INTRODUCTION
Indian classical music is the art music of the Indian subcontinent. Bharat's Natyashastra was the first treatise laying down fundamental principles of dance, music, and drama.
Indian classical music is both elaborate and expressive. Like Western classical music, it divides the octave into 12 semitones of which the 7 basic notes are, in ascending tonal order, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni for Hindustani music and Sa Ri Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni for Carnatic music, similar to Western music's Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti . However, Indian music uses just-intonation tuning, unlike most modern Western classical music, which uses the equal-temperament tuning system. Also, unlike modern Western classical music, Indian classical music places great emphasis on improvisation.
Indian classical music is monophonic in nature and based on a single melody line, which is played over a fixed drone. The performance is based melodically on particular ragas and rhythmically on talas.
Because of the focus on exploring the raga, performances have
traditionally been solo endeavours, but duets are gaining in popularity.
HINDUSTANI MUSIC
Hindustani music is mainly found in North India. Khyal and Dhrupad
are its two main forms, but there are several other classical and
semi-classical forms. There is an amount of foreign influences in
Hindustani music in terms of the instruments, style of presentation, and
ragas such as Hijaz Bhairav, Bhairavi, Bahar, and Yaman. Also, as is
the case with Carnatic music,
Hindustani music has assimilated various folk tunes. For example, ragas
such as Kafi and Jaijaiwanti are based on folk tunes. Players of the tabla, a type of drum, usually keep the rhythm, an indicator of time in Hindustani music. Another common instrument is the stringed tanpura, which is played at a steady tone (a drone) throughout the performance of the raga,
and which provides both a point of reference for the musician and a
background against which the music stands out. The task of playing the
tanpura traditionally falls to a student of the soloist. Other
instruments for accompaniment include the sarangi and the harmonium.
The performance usually begins with a slow elaboration of the raga, known as alap.
This may be very short (less than a minute) or up to 30 minutes
depending on the preference of the musician. In vocal music, the alap is
followed by a bandish,
generally accompanied by the tabla, around which the raga is
improvised. In the case of instrumental music, the alaap could be
followed by a more rhythmical piece known as "jod" in which the artist
provides rhythm with no rhythmic cycle, and subsequently a piece in fast
tempo called ""jhala".
The counterpart of the bandish in instrumental music is known as the
"gat". The bandish or gat is initially sung or played in slow tempo
known as "vilambit laya" to be followed by medium tempo known as "madhya
laya" which in turn may be followed by a composition in fast tempo
known as pop.
VOCALISTS
The Indian classical music tradition recognises historic musicians whose contributions may be legendary: Tansen, court musician of the Mughal Emperor Akbar, Baiju Bawra, court musician of Man Singh I, Amir Khusrow, often credited with the creation of the khyal and tarana, and Sadarang, court musician of Muhammad Shah and another possible creator of the khyal. In Carnatic, Tyagaraja and Muthuswamy Dikshitar are historically well known composers.
STATUS IN 21ST CENTURY
An emergent trend of the past few decades has been that of fusion music, where genres such as khyal
and western music are intermixed to appeal to a wider audience. Pandit
Ravi Shankar was one of the earliest to have collaborated with western
musicians.
A few of the organizations that promote classical music include Saptak, Sangeet Sankalp, which was established in 1989, and SPIC MACAY, which was established in 1977 and has more than 500 chapters in India and abroad. SPIC MACAY claims to hold around 5000 events every year related to Indian classical music and dance.
