Academic Writing Essay 1
Sujanya Ravishankar
Subhamitra Adhikari
Academic Writing-A
21 October 2013
Changing Styles of Carnatic Music
Carnatic music is considered to be the sole classical music that binds the entire south of India together and its origin is believed to be from one of the four key Hindu scriptures in India, Sama Veda. While most people attribute the word Carnatic to the state of Karnataka and consider it to be the birth place of Carnatic Music, other musicologists differ and say that the word ‘Carnatic’ is deemed as anything that is soothing to the ears as ‘Karna’ translates to ear in Sanskrit.1 Carnatic music consists of mainly four important components or elements which are (1) Shruti which is known as pitch and (2) Swara a single musical sound or note and Carnatic music has seven swaras and these are given the name Saptaswara, the other element (3) Raga is a medley or combination of Swaras which are the basic building blocks of Carnatic music which is used to create a certain melody or tune, the last element of Carnatic music (4) Tala is the beat system or the periodical rhythm to which a song is set to in Carnatic music. Carnatic music which was mostly complied by the Brahmins and Kshatriyas of south India was known to be very personal and religious and was allowed to be made public only on the conditions that there was knowledge of music or the Hindu religion being imparted to others of the same social order.2 But in the current scenario where Carnatic music has gone through much evolution, it is used as a source of entertainment and has spectators from all over the world irrespective of caste, creed or colour. This essay aims at analyzing the stark variation in the styles of Carnatic music through the various artists encompassing Carnatic music, through the centuries Carnatic music has passed through to become what is has today.
Carnatic music is heavily influenced by the religion of Hinduism making it less prone to influences from the western and northern world as
Subhamitra Adhikari
Academic Writing-A
21 October 2013
Changing Styles of Carnatic Music
Carnatic music is considered to be the sole classical music that binds the entire south of India together and its origin is believed to be from one of the four key Hindu scriptures in India, Sama Veda. While most people attribute the word Carnatic to the state of Karnataka and consider it to be the birth place of Carnatic Music, other musicologists differ and say that the word ‘Carnatic’ is deemed as anything that is soothing to the ears as ‘Karna’ translates to ear in Sanskrit.1 Carnatic music consists of mainly four important components or elements which are (1) Shruti which is known as pitch and (2) Swara a single musical sound or note and Carnatic music has seven swaras and these are given the name Saptaswara, the other element (3) Raga is a medley or combination of Swaras which are the basic building blocks of Carnatic music which is used to create a certain melody or tune, the last element of Carnatic music (4) Tala is the beat system or the periodical rhythm to which a song is set to in Carnatic music. Carnatic music which was mostly complied by the Brahmins and Kshatriyas of south India was known to be very personal and religious and was allowed to be made public only on the conditions that there was knowledge of music or the Hindu religion being imparted to others of the same social order.2 But in the current scenario where Carnatic music has gone through much evolution, it is used as a source of entertainment and has spectators from all over the world irrespective of caste, creed or colour. This essay aims at analyzing the stark variation in the styles of Carnatic music through the various artists encompassing Carnatic music, through the centuries Carnatic music has passed through to become what is has today.
Carnatic music is heavily influenced by the religion of Hinduism making it less prone to influences from the western and northern world as
Bibliography: 1. www. carnaticvoices.com 2. www.hindu.com 3. www.jstor.org 4. www.nadasurabhi.com 5. www.oocities.com 6. www.parrikar.org 7. www.poemhunter.com 8. www.scribd.com 9. www.tamilnation.co