Hindustani/Hindi beginning piano music

[happyaccidental]

I have an 11-year-old middle-beginner piano student who Indian-American. Her father asked me if I could find her some Hindi music. I need to confirm whether he meant music with lyrics in Hindustani, or melodies more or less based in Indian music.

In either case, does anybody have any recommendations for beginning piano music like this?

Thanks for any responses!

[theholygideons]

I would think that a portion of Indian music is unplayable on the piano since they use quarter tones. Also, a large portion is without bars and purely improvised.

[abacaba]

Ask the father for a few YouTube music that he likes as "Hindi" music. This might be a precious chance to teach harmony progression.

[john pitts]

Hi, I see this thread is a little old, but in case interested, I have written two books of Indian music for piano:
How to Play Indian Sitar Rāgas on a Piano (2020, 2nd edition) ISBN 979-8664008531
Indian Rāgas for Piano made easy (2020, 2nd edition) ISBN 978-1659067255
 
The paperback books are available individually from https://www.amazon.co.uk/kindle-dbs/entity/author/B07GX535RR
or www.pianoraga.com

“If you are curious about rāgas, composer John Pitts’ method books are exactly what you need …a great introduction to a very different genre of classical music …well researched and rich in detail …demystifying the Indian classical genre for western audiences and opening the door to a new way of understanding music.” Evelyn Dias, Piano Magazine, Summer 2021
 
“Studying John Pitts’ innovative books could fundamentally change your perspective on music. …Both books are fascinating and deserve wide currency.”  Murray McLachlan, International Piano Magazine, Jan/Feb 2021
 
“Five stars to John Pitts for his exhaustive and absorbing book on a timeless music” John Carpenter, WAIF FM, December 2020
 
“I can see this book being extremely useful to: those who teach world music and would value a keyboard approach to it; classical pianists wanting a wonderfully approachable insight into Indian music; and anyone teaching pupils of Indian heritage.” Fiona Lau, Music Teacher Magazine, July 2018
 
“a fascinating and unique product!” Christopher Norton, October 2017
 
“bursting with information, ideas, and advice… truly monumental… a lot of fun” Dr Gail Fischler, Piano Bench Magazine, December 2017
 
“fascinating” Dr Angela Miller-Niles, American Music Teacher Magazine, October 2017
 
“endlessly fascinating” Allan Cronin, NewMusicBuff, February 2017
 
“…I strongly recommend the book to pianists with an eye and an ear to the East…” Dr Jonathan Katz, International Piano Magazine, September 2017
 
“If you have any interest in this esoteric arena… I can’t imagine a better primer than this.” Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb-International, March 2017
 
“a very well produced and informative book”
Robert Matthew-Walker, Editor, ‘Musical Opinion’
 
“This is a great book.” Dr Mark Polishook