CONTENTS
·
History and Origins
·
Swara
·
Raga
·
Tala
·
Predominant Composers
·
Instrumentation
·
Health Benefits
·
Contribution of Carnatic Classical Music to
Music Industries.
·
Carnatic and Hindustani Classical- A Comparison
·
Influence of Western Music on Carnatic
Classical
·
Carnatic
Music Then and now
NOTE: Quotes from internet
are included
History and Origins
Carnatic Classical Music also called as
Shastriya Sangeeta or Karnatic Sangeetha is believed to be composed by
Devas and Devis in the Ancient times. Carnatic music is very prominent in the
South Regions like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala unlike
Hindustani Classical which is predominant in the northern states of India. The
roots of Carnatic and Hindustani music are from Vedic literatures of Hinduism. Ancient lipis
describe the connection of swaras (notes of Indian music) to the sounds of
animals, birds, leaves, wind, droplets of rain and other sounds of nature. Folk
music is also said to be a natural origin of Carnatic music, and many folk
songs correspond to specific Carnatic ragas.
The history of Indian classical music can be traced
back to the times of Samaveda. The Vedas are generally accepted as
the main source of Indian music. The Sama Veda is believed to have laid the foundation
for Indian music, consisting mainly the hymns of Rigveda. The
Yajur-Veda, conveys that singing was accompanied by the instrument veena.
References to classical music are found in Ramayana and Mahabharata. In the
twelfth century Hindustani and Carnatic music were divided as a result of
effect of Arabic and Persion influences and invasions. Carnatic music remained
unaffected by these as the south regions were hardly captured and cultures
didn’t lose their ethnicity.
Carnatic music has grown during the Vijayanagar Dynasty reign,
Pallava, Cholas and other kingdoms. Development in instrumental Carnatic
music took place under the rule of the kings of the Kingdom of Mysore,
Hampi, Badami etc from the eighteenth through twentieth centuries. Many
devotees, composers, music lovers have essential contribution to the
development of Carnatic Classical music. Classical Music was then used to
express an artist’s devotions to God. It was transferred from Guru to his
Shishya some known as Gharanas. Students lived with their Gurus and learnt
music from them. This knowledge was hence passed on from generation to
generation. This tradition survived in parts of the country, carried on to
places and people. It has evolved over the periods and is still evolving.
SWARA
Any music is composed of 7 essential notes-
Sa, Ri,Ga,Ma,Pa,Da,Ni. These names are the shortforms of Shadja, Rishabha,
Gandhara, Madhyama, Panchama, Dhaivata and Nishada. These notes are known as
sargam. It focuses on 3 pitches i.e svarita(normal), uddata(high) and
anudatta(low). Swara is a description of complete dimension of musical pitch.
Swara is the selected pitches using which a musician constructs the scales, ragas
and melodies. It is the basic unit of composition of Ragas.
Sargam variants:
Sa- Shadja
Ri- Shuddha, Chatushruti, Shatshruti
Ga- Shuddha, Sadharana, Antara
Ma-
Shuddha, Prati
Pa- Panchama
Da-
Shuddha, Chatushruti, Shatshruti
Ni- Shuddha, Kaishiki, Kakali
Note that Sa and Pa do not have variants.
The variants can be clearly identified and
differentiated while singing the sargams. These sargams are associated and
present in every music instruments because these swaras form the root of music.
Every tune composed, every raga made consists of these swaras and their variants
according to different emotion of the composition.
RAGA
SYSTESM
There are potentially hundreds and thousands of ragas. A raga
specifies rules and notes to move up (aarohanam) and down (avarohanam). Ragas
can include a gamaka (a shake or oscillation of a note or bending a pitch).
In Carnatic music the sampoorna ragas (those with all 7
swaras in all scales) are classified into a system called melakarta and there
are 72 melakarta ragas and 36 of those have sadharana madhyama and the
remaining have prati madhyama. Ragas maybe divided into 2 groups:
a)
Janaka Ragas (melakarta
or parent ragas)
b)
Janya Ragas (descendent
ragas of the Janaka ragas) These are further sub-classified into various
categories themselves.
Janya ragas are derived from Janaka ragas.
Some examples of
Melakarta ragas: Harikambhoji, Kalyani, Mayamalavagowla, Sankarabharanam, Todi.
Janya ragas
examples: Bhairavi, Abhogi, Kambhoji, Mohanam, Abheri.
In the Ancient
times the music scholars believed that each Raga is associated with different
seasons. For Example, Hindola raga is best sung in spring, Panchama in summer,
Sadjagrama and Takka during monsoon, Bhinnasadja in early winters and Kaisiki
in late winters. It was further dug deeper that ragas were also associated with
rhythms of each day and night. For example, pure and simple ragas to early
mornings, mixed and complex ragas to late mornings,skillful ragas to noon, love
themed and passionate ragas to evening and universal ragas to night. The
concept of raga is very beautiful. Each raga calms the mind and touches the
soul. It has an impact to the human mind and body that nothing else has. Each
raga is unique and pleasing in its own way and purifies the mind.
TALA SYSTEM
Tala is a
rhythmic beat that measures music time. Tala can be traced back to Samaveda and
Vedic hymns. Talas can be arranged in a pattern following a composition.
Adi tala is the
most common tala used here.
Tala repeats in
a cyclic harmony from start till the end of a particular song or dance segment.
Carnatic classical is a major part in Bharatanatyam. A tala can contain as
short as 3 beats to as long as 128 beats. Tala as a time cycle and raga as a
melodic framework are 2 fundamental part of Carnatic classical music.
The first beat
of a tala is the sam and an empty beat is called khali. There are a total of
108 talas known. The talas can be as long as any composition sub divided into a
time frame and pattern.
In Carnatic
music a full tala is a group of suladi talas. Each repeated cycle of a tala is
called avartan. A composition may start on first beat sam or half of a
sam(offset).
Tala doesn’t
have a fixed tempo and can be played at any speed. Carnatic music adds
categories by divisions of the pulse: Chauka( ie 1 stroke per beat), Vilamba(
ie 2 strokes per beat), Madhyama(ie 3 strokes per beat), Dhuridha(ie 4 strokes
per beat) and Adi-dhurudha(ie 16 strokes per beat).
·
Talas were
introduced to Carnatic music by Purandara dasaru. Carnatic music uses talas
classified as Chapu which has 4 talas,
Chanda which has 108 talas and Melakarta that has 72 talas.
·
Each tala can
incorporate into 5 jaatis and each tala family has a default jaati associated
with it.
·
A large body of
kritis is set to Rupaka tala(Chaturasra jaati).
·
Some kritis are
also set to Khanda Chapu(10 count) and Misra Chapu(14 count) talas.
·
Half of the
varnams are set to Ata tala(Khanda jaati)..
·
A few kritis are
set to Triputa tala(Chatusra jaati) and this is a 24 beat cycle.
Dhruva tala, Matya tala, Eka tala and Rupaka tala is by
default Chaturasra jaati, Jhampa tala is Misra jaati,Triputa tala is Tisra
jaati,Ata tala is Khanda jaati.
PREDOMINANT COMPOSERS
When it comes to the
evolution of Carnatic music and taking it forward few names are always
attached.
-->Some of the well-known pre-trinity composers (before late 18th
century) include Basavanna,Allama Prabhu, Akka Mahadevi,Purandara Dasa, Kanaka
Dasa etc. They composed in Kannada language. Marimutthu Pillai, Papanasa
Mudaliar,Muthu Thandavar were some of the Tamil composers and
Sarangapani,Paidala Gurumurti Sastri were some some of the Telugu composers.
-->Trinity-age composers (late 18th century and early 19th century) composers include Thyagaraja Swami who composed in Sanskrit and Telugu, Muthuswami Dikshitar who composed in Tamil and Sanskrit,Swami Thirunal who composed in Kannada,Tamil,Telugu,Malayalam,Sanskrit,Hindi,Braj Bhasha.
-->Trinity-age composers (late 18th century and early 19th century) composers include Thyagaraja Swami who composed in Sanskrit and Telugu, Muthuswami Dikshitar who composed in Tamil and Sanskrit,Swami Thirunal who composed in Kannada,Tamil,Telugu,Malayalam,Sanskrit,Hindi,Braj Bhasha.
-->Post-Trinity composers include Krishnarajendra Wodeyar 111 who composed
in Sanskrit, Manambuchavadi Venkatasubbayyar a cousin and disciple of
Thyagaraja who composed in Telugu and Tamil,Muthiah Bhagavatar who composed in
Tamil and Sanskrit,Veena Kuppayya a disciple of Thyagaraja composed in Telugu,
Mysore Sadasiva Rao who composed in Telugu and Sanskrit.
a)
Basavanna composed nearly 1300 Vachanas about
Kudala Sangama Deva and his main raga was Kalyani.
b)
Allama Prabhu composed nearly 1321 Vachanas
about Guheshwara in mainly Shivaranjani raga.
c)
Akka Mahadevi composed 430 Vachanas about
Chenna Mallikarjuna in mainly Bhairavi raga.
d)
Purandara Dasaru composed nearly 400000 out of
which only 2000 are known. His signature is Purandara Vitthala. He set the
Carnatic Shastreeya to what it is now and is known as “Pithamaha of Karnataka
Sangeetha”.
e)
Vadirajatirtha composed hundreds of Dasara
Pada in Kannada.
f)
Thyagaraja Swami composed 24000 compositions
out of which only 700 are available today.
INSTRUMENTS
A typical Carnatic Kachcheri will have the
following instruments:
1. Tambura
2. Harmonium
3. Veena
4. Violin
5. Ghatam
6. Mridangam
7. Tabla
8. Flute
9. Nadaswaram
10. Tala
HEALTH BENEFITS
People
have different tastes in music be it classical, rock, pop, opera etc. They are
passionate about various types of music or instruments. Some people begin their
day with music maybe by singing in the morning, listening to music while doing
household chores or exercising. Some end their day with music by falling asleep
to peaceful music. Nevertheless, music has benefited every one of us in
several ways. Music is directly related to health.
I would
like to discuss on major health benefits of listening to classical music.
Classical music is believed to reduce blood pressure and stress. If anybody is
having a tiring day or stressful work listening to music can help them calm
their mind and relaxing themselves. It has psychological impacts on one’s mind.
Listening to music releases dopamine, a happy hormone or feel good hormone. We
listen to different kinds of music based on our moods. When we’re happy we
listen to happy upbeat songs and same follows during exercising, when feeling
low some might listen to sad songs and some might listen to motivational songs.
There are different songs for different minds. It is surprising yet true that
music can help in reducing physical pain as well. Nowadays there is no one who
doesn’t own a pair of earphones or headphones. While walking, travelling, doing
home works everywhere we listen to music. It’s believed that listening to music
improve productivity. Music also helps in reducing anxiety and fighting
depression. People bond by the types of music they like hence music improves
social connections. Music is a wonder. It can make us smile, laugh, cry,
remember certain events and possible make us feel all sorts of emotions one can
ever feel basically there is music for every emotion. It is really surprising
that music alters our genes. Classical music or music doesn’t need any language
to communicate. It automatically reaches the soul and does wonders to our body
and mind. Like it is popularly said that life would be a mistake without music
in it.
CONTRIBUTION OF CARNATIC CLASSICAL MUSIC
Carnatic Classical and Hindustani Classical have a huge contribution to
the Music Industry now. Every song we hear is based on some raga. It’s base
relies on a raga and a tala. Let us take a look on a few movie songs based on
Carnatic ragas.
1.
Bombeyaatavayya from the movie Shruti
Seridaga is based on Chaarukeshi raga. This raga gives the feeling of Patho and
Bhakti.
2.
Bhuvaneshwariya song from the movie Mareyada
Hadu composed by Muthaiah Bhagavatar is Mohanakalyani raga which is a
combination of mohana and kalyani raga.
3.
Bole re papi from the movie Guddi is based on
Darbari kanada raga. This raga is called as Raaga Kaanada in Yakshagana. This
raga is believed to be originated in Carnatic music and take to Hindustani by
Tansen when he performed in the court of Akbar.
4.
Ek
Chatur naar sung by the legend Kishore Kumar is a composition in Hari Kambhodhi
raga. It is the 28th Melakarta raga. Only Thyagaraja has composed in
this raga in among the trinity composers.
5.
Kuhu Kuhu Bole Koyaliya a very beautiful song
sung by Lata Mangeshkar ji is composed using 4 ragas- Hamsanandi, Kanada,
Jonpuri, and Kalyani.
6.
Nadayama from the movie Jeevana Chaithra is
mainly composed of raga Todi then there comes ragas like Mohana,Darbari Kanada
and Hamsanandi entering in the verse.
7.
Other film songs Banallu Neenu from the movie
Bayalu Dari and Madhuvana Karedare from the movie Inthi Ninna Preethiya are composed
using the raga Mohana as base. Zara Zara from the movie Rehna Hai Tere Dil mein
is based on Natabhairavi raga.
CARNATIC AND HINDUSTANI CLASSICAL
The ragas
in Carnatic and Hindustani ragas are almost same. Certain ragas were originated
in Carnatic Shastreeya and then taken to Hindustani classical and vice versa.
Some Carnatic ragas are derived from Hindustani and vice versa. For example,
Darbari Kanada raga is derived from Hindustani music. Ragas like Thodi/Todi,
Dwijavanthi, Reethigowlai are typical Carnatic ragas.
Let us see
the names on Carnatic ragas(left) and their equivalent names in Hindustani Classical(right).
Carnatic Hindustani
Kalyani
|
Yaman
|
Mohana
|
Bhupali
|
Abheri
|
Bhimpalsi
|
Mayamalavagaula
|
Bhairav
|
Hindolam
|
Malkauns
|
Sindhu Bhairavi
|
Bhairavi
|
Shubhapanthuvarali
|
Todi
|
Kaphi
|
Pilu
|
Chakravakam
|
Ahir Bhairav
|
There are a few examples of ragas with similar names for example Vasanta
in Carnatic and Basant in Hindustani but are totally different in swaras. There
is raga Todi in both Carnatic and Hindustani with the same name but different
in swaras.
The ragas mentioned above in the table are very similar in their swaras
and notes, but they are sung differently. Hindustani is more of a free flowing
and following the intuition of aalap of the raga and Carnatic is focused more
on the staying in the tala and variations/gamakas of the raga. Both have their
own unique style yet both are pleasing in their own ways.
INFLUENCE OF WESTERN MUSIC ON CARNATIC
CLASSICAL
Sargams Sa
Re Ga Ma Pa Da Na are Do Ra Mi Fa So La Ti in the Western Classical music.
There care only be 7 swaras just differing by the name or notations. These 7
swaras form the entire world of music. Mankind has created beautiful heart
touching music pieces with just these sargams. Western culture has wisely
incorporated the Carnatic or Indian Classical instruments and the gamakas in
their music.
Carnatic
music definitely influenced Western music and also vice versa. It was during
the 60’s that Indian music was coming to be known in the Western countries.
There were certain rock bands that were exploring and experimenting with the
ragas and the instruments. An example is The Yardbird’s “Heart full of soul”.
On listening to the song in YouTube we can see that the music is based on
sitar. It is specially released as the sitar version of the song.
Muthuswami
Dikshitar has contributed to Carnatic classical which includes nottuswara. The
nottuswaras are the 39 compositions of Muthuswami Dikshitar during the Company
rule and these were compositions inspired by Irish and Scots tunes. All the
compositions were composed in C major scales and Sanskrit lyrics. Nottuswara
can also mean compositions based on Western notes. Violin used for Carnatic
concerts were first introduced by Muthuswami Dikshitar’s younger brother
Baluswami Dikshitar who first heard the instrument used in a British Band in
Colonial Madras. He learnt it and adapted it in Carnatic music. The Colonial Rule
certainly had a little hand in developing Carnatic music to what it is today.
CARNATIC MUSIC THEN AND NOW
Classical music is believed to have originated
during the Samaveda times. Purandara Dasaru is known as the “Father of Carnatic
Music” when he introduced it around 1600 AD. It has undergone so many changes
and influences and has been evolved till date. Today all over the world people
follow music. Different kinds of music come forward and collaborated together
to form fusions and band.
The
traditional Carnatic musical instruments have been in use and also have been
replaced by modern instruments like acoustic and electric guitar, drums,
saxophone etc. in Carnatic classical concerts. The traditional instruments like
table, violin, flute are used in the musicals of compositions other than
classical music. There has been a vast change that is fusion. Instruments and
vocalists are continuously experimenting with Shastreeya and western and light
music. A typical sitar used for a concert is also in an electric sitar, a
combination of a guitar and a sitar. Rock band, fusion bands have formed which
combine Carnatic classical with their rock music and present on a stage. People
have liked it also and this change is continuously happening.
Earlier a Kachcheri was held in presence of a
king and his kingdom in a native way comprising of only devotional compositions
and a tanpura. Now Carnatic sargams and alaaps are being widely used in the
film industries to form melodies. Nowadays people buy tickets to their
favourite kachcheri or concert eagerly to listen to a new piece or composition.
The ragas are extensively being used in creating ineffable melodies. Western
melodies and beats are rerecorded using just sargams for example a popular song
Shape of you by Ed Sheeran has so many versions one that is the Carnatic
classical version with sargams. It is very pleasing that the music industry is
coming together to create wonders and producing astounding music using creation
and fusion. Rock bands, Indie Pop bands, fusion bands are all experimenting
with classical music and not disappointing us. Musical instruments are developing combining
classical and rock feels in it. Music is something that will keep on evolving
and it should evolve for the betterment and pleasing the mankind as well as the
nature.
“Music gives soul to
the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to
everything.” - Plato
“After silence, that
which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.” – Aldous Huxley.
Amazing work!!! ❤️
ReplyDeleteThank you <3:)
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