Indian Music Essays -- Music History Musical Arts Essays India

Indian harmony The music of India is one of the oldest unspoken musical traditions in the world. The basis of for Indian music is sangeet. Sangeet is a combination of three art forms vocal music, submissive music (Indian music). Indian music is base upon seven modes (scales). It is probably no coincidence that Greek music is similarly base upon seven modes. Furthermore, the Indian scales follow the same process of modulation (murchana) that was found in quaint Greek music. Since Greece is also Indo-European, this is another piece of evidence for the Indo-European alliance (Dance and music of India). The vocal tradition is especially strong in Indian music. It is infrastood that the song is probably the nearly ancient form of music. song music occupies a considerable part of Natya Shastra (Indian music). The samaveda is the oldest musical text in India. well-nigh of the classical songs of north India are devotional in nature, and thither are few genres which are especially oriented toward religion. Most notable is the bhajan, dhun or kirtan for Hindus, the kawali (qawali) for Muslims, and the shabad for Sikhs (Indian music). Not all the music is serious for there are also many popular genres. The gazal is one style, which is known for it gamey poetic, and romantic content. The Hindi geet which is basically just a song and undoubtedly the most popular is the film song (Indian music). There are also a few genres which are oriented specifically toward musical education. The most notable example is a genre called lakshan geet. In this style the lyric poem of the song actually describe the rag which is being performed (Indian music). India also has a rich tradition of folk music. These will vary from region to region. subservient music occupies an important position in Indian music. It is one of the soprano aspects of sangeet and has a very ancient history. Instrumental music is known as vadhya sangeet (India, dance and music). Over the years they have become formalized into quaternion major instrumental styles known as alap, jor, gat and jhala (India, dance and music). The alap is a slow pulsation less elaboration upon the rag. The jor is a section that has rhythm but no developed rhythmic cycle (i.e., tal). The gat is the in full developed piece, while the jhala is a fast rhythmic interplay between the jabbing strings and the main acting strings (Indian music). The... ...e plucked with a equip finger plectrum called mizrab. There are also a serial of sympathetic strings lying under the frets. These strings are approximately never played but they vibrate whenever the corresponding note is sounded. The frets are metal rods, which have been bent into crescents. The main resonator is usually make of a gourd and there is sometimes an additional resonator given to the neck (Indian music). Another famous music instrument is tabla. Tabla is a straddle of drums. It consists of a small right hand drum called dayan and a large metal one called bayan. The tabla has an interesting construction. The dayan (right hand drum) is almost always do of wood. The diameter at the membrane may run from just under five inches to over six inches. The bayan (left hand drum) may be make of iron, aluminium, copper, steel, or clay yet brass with a nickel or chrome plate is the most common material. Undoubtedly the most physical contact characteristic of the tabla is the large black spot on each of the playing surfaces. These black spots are a mixture of gum, soot, and iron filings. Their matter is to create the bell-like timbre that is characteristic of the instrument. (Carnatic music).