For this cultural post, I would like to share a little about traditional Indian music.
There are two main schools of Indian classical music: Hindustani (from the north) and Carnatic (from the south). They are both built upon two elements: raga (melody) and taal (rhythm). Often a piece will start very slowly/gently as if the musicians are warming up, and gradually increase in complexity, energy, and dexterity until the end. The musicians can include a singer, who sings the ragas with very intricate, free-flowing trills and vocal ornaments, and/or a main instrument such as a sitar, a complex plucked string instrument. (Sitar also makes that overtone-filled droning sound that is so familiar to India music.) Also common is a percussion instrument called tabla, which is struck with the fingers as a drum. Unlike some other drums, however, it is played with incredible dexterity of the fingers, with each finger striking the drum separately to form complex rhythms.
Indian classical music, and especially singing, is often seen as a way to connect with the divine, rather than simply an art form. It is believed that Indian classical music will aid the listener in meditating or experiencing a divine presence.
Here are two of my favorite Indian classical music videos: the first one is a morning meditation raga, and the second one is a beautiful example of south Indian Carnatic singing.
Comments
Hey! Thanks for the question. I'm not sure, but I think that Carnatic lyrics can be either secular or religious... They didn't put the title of this particular one on the video, but it is from a style called "Thumri" which is usually about a young girl expressing her love for Krishna (a god) or about a love story between Krishna and another god. So I guess it is religious, but not in a way that we would consider religious music to be.
Hi Kelly! I just want to start off by saying this is super cool. I didn't know the different regions of India had different music, although thinking about it now, it makes sense (my prior thoughts probably stem from ignorance, so that you for enlightening me :) ). I listened to both links and I really liked the raga one. I was wondering if you knew anything about the lyrics of the Carnatic song and if they are inherently and explicitly religious or more implicit? Either way, this is a really awesome cultural post, so thank you for sharing it with us!!