music 123: West Music

India Music Vs West Music
Characteristics of Indian music is clear when you compare it with West music. In both systems you will find some important differences: Indian music is based on a single note or a melody played in a specific order, whereas West music is based on harmony: a group of records known as the chords to play with.

Dr Rabindranath Tagore, who is very familiar with both systems, explaining the difference as follows: "The world is in daylight is short for West music is a flowing harmony association wide, consisting of harmony and discord, and a lot of disconnected fragments. And the night is the music of India : a pure, deep and gentle exercise. Second, touching our hearts, but these are contrary to the spirit. But this is natural. Nature, at the very roots split into two, day and night, unity and variety, finite and infinite.

Indian man living in the world that night, we were inspired by the feeling that the One and Infinite. Music India withdrew his audience beyond the boundaries of happiness and suffering every day and brings us into the loneliness of rejection is at the root of the universe, whereas Western music brings us to dance through the ups and downs of human boundless joy and sadness.

"Basically, the Indian classical music raises our spiritual sense and discipline - a longing for the realization of safety. Singing is an act of worship and not an intellectual show on a technical mastery of the body. In Western cultures, singing is a formal and secular training, and do not involve piety or service compared to Indian music

Teacher-student (Teacher-Shishya) tradition in Indian music is responsible for the dedication and the deep attachment of students to teachers. In the West, a music teacher was taken as a hireling who taught the lesson and no deep attachment between teachers and students.

As West music, Indian music is also based on the melody and rhythm, but do not have such basic significant harmony in West music. Indian music is the "capital" - is based on the relationship between the individual known as a permanent record of a tonic, with successive records. This is the reason why Tanpura (drone) played in the background of Indian music that reminds one of the tonic note.

Indian classical music is a horizontal system, one following another note, while West music is vertical; many notes played at a time. Yehudi Menuhin, who recorded musicians, highlighting distinguishes the two systems by describing the music of India as: "to appreciate Indian music one must adopt an entirely different set of values ... we have to orientate ourselves and at least for the period concerned, forget about the passage of time and just lost in a kind of thematic, almost trance. rhythms and melodies of Indian music that features the repeated, gained tremendous attraction and charm ... even if this domination hypnotic domination mood, which is typical of Indian music, is actively released minds. "

Place "composition" in the two systems are especially distinct. In West music, the music was first created by the composer and arrange them in notation: and then the musicians played this composition under the guidance of a music conductor. Improvisation here almost did not happen, and the value lies in the uniformity of performance and implementation of pre-defined musical tones and the speed (tempo). In Indian music, while the grammar and rhythm of the melody is fixed, ingenuity and skill of a musician lies in creativity and improvisation, especially in a resurrection and a sense of a particular sport.

In this context, international musicologist has written: "In the West, solid blocks of music are built. After building such as stone carving, seven degrees Diatonic scale, lined up and placed on top of each other with harmonies and cleverly managed the other songs. By the way these buildings are fantastic in the established sound.

West Music In Indian classical music, no one can think of sound divided into blocks; it is a fine wire into a thin thread. Sound pulled out to refine it to the extreme delicacy ... There are no standard materials, there are no buildings of three or five floors, but like a silk thread that was revealed and the rise and fall and rise of the world sensations and feelings. "

Indian music, melody and rhythm offer a variety of subtlety, which is not possible in West music. Note India is divided into units called shruties (22 microtones), whereas West music consists of 12 semitones. The microtones more subtle than semitones. This Microtones decorated with gracetones (gamakas) create a magical effect.

West music has the capacity to produce a lot of feelings and moods. While Indian music, has the capacity to produce a principal's emotion or mood in the body. Indian musicians to improvise with his own creative genius in the framework of the body, but in Western classical music, except in jazz, such as improvisation can be imagined. In addition, the percussion in the music of India emphasizes the rhythm. Only by keeping an open mind and ears that one can appreciate the melody and a different order than their own. This applies to Indian audiences attending performances of West music, and Western audiences attending music concerts india. Just remember that the two systems complement each other music, like the two parts of classical music. By Pankaj Mistry