| Indian Music | |
|---|---|
| Indian classical music | |
| Carnatic music | |
| Hindustani music | |
| Core Concepts | |
| Shruti · Swara · Alankar · Rāga · Tāla |
Gamaka, also known as gamak or gamakam, refers to ornamentation that is used in the performance of Indian classical music.[1] The unique character of each raga is given by its gamakas, making their role essential rather than decorative in Indian music.[2] Nearly all Indian musical treatises have a section dedicated to describing, listing and characterising gamakas.[3]
The term "gamaka" itself means "ornamented note" in Sanskrit.[3] Gamaks involve the variation of pitch of a note, using heavy forceful oscillations between adjacent and distant notes.[4] Each raga has standard rules on the types of gamaks that might be applied to specific notes, and the types that may not.
Various commentators on Indian music have mentioned different numbers of gamaks. For example, Sarangdeva describes fifteen gamaks, Narada in Sangeet Makarand describes nineteen gamaks, and Haripala in Sangeet Sudhakar describes seven gamaks.[5]
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In Hindustani Music, the gamak is similar to meend and andolan.
Carnatic music has ten ornamentation classes, divided into three major groups[6][7]:
Notation of gamakams is generally not found in the Indian music system. There can be considerable difficulty in conveying the complex and fluid melodic movement of gamakas in a notation system that uses fixed pitch signs.[8] In Carnatic music in particular, the notation of gamakas is often unnecessary, as performers use notation as a memory aid for compositions they already learned by hearing and imitating.[8]