The Development of Music

The Development of Music

• Music is a form of art which uses sound and silence to propagates some sense.
• Common elements of music are pitch (which controls melody and harmony), rhythm (and its associated concepts of tempo, meter, and articulation), dynamics, and the sound properties of time and texture.
• Creation, performance, significance and even the definition of music keep changing according to the culture and social context. Music ranges from strictly organized compositions (and their reproductions in performance) to ornate pieces through improvised music.
• Music can be divided into genres and subgenres, although the dividing lines and relationships between musical genres are often subtle, sometimes open to individual interpretation, and sometimes controversial.
• Within “art,” music can be classified as a performing art, a fine art, and a listening art.

The origin of music in humans:

• According to a study, humans probably began singing after the development of speech during the Paleolithic era, about 2.5 million years ago.
• Evidence suggests that the ability to play musical instruments originated about 40,000 years ago, exemplified by the discovery of a flute made from animal bone with seven holes.

Musical Notes/Notations:

• It is believed that musical notes (‘sa, re, ga, ma, pa, da, ni’) originated in India during the Vedic period (1500-600 BCE), which formed the basis of Indian classical music traditions.
• “Musical tonal systems were independently established in Europe and the Middle East around the 9th century BCE, using locative tones (do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti).

Development of Indian Music System:

• Indian music developed in ancient, medieval and modern times.

Development of Indian music in ancient times:

Origins in the Samaveda:

• The importance of Samaveda is much more from the point of view of music. This was the beginning of Indian music. The ragas of the Samaveda evolved from both religious and cultural influences.
• Narada Muni introduced humanity to the art of music and gave the knowledge of Naada Brahma, which is the sound pervading the universe.

Development of Vedic Music:

• Initially focused on single notes, Vedic music incorporated two and then three notes respectively.
• This development resulted in the establishment of the seven basic notes (sapta swaras), which formed the basis of Indian classical music.
• Vedic hymns were an integral part of religious rituals such as yajna, where they were sung and danced to the accompaniment of string and percussion instruments.

Early Tamil contributions:

• Scholars such as Ilango Adigal and Mahendra Varma made significant contributions to musical thought in ancient Tamil culture, which finds mention in texts such as Silappadi Karam and Kudumiyamalai inscriptions.
• Ancient Tamil texts such as Karunamrita Sagara provide an understanding of the ragas and the sthayi (octave) srutis and swara sthanas represented by the various’ panis’.

Development of Indian Music in the Middle Ages:

The integrated music system:

• By the 13th century, India maintained a coherent musical system based on fundamental principles such as saptaswara (seven notes), saptaka and sruti (subtle notes).

The introduction of words:

• Haripal coined the terms Hindustani and Carnatic music, reflecting the differences between northern and southern musical traditions.

Influence of Muslim rule:

• With the advent of Muslim rulers in North India, Indian music absorbed the influences of Arab and Persian musical systems. This interaction broadened the scope of Indian musical expression.

Regional stability and prosperity.

• While cultural exchanges took place in North India; South India remained relatively isolated, where the uninterrupted development of classical music, supported by temples and Hindu kings.

The emergence of specific systems:

• Hindustani and Carnatic music developed as distinct systems, each based on Vedic principles, yet displaying unique regional flavours.

Impact of Bhakti movement:

• From the 7th century onwards, many saint singers and religious poets emerged in India, including Purandara Dasa of Karnataka, who systematised tala (rhythmic cycle) and made significant contributions to devotional song compositions.
• The classification of ragas became clear during this era, laying the foundation for the musical structure that defined Indian classical music.

Expansion and refinement:

• This era saw a significant increase in the quality and quantity of musical forms including ragas, talas (rhythmic cycles) and musical instruments.

The emergence of musical styles:

• Compositional styles such as khayal, thumri and tarana gained prominence during this period, contributing to the diverse repertoire of Hindustani classical music.

The Household:

• It was during this period that distinct musical traditions flourished known as gharanas such as Agra, Gwalior, Jaipur, Kirana and Lucknow, each of which contributed unique stylistic elements to Hindustani music.

The Development of Indian Music in Modern Times:

The great musician:

• Eminent musicians like Ustad Alladiya Khan, Pandit Omkarnath Thakur, Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar and Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan emerged as icons of 20th century Hindustani music and enriched the tradition with their dexterity and innovation.

Protection through notation:

• The advent of notation systems ensured the preservation and accessibility of musical compositions for different generations, thereby safeguarding the priceless musical heritage.

Consolidation of Hindustani ragas:

• Pandit Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande played an important role in organizing Hindustani ragas under the ‘Thaat’ system and created a structured base for music education and performance.

Scholarly works:

• Many scholarly musical genres such as kritis, swarajatis, varnas, padas, tillanas, javalis and ragamalikas were composed.
• Developing in musical and lyrical sophistication, these compositions drew inspiration from ancient texts.

Hindustani Classical Music:

• We recognize two systems of classical music: Hindustani and Carnatic.
• Carnatic music is limited to Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The name of the classical music of the rest of the country is Hindustani classical music.
• Undoubtedly, there are some areas in Karnataka and Andhra where Hindustani classical system is also practiced. It is generally believed that the music of India prior to the thirteenth century is uniform in general, which was later divided into two systems.
• Bharata’s Natya Shastra is an important landmark in the history of Indian music. Natya Shastra is a comprehensive work or treatise which is mainly about dramas but some of its chapters are about music.
• It gives us information about sargam, melody, forms and instruments. Contemporary music of the time identified two standard gamutas. They were called villages.
• The word ‘village’ is probably derived from the idea of a group or sect e.g. a village. This probably leads to the vowels being called gram. It can be roughly translated as sargams.
• At that time two villages were in vogue. One of them was called Shadj Gram and the other was called Madhyam Gram. There was only one difference between the two. To be more precise, we can say that Pancham Shadja in Madhyam Gram was one sruti below Pancham of Gram.
• Thus, sruti is a unit of measurement or a small difference between different successive taratvas within a gram or a gamut. For all practical purposes, their number is said to be 22. Supplementary sargams have been taken from each village. They are called moles. They are played or sung in a descending order. A sargam has seven basic notes, so there can be seven notes.
• From about the eleventh century, the music of Central and West Asia began to influence the musical tradition of India. Gradually, the root of this influence deepened, and many changes took place. One of the most important changes was the disappearance of the village and the marsh.
• Around the 15th century, as this process of change became evident, the village system became obsolete. The concept of mel or thaat took its place.
• There is only one standard. All known vowels go up to a common vowel ‘sa’.
• By about the eighteenth century even the standard or pure notes of Hindustani music had diverged.
• Accepted since the eighteenth century, the current tone is– Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni.

Some of the major styles currently in vogue:

• There are ten main styles of singing in Hindustani music such as Dhrupad, Dhamar, Hori, Khayal, Tappa, Chaturang, Rasasagar, Tarana, Sargam and Thumri.

Dhupad:

• Dhupad is one of the oldest and grandest forms of Hindustani music. The name is composed of the words’ Dhruva ‘and’ Pada ‘which denote both the metrical form of the poem and the style of singing it.
• During the reign of Akbar, from Tansen and Baijubawra to the court of Raja Man Singh Tomar of Gwalior, there is evidence of proficient singers singing Dhrupad. It became the dominant form of singing in the medieval period, but in the 18th century it reached a state of decline.
• Dhrupad is a poetic form, whereby the raga is presented in a precise and detailed style. Dhrupad uses Sanskrit letters and originates from temples.
• Dhrupad compositions usually consist of 4 to 5 verses, which are sung in pairs. Generally, two male singers perform the Dhrupad style. The tanpura and pakhawaj usually accompany them. Based on vani or speech, Dhrupad singing can be further divided into four forms.

Dangari gharana:

• In this style a lot of emphasis is laid on alap. They sing in the Dagar Vani. Dagars are Muslim singers, but generally sing hymns to Hindu gods and goddesses. For example, Gundecha Bhai of Jaipur.

Darbhanga gharana:

• In this gharana, Dhrupad is sung in Khandar Vani and Gauhar Vani. They emphasize on rag-alap and at the same time compose songs on instant alap.
• The representative of this style is the Malik family. Some of the famous singers of this gharana are Ram Chatur Malik, Prem Kumar Malik and Siyaram Tiwari.

Betiya Gharana

• This gharana exhibits’ Nauhar and Khandar Vani ‘styles with some unique techniques known only to those trained within the family.
• The representative of this style is the Mishra family. The singer of this genre is- Indra Kishore Mishra. Additionally, the form of Dhrupad prevalent in Bettiah and Darbhanga styles is known as Haveli style.

Talwandi Gharana:

• Khandar Vani is sung here because this family is situated in Pakistan therefore it becomes difficult to include it in Indian music system.

The Gharana system:

• Gharana is a system of social organization linking musicians or dancers by descent or apprenticeship and adherence to particular musical style.
• The word gharana is derived from the Urdu / Hindi word ‘ghar’ which means’ family ‘or’ home ‘. It generally refers to the place from where or musical ideology has originated. Gharans reflect a broad musical classical ideology and vary from one style to another.
• It directly affects the understanding, teaching, performance and appreciation of music.
• Famous gharanas for the singing of Hindustani classical music include Agra, Gwalior, Indore, Jaipur, Kirana and Patiala.

Khyal:

• The word ‘khyal’ is derived from the Persian language, it means’ thought or imagination ‘. The emergence of this style is attributed to Amir Khusrau. This form of music is very popular among artists. Khayal is based on a color palette of short songs of two to eight lines. In general, khyal composition is also known as’ bandish ‘.
• In the 15th century, Sultan Mohammad Sharqi became the greatest patron of Khayal (Khayal). The most unique feature of khyal is the use of taans. That is why Alap is given less importance in Khayal music as compared to Dhrupad. Two types of songs are used in khyal.

Bada khyal: sung in slow tempo.

Chhota khyal: sung in fast tempo.

Extraordinary khyal compositions are performed in praise of Lord Krishna. The major gharanas under Khayal music are:

Gwalior Gharana:

• It is one of the oldest and largest khyal gharanas. It follows very strict rules because there is equal emphasis on melody and rhythm. Although its singing is very complex, it still gives preference to the performance of simple ragas. The most popular singers of this gharana are Nathu Khan and Vishnu Paluskar.

Kirana Gharana:

• This gharana is named after the ‘Kirana’ village of Rajasthan. It was founded by Nayak Gopal but the credit for popularizing it in the early 20th century goes to Abdul Karim Khan and Abdul Wahid Khan.
• The Kirana gharana is famous for its mastery over slow-paced ragas. They lay great emphasis on the melody of the composition and the clarity of the pronunciation of the text in the song. They value the use of traditional ragas or sargams. Some of the famous singers of this genre include great artists like Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and Gangu Bai Hangal.

Agra Gharana:

• According to historians, Khuda Baksh founded this gharana in the 19th century, but musicologists believe that its founder was Haji Sujan Khan.
• Faiyaz Khan revived the gharana by giving it a new and lyrical touch. Since then, it has been called Rangila Gharana. Among the prominent singers of this genre at present are great singers like C. R. Vyas and Vijay Kitchlu.

Patiala Gharana:

• Bade Fateh Ali Khan and Ali Baksh Khan started this gharana in the 19th century. It received the support of the Maharaja of Patiala in Punjab. He soon gained a reputation for ghazals, thumris and khayals.
• They emphasized the use of greater rhythm. Since his compositions had an emphasis on emotion, he was more inclined to use ornamentation or embellishments in his music. He used to emphasize on complex taans.
• The most famous musician of this gharana was Bade Ghulam Ali Khan Sahib. He was one of India’s greatest classical vocalists. He was famous for singing raag Darbari. This gharana is famous for its unique taan, gamak and gayaki of Tarana style.

Bhindi Bazar Gharana:

• Chhajju Khan, Nazir Khan and Khadim Hussain founded it in the 19th century. They gained popularity and fame as singers trained in controlling their breath for long periods of time. Using this technique, these artists can sing long intervals in a single breath. Apart from this, another major feature is that they also use some Carnatic ragas in their music.

Thumri:

• It is based on composite ragas and is generally considered to be semi-classical Indian music. Its compositions are more inspired by the Bhakti movement in that its texts generally depict the love of the gopis for Krishna. The language of its compositions is usually Hindi or Awadhi or Braj Bhasha.
• They are usually sung by female singers. It is different from other forms because there is inherent sensuality in thumri. Thumri is also used for lighter forms like Dadra, Hori, Kajri, Sawan, Jhula and Chauthi. Basically, there are two types:

Eastern Thumri: It is sung in a slow tempo.

Punjabi Thumri: It is sung in a fast-paced and lively manner.

• The main gharanas of Thumri are located in Banaras and Lucknow and the most famous voice in Thumri singing is that of Begum Akhtar who is famous for her shrill voice and boundless taan in singing.

Tappa style:

• In this style rhythm is very important because compositions are fast, subtle and complex. It originated from the folk songs of the Utavars of north-west India but was recognised as a semi-classical tonal feature when Emperor Muhammad Shah entered the Mughal court. In this, very sharp and very curved mouthpieces are used.
• Tappa is the preferred style not only of the elite but also of the humble instrumental classes. Sitting style developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
• At present, this style is almost extinct and very few people are left to follow it. Some of the famous singers of this genre are Mian Sodi, Pandit Laxman Rao of Gwalior and Shanno Khurana.

Tarana Style:

• Rhythm is very important in this style. Its structure is made up of short and often repeated ragas. It uses many words sung at a fast pace. It focuses on creating rhythmic themes and therefore requires special training and skills in rhythmic manipulation for the singer.
• Currently, Pandit Ratan Mohan Sharma of the Mewati gharana is the world’s fastest tenor singer. He has also been given the title of ‘Badshah of Tarana’ (King of Tarana) by the listeners.

Dhamar-Hori style:

• Apart from Dhrupad tala, this style is very similar to Dhrupad. It is a very organised style and consists of a cycle of 14 beats which are used irregularly. Its compositions are generally devotional in nature and are related to Lord Krishna. Some of the more popular songs are related to the Holi festival, which is why many of his compositions show eroticism.

Ghazal:

• Ghazal is a poetic form which can be seen as a poetic expression of the pain of loss or separation and the beauty of love in spite of that pain. It is believed to have originated in Iran in the 10th century.
• It spread to South Asia in the 12th century under the influence of Sufi mystics and the courts of the new Islamic Sultanate, but reached its zenith during the Mughal period. It is believed that Amir Khusrau was one of the earliest exponents of the ghazal. Many prominent historical ghazal poets either called themselves Sufis (such as Rumi or Hafiz), or sympathized with Sufi ideas.
• Ghazals have only one theme – love (especially the supreme love without any conditions). Ghazals of the Indian sub-continent are influenced by Islamic mysticism.

Carnatic Music:

• Carnatic music is a South Indian style of classical music. This music is mostly in the form of devotional music and most of the compositions in it are addressed to Hindu gods and goddesses. In Tamil language, Karnataka means ancient, traditional and pure.

The main forms of Carnatic music are:

Alankaram:

• The swaravali of the notes of an octave is called Alankaram. They are used for music practice.

Lakshanageetam:

• It is a type of song in which the classical description of the raga is done. Lyrics of Purandaradasa are sung in Karnataka.

Swarajati:

• It is a part of early music education. In this only swaras are divided into tala and raga. There are no songs or poems.

Alapana:

• Pronunciation of swaras in shape is called alapanam. This shows the nature of the work. No musical instruments are used.

The artwork:

• In the artwork the singer gets full opportunity to show his talent. There are two types of art: fast art and medium art. In a pallavi, the singer is free to choose the raga and tala.

Thillana:

• Nonsense words are used in Thillana. It is dominated by rhythm. The nonsensical words used in it are called ‘Chollukkettu’.

Padma, Javali:

• These singing styles are similar to the North Indian music styles – Thumri, Tappa, Geet etc. These genres come under Sugam Sangeet. They are sung in the middle rhythm. Padma is the main adornment and Javali is the main ornament and miracle.

Bhajan:

• This style of singing is filled with the feeling of devotion. Padavalis of saint poets like Jayadeva and Tyagaraja are sung in it.

Ragamalika:

• It contains poems with the names of the ragas. Wherever the name of the raga comes, the notes of that raga are used, from which a chain of ragas is formed.

Hindustani and Carnatic Music:

• During the development of Indian music, two distinct sub-systems emerged in the form of Hindustani and Carnatic music.
• These two words first emerged in Haripal’s’ Sangeeta Sudhakar ‘which was written in the 14th century.

Similarities:

• Both styles have a total of 12 notes, both pure and distorted. In both the styles thaat or harmony is produced by pure and distorted swaras.
• Both accept the theory of the progenitor. Both have acknowledged the importance of melody in music.
• Alaap and Taan are used in both the songs.

Differences:

• Carnatic music represents a homogeneous Indian tradition, while Hindustani music represents a heterogeneous Indian tradition.
• While Hindustani music has various gharanas like Lucknow, Jaipur, Kirana, Agra etc., Carnatic music does not have such gharanas.