Twenty centuries ago, the essential role of music of India was deemed to be purely ritualistic. Much part of Indian music is folk music. Indian classical music is said to have evolved out of the fusion of these. It is presumed that folk music existed long before the Aryans in India. Indian classical music has become unique in the world.
THE ORIGIN OF INDIAN MUSIC
The origin of Indian music is said to be rooted in the Vedas. Brahma is said to be the author of the four Vedas, of which the SamaVeda was chanted in definite musical patterns. Vedic hymns were sung in plain melody, using only 3 notes.
It took a long time for music to come to the form found in present-day (Hindustan) 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, through the Pathans and the Mughals. It is then that two schools of music resulted, the Hindustani and the Carnatic. Hindustani music adopted a scale of Swara saptaka (octave of natural notes) and Carnatic music retained the traditional octave. During this period, different styles of classical compositions such as Dhrupad, Dhamar, Khayal, etc. were contributed to Hindustani music, along with many exquisite hymns, bhajans, kirtans, etc.
Hindustani Tradition of Music
Hindustani music is a enveloping influence in Indian life. It pervades the big and small events of Indian life, from the birth of the child to it's death, religious rites and seasonal festivals. Originally, not all developments of music were transformed to writing. To keep their traditional integrity, they were imparted orally from master to pupil -- the Guru-Shishya tradition in gurukul..
Shruti and Sapaptaka
The Hindustani musical scale is said to have evolved from 3 notes to a scale of 7 primary notes, on the basis of 22 intervals. A scale is divided into 22 intervals, and these are the basis of the musical notes. The 7 notes of the scale are known to musicians as Sa - Re - Ga - Ma - Pa - Dha - Ni - sa. These 7 (Sur') notes of the scale do not have equal intervals between them. A Saptak is a group of 7 notes, divided by the intervals as follows ...
Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 ( Numbers depict the actual finger counting intervals between each sur')
The first and fifth notes (Sa and Pa) do not alter their positions on this interval. The other 5 notes can change their positions in the interval, leading to different raga'.
The combination of several notes weaved into a composition in a way which is pleasing to the ear is called a raga'. Each raga creates an atmosphere which is associated with feelings / emotions / sentiments. Any drift combination of notes cannot be called as a raga'.
raga is the basis of classical music. A raga is based on the principle of a combination of notes selected out the 22 note intervals of the octave. A performer with sufficient training and knowledge alone can create the desired emotions, through the combination of shrutis and notes.
There are a limited number of raga' in Hindustani classical music; as the use of a ``KING" note and a ``QUEEN" note is restricted to a great extent, the creation of new raga'. The raga forms the backbone of Indian music, and the laws laid down for the raga' have to be carefully observed to preserve and safeguard their integrity
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