Essay on Indian Music

The Mandinka society consist of the Jali, that is an oral historian this is seen to a role held throughout parts in western Africa. The kora is a harp-lute or bridge harp that is played by the Jali. The kora is similar to the harp. Just like the harp, the kora lie in a plane which is perpendicular to the face. The regular kora has 21 strings, which consist of 10 on the right and 11 on the left. The performer has two distinct sections, that are referred to the birimintingo and the kumbengo that allows the performer show his skill as a musician and as a praise singer. The birimintingo section is marked for solo runs on the kora. During teh kumbengo section the perfor repeats a steady pattern on the Kora while singing praises that relate to the history of the Mandinka or of individual family lineages. The kumbengo rhythms demonstrate the tendency of African musicians to use polyrhythm in the performance. During site 7 we hear a lower and an upper part. The lower represents a root rhythmic pattern, while the upper part interlocks with it and produces a cross rhythm. The repetition of the mumbengo allows the performer to focus on singing, trying to keep the performer of thinking about the kora performance. During the birimintingo section, the kumbengo is usually maintained in the lower part by the thumbs while the fingers play the upper melodic

While Carnatic music is sung and performed in only one style, there are various styles of singing and performing in Hindustani music. Each style of school is called a ‘gharana’.

The rhythm is a strong and repeated pattern of sound, and is typically played by percussion instruments. In Olatunji’s “Oya (Primitive Fire)”, the rhythm varies depending on the section in the song. In the introduction of the song, the rhythm is set by the drums playing a quick and repetitive progression. Soon, the song transforms into a more complex figure where the Nigerian shekere takes over the rhythm. The rhythm is simple and consists of three counts per measure. This is the constant rhythm throughout the rest of the song as everything else is built upon it. The rhythm is similar yet not the same as western music. Olatunji realized that drums in western music plays a similar role as to what he is accustomed to. Western music still utilized drums as a primary rhythmic instrument, but the song as a whole contained more instruments built up on it, such as pianos or guitars. Although the use of the drum is similar, Olatunji was more familiar with percussion being the main instrument of the entire

Gamelan is thought to come form a Javenese word gamel, which means ‘ to handle’ (Sumarasam 1995 :319-320). It also refers to a type of hammer particularly appropriate for metal percussion instrument that dominate gamelan ensemble because of the way the instruments are made and played. The instruments originated probably from northern Vietnam, where visitors brought bronze object and technology in about 300 B.C and possibly rice cultivation technology as well. (Hood 1980: 122)

For centuries upon centuries, dance has been used as a form as expression. Whether it be religiously to please and entertain the gods, or as a form of entertainment for the townspeople, dance has brought joy to countless people. Because dance doesn’t leave a written history trail it is assumed, but not proven, to have originated over 2500 years ago. However, dance continues to evolve even today. Take for example the odissi dance from India that is almost two thousand years old versus the bachata dance from Dominican Republic that is only about 50 years old. Both of these dances originated in complete separate parts of the world at very

It’s a boost to my confidence that I’m often the featured solo singer at festivals. I was awarded a Gold Coin Award for my performance, as well as placed consistently as a finalist in Charlotte Indian Idol. A fusion of traditional and contemporary modalities is my unique and recognized style in Carnatic music. I also am encouraged to sing when gathering with friends and family. Family gatherings often include singing together. In my formative years, these get-togethers provided many opportunities for me learn and sing new songs. Learning languages came easily to me. In fact, I am fluent in three languages (Hindi, Sanskrit and Telugu) largely by singing these traditional Indian songs. I love seeing little kids dance and sing along and how my grandparents are visibly moved by these songs, since they bring back fond memories of earlier years. Music and lyrics play a profound role no matter one’s age. Children listen to their mothers singling lullabies to fall asleep and the elderly rely on songs to bring back the past. Singing together unites us all and fosters strong connections including

The dance-drama Kecak is not in a sense authentic to the Balinese culture. It is customary for dances to be accompanied by the instrumental music of the gamelan. The Kecak however, is set to the rhythm of a chanting chorus called a gamelan suara. The chants that go along with this performance

The song I choose from my personal collection is, “Hua Hain Aaj Pehli Baar”, it is an Indian song. This song uses piano, and guitar as the instruments. This song also has many musical features. One of them is the homophonic texture. There is background instrument playing as well the singer singing at the same time. Also there are many vocables use throughout the song: “aah oohh nanana…”. The vocables were played with instruments in the background. This song has duple meter; just when the song starts the instrument stars playing in a pattern of (1-2-3-4).There are two different verse the first begins with different and louder instruments (Hua Hain Aaj Pehli Baar..) then when the singer sing different line the background music changes and becomes

There are few, if any, religions that put so much emphasis on music as Hinduism. Admittedly worship stands with emphasis strongly in several religions wherein for instance gods are linked to certain musical instruments. Hindu music is, like other continents music, a product of a historical process. We can assume that Hindu civilization has had rituals where text recitation has been an important element for them.

Irving Wardle’s scrutiny on the musical Ipi-Tombi engendered the attention that, this musical was homogenised or simplified in terms of Africa. This is conducted through Westernised societies’ beliefs of the ‘primitive’ African ways, believing that African music’s aesthetics are exceptionally simplistic and their naive reasoning of how they made music with dustbin lids and coke cans, instead, of their astonishing hand-carved traditional instruments (Wardle, 1975). The generalisation of the African community and their physical attributes in terms of Saartje Baartman are also prevalent, as well as the indistinguishable and plotless segment containing constant smiling, singing and dancing, that, Bertha Egnos signified in her so-called “Tourist

The official name of Madagascar is the Republic of Madagascar, and it is considered an island country that is off the east coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean. Madagascar is widely known for the traditional music that is played, and it is influenced from various horizons. Traditional music can have a sacred or celebratory value to it because it can become useful to a ritual, but can also be used to enlighten the environment of the village. The music is normally modern, but has a relation to today’s pop culture which replaces traditional musicians and the melodies that are provided. This new style of Madagascan music has an underlying ternary rhythm that is usually detected in the music.

The purpose of this paper is to simply explore the world music aspects of the song “Jai-Ho” a piece that combines music styles from around the world containing Western and non-Western musical aspects. The reason I chose this song as my topic is because it is a popular song in America although it does contain many different cultural influences. Growing up I have been exposed to Rap, R&B, and Pop music, sometimes even a combination of all three. This music is what I prefer the most out of the vast majority of labels given to describe songs’ musical aspects. About seven years ago, I remember hearing the song “Jai-Ho” coming from the speakers of my television as my dad watched the movie “Slum Dog Millionaire” I remember the fast pace rhythm, the

Indian classical music is one of the oldest forms of music in the world. It is rooted in antiquity, with traces of its origin found in areas such as the ancient religious Vedic hymns, tribal chants, devotional temple music, and folk music. Indian music is melodic in nature, as opposed to Western music which is harmonic. The most important point to note is that movements in Indian classical music are on a one-note-at-a-time basis. This progression of sound patterns along time is the most significant contributor to the tune and rhythm of the presentation, and hence to the melody. Indian music can be further distinguished into two main streams of Hindustani (Northern Indian) and Carnatic (Southern Indian). The origins and fundamental concepts of both these types of music are the same, although the prime form of music here is the ancient complex patterns of melody called raga merged with Talas or rhythm that affects energy centres laying emphasis as a tool of meditation for self-realization.

Artists like Azam Khan,Firoz Shai(deceased),Fakir Alamgir,Happy Akand(deceased),Kumar Biswajit,Andrue Kishore are still famous to a huge number of audience for their creative style of singing and unique compositions.

India is doubtlessly a country with a long history and an even richer culture. Looking at their records of ancient pottery, sculpture of Gods, woven silk and temple dances, it is also no doubt that the arts have always been a major aspect of Indian culture. This essay will be focusing on the historical, cultural and dance elements of one particular temple dance called the Bharata-natyam. Bharata-natyam is one of the oldest and most iconic forms of Classical Indian Dance. When broken down, “Bha” means expression, “Ra” means melody, “Tha” means rhythm and “Natyam” means dance. True to its name, the dance is known for it’s earthy, graceful movements, rhythmic music and theatrical expressions. It originated from the temples of Tamil Nadu, particularly the Brhadeshvar temple found in Tanjore city, South of India. Today, it is one of the most popular and common dance to see practiced and performed in the South of India. (Venkataraman , 2002) (Bhaskar, 2016)