Hierarchy
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1) A Gentle Introduction to South Indian Classical (Karnatic / Carnatic) Music: Many of us have grown up in India, where we were exposed to
Indian classical music in one form or another. However, if you
are not from a musically inclined family, the odds are that you
perceived classical music to be something esoteric that only a
selected few could understand and appreciate. An occassional
devotional song or a 'classically tuned' film song would have
made you stop and take note. Your curiosity could have been
aroused. But, you may have quickly ignored the instinct and
made a beeline for the usual pursuits in life. Even if you were
interested enough to find out about classical music, you did not
know what books to read or who to talk to. Even if you managed
to talk to someone, it is likely that the person made you feel
inadequate about your lack of musical abilities or proceeded to
give you a long lecture about music with a million buzzwords that
confused you and weaned you off your curiosity. It is unfortunate
that there is an almost total lack of simple, readable, introductary
texts on Indian classical music, especially when compared to
volumes and volumes of elementary books available on Western
Classical music. No wonder an average college-educated
person in the USA is at least mildly knowledgeable about
Western classical music whereas an average Indian is by and
large ignorant about the technicalities of Indian classical music.
This primer is a feeble attempt to introduce Karnatic music in a
gentle way, in a language presumably we all can understand. I
want to be able to rekindle your interest and help you discover
some of the 'method' and grammar of Karnatic music. Even
though these notes are aimed at introducing Karnatic music, a
lot of of what I have to say also apply to Hindustani Classical
music.
This primer is obviously not meant for experts. I have
intentionally kept this text simple.
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2) Carnatic Music Primer: "Nature has endowed this universe with many beautiful life
forms, of so many different shapes, sizes and abilities. Most
animal forms have the ability to produce sounds and some of
them even have the capability to communicate using varied
sounds. Man is unique in that he can express his thoughts using
sound." This is how Swami Jayendra Saraswathy, the
Sankaracharya of Kanchipuram, introduces the Kamalaambaa
Navaavarna Kritis of Muthuswamy Dikshithar. The ability to
express thoughts through sounds has evolved into an art which
we call music. Music can thus be defined as an art form that
arranges sounds in a fashion that follows certain natural
principles and provides that special inner feeling of happiness
and contentment. It is important to note that the basic principles
are natural and thus the theory of music is only an attempt by
man to rationally explain what is already beautiful. As a fringe
benefit, this rationalization helps in understanding the inherent
beauty of music and creates increasingly higher levels of
appreciation in the listener. more
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