Divisions
76-440: An Avarohana , Avarohanam or Avaroha , in the context of Indian classical music , is the descending scale of any raga . The notes descend in pitch from the upper tonic (taar shadja or Sa) down to the lower tonic, possibly in a crooked (vakra) manner. In raga Darbari , an Asavari - thaat raga with vadi - samvadi R-P, the avroha is R' n S' d~ n P, m P g~ m R S, with andolan on the dhaivat and gandhar. In Malahari , which
152-602: A matra (beat, and duration between beats). A raga is a central concept of Indian music, predominant in its expression. According to Walter Kaufmann, though a remarkable and prominent feature of Indian music, a definition of raga cannot be offered in one or two sentences. Raga may be roughly described as a musical entity that includes note intonation, relative duration and order, in a manner similar to how words flexibly form phrases to create an atmosphere of expression. In some cases, certain rules are considered obligatory, in others optional. The raga allows flexibility, where
228-452: A tala in Indian music covers "the whole subject of musical meter". Indian music is composed and performed in a metrical framework, a structure of beats that is a tala . A tala measures musical time in Indian music. However, it does not imply a regular repeating accent pattern, instead its hierarchical arrangement depends on how the musical piece is supposed to be performed. The tala forms
304-607: A beautiful raga to listen to. Indian classical music Traditional Modern Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent . It is generally described using terms like Shastriya Sangeet and Marg Sangeet . It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as Hindustani and the South Indian expression known as Carnatic . These traditions were not distinct until about
380-535: A certain sequencing of how the musician moves from note to note for each raga , in order for the performance to create a rasa (mood, atmosphere, essence, inner feeling) that is unique to each raga . A raga can be written on a scale. Theoretically, thousands of raga are possible given 5 or more notes, but in practical use, the classical Indian tradition has refined and typically relies on several hundred. For most artists, their basic perfected repertoire has some forty to fifty ragas . Raga in Indian classical music
456-681: A different way than Carnatic music. Hindustani music style is mainly found in North India , Pakistan and Bangladesh. Prior to the Taliban's ban on music, it also had a strong presence in Afghanistan. It exists in four major forms: Dhrupad , Khyal (or Khayal), Tarana , and the semi-classical Thumri . Dhrupad is ancient, Khyal evolved from it, Thumri evolved from Khyal. There are three major schools of Thumri: Lucknow gharana, Banaras gharana and Punjabi gharana. These weave in folk music innovations. Tappa
532-496: A distinct genre of art, in a form equivalent to contemporary music. This likely occurred before the time of Yāska ( c. 500 BCE ), since he includes these terms in his nirukta studies, one of the six Vedanga of ancient Indian tradition. Some of the ancient texts of Hinduism such as the Samaveda ( c. 1000 BCE ) are structured entirely to melodic themes, it is sections of Rigveda set to music. The Samaveda
608-482: A gentle goodbye, that are ideally mathematical fractions such as dagun (half), tigun (third) or chaugun (fourth). Sometimes a fifth stanza called Bhoga is included. Though usually related to philosophical or Bhakti (emotional devotion to a god or goddess) themes, some Dhrupads were composed to praise kings. Improvisation is of central importance to Hindustani music, and each gharana (school tradition) has developed its own techniques. At its core, it starts with
684-459: A history spanning over two thousand years, authentic sangita-shastras or treatises, unique Ragas & Talas and a distinctive style of rendition. The various aspects of Odissi music include odissi prabandha, chaupadi, chhānda, champu, chautisa, janāna, mālasri, bhajana, sarimāna, jhulā, kuduka, koili, poi, boli, and more. Presentation dynamics are roughly classified into four: raganga, bhabanga, natyanga and dhrubapadanga. Some great composer-poets of
760-656: A live rendering, which went viral on the internet; further establishing the growing prominence of Indian Classical Music around the globe. Sangeet Natak Akademi , is an Indian national-level academy for performance arts . It awards the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award , the highest Indian recognition given to people in the field of performance arts. Nirukta Sama vedic Yajur vedic Atharva vedic Vaishnava puranas Shaiva puranas Shakta puranas Nirukta ( Sanskrit : निरुक्त , IPA: [n̪iɾuktɐ] , "explained, interpreted")
836-534: A much larger role in Carnatic concerts than in Hindustani concerts. Today's typical concert structure was put in place by the vocalist Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar . The opening piece is called a varnam , and is a warm-up for the musicians. A devotion and a request for a blessing follows, then a series of interchanges between ragams (unmetered melody) and Tanam (the ornamentation within a melorhythmic cycle, equivalent to
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#1732916056823912-516: A part of the Qajar court in Tehran , an interaction that continued through the 20th century with import of Indian musical instruments in cities such as Herat near Afghanistan-Iran border. Odissi music is a distinct type of Classical music of Eastern India. This music is sung during performance of classical Odissi dance . The traditional ritual music for the service of Lord Jagannatha , Odissi music has
988-467: A standard composition (bandish), then expands it in a process called vistar . The improvisation methods have ancient roots, and one of the more common techniques is called Alap , which is followed by the Jor and Jhala . The Alap explores possible tonal combinations among other things, Jor explores speed or tempo (faster), while Jhala explores complex combinations like a fishnet of strokes while keeping
1064-691: A wife desiring her husband. The meaning of Speech, is its fruit and flower. — Yaska, Nirukta 1.18-1.20 A central premise of Yaska was that man creates more new words to conceptualize and describe action, that is nouns often have verbal roots. However, added Yaska, not all words have verbal roots. He asserted that both the meaning and the etymology of words are always context dependent. Words are created around object-agent, according to Yaska, to express external or internal reality perceived by man, and are one of six modifications of Kriya (action) and Bhava (dynamic being), namely being born, existing, changing, increasing, decreasing and perishing. A sentence
1140-473: Is janya raga of 15th melakarta Mayamalavagowla , the avarohana is S D1 P M1 G2 R1 S . See swaras in Carnatic music for description of this notation. In Sahana , a janya raga of 28th melakarta Harikambhoji , the Avarohana is S N2 D2 P M1 G3 M1 R2 G3 R2 S . This raga in its avarohana has the notes jumping from one to another (a bit like Dattu). This changes the whole feel of the raga, making Sahana
1216-488: Is teental . In the two major systems of classical Indian music, the first count of any tala is called sam . Instruments typically used in Hindustani music include the sitar , sarod , surbahar , esraj , veena , tanpura , bansuri , shehnai , sarangi , violin , santoor , pakhavaj and tabla . Instruments typically used in Carnatic music include veena , venu , gottuvadyam , harmonium , mridangam , kanjira , ghatam , nadaswaram and violin . Players of
1292-412: Is a collection of words, a word is a collection of phonemes, according to Nirukta scholars of Hindu traditions. The meaning of Vedic passages has to be understood through context, purpose stated, subject matter being discussed, what is stated, how, where and when. The only basic Nirvacana shastra (Nirukta-related text) that has survived from ancient times into the modern era is the one by Yaska, and it
1368-560: Is an example from the opening verse of his commentary on the Ganesha Sahasranama . The opening verse includes Gaṇanātha as a name for Ganesha . The simple meaning of this name, which would have seemed obvious to his readers, would be "Protector of the Ganas", parsing the name in a straightforward way as gaṇa (group) + nātha (protector). But Bhaskararaya demonstrates his skill in nirukta by parsing it in an unexpected way as
1444-449: Is from the 14th-century. Yaska, in his famous text titled Nirukta , asserts that Rigveda in the ancient tradition, can be interpreted in three ways - from the perspective of religious rites ( adhiyajna ), from the perspective of the deities ( adhidevata ), and from the perspective of the soul ( adhyatman ). The fourth way to interpret the Rigveda also emerged in the ancient times, wherein
1520-412: Is intimately related to tala or guidance about "division of time", with each unit called a matra (beat, and duration between beats). A raga is not a tune, because the same raga can yield a very large number of tunes. A raga is not a scale, because many ragas can be based on the same scale. A raga , states Bruno Nettl and other music scholars, is a concept similar to mode, something between
1596-542: Is not a dictionary, a genre of texts that developed in later centuries and was called a Kosha in Sanskrit. Yaska's Nirukta extensively refers to the Nighantu . The three commentaries on Yaska's Nirukta text are by Hindu scholars named Durgasinha (also known as Durga) who likely lived before the 6th-century CE, Skanda-Mahesvara who may be two scholars who probably lived before the 5th-century CE, and Nilakantha who probably
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#17329160568231672-506: Is one of the six ancient Vedangas , or ancillary science connected with the Vedas – the scriptures of Hinduism . Nirukta covers etymology , and is the study concerned with correct interpretation of Sanskrit words in the Vedas. Nirukta is the systematic creation of a glossary and it discusses how to understand archaic, uncommon words. The field grew probably because almost a quarter of words in
1748-468: Is organized into two formats. One part is based on the musical meter , another by the aim of the rituals. The text is written with embedded coding, where swaras ( octave notes) are either shown above or within the text, or the verse is written into parvans (knot or member); in simple words, this embedded code of swaras is like the skeleton of the song. The swaras have about 12 different forms and different combinations of these swaras are made to sit under
1824-426: Is simply called Nirukta . Three bhasya (commentaries) on Yaska's Nirukta have also survived. Additionally, a related work that is extant and is more ancient than the 5th-century BCE Nirukta by Yaska, is the Nighantu which is a lexicographic treatise. The Nighantu is a glossary or compilation of words in the Vedas, and is an example text of Abhidhanashastra (literally, science of words). However, Nighantu
1900-535: Is the ancient Indian classical music that became distinct after Hindustani music was established. It is dated back to ancient periods, but was only distinct after Hindustani music was established. Purandara Dasa (1484–1564) was a Hindu composer and musicologist who lived in Hampi of the Vijayanagara Empire . He is considered Pithamaha (literally, "great father or grandfather") of the Carnatic music. Purandara Dasa
1976-523: Is the lack of "strong, weak" beat composition typical of the traditional European meter. In classical Indian traditions, the tala is not restricted to permutations of strong and weak beats, but its flexibility permits the accent of a beat to be decided by the shape of musical phrase. The most widely used tala in the South Indian system is adi tala . In the North Indian system, the most common tala
2052-615: Is the most folksy, one which likely existed in Rajasthan and Punjab region before it was systematized and integrated into classical music structure. It became popular, with the Bengali musicians developing their own Tappa. Khyal is the modern form of Hindustani music, and the term literally means "imagination". It is significant because it was the template for Sufi musicians among the Islamic community of India , and Qawwals sang their folk songs in
2128-527: Is unclear when the process of differentiation of Hindustani music started. The process may have started in the 14th century courts of the Delhi Sultans. However, according to Jairazbhoy, the North Indian tradition likely acquired its modern form after the 14th or after the 15th century. The development of Hindustani music reached a peak during the reign of Akbar . During this 16th century period, Tansen studied music and introduced musical innovations, for about
2204-527: The jor ). This is intermixed with hymns called krithis . The pallavi or theme from the raga then follows. Carnatic pieces also have notated lyrical poems that are reproduced as such, possibly with embellishments and treatments according to the performer's ideology, referred to as Manodharmam. Primary themes include worship, descriptions of temples, philosophy, and nayaka-nayika (Sanskrit "hero-heroine") themes. Tyagaraja (1759–1847), Muthuswami Dikshitar (1776–1827) and Syama Sastri (1762–1827) have been
2280-475: The Bahuvrīhi compound gaṇana + atha meaning "the one the enumeration ( gaṇanaṁ ) of whose qualities brings about auspiciousness. The word atha is associated with auspiciousness ( maṅgalam )." This rhetorical flourish at the opening of the sahasranama demonstrates Bhaskaraya's skills in nirukta at the very beginning of his commentary on a thousand such names, including a clever twist appropriate to
2356-561: The Gana also implied singing. The Vedic Sanskrit musical tradition had spread widely in the Indian subcontinent, and according to Rowell, the ancient Tamil classics make it "abundantly clear that a cultivated musical tradition existed in South India as early as the last few pre-Christian centuries". The classic Sanskrit text Natya Shastra is at the foundation of the numerous classical music and dance traditions of India. Before Natyashastra
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2432-507: The Hindustani music and the Carnatic music traditions. Indian classical music has two foundational elements, raga and tala . The raga , based on a varied repertoire of swara ( notes including microtones ), forms the fabric of a deeply intricate melodic structure, while the tala measures the time cycle . The raga gives an artist a palette to build the melody from sounds, while
2508-550: The Nirukta field of study are also called Nirvacana shastra . A critical edition of the Nighantu and the Nirukta was published by Lakshman Sarup in the 1920s. The critical edition by Lakshman Sarup places it between 700 and 500 BCE, i.e., before Gautama Buddha . Nirukta (Sanskrit), states Monier-Williams, means "uttered, pronounced, explained, expressed, defined, loud". It also refers to
2584-494: The Sama Veda , Natya shastra (classic treatise on music theory, Gandharva), Dattilam , Brihaddesi (treatise on regional classical music forms), and Sangita Ratnakara (definitive text for Carnatic and Hindustani traditions). Most historic music theory texts have been by Hindu scholars. Some classical music texts were also composed by Buddhists and Jain scholars, and in 16th century by Muslim scholars. These are listed in
2660-493: The equal-temperament tuning system. Also, unlike modern Western classical music, Indian classical music places great emphasis on improvisation. The underlying scale may have four , five , six or seven tones , called swaras (sometimes spelled as svaras ). The swara concept is found in the ancient Natya Shastra in Chapter 28. It calls the unit of tonal measurement or audible unit as Śhruti , with verse 28.21 introducing
2736-431: The raga and the tala are two foundational elements. The raga forms the fabric of a melodic structure, and the tala keeps the time cycle. Both raga and tala are open frameworks for creativity and allow a very large number of possibilities, however, the tradition considers a few hundred ragas and talas as basic. Raga is intimately related to tala or guidance about "division of time", with each unit called
2812-431: The tabla , a type of drum, usually keep the rhythm, an indicator of time in Hindustani music. Another common instrument is the stringed tanpura , which is played at a steady tone (a drone) throughout the performance of the raga, and which provides both a point of reference for the musician and a background against which the music stands out. The tuning of the tanpura depends on the raga being performed. The task of playing
2888-613: The tala provides them with a creative framework for rhythmic improvisation using time. In Indian classical music the space between the notes is often more important than the notes themselves, and it traditionally eschews Western classical concepts such as harmony , counterpoint , chords , or modulation . The root of music in ancient India are found in the Vedic literature of Hinduism. The earliest Indian thought combined three arts, syllabic recital ( vadya ), melos ( gita ) and dance ( nrtta ). As these fields developed, sangeeta became
2964-417: The 15th century. During the period of Mughal rule of the Indian subcontinent, the traditions separated and evolved into distinct forms. Hindustani music emphasizes improvisation and exploration of all aspects of a raga , while Carnatic performances tend to be short composition-based. However, the two systems continue to have more common features than differences. Another unique classical music tradition from
3040-480: The 16th century began the Carnatic style of Indian classical music. Carnatic music, from South India , tends to be more rhythmically intensive and structured than Hindustani music. Examples of this are the logical classification of ragas into melakartas , and the use of fixed compositions similar to Western classical music. Carnatic raga elaborations are generally much faster in tempo and shorter than their equivalents in Hindustani music. In addition, accompanists have
3116-720: The 1980s, 1990s and particularly the 2000s onwards, Indian Classical Music has seen rapid growth in reception and development around the globe, particularly in North America , where immigrant communities have preserved and passed on classical music traditions to subsequent generations through the establishment of local festivals and music schools. Numerous musicians of American origin, including Ramakrishnan Murthy , Sandeep Narayan, Pandit Vikash Maharaj, Abby V, and Mahesh Kale have taken professionally to Indian Classical Music with great success. In his 2020 released video, Canadian singer Abby V demonstrated 73 different Indian Classical ragas in
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3192-538: The 3rd century, such as in the works of Chinese lyricist Li Yannian . In 1958, Ravi Shankar came to the US and started making albums. These started a 1960s penchant for Indian classical music in the States. By 1967 Shankar and other artists were performing at rock music festivals alongside Western rock, blues, and soul acts. This lasted until the mid-1970s. Ravi Shankar performed at Woodstock for an audience of over 500,000 in 1969. In
3268-399: The Bengali classical tradition . This openness to ideas led to assimilation of regional folk innovations, as well as influences that arrived from outside the subcontinent. For example, Hindustani music assimilated Arabian and Persian influences. This assimilation of ideas was upon the ancient classical foundations such as raga , tala , matras as well as the musical instruments. For example,
3344-529: The Khyal format. Dhrupad (or Dhruvapad), the ancient form described in the Hindu text Natyashastra , is one of the core forms of classical music found all over the Indian subcontinent. The word comes from Dhruva which means immovable and permanent. A Dhrupad has at least four stanzas, called Sthayi (or Asthayi), Antara, Sanchari and Abhoga. The Sthayi part is a melody that uses the middle octave's first tetrachord and
3420-512: The Odissi tradition are the 12th-century poet Jayadeva , Balarama Dasa , Atibadi Jagannatha Dasa , Dinakrusna Dasa, Kabi Samrata Upendra Bhanja , Banamali Dasa , Kabisurjya Baladeba Ratha , Abhimanyu Samanta Singhara and Kabikalahansa Gopalakrusna Pattanayaka . Classical Indian music is one genre of South Asian music; others include film music, various varieties of pop, regional folk, religious and devotional music. In Indian classical music,
3496-548: The Persian Rāk is probably a pronunciation of Raga . According to Hormoz Farhat, Rāk has no meaning in modern Persian language, and the concept of raga is unknown in Persia. If Hindustani music is taken in as an entirely new form of music created from Indian classical music and Persian music , then Carnatic music was a form from the south of the sub-continent that developed further natively after this divergence. Carnatic music
3572-482: The Vedic texts composed in the 2nd-millennium BCE appear just once. The study of Nirukta can be traced to the last centuries of the 2nd-millennium BCE Brahmanas layer of the Vedic texts. The most celebrated scholar of this field is Yāska , who wrote the Nighaṇṭu (book of glossary), the first book on this field. His text is also referred simply as Nirukta . The study of Nirukta has been closely related to
3648-502: The Yadava dynasty in Maharashtra , mentions and discusses ragas and talas . He identifies seven tala families, then subdivides them into rhythmic ratios, presenting a methodology for improvization and composition that continues to inspire modern era Indian musicians. Sangitaratnakara is one of the most complete historic medieval era Hindu treatises on this subject that has survived into
3724-428: The ancillary Vedic science of Vyakarana , but they have a different focus. Vyakarana deals with linguistic analysis to establish the exact form of words to properly express ideas, while Nirukta focuses on linguistic analysis to help establish the proper meaning of the words, given the context they are used in. Yaska asserts that the prerequisite to the study of Nirukta is the study of Vyakarana . The texts of
3800-429: The artist may rely on simple expression, or may add ornamentations yet express the same essential message but evoke a different intensity of mood. A raga has a given set of notes, on a scale, ordered in melodies with musical motifs. A musician playing a raga , states Bruno Nettl , may traditionally use just these notes, but is free to emphasize or improvise certain degrees of the scale. The Indian tradition suggests
3876-530: The attached table. The classical music tradition of the ancient and medieval Indian subcontinent (modern Bangladesh, India, Pakistan) were a generally integrated system through the 14th century, after which the socio-political turmoil of the Delhi Sultanate era isolated the north from the south. The music traditions of the North and South India were not considered distinct until about the 16th century, but after that
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#17329160568233952-536: The beat patterns. As with Carnatic music, Hindustani music has assimilated various folk tunes. For example, ragas such as Kafi and Jaijaiwanti are based on folk tunes. Hindustani music has had Arab and Persian music influences, including the creation of new ragas and the development of instruments such as the sitar and sarod. The nature of these influences are unclear. Scholars have attempted to study Arabic maqam (also spelled makam ) of Arabian peninsula, Turkey and northern Africa, and dastgah of Iran, to discern
4028-435: The context they were used to propose what the archaic words could have meant. Don't memorize, seek the meaning What has been taken [from the teacher's mouth] but not understood, is uttered by mere [memory] recitation, it never flares up, like dry firewood without fire. Many a one, [although] seeing, do not see Speech, many a one, [although] hearing, do not hear Her, and many a one, She spreads out [Her] body, like
4104-521: The different world music systems. One of the earliest known discussions of Persian maqam and Indian ragas is by the late 16th century scholar Pundarika Vittala. He states that Persian maqams in use in his times had been derived from older Indian ragas (or mela ), and he specifically maps over a dozen maqam . For example, Vittala states that the Hijaz maqam was derived from the Asaveri raga , and Jangula
4180-512: The domains of tune and scale, and it is best conceptualized as a "unique array of melodic features, mapped to and organized for a unique aesthetic sentiment in the listener". The goal of a raga and its artist is to create rasa (essence, feeling, atmosphere) with music, as classical Indian dance does with performance arts. In the Indian tradition, classical dances are performed with music set to various ragas . According to David Nelson – an Ethnomusicology scholar specializing in Carnatic music,
4256-453: The eastern part of India is Odissi music , which has evolved over the last two thousand years. The roots of the classical music of India are found in the Vedic literature of Hinduism and the ancient Natyashastra , the classic Sanskrit text on performing arts by Bharata Muni . The 13th century Sanskrit text Sangeeta-Ratnakara of Sarangadeva is regarded as the definitive text by both
4332-453: The etymological interpretation of a word, also the name of such works. The related Sanskrit noun niruktiḥ means "poetical derivation" or "explanation of a word." The field of Nirukta deals with ascertaining the meaning of words, particularly of archaic words no longer in use, ones created long ago and even then rarely used. The Vedic literature from the 2nd millennium BCE has a very large collection of such words, with nearly 25% of
4408-530: The first sixty years of his life with patronage of the Hindu king Ram Chand of Gwalior , and thereafter performed at the Muslim court of Akbar. Many musicians consider Tansen as the founder of Hindustani music. Tansen's style and innovations inspired many, and many modern gharanas (Hindustani music teaching houses) link themselves to his lineage. The Muslim courts discouraged Sanskrit, and encouraged technical music. Such constraints led Hindustani music to evolve in
4484-540: The first that is "sa" , and the fifth that is "pa" , are considered anchors that are unalterable, while the remaining have flavors that differs between the two major systems. Contemporary Indian music schools follow notations and classifications (see melakarta and thaat ). Thaat, used in Hindustani, is generally based on a flawed but still useful notation system created by Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande . According to Yukteshwar Kumar, elements of Indian music arrived in China in
4560-488: The gods mentioned were viewed as symbolism for legendary individuals or narratives. It was generally accepted that creative poets often embed and express double meanings, ellipses and novel ideas to inspire the reader. Nirukta enables one to identify alternate embedded meanings that poets and writers may have included in old texts. Many examples of the rhetorical use of nirukta occur in Bhaskararaya 's commentaries. Here
4636-497: The idiophone in the form of "small bronze cymbals" were used for tala . Almost the entire chapter of Natyashastra on idiophones, by Bharata, is a theoretical treatise on the system of tala . Time keeping with idiophones was considered a separate function than that of percussion (membranophones), in the early Indian thought on music theory . The early 13th century Sanskrit text Sangitaratnakara (literally, "Ocean of Music and Dance"), by Sarngadeva patronized by King Sighana of
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#17329160568234712-404: The important historic scholars of Carnatic music. According to Eleanor Zelliot , Tyagaraja is known in the Carnatic tradition as one of its greatest composers, and he reverentially acknowledged the influence of Purandara Dasa. A common belief is that Carnatic music represents a more ancient and refined approach to classical music, whereas Hindustani music has evolved by external influences. It
4788-458: The lower octave notes. The Antara part uses the middle octave's second tetrachord and the higher octave notes. The Sanchari part is the development phase, which builds using parts of Sthayi and Antara already played, and it uses melodic material built with all the three octave notes. The Abhoga is the concluding section, that brings the listener back to the familiar starting point of Sthayi, albeit with rhythmic variations, with diminished notes like
4864-542: The metrical structure that repeats, in a cyclical harmony, from the start to end of any particular song or dance segment, making it conceptually analogous to meters in Western music. However, talas have certain qualitative features that classical European musical meters do not. For example, some talas are much longer than any classical Western meter, such as a framework based on 29 beats whose cycle takes about 45 seconds to complete when performed. Another sophistication in talas
4940-768: The modern era, many original works on Indian music are believed to be lost, and are known to have existed only because they are quoted and discussed in other manuscripts on classical Indian music. Many of the encyclopedic Puranas contain large chapters on music theory and instruments, such as the Bhagavata Purana , the Markandeya Purana , the Vayu Purana , the Linga Purana , and the Visnudharmottara Purana . The most cited and influential among these texts are
5016-978: The modern era, that relates to the structure, technique and reasoning behind ragas and talas . The centrality and significance of music in ancient and early medieval India is also expressed in numerous temple and shrine reliefs , in Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism , such as through the carving of musicians with cymbals at the fifth century Pavaya temple sculpture near Gwalior , and the Ellora Caves . The post-Vedic era historical literature relating to Indian classical music has been extensive. The ancient and medieval texts are primarily in Sanskrit (Hinduism), but major reviews of music theory, instruments and practice were also composed in regional languages such as Kannada , Odia , Pali (Buddhism), Prakrit (Jainism), Tamil and Telugu . While numerous manuscripts have survived into
5092-557: The musical meter too, without the kind of elaboration found in the Samaveda . For example, the Gayatri mantra contains three metric lines of exactly eight syllables, with an embedded ternary rhythm. In the ancient traditions of Hinduism, two musical genre appeared, namely Gandharva (formal, composed, ceremonial music) and Gana (informal, improvised, entertainment music). The Gandharva music also implied celestial, divine associations, while
5168-406: The musical scale as follows, तत्र स्वराः – षड्जश्च ऋषभश्चैव गान्धारो मध्यमस्तथा । पञ्चमो धैवतश्चैव सप्तमोऽथ निषादवान् ॥ २१॥ These seven degrees are shared by both major raga systems , that is the North Indian (Hindustani) and South Indian (Carnatic) systems. The solfege ( sargam ) is learnt in abbreviated form: sa, ri (Carnatic) or re (Hindustani), ga, ma, pa, dha, ni, sa . Of these,
5244-550: The names of different ragas. The specific code of a song clearly tells us what combination of swaras are present in a specific song. The lyrical part of the song is called "sahityam" and sahityam is just like singing the swaras altogether but using the lyrics of the song. The code in the form of swaras have even the notation of which note to be sung high and which one low. The hymns of Samaveda contain melodic content, form, rhythm and metric organization. This structure is, however, not unique or limited to Samaveda . The Rigveda embeds
5320-406: The nature and extent. Through the colonial era and until the 1960s, the attempt was to theoretically study ragas and maqams and suggested commonalities. Later comparative musicology studies, states Bruno Nettl – a professor of music, have found the similarities between classical Indian music and European music as well, raising the question about the point of similarities and of departures between
5396-587: The tanpura traditionally falls to a student of the soloist. Other instruments for accompaniment include the sarangi and the harmonium . Indian classical music is both elaborate and expressive. Like Western classical music , it divides the octave into 12 semitones of which the 7 basic notes are, in ascending tonal order, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni for Hindustani music and Sa Ri Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni for Carnatic music, similar to Western music's Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti . However, Indian music uses just-intonation tuning, unlike some modern Western classical music, which uses
5472-406: The traditions acquired distinct forms. North Indian classical music is called Hindustani , while the South Indian expression is called Carnatic (sometimes spelled as Karnatic ). According to Nazir Ali Jairazbhoy , the North Indian tradition acquired its modern form after the 14th or the 15th century. Indian classical music has historically adopted and evolved with many regional styles, such as
5548-492: The words therein being used just once. By the 1st millennium BCE, interpreting and understanding what the Vedas meant had become a challenge, and Nirukta attempted to systematically propose theories on how words form, and then determine their meaning in order to understand the Vedas. Yaska, the sage who likely lived around the 7th–5th century BCE, approached this problem through a semantic analysis of words, by breaking them down into their components, and then combined them in
5624-546: Was a monk and a devotee of the Hindu god Krishna (Vishnu, Vittal avatar). He systematised classical Indian music theory and developed exercises for musicians to learn and perfect their art. He travelled widely sharing and teaching his ideas, and influenced numerous South Indian and Maharashtra Bhakti movement musicians. These exercises, his teachings about raga , and his systematic methodology called Suladi Sapta Tala (literally, "primordial seven talas") remains in use in contemporary times. The efforts of Purandara Dasa in
5700-464: Was derived from the Bangal . In 1941, Haidar Rizvi questioned this and stated that influence was in the other direction, Middle Eastern maqams were turned into Indian ragas , such as Zangulah maqam becoming Jangla raga . According to John Baily – a professor of ethnomusicology, there is evidence that the traffic of musical ideas were both ways, because Persian records confirm that Indian musicians were
5776-612: Was finalized, the ancient Indian traditions had classified musical instruments into four groups based on their acoustic principle (how they work, rather than the material they are made of) for example flute which works with gracious in and out flow of air. These four categories are accepted as given and are four separate chapters in the Natyashastra , one each on stringed instruments (chordophones ), hollow instruments ( aerophones ), solid instruments ( idiophones ), and covered instruments ( membranophones ). Of these, states Levis Rowell,
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