosophy, native Indian sounds and enriched by the Persian performance
practices of the Mughal era
 nasal singing is observed in their vocal music
 in North India, the most common style of singing is called khyal, a word which
means imagination

The following terms are used in Indian music

 Raga – combination of musical notes

 Shruti – smallest interval of sound
 Tala – a metric cycle with a specific number of beats that recur in the same
pattern.
 Laya – tempo
 Melisma – a group of notes sung to one syllable of text

The musical instruments of South Asia and Middle East are categorized as well
into four, based on Hornbostel-Sachs Classification of Musical Instruments ( a
system of musical instrument classification devised by Erich Moritz von Honbostel
and Curt Sachs), and these are:

Aerophone – sound primarily produced by vibrating air (blowing)

Chordophone – sound is produce by the vibration of string or strings that are

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 stretched between fixed points (plucking, bowing, and strumming)
Idiophone – sound is primarily produced by striking with the use of sticks or mallets,
or other striking devices (striking)
Membranophone – sound is primarily produced by the use of bare hand (palming),
without striking devices.

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC OF INDIA

There are many musical instruments in India. Some instruments are used primarily in
North Indian music (Hindustani Sangeet) while many other instruments are used in South
Indian music (Carnatic Sangeet). Instrumental music is often similar to vocal music but
sometimes they have distinctive instrumental styles. There are five known traditional
systems for classification of instruments.

Music of India Ensemble

Source: UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music

“Soul of Benares-Indian Classical Instrumental Orchestra (Ensemble)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-UbYsGeZTw

What type of musical instruments are used in the video?

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 Indian music mostly improvised and played by a small group of musicians at a time.
They are generally tend to mimic the human voice limited as they are to the dynamics of the
instrumental themselves.

Classification of Musical Instruments from

India:

1. Ghan – described as a non-membranous

percussive instrument but with solid
resonators. It is one of the oldest classes
of instrument in India. It may also be a
melodic instrument or instruments to keep
tal.
2. Avanaddh - described as a membranous
percussive instrument. This class of
instruments typically comprise the drums.

https://images.app.goo.gl/shiYR2LtS9LUW1hj9

3. Sushir – also known as blown air. It is characterized by the use of air to excite the
various resonators.

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https://images.app.goo.gl/d9W63M9VbskrKDkS8

4. Tat – referred to as vina during the old civilization. Instruments in this class are
plucked (stringed instruments).

https://images.app.goo.gl/WeCi8gNx64a93tLX8

5. Vitat – described as bowed stringed instruments. This is of the oldest classifications

of instruments and yet did not occupy a place in classical Indian music until the last
few centuries.

https://images.app.goo.gl/NgMQvpaaHBLxEzmc7

PAKISTAN

https://images.app.goo.gl/3ETDYmyCm6T7MZkw7

Central Asian music encompasses numerous different musical

styles originating from a large number of sources. Though Pakistan is part of South Asia, its
western part is considered as an extension of Central Asia.

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 Pakistan is
known for its unique vocals.
The distinctive Pakistani sound
was formed with multiple
influences not only from various
parts of South Asia but it also
includes diverse elements
from Central Asia, Persia,
Turkey, and the Arab world.

VOCAL MUSIC OF
PAKISTAN

Pakistan is known for its unique vocals. The distinctive Pakistani sound was formed
with multiple influences not only from various parts of South Asia but also from diverse
elements of other countries in Central Asia and the Middle East.

Pakistan is known for its two vocal styles in singing:

1. Ghazal
 traditional expressions of love, separation, and loneliness; It talks about both the
pain of loss of the lover and the beauty of love in spite of that pain.
 its structural requirements are stricter than those of most poetic forms traditionally
written in English
 is considered by many to be one of the principal poetics forms in the Persian
civilization
 can be sung by both men and women

2. Qawwali
 the devotional music of the Chishti Order
 a vibrant musical tradition that stretches back more than 700 years
 originally performed mainly at Sufi shrines throughout the subcontinent and gained
mainstream popularity

Source: The Daily Times

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 Traditional Instrumental Music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gfnoh5ENFx4&list=RDfnoh5ENFx4&index=2

Describe the musical instrument played in the video.

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC OF
PAKISTAN
The cultural heritage of
Pakistan includes a large
number of musical
instruments. It has unique
structural and tonal
characteristics, producing
effects in the pitch, loud,
thickness, and intensity of
sound that differentiates it
from the rest.

ISRAEL

https://images.app.goo.gl/44w31XRxSUPKZHQy7

In general, the music of West Asia is modal. Harmony is not emphasized but rather
includes salient features such as melodic complexity and ornamentation, including 1⁄4 tones
and rigorous rhythmic development. West Asian music is commonly used during:

 Communal worship (in Mosque, Synagogue and Church)

  Mystic rituals (Sufis, Hassidic)

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  Life passage events (Weddings, Bar Mitzvas, Bat Mitzvas, Anniversaries)
 Entertainment (Belly Dancing, Folk Dancing)

VOCAL MUSIC OF ISRAEL AND ARABIA

A. Israeli Music
Israeli singers have a distinctive vocal style. They sing with guttural and throaty
enunciation.

B. Arabic Music
Arabic Maqam is distinctively unique to Arabian music because of its technique of
improvisation. It is the system of melodic modes used in traditional Arab music. Arabian
rhythmic pattern or cycle is analyzed by means of rhythmic units.

1. Wazn

https://images.app.goo.gl/vYxBFH8Ga6BM8ZuL6

o literally means “measure”

o performed on the goblet drum, frame drum, and kettle drum
o only used in musical genres with a fixed rhythmic-temporal organization
including recurring measures, motifs, and pulse
2. Iqa
o the rhythmic pattern in Arabian music
o reputed to be over 100 iqa, but many of them have fallen out of fashion and
are rarely used in performance
o the greatest varieties of iqa (or iqa’at as pronounced) range from two to 48
beats
o are used in the muwashahat (an Andalusian musical form) where every
syllable of the lyric must fall on a beat

Two Divisions of Jewish Music

1. Devotional
o almost entirely vocal
o featured during Sabbath and other holy days
o the art of Hazan (leader of prayer in synagogue) has always been evident in
the culture
o shofar is a special call to prayer and repentance; it is sounded on the High
Holidays (the Jewish New Year and Day of Atonement)

2. Secular
o instruments and voice are used
o played during life passage events
o context lies outside the religious domain
o very rhythmic and have popular and romantic texts

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 Traditional Instrumental Music
https:// www.youtube.com/watch?
v=BKwmxpQ_jx0

How do you feel while listening to the

music?

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC OF ISRAEL

The lute, which is similar to the Philippine banduria and laud, traces its origins to the
Middle Eastern oud and Indian Sitar. Goblet drum, darbuk, the tambourine and other
instruments associated with Middle Eastern music are used as accompaniment.

B. Try your new skills

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 Activity # 1: Fill Me In!
Fill in the table the appropriate answers in each column

Activity # 2: Mix and Match!

Match the pictures of instruments in Column A to their names in Column B.

C. Lesson links
1. As an Ignacian Marian, what
significant value can you
gain from studying the
music of South Asia and
Middle East?

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 ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

2. Romans 12:6: “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us
use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith.”
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

3. AP: What significant traditions in South Asia and Middle East countries
significantly in music you found similar to our country?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

4. Do you think a young person like you who exists in the 21 st century would
understand and appreciate the music and culture of the Middle Eastern
musician? Why do you say so?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

IV. REMEMBER
 The two main traditions of classical Indian music are Carnatic music (southern) and
Hindustani music (northern).
 Rig Veda is an ancient Indian sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns. It is counted
among the four canonical sacred texts of Hinduism known as Vedas. Some of its
verses are still recited as Hindu prayers at religious functions and other occasions.
 There are five known traditional system for classification of instruments. These are
Ghan, Avanaddh, Sushir, Tat, and Vitat.
 Middle Eastern music is generally modal. Harmony is not emphasized.
 There are two divisions of Jewish music - devotional and secular.
 Arabic Maqam is distinctively unique because of its technique of improvisation.
 Musical instruments are used in accompanying Israeli Hora and other rhythmic
dances.
 Pakistan is known for its two styles of vocal singing, Ghazals and Qawwali.
 Punjabi music strengthens the importance of musical instruments in Punjab regions.

VI. GAIN YOUR POINTS HERE

Activity # 1: Name Me! Please!

Look at each picture inside the table. Name the instrument then classify them
according to Hornbostel-Sachs and identify the country of origin.

Activity # 2:
Arrange Me!

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 Classify the Indian musical instruments found inside the box and write them in
their corresponding column.

Activity # 3: GROUP PERFORMANCE:

Make Me!
Improvise an instrument that stimulates the sound of any rhythmic instrument
from India, Pakistan or Israel. You will be graded using the rubrics below.

VIII. REFERENCES

South Asian arts - Music | Britannica. (2021). In Encyclopædia Britannica.

https://www.britannica.com/art/South-Asian-arts/Music

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https://gromaudio.com/blog/author/rudy18. (2018, August 10). Music of South Asia – Nepal, India,

Maldives, Afghanistan. GROM Blog and News. https://gromaudio.com/blog/2018/08/music-south-

asia/

‌Music of Central Asia | Smithsonian Folkways Magazine. (2017). Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.

https://folkways.si.edu/magazine-summer-2009-central-asia-tengir-too-mountain-kyrgyzstan-

classical-tajiks-uzbeks/world/music/article/smithsonian

‌West Asia. (2017). Obo. https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-

9780199757824/obo-9780199757824-0075.xml

DEPEDTAMBAYAN.NET. (2022). Grade 8 Music Quarter 3 Self-Learning Module: Music of

South Asia and the Middle East. https://depedtambayan.net/grade-8-music-module-music-
of-south-asia-and-the-middle-east/

DEPEDTAMBAYAN.NET. (2022). Grade 8 Music Quarter 3 Self-Learning Module:

Instrumental Music of South Asia and the Middle East. https://depedtambayan.net/grade-8-
music-module-instrumental-music-of-south-asia-and-the-middle-east/

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