Music classes in India

(Pic Courtesy: olx.in)

Music is the art of expressing emotions by combining vocal and/or instrumental sounds in synchronization with rhythm. It is said to have its origin in the Vedas, particularly the Samaveda. Even mythology supports the presence of music in the forms of Saint Narada and Goddess Saraswati. It is also said that Lord Shiva created the musical instrument rudra veena.

Origin of the seven swara (Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni)

According to Indian folklore, each of the 7 swaras originated from a different animal and represents the 7 chakras of the body. Sa from peacock, Re from skylark, Ga from goat, Ma from the dove, Pa from cuckoo, Dha from horse and Ni from elephant.

Indian music is categorised into classical, folk and light. Indian classical music is in turn divided into Hindustani and Carnatic music. The main difference between classical and folk music is that the former is a rigid and formal form of music while the latter is definitely more carefree and can be learnt without any formal training. Light music encompasses cine music, pop music, etc.

Musical Icons in Hindustani, Carnatic, Sufi, Folk and Light music

Some great Hindustani musicians in India were/are: Begum Akhtar, Bheemsen Joshi, Pandit Jasraj, Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande, Rashid Khan and many more.

Some of the famous Hindustani instrumental musicians were/are: Hariprasad Chaurasia (flute), Bismillah Khan (Shehnai), Pandit Rani Shankar (Sitar), Ustad Zakhir Hussai (Tabla), Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, and so on.

Famous Carnatic music singers were/are: MS Subbulakshmi, DK Pattammal, ML Vasanthakumari, Maharajapuram Santhanam, Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Unni Krishnan, Nithyashree Mahadevan, Sudha Ragunathan, etc.

Famous Carnatic instrumental musicians were/are: Lalgudi Jeyaraman (Violin), Kunnakudi Vaidhyanathan (violin), Kadri Gopalnath (Saxaphone), E Gayathri (veenai), Rajaratnam Pillai (nadaswaram), etc.

Popular folk musicians are Ila Arun and Pushpavanam Kuppusamy.

Sufi music came into India through Persia. Some of the famous sufi vocalists were/are: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Abida Parveen, Ghulam Ali, Kailash Kher, etc.

Light music vocalists are the famous playback singers like Lata Mangeshkar, Mohd. Rafi, Asha Bhonsle, Sonu Nigam, Shankar Mahadevan, Hariharan, Shreya Ghoshal, Sadhana Sargam, Alka Yagnik, etc.

Music as a profession

One can learn Indian music through a guru or pursue a BA Music or B.Mus degree at reputed colleges and universities. For pursuing music as a career, one can choose to become a teacher to impart the knowledge to ardent music lovers at schools, colleges or universities. One can also try to pursue a career as a stage musician with or without an orchestra. Another frequently sorted after option is playback singing.These days one can learn music online too. All you need is a proper internet connection, a good microphone, a good webcam and an excellent teacher at the other end!

Further reading

• Great Indian Musicians
• Origin of World music