Music plays an important role in our Indian culture from 5th century AD. The basic scale of Indian music is pentatonic and have seven general notes named Sa, ri, ga, ma, pa, dha, ni.
Sa — Swram
Ri — Rishabak
Ga — Gandhara
Ma — Madyama
Pa — Panchama
Dha — Dhavita
Ni — Nishada
- Sruti –> is a theoritical interval of scale which is 22.
- Jatis –> 18 melodic notes called Jatis which gradually gave place to more specific ragas.
- Talas –> rhythmic cycles. quite complicated universal unity. According to Bharat’s it is 32, but now it’s over 120 Talas.
- Ragas were recognized named on the basis of several factor classified and defined there are series of five or more notes upon which the melody is based.
Table of Contents
Types of Music (Styles)
Indian music has two styles namely hindustani (north) and Karnatic (or) carnatic in the South. There is no quite clear view how the two streams appeared.
Hindustani
- Hindustani school began strictly to observe the ragas.
- Adapted six ragas and arranged them in analog of family relationships – Father, Mother, Sons & Daughters.
- Bhirava – Awe & fear / dawn performance
- Kausika – Jay & laughter / Night
- Hindola – Love / Night
- Dipak – Love / Afternoon
- Stiraga – Love / Afternoon.
- Megh – Peace, Calm & Love / Afternoon.
Hindustani Music Composition
Gharanas : It’s a significance of Hindustani music. Gharanas refers to a particular style created by dialects and masters according to their musical vocal capacity and apptitude. Later their students followed the same guru’s style. So gharas (family, build, style) was born.
Karnatic (Melakarta)
In mid- seventeenth century, venkatamahin wrote chadradiprasika which became the bedrock of karnatic system. It has 72 melodrama ragas which can be in future, present, obsolete, old could be brought in.
- Thaat –> is a musical scale, conceived of a western scale might be with the seven notes presented in the order of ascent (arohan).
Karnatik music composition
Raggam -> Beginning of the songs (alapana) is a free time.
Tanam -> Rhymtic part still is unmeasured.
Pallavi -> The final section of the song, it’s a composition of words and melody to tala.
Compositions
- Two bread categories are Anibadha (open) and naphtha (closed).
- The important beginning of Indian music, classical begins with alap (anibadha) with ragas without reference of tala.
- Karnatic music do not have any purely instrumental compositions.
- Hindustani music has a system of purely instrumental compositions called gat derived from the plunged stringed instrumental technique and another called dhum derived from folk tunes.
Some of the famous personalities associated with music
D.K. Pattammal :
- With her contemporizes, M.L vasanthakumari & M.S. Subbu, they popularly reffered as the “Female Trinity” of karnatik music, initiated new way for women entry in the mainstream.
- Pallavi Pattammal –> Her excellent skills and aesthetically pleasing rendering of pallavi’s gave her the title pallavi pattammal.
- Ist women to play raagam- thallam – pallavi in concerts.
M.S. Subbulakshmi
- Ist women to receive ” Bharath Ratha”
- Ist women to receive Ramon Magsaysay Award for the lifetime achievement in music (Highest civilian award in asia).
- Ist women to receive “Sangeeta Kalanidhi” title.
Thyagaraja
- One of the trinity in Carnatic music.
- Famous keertanai’s and innumerable mostly in Telegu.