Origin and Evolution of Classical Music:
- It is generally believed that Indian classical music has its origins in the religious observances of the Aryan people who arrived in India some 3,000 years ago
- The Aryans brought with them their sacred texts known as the Vedas, meaning ‘knowledge’ forming the core of ancient Hindu scriptures with their worship rituals largely centering on the highly structured and organised recitation of these verses.
- Thus, the roots of Indian classical music can be traced back to its origin in the recital of Vedic hymns of the Hindu temples
- There are four main Vedas, of which the one known as Samaveda (from saman, roughly translating to ‘melody’) is the most relevant – as the texts contained in it were clearly meant to be sung whilst also acting as treatises about music, dance and theatre.
- The seven swars of music – Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni represent different scriptural deities: SA – Agni, RE – Brahma, GA – Saraswati, MA – Shiva, PA – Vishnu, DHA – Ganesha, NI – Surya
- Ancient musical treatises show that by 300 BC, there was already a marked difference in classification for what was known as marga Sangeet (music of the gods) and Desi Sangeet (music of the people).
- The latter formed the basis for what evolved as folk music, varying region by region, but the former remained the sole domain of those who were considered adequately trained by a master
- The earliest treatise on music, drama and dance is Bharata’s Natyashastra
Basics of Music
- Svara: The basic scale (grama) of India music is heptatonic and it has seven notes. It has seven notes or svara- saa, re/ri, ga, ma, pa, dha, ni which Indian musicians collectively designate as saptakor saptaka.
- Sruti: A shruti is the smallest gradation of pitch available, while a swara is the selected pitches from which the musician constructs the scales, melodies and ragas. The Natya Shastra identifies and discusses twenty two shruti and seven swara per octave
- The word ‘Tala’ finds its derivation from the Sanskrit root ‘tal’, meaning the base or pivot upon which a thing rests. In Sangeet Ratnakar, defining ’Tala’ Pt. Sarangadeva says, ‘Tala’ has been derived from the Sanskrit root ‘tal’, which is the base upon which an object is fixed.
- In the same way, ‘Tala’ is the base upon which vocal, instrumental music and dance is established.
Some of the important differences between Carnatic and Hindustani music are:
| Hindustani Music | Carnatic Music |
| It originated in North India. It was influenced by foreign traditions | It originated in South India. No such foreign influence |
| No strong emphasis on kriti as in Carnatic | It is strongly kriti-based |
| No strict adherence to unity of raga, tala and Sruti as in Carnatic music | Unity of raga, tala and Sruti in every piece |
| Note by note raga development | Phrase by phrase raga development |
| Prevalence of significant number of gharanas | No such prevalence of gharanas |
| More importance to vocal than instruments | Equal importance to both |
| Various sub-styles of singing | Only one sub-style of singing |