Eternal India Encyclopedia

MUSIC

Eternal India encyclopedia

MUSIC

hearing. The fineness of Indian music lies in the microdistinctions in the pitches of the svaras. Though there was originally one system of music in India, the historical process of cultural development has produced two broad systems of Indian classical music - the Hin- dustani and the Karnatak (or Carnatic). The former is prevalent in northern and eastern India and the northern districts of Karnataka and Andhra, while Karnatak music is domi- nant in South India. Both the systems are essentially modal and melodic in character with a successive tonal progression, twelve-tone gamut with specified intervals and a tonic or drone as a supporting ground and a constant point of reference. In spite of many differences in their content as well as structure and styles, there is a marked fundamental unity between the two systems. Both the systems have their roots in the ancient system of Hindustani music originating from and nurtured in India's philosophic and cultural traditions. "Indian music is essentially melodic; whether it be the yell of the most primitive tribes or the sophisticated art form, whether it is vocal or instrumental the music is 'lin- ear'. Sounds follow one another expressing an emotional state and an aesthetic unity; they are not sounded simultaneously, which is harmony. Not that harmony is absent, but it is an incipient condition and has not been developed to the extent as in the West". (B. Chaitanya Deva). Like all purely melodic systems Indian music is conceived essentially in terms of the human voice. The sitar, sarod and veena (plucked string instruments) all produce mu- sic which is basically vocal in conception. During the Vedic period, music was in its fundamental stage and slowly the Sapta Swaras emerged out of it. These notes have a distinct power and the vibrations produced by these notes have an inherent potential in them. It is only the Yogi who through intense meditation acquires the required power and this power is transmitted to the common man in various ways, music being one of them. It is the power that is used by Yogis and Saints to relieve various ailments. The vibration produced by combina- tion of notes has psychological impact on the person and can cure him of his mental and physical problems. - Layam , Aug - Sep '94. SPIRITUAL POWER OF MUSIC

“Indian music is above all the transcendence of the soul to a higher significance. It is the disengagement of the human soul, from the mundane plane to the spiritual. Indian music is pure, deep and tender like - Rabindranath Tagore

note known as Shadja, Rishaba is said to represent the sound that is made by the cow while calling her calf. Gandhara is the bleat of the goat. Madhyama is identified with the cry of the heron. The nightingale of India, the koel, sings always on Panchama. Dhaivata is the neighing of the horse. Nishada is the trumpeting of the elephant. Bharata's treatise on dramaturgy Natya Shastra (c. 2B.C. and 3 A.D.) laid down the rules for the three arts - drama, music and dancing - which are still followed today. Music was generally considered an adjunct of drama (natya) and Bharata devoted only a few chapters to music in his treatise. The word for music in India is sangeeta. But originally sangeeta did not mean music. It was a comprehensive term for singing, play- ing of instruments and dancing. (svaras) of modern classical Indian music called shadja, rish- abha, gandhara, madhyama, panchama, dhaivata and nishada (abbreviated to sa, ri, ga, ma, pa, dha and ni) correspond to the European major scale. The whole span is more minutely divided into 22 microtonal steps ( shrutis ) of less than a semi-tone. Thus even a specific flat or sharp note can be found in actual singing and playing in deli- cately shaded, aesthetically flavoured vari- ations. These demand a fine ear and repeated The seven notes

Music has been cultivated as an art in India for at least 3000 years. The hymns of the Rig Veda, the oldest religious text jn the world, were composed between 1500 and 900 B.C. or even earlier as the date of the Rig Veda is still a matter of controversy. The Sama Veda was composed at a date later than the Rig Veda. It is a collection of hymns from the Rig Veda meant for chanting on occasions such as sacrifices. The rules for chanting the hymns are laid down in the Sama Sutra, directing the way of modulation and intonation, etc of letters, syllables and tones. The chant was an essential element of the Vedic ritual and it had developed into a highly secular art in the centuries preceding the beginning of the Christian era. A scale of four notes known as Svara- tantra came into being. The ancient Aryans, like the ancient Greeks, had their music confined to four notes. The stages by which these four notes became the seven notes (svara) of present-day Indian music are not known. An account of the seven notes is found for the first time in the Manduki Siksha of the Atharva Veda. The seven notes are Shadja, Rishaba, Gandhara, Madhyama, Panchama, Dhaivata and Nishada. It is also stated there that the note produced by the peacock at the highest point of rapture is the