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Indian music has a very long, unbroken tradition, a heritage of centuries. The origin can be traced back to Vedic days - nearly two thousand years. It is an outcome of the interaction and interweaving of races and cultures, both indigenous (originally from India) and foreign. The Dravidians (native Indians), the Aryans, and other Asian cultures have all contributed to the complexity of Indian culture.
Twenty centuries ago, an important role of music in India was religious and ritualistic. Priests chanted hymns to the gods. (Music as court or public entertainment probably evolved much later.) 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. 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 become one with the Supreme Reality, Brahma. Brahma is said to be the author of the four Vedas. Vedic hymns and mantras were chanted in plain melody using selected notes. Initially, only three notes were used, but eventually more notes were added. Sama Veda, the most musical of the Vedas, is almost 'sung out' even these days. Music was considered divine and the "audience" was primarily the two upper castes.
Another important part of Indian music is folk music. Indian classical music is said to have evolved out of the mixture of folk music and religious hymns. Folk music existed long before the Aryans came to India since the Dravidians (native people of India) had their own. Music probably was used to celebrate weddings, births, and other happy events.
Music must have been important to the early Indian people because the Indian goddess of learning is shown to be holding a musical instrument (Veena) in her hand. Lord Krishna, an important god in Hinduism, was often shown with a flute.
By the time the Epic period came around (about the second century AD), the ancients used seven notes used in Indian music as building blocks, namely Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha and Ni, like an "octave". While hymns and chants continued, song was also related to storytelling, such as in recounting the story of Rama or the Mahabaratha and performances before audiences of three castes.
It took a long time for music to come to the form found in present-day India. 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. (Much of India was conquered by Islamic leaders from Persia, Afghanistan and Central Asia.) It is then that two schools of music resulted: the Hindustani (northern music) and the Carnatic (southern music). Hindustani music adopted a "Persian" scale and Carnatic music kept the traditional octave. During this period, the Hindustani musicians developed many different styles of classical compositions.
What is Indian Music?
The basis of Indian music is Raga (Indian melody) and Tala (Indian rhythm).
RAGA - Melody to build a mood
Each melodic structure of Raga is something like a distinct personality and mood. Early Indian writers on music named the Ragas after gods. Each Raga was described in a short verse formula which enabled the artist to visualise its essential personality during meditation prior to the performance. This meditational technique (also used in Hindu worship) enabled the musician to enter into the mood of a particular Raga and perform it successfully.
Raga is not a scale. It is, however, a scientific, precise, subtle, and artistic melodic form with its own peculiar ascending (rising) and descending (falling) movement which consists of either a full octave, or a series of six or five notes. An omission or 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 subleties, distinguish one Raga from the other. There are 72 parent scales on which Ragas are based. The Indian tradition spells out twenty-two 'tones' per octave and even more "microtones", not the twelve 'tones' that are found on a Western piano keyboard!
Raga has its own principal mood such as tranquility, devotion, eroticism, loneliness, heroism, etc. In Indian music there is above all an awareness between man and nature, each acting and reacting on the other. So each Raga is associated, according to its mood, with a particular time of the day, night or a season.
Improvisation (or freedom by the musician to make changes within the melody) is an important feature of Indian music. It depends upon the imagination and the creativity of an artist. A great artist can communicate and instill in his listener the mood of the Raga. No two performances will be exactly the same.
TALA - rhythm
Tala is the second important part in Indian music. There 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. For example, 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.
The Indian tradition spells out twenty-two 'tones' per octave, not the twelve 'tones' that are found on a Western piano keyboard! But an artist ought to produce even the intermediate frequencies, the tones that are "between the tones". These intermediate frequencies, which do not have any keys to produce them, are called 'microtones'. The very heart of Indian music is this 'continuous flow' or 'gliding through a continuum of frequencies' or microtones. Since microtones are so important and since very few instruments can produce all the frequencies in an octave, the best example of Indian classical music is in vocal singing. Many instruments like the violin and even the simple bamboo flute can produce a lot of 'microtones', too. Indian classical music cannot be played effectively in a twelve key per octave instrument like a piano.
Another basic difference deals with "harmony". Western music is 'harmony-based' or playing of two or more tones at the same time. Western music uses chords for harmony. 'Harmony' is also produced when several instruments play different melodies or pieces simultaneously like in an orchestra. Orchestration and 'harmony' are absent in Indian classical music. Indian classical music does not use chords.
A third difference is the notation system. In Western music one can read a piece of music from the notes written on paper with lines of the base and treble clef, notation for sharps and flats. Indian notation is very different and Indian music is always played by 'ear'.
Ancient Musicians compared to today
In ancient India, music played a significantly larger role in people's lives compared to these modern times. "Our ancestors did not listen to music in their chariot-stereos the way we do these days. Greater percentage of the population (compared to these days) composed music, performed it and even did research on it. People dedicated themselves to music. Kings and queens patronized music and had a full court of accomplished musicians. "The Kings went to sleep and woke up to music...". There were music competitions held every once in a while, which pitted one learned musician against another, where the degree of difficulty was so high that most of the modern day musicians would not even qualify to enter. Although these music contests produced outstanding scholarship, they were also vehicles to heap shame and humiliation on the defeated rival - an aspect which is hard for me to understand.
History is also full of legends and astonishing individual accomplishments. Very high standards were established. It took a musician several decades of intense studentship (typically in a Gurukulam) before he or she could be considered a concert performer. These days after one summer, kids are already on stage 'performing' music.'" [1]
Study of Music as a Science
Theoretical works on music were written by ancient Indian scholars. There is a monumental reference with several chapters on music by Bharata. The date of this work is somewhere between the second century BC to the second century AD. It is probably the first work which clearly elaborated the octave and divided it into 22 keys. Bharata based his idea on a stunning scientific experiment he performed using his musical instrument made of strings which 'proved' that there could be only 22 basic frequencies that could be generated in an octave. He even located them in his octave and thus tuned his string instruments. Not only did Bharata 'invent' the keys in an octave, he also gave some basic rules to scale building.
Musical Instruments of Ancient India [Most images are from Chandra and David's Indian Musical Instruments Page]
SITAR
Sitar is the most popular stringed instrument of India and has been in use for about 700 years. It is fashioned from a seasoned gourd and teakwood and has twenty metal frets with six or seven playing strings and nineteen sympathetic strings below. It is played with a plectrum (or pick) worn on the finger. Sitar has a long and complex heritage; its origin goes back to the ancient Veena. In the 13th century, Amir Khusru, in order to make the instrument more flexible, reversed the order of the strings and made the frets moveable. Ravi Shankar, the great musician-artist brought changes and a new perspective.
SAROD and RABAB
Sarod is a popular stringed instrument. The body is carved from a single piece of well-seasoned teakwood and the belly covered with goat skin. There are four main strings, six rhythm and drone strings and fifteen sympathetic strings, now made of metal. These are played by striking with a plectrum (a pick) made of a coconut shell. The Sarod has no frets (or bars across the neck to help find the pitch). Sarod has been found in carvings of the 1st century in Champa temple and also in paintings in the Ajanta caves. It also has a similarity with the Rabab of Afghanistan and Kashmir. The Rabab is a very ancient instrument found primarily in Afghanistan but in India is common in Kashmir. The sarod was modified by Amir Khusru in the 13th century. A definite change was made by Ustad Ali Akbar Khan in shape of the instrument for improving the tonal quality.
SARANGI
The name derives from Sau Rangi meaning 100 colours. Sarangi is played with a bow and has four main strings and as many as forty resonant strings. It is generally used to accompany singers but can also be a solo instrument.
TANPURA
Tanpura is a four or five stringed instrument which gives the essential drone background to all Indian music.
ESRAJ
Esraj is played with a bow and has many strings. It is one of the major instruments of North India.
SANTOOR
Santoor is a North Indian instrument originating from Kashmir. It has more than a hundred strings which run across a hollow rectangular box and the strings are struck by a pair of slim carved walnut mallets.
VICITRA VEENA
Vichitra Veena is a comparatively recent addition to the Veena family. It is a fretless stringed instrument with four main strings, three drone and rhythm strings and eleven to thirteen resonating strings. The strings are plucked by a plectrum on the index or middle finger of the right hand.
TABLA
Tabla is two drums which are played as accompaniment to North Indian music and dance. The musician uses the base of the palm as well as the fingers to produce great variations in sounds. The right hand drum is tuned to the tonic dominant or sub-dominant and the left-hand drum acts as the base.
PAKHAWAJ
Pakhawaj is a long bodied wooden drum with both ends covered in skin and is the most traditional drum of North India. Played horizontally with the fingers and palms of both hands, the right hand surface is tuned to the pitch required and the left hand surface provides the base.
MRIDANGAM
Mridangam is similar in appearance to the Pakhawaj but the ends have a different texture. It is the most used drum in South Indian music.
DHOLAK
Dholak is a side drum, cylindrical in shape, bored out of solid wood. Its pitch is variable and is an essential accompaniment for folk music of North India.
JAL TARANG
Jal Tarang is essentially a water-xylophone. It is made up of a series of china bowls of varying sizes and they are filled with varying levels of water. These are then played with two light sticks.
PUNG
Pung is a long bodied drum with both ends covered in skin and plays an important role in Manipuri dancing when it is played by men and women, either in a sitting position or standing position.
FLUTE
Flutes are found in every part of India, carved from bamboo it is made in every possible size. It is usually played in a vertical position.
SHEHNAI
Shehnai is a double reeded wind instrument like an oboe, with a widening tube towards the lower end. There are eight or nine holes, the upper seven for playing, the lower ones for tuning. The Shehnai is considered auspicious (good luck) and is played on all festive occasions in India.
For more information about traditional Indian musical instruments, see Chandra and David's Indian Musical Instruments Page At this site you can even listen to Indian music! Also, each of the instruments can be heard at this site, too!
Learn more about ancient Indian music at Sudheer's India's Contributions to the Fine Arts.
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