Music of India

Owing to India's vastness and diversity, Indian music encompasses numerous genres in multiple varieties and forms which include classical music, folk (Bollywood), rock, and pop. It has a history spanning several millennia and developed over several geo-locations spanning the sub-continent. Music in India began as an integral part of socio-religious life.

History

Pre-history

Paleolithic

The 30,000-year-old paleolithic and neolithic cave paintings at the UNESCO world heritage site at Bhimbetka rock shelters in Madhya Pradesh show a type of dance. Mesolithic and chalcolithic cave art of Bhimbetka illustrates musical instruments such as Gongs, Bowed Lyre, daf etc.

Neolithic

Chalcolithic era (4000 BCE onward) narrow bar shaped polished stone celts like music instruments, one of the earlier musical instrument in India, were excavated at Sankarjang in the Angul district of Odisha. There is historical evidence in the form of sculptural evidence, i.e. musical instruments, singing and dancing postures of damsels in the Ranigumpha Caves in Khandagiri and Udayagiri at Bhubaneswar.

Indus River Valley Civilization

Dancing Girl sculpture (2500 BCE) was found from the Indus Valley civilization (IVC) site. There are IVC-era paintings on pottery of a man with a dhol hanging from his neck and a woman holding a drum under her left arm.origin of Indian music and arts
Shodhganga.

Vedic and ancient era

Vedas (c. 1500 – c. 800 BCE Vedic period) document rituals with performing arts and play. For example, Shatapatha Brahmana (~800–700 BCE) has verses in chapter 13.2 written in the form of a play between two actors.ML Varadpande (1990), History of Indian Theatre, Volume 1, Abhinav, , p. 48 '' Tala'' or ''taal'' is an ancient music concept traceable to Vedic era texts of Hinduism, such as the '' Samaveda'' and methods for singing the Vedic hymns. Smriti (500 BCE to 100 BCE ) post-vedic Hindu texts include Valmiki's Ramayana (500 BCE to 100 BCE) which mentions dance and music (dance by Apsaras such as Urvashi, Rambha, Menaka, Tilottama Panchāpsaras, and Ravana's wives excelling in ''nrityageeta'' or "singing and dancing" and ''nritavaditra'' or "playing musical instruments"), music and singing by Gandharvas, several string instruments ( vina, tantri, bīn, vipanci and ''vallaki'' similar to ''veena''), wind instruments (shankha, venu and ''venugana'' – likely a mouth organ made by tying several flutes together), raga (including ''kaushika'' such as ''raag kaushik dhwani''), vocal registers (seven ''svara'' or ''sur'', ''ana'' or '' ekashurti'' drag note, ''murchana'' the regulated rise and fall of voice in ''matra'' and ''tripramana'' three-fold '' teen taal'' '' laya'' such as ''drut'' or quick, '' madhya'' or middle, and ''vilambit'' or slow), poetry recitation in Bala Kanda and also in Uttara Kanda by Luv and Kusha in '' marga'' style.Ananda W. P. Guruge, 1991
The Society of the Ramayana
pp. 180–200.

Starting from the earliest known work Tholkappiyam (500 BCE), there are several references to music and ''Panns'' in the ancient pre-Sangam and Sangam literature starting from the earliest known work Tholkappiyam (500 BCE). Among Sangam literature, '' Mathuraikkanci'' refers to women singing ''sevvazhi pann'' to invoke the mercy of God during childbirth. In '' Tolkappiyam'', the five landscapes of the Sangam literature had each an associated ''Pann'', each describing the mood of the song associated with that landscape. Among the numerous ''panns'' that find mention in the ancient Tamil literature are, ''Ambal Pann'', which is suitable to be played on the flute, ''sevvazhi pann'' on the ''Yazh'' (lute), ''Nottiram'' and ''Sevvazhi'' expressing pathos, the captivating ''Kurinji pann'' and the invigorating ''Murudappann''. Pann( ta, பண்) is the melodic mode used by the Tamil people in their music since the ancient times. The ancient ''panns'' over centuries evolved first into a pentatonic scale and later into the seven note Carnatic Sargam. But from the earliest times, Tamil Music is heptatonic and known as Ezhisai (ஏழிசை).

sanskrit saint-poet Jayadeva, who was the great composer and illustrious master of classical music, shaped ''Odra-Magadhi'' style music and had great influence on Odissi Sangita.

Śārṅgadeva composed Sangita-Ratnakara, one of the most important Sanskrit musicological texts from India,, Quote: "The largest work that has for a long time been the most important source of information on the ancient period, is the famous Samgitaratnakara written by Sarngadeva in the first half of the thirteenth century." which is regarded as the definitive text in both Hindustani music and Carnatic music traditions of Indian classical music.

Assamese poet Madhava Kandali, writer of Saptakanda Ramayana, lists several instruments in his version of ''"Ramayana"'', such as mardala, khumuchi, bhemachi, dagar, gratal, ramtal, tabal, jhajhar, jinjiri, bheri mahari, tokari, dosari, kendara, dotara, vina, rudra-vipanchi, etc. (meaning that these instruments existed since his time in the 14th century or earlier).Suresh Kant Sharma and Usha Sharma, 2005
Discovery of North-East India
p. 288. The Indian system of notation is perhaps the world's oldest and most elaborate.

Medieval era

In the early 14th century under the Khiljis, there were concerts and competitions between Hindustani and Carnatic musicians.

From the 16th century onwards, treatises written on music were Sangitamava Chandrika, Gita Prakasha, Sangita Kalalata and Natya Manorama.

Twentieth century

In the early 1960s Jazz pioneers such as John Coltrane and George Harrison collaborated with Indian instrumentalists and started to use Indian instruments such as sitar in their songs. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, rock and roll fusions with Indian music were well known throughout Europe and North America. In the late 1980s, Indian-British artists fused Indian and Western traditions to make the Asian Underground. In the new millennium, American hip-hop has featured Indian filmi and bhangra. Mainstream hip-hop artists have sampled songs from Bollywood movies and have collaborated with Indian artists, such as Timbaland's "Indian Flute"

In 2010, Laura Marling and Mumford and Sons collaborated with the Dharohar Project.

Classical music

The two main traditions of Indian classical music are Carnatic music, which is practised predominantly in the peninsular (southern) regions, and Hindustani music, which is found in the northern, eastern and central regions. The basic concepts of this music includes '' Shruti'' (microtones), ''Swaras'' (notes), '' Alankar'' (ornamentations), ''Raga'' (melodies improvised from basic grammars), and '' Tala'' (rhythmic patterns used in percussion). Its tonal system divides the octave into 22 segments called Shrutis, not all equal but each roughly equal to a quarter of a whole tone of the Western music. Both the classical music are standing on the fundamentals of The seven notes of Indian Classical music. These seven notes are also called as Sapta svara or Sapta Sur. These seven svaras are Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha and Ni respectively. These Sapta Svaras are spelt as Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha and Ni, but these are shortforms of Shadja (षड्ज), Rishabha (ऋषभ), Gandhara (गान्धार), Madhyama (मध्यम), Panchama (पंचम), Dhaivata (धैवत) and Nishada (निषाद) respectively. These are also equivalent to Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti. Only these seven svaras built up the Hindustani classical music and the Carnatic classical music. These seven svaras are the fundamentals of a raga. This seven svaras without any variations in them, are called as Shuddha svaras. Variations in these svaras cause them to be and svaras. All the other svaras except Sadja(Sa) and Pancham (Pa) can be or svaras but Sa and Pa are always svaras. And hence svaras Sa and Pa are called Achal Svaras, since these svaras don't move from their original position while svaras Ra, Ga, Ma, Dha, Ni are called Chal Svaras, since these svaras move from their original position.

Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni - Svaras

Re, Ga, Dha, Ni - Komal Svaras

Ma - Svaras

Sangeet Natak Academy recognizes eight classical dance and music forms, namely Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Sattriya, Manipuri and Mohiniyattam. Additionally, India's Ministry of culture also includes Chhau in its classical list.

Carnatic music

Carnatic music can be traced to the 14th - 15th centuries AD and thereafter. It originated in South India during the rule of Vijayanagar Empire through the Keerthanas composed by Purandara Dasa. Like Hindustani music, it is melodic, with improvised variations, but tends to have more fixed compositions. It consists of a composition with improvised embellishments added to the piece in the forms of ''Raga Alapana'', ''Kalpanaswaram'', ''Neraval'' and, in the case of more advanced students, Ragam Thanam Pallavi. The main emphasis is on the vocals as most compositions are written to be sung, and even when played on instruments, they are meant to be performed in a singing style (known as ''gāyaki''). Around 300 ragams are in use today.
Annamayya is the first known composer in Carnatic music. He is widely regarded as the Andhra Pada kavitā Pitāmaha (Godfather of Telugu song-writing).
Purandara Dasa is considered the father of Carnatic music, while the later musicians Tyagaraja, Shyama Shastry and Muthuswami Dikshitar are considered the trinity of Carnatic music.

Noted artists of Carnatic music include Tiger Varadachariyar, M D Ramanathan, Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar (the father of the current concert format), Palghat Mani Iyer, Madurai Mani Iyer, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Nedunuri Krishnamurthy Alathur Brothers, MS Subbulakshmi, Lalgudi Jayaraman, Balamuralikrishna, TN Seshagopalan, K J Yesudas, N. Ramani, Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman, Sanjay Subrahmanyan, TM Krishna, Bombay Jayashri, T S Nandakumar, Aruna Sairam, Mysore Manjunath,

Every December, the city of Chennai in India has its eight-week-long Music Season, which is the world's largest cultural event.

Carnatic music has served as the foundation for most music in South India, including folk music, festival music and has also extended its influence to film music in the past 100–150 years or so.

Hindustani music

The tradition of Hindustani music dates back to Vedic times where the hymns in the Sama Veda, an ancient religious text, were sung as Samagana and not chanted. It diverged from Carnatic music around the 13th–14th centuries CE, primarily due to Islamic influences. Developing a strong and diverse tradition over several centuries, it has contemporary traditions established primarily in India but also in Pakistan and Bangladesh. In contrast to Carnatic music, the other main Indian classical music tradition originating from the South, Hindustani music was not only influenced by ancient Hindu musical traditions, historical Vedic philosophy and native Indian sounds but also enriched by the Persian performance practices of the Mughals. Classical genres are dhrupad, dhamar, khyal, tarana and sadra, and there are also several semi-classical forms.

The root of the name C(K)arnatic music is derived from Sanskrit. Karnam means ears and Atakam means that which is sweet or that which lingers on.

Light classical music

There are many types of music which comes under the category of light classical or semi-classical. Some of the forms are Thumri, Dadra, Bhajan, Ghazal, Chaiti, Kajri, Tappa, Natya Sangeet and Qawwali. These forms place emphasis on explicitly seeking emotion from the audience, as opposed to the classical forms.

Folk music

Tamang Selo

This is a musical genre of the Tamang people and popular amongst the Nepali speaking community in West Bengal, Sikkim, India and around the world. It is accompanied by Tamang instruments, the Madal, Damphu and Tungna, although nowadays musicians have taken to modern instruments. A Tamang Selo can be catchy and lively or slow and melodious, and is usually sung to convey sorrow, love, happiness or day-to-day incidents and stories of folklore.

Hira Devi Waiba is hailed as the pioneer of Nepali folk songs and Tamang Selo. Her song 'Chura ta Hoina Astura' (चुरा त होइन अस्तुरा) is said to be the first Tamang Selo ever recorded. She has sung nearly 300 songs through her musical career spanning 40 years. After Waiba's death in 2011, her son Satya Aditya Waiba (producer/manager) and Navneet Aditya Waiba (singer) collaborated and re-recorded her most iconic songs and released an album titled ''Ama Lai Shraddhanjali'' (आमालाई श्रद्धाञ्जली-Tribute to Mother). The duo are the only individuals in the Nepali folk music genre who produce authentic traditional Nepali folk songs without adulteration or modernisation.

Bhangra and Giddha

Bhangra ( Punjabi: ਭੰਗੜਾ) is a form of dance-oriented folk music of Punjab. The present musical style is derived from non-traditional musical accompaniment to the riffs of Punjab called by the same name. The female dance of Punjab region is known as Giddha ( Punjabi: ਗਿੱਧਾ).

Bihu and Borgeet

Bihu ( as, বিহু) is the festival of New Year of Assam falling on mid-April. This is a festival of nature and mother earth where the first day is for the cows and buffaloes. The second day of the festival is for the man. Bihu dances and songs accompanied by traditional drums and wind instruments are an essential part of this festival. Bihu songs are energetic and with beats to welcome the festive spring. Assamese drums (dhol), Pepa(usually made from buffalo horn), Gogona are major instruments used.

Borgeets ( as, বৰগীত) are lyrical songs that are set to specific ragas but not necessarily to any tala. These songs, composed by Srimanta Sankardeva and Madhavdeva in the 15th–16th centuries, are used to begin prayer services in monasteries, e.g. Satra and Namghar associated with the Ekasarana Dharma; and they also belong to the repertoire of Music of Assam outside the religious context. They are a lyrical strain that express the religious sentiments of the poets reacting to different situations, and differ from other lyrics associated with the Ekasarana Dharma. Prominent instruments used in borgeets are ''Negera,'' Taal, Khol