THE ORIGINS OF INDIAN MUSIC
Twenty centuries ago, the essential role of music of was deemed to be purely ritualistic. Music as entertainment is supposed to have evolved much later. Another part of Indian music is folk music. Indian classical music is said to have evolved out of the mixture of these. It is presumed that folk music existed long before the Aryans came to India . The Dravidians had their own music. The art of music practised in has a special significance, as it has developed from the ritualistic music in association with folk music and other musical expressions of neighbouring nations, developing into its own characteristic art. Matured through ``thought, experience and expression'', Indian classical music has become unique in the world. Indian music has a very long, unbroken tradition - the accumulated heritage of centuries. The origin can be traced back to Vedic days - nearly 2000 years. The culture of today is an outcome of the interaction and interweaving of races, cultures & religion, both indigenous and foreign; and it is the study of the contribution of these various races and tribes that gives us the picture of the evolution of Indian music. The Negrito, the Mongoloid, the Dravidian, and the Aryan, and much later Islam have all contributed to the complexity of Indian culture. North Indian music is popularly known as Hindustani music and South Indian as Karanatic, their origin is the same, only the approach and style are different. When and how the two main schools crystallized would be an interesting study but the earliest treatises of Indian music do not make any distinction between Northern and Southern schools. The ancient Vedic scriptures teach that there are two types of sound. One is a vibration of ether, the upper or purer air near the celestial realm. This sound is called Anahata Nad or unstruck sound. Sought after by great enlightened yogis, it can only be heard by them. The sound of the universe is the vibration thought by some to be like the music of the spheres that the Greek Pythagoras described in the 6th century B.C. The other sound Ahata Nad or struck sound is the vibration of air in the lower atmosphere closer to the earth. It is any sound that we hear in nature or man-made sounds, musical and non-musical.
The origin of Indian music is said to be rooted in the Vedas. It is said that God Himself is musical sound, the sound which pervades the whole universe, i.e. Nadabrahma. The origins of Indian music are therefore considered divine. It is said that the musician has to cultivate an attitude of self-abandonment, in order to fuse with the Supreme Reality, Brahma. What are the vedas ? Veda is the KNOWLEDGE OF SCRIPTURES, they are the oldest and most important scared books of Hinduism, philosophy religious values, knowledge of life, Scriptures in Hindi means SHASHTRA -a systematic, knowledge which is practiced with great study, complex techniques, deep knowledge, discipline. Sharstra can be also called as SCIENCE. Brahma is said to be the author of the four Vedas, THE SAMAVEDA, RUGRAVEDA, YAJURAVEDA, ATHARVAVEDA, of which the Sama Veda was chanted in definite musical patterns. Vedic hymns were sung in plain melody, using only 3 notes. It took a long time for music to come to the form found in present-day . The most important advance in music was made between the 14th and 18th centuries. During this period, the music sung in the north came in contact with Persian music and assimilated it, through the Pathans and the Mughals. It is then that two schools of music resulted, the Hindustani and the Carnatic. Hindustani music adopted a scale of Shudha Swara saptaka (octave of natural notes) and Carnatic music retained the traditional octave. During this period, different styles of classical compositions such as Dhrupad, Dhamar, Khayal etc were contributed to Hindustani music, along with many exquisite hymns, bhajans, kirtans etc. Indian music has a very long, unbroken tradition - the accumulated heritage of centuries. The origin can be traced back to Vedic days - nearly two thousand years. The culture of today is an outcome of the interaction and interweaving of races and cultures, both indigenous and foreign; and it is the study of the contribution of these various races and tribes that gives us the picture of the evolution of Indian music. The Negrito, the Mongoloid, the Dravidian, and the Aryan, have all contributed to the complexity of Indian culture.
THE TRADITION OF MUSIC
The music of is a pervasive influence in Indian life. It pervades the big and small events of Indian life, from child birth to death, religious rites and seasonal festivals. Originally, not all developments of music were reduced to writing. To keep their traditional integrity, they were imparted orally from teacher to pupil -- the Guru-Shishya tradition. In the past, there used to be a system of Gurukul Ashram where teachers imparted knowledge to deserving students. The music of and its history are too complex to be described briefly. Nevertheless a brief introduction will help those who are new to Indian music; they will no doubt be more influenced by what they hear than by what they read but a foreknowledge of certain theoretical points may assist their appreciation. The tradition of Indian classical music is an oral one. It is taught directly by the guru to the disciple, rather than by the notation method used in the West. The very heart of Indian music is the raga: the melodic form upon which the musician improvises. This framework is established by tradition and inspired by the creative spirits of master musicians.
INFLUENCES
One of the strongest and most significant influences has perhaps been that of Islam (and of Persian music); a few centuries of Muslim invasion and rule brought in its wake a changed perspective in the style of Northern Indian music, rather than in its structure. Not being part of the religious ritual it was necessarily fostered outside the places of worship; hence an element of physical pleasure, particularly of the courtier, became predominant. It is interesting to note the influence of Indian music on sculpture and particularly painting. Painters have portrayed the theme of the Raga and they have named their paintings after the Ragas and Raginis. Both paintings and sculpture concentrate on creating contained, volume-filled forms. Great care is taken to keep the basis simple. The moving line and contained space complement each other, giving each other meaning. This is exactly analogous to the character of Indian musical melody, which moves in smooth united motions, including within its curves definite units of musical form. It is through the medium of the arts that people of different nations and backgrounds are able to communicate and understand each other better. The West is becoming more familiar with Indian music - it is no longer merely an exotic expression of the East, but is reaching an ever growing and more knowledgeable and appreciative audience.
INDIAN & WESTERN CLASSICAL MUSIC
Indian classical music is principally based on melody and rhythm, not on harmony, counterpoint, chords, modulation and the other basics of Western classical music. The system of Indian music known as Raga Sangeet can be traced back nearly two thousand years to its origin in the Vedic hymns of the Hindu temples, the fundamental source of all Indian music. Thus, as in Western music, the roots of Indian classical music are religious. To us, music can be a spiritual discipline on the path to self-realisation, for we follow the traditional teaching that sound is God - Nada Brahma: By this process individual consciousness can be elevated to a realm of awareness where the revelation of the true meaning of the universe - its eternal and unchanging essence - can be joyfully experienced. Our ragas are the vehicles by which this essence can be perceived. The western listeners will appreciate and enjoy our music more if he listens with an open and relaxed mind and to relax into rhythmic and melodic patterns without expecting to hear harmony, counterpoint, mixed tone colours or other elements prominent in western music. Neither should our music be thought of as a kind of jazz although there are elements of improvisation exciting rhythms in both of them. The musician has to follow the discipline and a structure while doing improvisation. The tradition of Indian music should be understood in the context of Indian life and thought. The theory and practice of Indian music are the logical result of a consistent development, a distinctive process, which plays an integral part in Indian history and culture. One should not listen to Indian music and judge it in terms of Western music or any other musical form. It would be like judging Beethoven or Brahms in terms of Raga (the basis of Indian melody) and Tala (the basis of Indian rhythm). Ideally, the western listener is requested to forget counterpoint, harmony, and mixed tone colours and to relax into the rhythmic and melodic patterns of a great cultural heritage. Each melodic structure of Raga has something akin to a distinct personality subject to a prevailing mood. Early Indian writers on music carried this idea further and endowed the Ragas with the status of minor divinities, with names derived from various sources, often indicating the origin or associations of the individual Ragas. In theoretical works on music each Raga was described in a short verse formula, which enabled the artiest to visualise its essential personality during meditation prior to the performance. This borrowing of the meditational technique used in Hindu worship enabled the musician to enter into the mood of a particular Raga and thus perform is successfully.
ABOUT MOODS, SENTIMENTS & RAGAS-TALAS
There is a saying in Sanskrit - "Ranjayathi iti Ragah" - which means that, “which colours the mind is a raga". For a raga to truly colour the mind of the listener, its effect must be created not only through the notes and the embellishments, but also by the presentation of the specific emotion or mood characteristic of each raga. Thus through rich melodies in our music, every human emotion, every subtle feeling in man and nature can be musically expressed and experienced.
The performing arts in - music, dance, drama, and poetry - are based on the concept of Nava Rasa or the "nine sentiments." Literally, Rasa means "juice" or "extract" but here in this context, we take it to mean "emotion" or "sentiment." The acknowledged order of these sentiments is as follows: Shringara (romantic and erotic): Hasya (humorous): Karuna (pathetic): Raudra (anger): Veera (heroic): Bhayanaka (fearful): Vibhatsa (disgustful): Adbhuta (amazement): Shanta (peaceful).
Each raga is principally dominated by one of these nine rasas, although the performer can also bring out other emotions in a less prominent way. The more closely the notes of a raga conform to the expression of one single idea or emotion, the more overwhelming the effect of the raga. Raga has its own principal mood such as tranquillity, devotion, eroticism, loneliness, pathos, heroism, etc. In Indian music there is above all awareness between man and nature, each acting and reacting on the other, and hence each Raga is associated, according to its mood, with a particular time of the day, night or a season. Improvisation is an essential feature of Indian music, depending upon the imagination and the creativity of an artist; a great artist can communicate and install in his listener the mood of the Raga
In addition to being associated with a particular mood, each raga is also closely connected to a particular time of day or a season of the year. The cycle of day and night, as well as the cycle of the seasons, is analogous to the cycle of life itself. Each part of the day - such as the time before dawn, noon , late afternoon, early evening, late night - is associated with a definite sentiment. The explanation of the time associated with each raga may be found in the nature of the notes that comprise it, or in historical anecdotes concerning the raga.
Although there are 72 "meals" or parent scales upon which ragas are based, Indian music scholars have estimated that, with all their permutations and combinations, there exist over 6,000 ragas! But a raga is not merely a matter of the ascending – descending scale structure. It must have its "Chelan "- or certain note patterns characteristic of the raga; its principle important note (vadi); the second important note (samavadi); and its main feature known as "jan" (life) or "mukhda" (face), the cluster of a few notes by which a raga is immediately recognised. In terms of aesthetics, a raga is the projection of the artist's inner spirit, a manifestation of his most profound sentiments and sensibilities brought forth through tones and melodies. The musician must breath life into each raga as he unfolds and expands it. As much as 90 percent of Indian music may be improvised and because so very much depends on understanding the spirit and nuances of the art, the relationship between the artist and his guru is the keystone of this ancient tradition. From the beginning, the aspiring musician requires special and individual attention to bring him to the moment of artistic mastery. The unique aura of a raga (one might say its "soul") is its spiritual quality and manner of expression, and this cannot be learned from any book. Ragas are extremely difficult to explain in a few words. Though Indian music is model in character, ragas should not be mistaken as modes that one hears in the music of the Middle and Far Eastern countries, nor be understood to be a scale, melody per se, a composition, or a key. A raga is a scientific, precise, subtle and aesthetic melodic form with its own peculiar ascending and descending movement consisting of either a full seven note octave, or a series of six or five notes (or a combination of any of these) in a rising or falling structure called the Arohana and Avarohana. Ragas are precise melody forms. A raga is not a mere scale, nor is it a mode. It is the subtle difference in the order of notes, an omission of a dissonant note, an emphasis on a particular note, the slide from one note to another, and the use of microtones together with other subtleties that demarcate one raga from the other. Each raga has its own ascending and descending movements, and those settle touches and the uses of micro tones and stresses on particular notes. The improvisatory nature of Indian classical music requires the artist to take into consideration the setting, time allowed for his recital, his mood and the feeling he discerns in the audience before playing. Since Indian music is religious in origin, one finds the spiritual quality in most of the musician's performances.
Raga is neither a scale, nor a mode. It is, however, a scientific, precise, subtle, and aesthetic melodic form with its own peculiar ascending and descending movement which consists of either a full octave, or a series of six or five notes. An omission of a jarring or dissonant note, or an emphasis on a particular note, or the slide from one note to another, and the use of microtones along with other subtleties, distinguish one Raga from the other. There are 72 'melas', or parent scales, on which Ragas are based. Tala is the second important factor in Indian music. These are rhythmic cycles ranging from 3 to 108 beats. The division in a Tala and the stress on the first beat, called 'Sum', are the most important features of these cycles. Talas having the same number of beats may have a stress on different beats, e.g. a bar of 10 beats may be divided as: 2-3-2-3, or 3-3-4 or 3-4-3 . Within the framework of the fixed beats the drummer can improvise to the same extent as the principal artists after going their separate ways, come back together with an accent or stress on the first beat. Thus, the 'Sum' becomes the most important beat of emphasis through out a recital of Indian music, since this urge for unity and its fulfilment are the most rewarding experience.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Alap: is the first movement of the Raga. It is a slow, serene movement acting as invocation and it gradually develops the Raga Jor: begins with the added element of rhythm which (combining with the weaving of innumerable melodic patterns) gradually grains in tempo and brings the raga to the final movement. Jhala: is the final movement and climax. It is played with a very fast action of the plectrum which is worn on the right index finger. Gat: is the fixed composition. A gat can be in any Tala and can be spread over from 2 to 16 of its rhythmic cycles in any tempo, slow, medium or fast. A Gat (for a fixed composition), whether vocal or instrumental, has generally two sections. The first part is called "pallavi" - South Indian term - or "asthayi" - North Indian term - which opens the composition and is generally confined to the lower and middle octaves. The following part of the composition is called the "anupallavi" (or antara) which usually extends from the middle to upper octaves. In South Indian music further melodic sections called "charana" follows the "anupallavi." TALAS Dadra rhythmic cycle of 6 beats divided 3-3.
Rupak rhythmic cycle of 7 beats divided 3-2-2 .
Jhaptal rhythmic cycle of 10 beats divided 2-3-2-3.
Ektal which is a rhythmic cycle of 12.
Adha - Chautal rhythmic cycle of 14 beats divided 2-4-4-4.
Teen-Tal rhythmic cycle of 16 beats divided 4-4-4-4. (Northern Form) Dhrupad compositions have four parts or stanzas, viz. Asthayi, Antra, Sanchari and Abhog. Dhrupad is accompanied only by the Tanpura and Pankhawaj. Dhrupad is considered to be the oldest classical vocal forms of Hindustani music. Hori Dhamar: These compositions are akin to Dhrupad and enjoy identical status. Despite the variations in the themes of these compositions, all of them are associated with the festival of Holi (playing of colours) and the compositions are all of 14 beats time cycle. Khayal: The Dhrupad style of music was replaced by the romantic Khayal (the word Khayal means imagination, idea). The most important features of a Khayal are 'Tans' or the running glides over notes and 'Bol-tans' which clearly distinguish it from 'Dhrupad'. The slow (Vilambit) and fast (Drut) styles of Khayal are the two recognised types today. Tappa: This is a distinct style having its origin in the Punjab . Its beauty lies in the quick and intricate display of various permutations and combinations of notes. It is strange that even though the Tappa lyrics are in Punjabi, Tappa is not sung in the Punjab . Banares and Gwalior are the strongholds of Tappa. Bengal has also been greatly influenced by the Tappa style. Thumri: Thumri originated in the Eastern part of Uttar Pradesh. Its most distinct feature is the erotic subject matter picturesquely portraying the various episodes from the lives of Lord Krishna and Radha. The beauty of Thumri lies in the artist's ability to convey musically as many shades of meaning as the words of a song can bear. It is a much freer form than 'Khayal' . (Southern Form) Varnam: A composition usually sung or played at the beginning of a recital. It reveals the general form of the Raga. The Varnam is made up of two parts: 1) The Purvanga or first half and 2) The Uttaranga or second half. The two halves are almost equal in length. Kriti: A composed song set to a certain Raga and fixed Tala (rhythmic) cycle. It is a highly evolved musical form. Ragam: A melodic improvisation in free rhythm played without mridangam (drum) accompaniment. Tanam: Another style of melodic improvisation in free rhythm. Pallavi: This is a short pre-composed melodic theme with words and set to one cycle of tala. Here the soloist improvises new melodies built around the word pallavi. Trikalam: Is the section where the Pallavi is played in three tempi keeping the Tala constant. Swara-Kalpana: Is the improvised section performed with the drummer in medium and fast speeds. Rangamalika: This is the final part of the Pallavi where the soloist improvises freely and comes back to the original theme at the end.
