The Music of India
India was colonized by the British but was able to retain its culture.
The dawn of the Vedic period ushered the history of Indian music starting in the second millennium B.C Music for Indian People is a sacred art relating to their gods and goddesses.
Traditional Indian music originated from the religious literature of the Argans which is found in a book called Veda. There are four Vedas - the Rig Veda, the Sama Veda, the Yajur Veda, and the Atharva Veda. The oldest of the four Vedas is the Rig Veda.
Music is a way of life for the Indians. It is functional and is used in events like childbirth, marriage, and death. it is also used in planting and harvesting. Music serves a specific purpose.
The Musical Elements of Indian Music
The dawn of the Vedic period ushered the history of Indian music starting in the second millennium B.C Music for Indian People is a sacred art relating to their gods and goddesses.Traditional Indian music originated from the religious literature of the Argans which is found in a book called Veda. There are four Vedas - the Rig Veda, the Sama Veda, the Yajur Veda, and the Atharva Veda. The oldest of the four Vedas is the Rig Veda.
Music is a way of life for the Indians. It is functional and is used in events like childbirth, marriage, and death. it is also used in planting and harvesting. Music serves a specific purpose.
The Musical Elements of Indian Music
- Raga- is arrangement of musical notes in aesthetic combination of ascent and descent. It is much more specialized tonal frame than a mode. Raga is a prescribed selection of pitches which serves as the melodic framework of an Indian song or instrumental piece.
- The Tala- is a time cycle structure which evolves out of the arrangement of rhythmic units. it is simply a time measure. It refers to a material cycle of beats which is constantly repeated throughout the piece or throughout certain section of a musical composition.
- The drone- is the third musical element of Indian Music. It is the sound made by the stringed instrument that accompanies the melody of the raga. It is heard throughout the duration of the performance. It unifies the Indian musical composition. The tambura, a stringed instrument, plays the drone.
- The Rasa- is a Sanskrit term which literally means taste or prevailing sentiments. In Indian music, rasa refers to sentiments: feelings and emotions expressed by the music. some of these are love, loneliness, peace, and anger. One particular sentiment or feeling is supposed to predominate in every musical piece.
India has a long history of traditional music, divided into two cultural styles, the Hindustani or Northern Indian style, and the Carnatic or Southern Indian Style. The essential and spiritual characteristics of the two are basically the same, but the northern style has been influenced to some extent by foreign elements.