preview

Music of India Essay

Decent Essays

Music of India

The music of India is a mosaic of different genres and levels of sophistication. At one extreme, classical music is performed in the urban concert halls for purely artistic reasons, and at the other, many kinds of functional rural music accompany life-cycle and agricultural rites. In between are many other musical genres of different regions of the country, reflecting the diversity of its peoples. The origins of classical music can be traced to the Natya Shastra, a Sanskrit treatise on drama, which encompasses music as well. Two classical traditions are now recognized; Hindustani in north India and Carnatic (or Karnatak) in the south. Both traditions have inspiration from the bhakti ("devotional") movements modified …show more content…

Many complex talas exist, but those ranging from 6 to 16 units are most common.
In the Hindustani khyal, a vocal concert found in north India today, the composition is generally considered an improvisational concert; normally a lengthy section is performed in a time measure so extremely slow.
Both Hindustani and Carnatic traditions also have vocal forms derived from dance and considered lighter in character. These forms, with their dance-rooted rhythms, are performed at the close of concerts. In the Carnatic system, instrumental music is based on vocal forms. The majority of Hindustani music, in contrast, is a specifically instrumental composition based on the plucking patterns of stringed instruments, especially the sitar.
The Sarangi is the premier bowed instrument of North Indian music. It began to become popluar in the mid-17th century to accompany vocal music. It still retains this vital role today. The Sarangi consists of truncated body. Like the Sarode it has a sound board of goat skin. It has three main playing strings of heavy gut. These are the ones which are bowed. It also has an addition of thirty to forty metal strings, which give the instrument it characteristic sound. Unlike the violin, in which the strings are pressed down on a fingerboard, the playing strings of the sarangi are stopped with fingernails of the left hand. Probably the best-known North Indian instrument is the Sitar. It is a long necked lute with

Get Access