Music of Tamil Nadu has a long tradition and history going back thousands of years. Music is a very important aspect of marriage and temple festival

Tamil people The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar ( ta, தமிழர், Tamiḻar, translit-std=ISO, in the singular or ta, தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, translit-std=ISO, label=none, in the plural), or simply Tamils (), are a Drav ...

Ancient music

The tradition of Tamil music goes back to the earliest period of

Tamil history The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar ( ta, தமிழர், Tamiḻar, translit-std=ISO, in the singular or ta, தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, translit-std=ISO, label=none, in the plural), or simply Tamils (), are a Drav ...

. Many poems of the

Sangam literature The Sangam literature (Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், ''caṅka ilakkiyam'';) historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' (Tamil: சான்றோர் செய்யுள், ''Cāṉṟōr ceyyuḷ'') connotes ...

, the classical

Tamil literature Tamil literature has a rich and long literary tradition spanning more than two thousand years. The oldest extant works show signs of maturity indicating an even longer period of evolution. Contributors to the Tamil literature are mainly from T ...

of the early

common era Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the o ...

, were set to music. There are various references to this ancient musical tradition found in the ancient Sangam books such as '' Ettuthokai'' and ''

Pathupattu The Ten Idylls, known as Pattuppāṭṭu ( ta, பத்துப்பாட்டு) or Ten Lays, is an anthology of ten longer poems in the Sangam literature – the earliest known Tamil literature. They range between about 100 and 800 lin ...

''. The early narrative poem ''

Silappatikaram ''Cilappatikāram'' ( ta, சிலப்பதிகாரம் ml, ചിലപ്പതികാരം,IPA: ʧiləppət̪ikɑːrəm, ''lit.'' "the Tale of an Anklet"), also referred to as ''Silappathikaram'' or ''Silappatikaram'', is the e ...

'', belonging to the post-Sangam period also mentions various forms of music practiced by the

. Music was also utilised in the compositions of the Tamil Saiva saints such as

Appar Appar, also referred to as ( ta, திருநாவுக்கரசர்) or Navukkarasar, was a seventh-century Tamil Śaiva poet-saint. Born in a peasant Śaiva family, raised as an orphan by his sister, he lived about 80 years and is ...

Thirugnana Sambanthar Sambandar (Tamil: சம்பந்தர்), also referred to as Tirugnana Sambandar (lit. ''Holy Sage Sambandar''), Tirujnanasambanda, Campantar or Jñāṉacampantar, was a Shaiva poet-saint of Tamil Nadu who lived sometime in the 7th cen ...

and

Manikkavasagar Manikkavacakar, or Maanikkavaasagar ''(Tamil: மாணிக்கவாசகர், "One whose words are like gems")'', was a 9th-century Tamil saint and poet who wrote '' Tiruvasakam'', a book of Shaiva hymns. Speculated to have been a mini ...

during the Hindu revival period between the sixth and the tenth centuries CE. The musical poet (''sandakkavi'') Arunagirinathar further embellished the Tamil musical tradition through his compositions of Tamil hymns known as '' Thiruppugazh''.

Pannisai

Pann ''Pann'' ( ta, பண்) is the melodic mode used by the Tamil people in their music since the ancient times. The ancient ''pans'' over centuries evolved first into a pentatonic scale. But from the earliest times, Tamil Music is heptatonic and ...

, which is the classical music form of Southern India, has a long history in Tamil Nadu. Later the name was mistakenly changed as Carnatic music. Even today Pannisai is sung in temple festivals. Tamil Nadu has produced a number of famous performers, as well as a closely related classical dance form

Bharatha Natyam Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of ...

. Chennai hosts a large cultural event, the annual

Madras Music Season Chennai Music Season is an event hosted every Mid November–January in Chennai (formerly known as ''Madras'') Tamil Nadu. Spanning some 9 weeks, it comprises top-flight professional and amateur musicians . The traditional role of the Music Sea ...

, which includes performances by hundreds of artists. There are 72 basic scales on the octave, and a rich variety of melodic motion. Both melodic and rhythmic structures are varied and compelling. This is one of the world's oldest and richest musical traditions. Songs have been composed by great artists and handed down through generations of disciples. The composers belonging to the

Tamil Trinity The Tamil Trinity (also known as the Tamil Moovar) commonly refers to the three Tamil composers of early Carnatic music. They were Muthu Thandavar (?1560 - ?1640 CE), Arunachala Kavi (1712–1779) and Marimutthu Pillai Marimutha Pillai (1712 ...

Muthu Thandavar Muthu Thandavar (1525 – 1600 CE) (Tamil:முத்துத்தாண்டவர்)was composer of Carnatic music. He was an early architect of the present day Carnatic '' kriti'' (song) format, which consists of the ''pallavi'' (refra ...

(1560 - 1640 CE), Arunachala Kavi (1712– 1779) and

Marimutthu Pillai Marimutha Pillai (1712 – 1787 CE) was a composer of Carnatic music and, along with Arunachala Kavi and Muthu Thandavar, was one of the pioneering Tamil Trinity The Tamil Trinity (also known as the Tamil Moovar) commonly refers to the th ...

(1717–1787) composed hundreds of devotional songs in Tamil and helped in the evolution of Carnatic music. Three saint composers of the 18th to 19th Century,

Tyagaraja Thyagaraja (Telugu: త్యాగరాజ) (4 May 1767 – 6 January 1847), also known as Thyāgayya and in full as Kakarla Thyagabrahmam, was a composer and vocalist of Carnatic music, a form of Indian classical music. Tyagaraja and his ...

Muthuswami Dikshitar Muthuswami Dikshitar (Mudduswamy Dikshitar)(, 24 March 1776 – 21 October 1835), mononymously Dikshitar, was a South Indian poet, singer and veena player, and a legendary composer of Indian classical music, who is considered one of the musical ...

and

Shyama Shastri Shyama Shastri (; 26 April 1762 – 1827) or Syama Sastri was a musician and composer of Carnatic music. He was the oldest among the Trinity of Carnatic music, Tyagaraja and Muthuswami Dikshitar being the other two. Early life and career ...

, have composed thousands of songs that remain favourites among musicians and audiences. Today, Tamil Nadu has hundreds of notable carnatic singers who spread this music all over the world.

M. S. Subbulakshmi Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi (16 September 1916 – 11 December 2004) was an Indian Carnatic singer from Madurai, Tamil Nadu. She was the first musician ever to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour. She is ...

, a renowned carnatic singer, had the honour of singing a song in the

UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...

Folk music

Folk singing remains popular, especially in rural areas; elements of the traditional styles are sometimes used in film music. There are contemporary enthusiasts, like Vijayalakshmi Navaneethakrishnan and Pushpavanam Kuppuswamy, who have worked to revive popular interest in the folk music of Tamil Nadu. The urumee mellam also remains as one of the more popular forms of folk music in rural Tamil Nadu and the ensemble is most often played with an urumee and the

nadaswaram The Nagaswaram (nādḥasvaram) is a double reed wind instrument from South India. It is used as a traditional classical instrument in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Kerala. This instrument is "among the world's loudes ...

as the instrument of choice. The rural hill tribes of Tamil Nadu each have their own folk traditions. The

Pulayar The Pulayar (also Pulaya, Pulayas, Cherumar, Cheramar, and Cheraman) is a caste group mostly found in the southern part of India, forming one of the main social groups in modern-day Kerala, Karnataka and historically in Tamil Nadu. Traditi ...

, for example, perform

melodies A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combinati ...

called talams which are said to come from the cooing of birds. Each talam is named after a deity, including Kunhanada talam, Mangalanada talam and Karaganachi talam.

Gaana

Gaana Gaana (or Gānā) is a genre of Tamil music, which is sung in the Madras Bashai dialect of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is rap-like "collection of rhythms, beats and sensibilities native to the Chennai people." It evolved over the past two ...

is a

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

-like "collection of rhythms, beats and sensibilities native to the

Dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming ...

s of Chennai." It evolved over the past two centuries, combining influences from the ''siddhars'' (tantric adepts) of ancient

Tamilakam Tamiḻakam (Tamil: தமிழகம்; Malayalam: തമിഴകം), refers to the geographical region inhabited by the ancient Tamil people, covering the southernmost region of the Indian subcontinent. Tamilakam covered today's Tamil Nad ...

, Tamil Sufi saints, and more. Gaana songs are performed at weddings, stage shows, political rallies, and funerals. Performers sing about a wide range of topics, but the essence of gaana is said to be "angst and melancholy" based in life's struggles. In the past few decades, the genre has entered the music of the mainstream Tamil film industry and gained popularity. Contemporary gaana bands like The Casteless Collective are bringing the genre to new audiences while using it for social activism, especially against caste discrimination.

Film music

Tamil cinema Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywo ...

is well known for its talented composers. The two most famous and acclaimed film composers of India, Ilaiyaraaja and A. R. Rahman are from Tamil Nadu. Other prominent Tamil

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...

and

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...

composers in the industry include

Harris Jayaraj Harris Jayaraj (born 8 January 1975) is an Indian composer from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He composes soundtracks predominantly for Tamil films, while also having composed for a few films in Telugu and two films in Hindi. He has been honoured with K ...

Yuvan Shankar Raja Yuvan Shankar Raja or Abdul Haliq (born 31 August 1979) is an Indian film score and soundtrack composer and singer-songwriter. He mainly scores music for Tamil films. Considered a versatile composer, he is particularly known for his use of Wes ...

, Vidyasagar, D. Imman, Deva, S. A. Rajkumar, Sirpy,

Bharadwaj Bharadwaj ( hi, भारद्वाज) is a surname mostly used by Brahmins. Notable people with the surname include: * Abhay Bharadwaj (1954–2020), Indian advocate turned politician *Anasuya Bharadwaj (born 1982), Indian television presenter ...

, G. V. Prakash Kumar, Anirudh Ravichander,

Santhosh Narayanan Santhosh Narayanan is an Indian composer and musician in the Tamil film industry. Early life Santhosh Narayanan was born in Tiruchirappalli, India. He is the younger of two children. He was educated at RSK Higher Secondary School, Tiruchirapp ...

and Hiphop Tamizha. During the 1960s and 1970s, prominent film composers K. V. Mahadevan, M. S. Viswanathan and others were popular. The film music of Tamil Nadu is widely known for its innovation and eclecticism. Scores may showcase blends of Carnatic, Western and other instruments, with a range of melodic and rhythmic patterns. Orchestral themes and minimalist songs often feature. Recent trends show the prevalence of synthesizers and other electronic instruments.

Instruments

File:Yaarl.jpg, Yaarl File:Thannumai.jpg, Thannumai File:A Pambai.JPG, Pambai File:Veenai (Veena) of Tamilnadu.jpg, Veena File:Muzavu.jpg, Muzavu File:7 mouthed pot (musical instrument).JPG, 7 mouthed pot File:A Horn instrument.JPG, Horn File:A image of Seevali.JPG, Seevali File:An Udukkai.JPG, Udukkai File:A Nadaswaram with seevali.JPG, Nadaswaram File:TamilFolkArtistsInFuneral.jpg, Tamil folk artists at a funeral File:A Nadaswaram Artist.JPG, Nadaswaram artist File:A Drum instrument Thappu.JPG, Tamil drum File:A manual shruti box.JPG, Shruti box

Sounds

File:A tamil thappu.ogv,

Parai Attam Parai Attam is a special type of dance in Tamil culture Tamil culture is the culture of the Tamil people. Tamil culture is rooted in the arts and ways of life of Tamils in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, and across the globe. Tamil cul ...

File:A Sound from thappu- Tamilnadu.ogv

References

External links

{{Commons category, Music of Tamil Nadu
History of classical music in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

Tamil Nadu