Mridangam

In ancient Hindu sculpture, painting, and mythology, the mridangam is often depicted as the instrument of choice for a number of deities including Ganesha (the remover of obstacles) and Nandi, who is the vehicle and companion of Lord Shiva. Nandi is said to have played the mridangam during Shiva's arcane Tandava dance, causing a divine rhythm to resound across the heavens. The miruthangam is thus also known as "Deva Vaadyam," or "Instrument of the Gods."

The word "mridangam" is derived from the two Sanskrit words "Mrid" (clay or earth) and "Ang" (body). Early mridangams were indeed made of hardened clay. Over the years, the mridangam evolved to be made of different kinds of wood due to its increased durability, and today, its body is constructed from wood of the jackfruit tree. It is widely believed that the tabla, the mridangam's North Indian musical counterpart, was first constructed by splitting a mridangam in half. With the development of the mridangam came the evolution of the tala (rhythmic) system. The system of talas (or taalams) in South Indian Carnatic music may be the most complex percussive rhythm system of any form of classical music.



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Deiviga Isai Tendral - Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan

Vaidyanathan has been deeply involved in presenting devotional music as well. He has given more than 100 records of devotional songs which enhance the beauty of Carnatic music. His lilting music in the song Tiruparam Kundrattil nee sirittaal which he composed, was a hit. He subsequently composed music for Devar's 'Deivam', 'Tiruvarul', etc. These efforts brought him the title of Deiviga Isai Tendral.

Kanchi Maha Periyavar Sri Chandrasekarendra Saraswathy Maha Swamigal appointed as asthana vidwan of the Sree Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham. As the son of Ramaswami Sastrigal, a pious, religious and learned person, he imbibed his father's values. These inspired him to bring out the essence of the Vedas in his violin-play. He can effortlessly play Rudram, Chamakam and Ghanam on the violin. He can literally bring in front of us Lord Sarveswara and Goddess Sakti. His audio cassette Sakti Chakram enhanced his popularity considerably.

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Satyanarayana Swamy Pooja Song

You can download Sri Satyanarayana Vratham song in sangeethamusic.com

What is Sri Satyanarayana Vratha?
Sri Satyanarayana Vratham is performed allover world by devotees for wealth, education, prosperity, and offspring, relief from troubles and sickness and success in business. When it came to be known that Lord Satyanarayana had manifested himself on the Ratnagiri hills at Annavaram with unique form combining the Trimurthis Viz., Brahma, Vishnu and Siva. Ekadasi is considered to be very auspicious for the Vratham, it is performed even on other convenient days by the individual devotees. The great popularity behind the Vratham springs form the experiences narrated in stories and legends and also the faith gained by observances in daily life.

The important legend connected with this Vratham was that once Sage Naradha was very much distressed at the misery of marthyas (men in this world) and prayed Lord Vishnu to be informed of a way out for them. The Lord then told him that Satyanarayana Vratham would relieve men of their troubles and would ensure worldly prosperity and salvation after deth. He also narrated that a pious Brahmin of Banaras performed the Vratham first. It was also described how King Ulkamukha of Bhadrasilanagaram, Emperor Tungadhwaja and a community of Gollas in his kingdom, a Vaisya business man named Sadhuvu, and a poor woodcutter of Banaras had performed this vratham and were blessed by Lord Satyanarayana Swamy (Vishnu himself) with all they desired. The vratham has caught the fascination of millions owing to these stories within the understanding of scholars as well as layman. All classes of people took to its performance and it is popular for its efficacy.

One Man Show: Janani Janani song

Click here to download Illyaraja's Devotional Songs

S.P.BALASUBRAHMANYAM's Devotional Songs

You can dowload S.P. BALASUBRAHMANYAM's Devotional Songs

First Indian to Compose a Symphony

Illayaraja is the first Indian to compose a symphony. Illayaraja composed a full-length western classical symphony in July 1993. The hour long symphony was composed by him in one month. Illayaraja is the first Asian whose symphony was performed by John Scott of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra which is patronized by Queen Elizabeth and whose president is Lord Yehudi Menuhin.

Illayaraja is also a famous film composer, singer, and lyricist. He has composed over 4,000 songs and provided background music for more than 800 Indian films in various languages. He has thrice won the National Film Award for Best Music Director.

SOURCE : http://www.thecolorsofindia.com/

Raga

Ragas are the melodic modes used in Indian classical music. "Raag" is the modern Hindi pronunciation used by Hindustani musicians; "Raagam" is the South Indian form used by Carnatic music musicians.

Description

A raga functions both as description and prescription. It describes a generalized form of melodic practice; it prescribes a set of rules for how to build a melody. It specifies rules for movements up (aarohanam) and down (avarohanam) the scale, which notes should figure more and which notes should be used more sparingly, which notes may be sung with gamaka, phrases to be used, phrases to be avoided, and so on.The result is a framework that can be used to compose or improvise melodies, allowing for endless variation within the set of notes.

Although notes are an important part of raga practice, it by no means exhausts what a raga is. A raga is more than a scale. Many ragas share the same scale.

The underlying scale may have five, six or seven tones made up of swaras. This provides one method of classifying ragas. Ragas that have five swaras are called audava ragas; those with six, shaadava; and with seven, sampoorna (Sanskrit for 'complete'). Those ragas that do not follow the strict ascending or descending order of swaras are called vakra ('crooked') ragas. (To see the order of notes, check the article on swara.)

The basic mode of reference is that which is equivalent to the Western Ionian mode (this is called Bilawal thaat in Hindustani music and shankarabharanam in Carnaitc music). All relationships between pitches follow from this basic arrangement of intervals. In any given seven-tone mode, the second, third, sixth, and seventh notes can be natural (shuddha, lit. 'pure') or flat (komal, 'soft') but never sharped, and the fourth note can be natural or sharp (tivra) but never flatted, making up the twelve notes in the Western equal tempered chromatic scale (but without Western pitch equivalencies like, for example, A# and Bb). A Western-style C scale could therefore theoretically have the notes C, Db, D, Eb, E, F, F#, G, Ab, A, Bb, B. Ragas can also specify microtonal changes to this scale: a flatter second, a sharper seventh, and so forth. Treatises from the first millennium report that the octave used to be divided theoretically into 22 microtones ("shrutis"), but by the 16th century, this practice seems to have died out. Furthermore, individual performers treat pitches quite differently, and the precise intonation of a given note depends on melodic context. There is no absolute pitch; instead, each performance simply picks a ground note, which also serves as the drone, and the other scale degrees follow relative to the ground note.

Some Hindustani (North Indian) ragas are prescribed a time of day or a season. During the rains, for example, many of the Malhar group of ragas--associated with the monsoon--are performed. Some musicians take these prescriptions very seriously. However, since the majority of concert hall performances take place in the evening and night, musicians often have to make concessions for the sake of public performance.

The two streams of Indian classical music, Carnatic music and Hindustani music, have independent sets of ragas. There is some overlap, but more "false friendship" (where raga names overlap, but raga form does not). In north India, the ragas have recently been categorised into ten thaats or parent scales (by Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande, 1860-1936); South India uses a somewhat older, more systematic classification scheme called the melakarta classification, with 72 parent (melakarta) ragas. Overall there is a greater identification of raga with scale in the south than in the north, where such an identification is impossible.

Note that the term "parent scale" is a metaphor, and is potentially misleading. It might seem to imply that scales came before ragas, or that ragas are made from scales. In fact, it's the other way round--parent scales (both melas and thats) were induced from raga practice. Again we stress that ragas are not scales.

As ragas were transmitted orally from teacher to student, some ragas can vary greatly across regions, traditions and styles. There have been efforts to codify and standardize raga performance in theory from their first mention in Matanga's Brhaddesi (~10th c.) Some people approach raga performance from the Vedic philosophy of sound; others from a Sufi perspective; still others approach raga primarily as an aesthetic entity; others approach it as a kind of combinatorics.

Indian classical music is always set in raga, but all raga music is not necessarily classical. Songs range from being clearly in one raga or another to being in a sort of generalized scale. Many popular Indian film songs resemble ragas closely. Again, it is important to stress that just even if song shares a scale with a raga, it isn't necessarily "in" the raga.

20 Random Music Facts

How many of these 20 random music facts will you already know? Read on to find out. Most of these facts are about the UK charts.

1. It was way back in 1857 that Leon Scott (a French scientist) found a way to record sound on to paper that had been blackened with candle wax. This invention was called a ‘phonoautograph’.
2. Twenty years later the phonograph was invented by Thomas Edison. It recorded the sound on to wax cylinders.
3. Ten year later, in 1887, Emil Berliner went one better, by adapting Edison’s idea to work on a flat wax disc and thus the LP was born. Berliner’s Gramophone Company went on to become EMI.
4. It was 1952 when the first UK singles charts appeared. Listing only the sales of 78s. The first number one on the chart was Here In My Heart by Al Martino.
5. It was the Dutch company Philips who developed the cassette tape as a mechanism for recording dictations in offices. In 1963 they made their debut as a means of getting music to the masses.
6. The CD (compact Disc) was released widely released to the public for music in 1983.
7. The song ‘Spirit In The Sky’ has been taken to number one in the UK on three separate occasions by three different artists. Norman Greenbaun, who wrote the song, released the original in 1970, followed by Doctor and the Medics version in 1986. Gareth Gates took the song to the top spot in 2003.
8. Not the only song to hit the top spot on three different occasions though. The Beatles song ‘With A Little Help From My Friend’ was never released as a single by the Fab Four but still managed to reach number one in the UK three times. Firstly for Joe Cocker in 1968, then by Wet Wet Wet in 1988. Finally hitting the top spot for Sam and Mark in 2004.
9. Talking about the Beatles. When the double A side ‘Penny Lane’/'Strawberry Fields Forever’ only reached number 2 in 1967 it was their first song not to hit the top spot in the UK since ‘Please Please Me’ in 1963. The song that kept it off number one was ‘Please Release Me’ by Engelbert Humperdink.
10. Roger Daltrey (he of the ‘Who’ fame) sang the song that was used as the theme tune for the TV programme CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. He also appeared in one episode as a Vegas boss called Mickey Dunn.
11. The Droogs, Moloko, Orange Mecanique, Malchicks and Heaven 17 all took their names from the film ‘A Clockwork Orange’.
12. Could you name a song that has been number one in the UK in four different years? Well that is exactly what happened with the song ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ by Queen. Originally released in 1975, it hit the top spot at the tail end of November and was still there in early 1976. After lead singer, Freddie Mercury’s death in 1991, the song was re-released, hitting number one in December of that year and holding on until late Janury of 1992.
13. The Jackie Wilson song ‘Reet Petite’ was originally released in 1957 but eventually hit number one in the UK charts in 1986. 29 years and 42 days after the original release.
14. Louis Armstrong holds the record of oldest chart topper. Having reached number one in the UK in 1968 with the song ‘What A Wonderful World’. He was 67 at the time.
15. Simon & Garfunkel, one of the most famous duos of all time, were originally called Tom & Jerry.
16. AC/DC hold the record for most singles without managing to hit the top ten in the UK having released 29 singles. (Upto the year 2009)
17. The first song recorded by rocker Jon Bon Jovi was actually a song called ‘R2-D2: We Wish You A Merry Christmas’ for an album called the Star Wars Christmas Album. He was only 17 at the time.
18. Diana Ross appeared on at least one hit single every year between 1964 and 1996, an incredible 33 years.
19. Although most people think that the UK chart is only a top 40 (as that is what is broadcast on the radio) it is actually a top 75. An ultimate one-hit wonder would be one that manages to hit that number 75 spot before dropping away immediately. Famous Hollywood actor Anthony Hopkins released a song called ‘Distant Star’ in the UK in 1986. It hit number 75 for one week then disappeared.
20. When the song ‘Spaceman’ by Babylon Zoo was used in a Levi’s Jeans advert in 1995 it was always going to be destined for number one in the UK. The part used in the advert was the very start of the song which sounds as if the song will be a dance song. Many people bought the song because of this only to take it home and play it, just to find it was actually a rock song. Other songs to hit the top after being used in their ad include, ‘The Joker’ by the Steve Miller Band, ‘Inside’ by Stiltskin and ‘Boombastic’ by Shaggy.

SOURCE : http://musicouch.com/musicouching/20-random-music-facts/

raagas!!!

Raagas occupy a very dominant position in Indian Classical Music

Definitions of a Raaga - Raga

• "Swaro Ki Wah Anupam Rachna Jise Sunkar Anand Ki Prapti Ho, Raag Kahlati Hai"
  
  
• "A Raag is a beautiful combination of musical notes that is pleasing to the ears when sung or played on a musical instrument".

Based on the rules of Indian Classical Music, to qualify as a Raga, the combination of notes must have the following features -

• Notes ( swaras) - There must be atleast 5 notes or a maximum of 7 notes (swaras) in a Raag.
• Aaroh & Avroh - Every Raga must have an “Aaroh” - ascending notes & an “Avroh” - descending movement of notes.
• Vadi & Samvadi - Every raag must have “Vadi” - most prominent & dominating notes and “Samvadi” notes - notes that complement the dominating notes.
• Melodious - A raag must be pleasant sounding and must be able to enchant the listener with its melody.
• Key Note - The key not can never be missing in a Raag - ie, “C” note or “Shadaj”.

In Indian Classical Music, many different ragas are recognised and played. Each ragas has its own mood and specific identity that defines it.

Here is a List of Classical Indian Ragas

1. Raag Bhupali
2. Raag Bihag
3. Raag BhimPalasi
4. Raag Desh
5. Raag Bhairavi
6. Raag Pilu
7. Raag Asavari
8. Raag Kafi
9. Raag Tilak Kamod
10. Raag Hamir
11. Raag Malkos
12. Raag Brindabani Sarang
13. Raag Multani
14. Raag Patdeep
15. Raag Sohni
16. Raag Jaunpuri
17. Raag Maalkoos
18. Raag Kedar
19. Raag Bhairav
20. Raag Purvi
21. Raag Hindol
22. Raag Bahaar
23. Raag Durga
24. Raag Tilang
25. Raag Deskar
26. Raag Shankara
27. Raag JaiJai Vanti
28. Raag Kamod
29. Raag Marva

SOURCE : http://www.musicalescapades.com/

Contemporary classical music

Contemporary classical music can be understood as belonging to the period that started in the mid-1970s with the retreat of modernism. However, the term may also be employed in a broader sense to refer to all post-1945 modern musical forms.

At the beginning of the 20th century, composers of classical music were experimenting with an increasingly dissonant pitch language, which sometimes yielded atonal pieces. Following World War I, as a backlash against what they saw as the increasingly exaggerated gestures and formlessness of late Romanticism, certain composers adopted a neoclassic style, which sought to recapture the balanced forms and clearly perceptible thematic processes of earlier styles; see also New Objectivity and Social Realism). After World War II, modernist composers sought to achieve greater levels of control in their composition process (e.g., through the use of the twelve tone technique and later total serialism). At the same time, conversely, composers also experimented with means of abdicating control, exploring indeterminacy or aleatoric processes in smaller or larger degrees. Technological advances led to the birth of electronic music. Experimentation with tape loops and repetitive textures contributed to the advent of minimalism. Still other composers started exploring the theatrical potential of the musical performance (performance art, mixed media, fluxus).


Many of the key figures of the high modern movement are alive, or only recently deceased, and there is also still an extremely active core of composers (e.g., Elliott Carter), performers, and listeners who continue to advance the ideas and forms of Modernism.

Serialism is one of the most important post-war movements among the high modernist schools. Serialism, more specifically named "integral" or "compound" serialism, was led by composers such as Pierre Boulez, Bruno Maderna, Luigi Nono, and Karlheinz Stockhausen in Europe, and by Milton Babbitt, Donald Martino, and Charles Wuorinen in the United States. Some of their compositions use an ordered set or several such sets, which may be the basis for the whole composition, while others use "unordered" sets for the same purpose. The term is also often used for dodecaphony, or twelve-tone technique, which is alternatively regarded as the model for integral serialism.

Active modernist composers include Harrison Birtwistle, Alexander Goehr, Thomas Adès, Magnus Lindberg and Gunther Schuller.

Origins and history of Carnatic Music

Like all art forms in Indian culture, Carnatic music is believed to have a divine origin. It originated from the Devas and Devis (Hindu Gods and Goddesses), and is venerated as symbolic of nāda brāhman. Ancient treatises describe the connection of the origin of the swaras, or notes, to the sounds of animals and birds and man's effort to simulate these sounds through a keen sense of observation and perception. The Sama Veda, which is believed to have laid the foundation for Indian classical music, consists of hymns from the Rigveda, set to musical tunes which would be sung using three to seven musical notes during Vedic yajnas. The Yajur-Veda, which mainly consists of sacrificial formulae, mentions the veena as an accompaniment to vocal recitations. References to Indian classical music are made in many ancient texts, including epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata. The Yajnavalkya Smriti mentions vīṇāvādana tattvajñaḥ śrutijātiviśāradaḥ tālajñaścāprayāsena mokṣamārgaṃ niyacchati ("The one who is well versed in veena, one who has the knowledge of srutis and one who is adept in tala, attains salvation without doubt"). Carnatic music is based as it is today on musical concepts (including swara, raga, and tala) that were described in detail in several ancient works, particularly the Silappadhikaram, and Bharata's Natya Shastra.


Owing to Persian and Islamic influences in North India from the 12th century onwards, Hindustani music and Carnatic music styles diverged. By the 16th and 17th centuries, there was a clear demarcation between Carnatic and Hindustani music. It was at this time that Carnatic music flourished in Thanjavur, while the Vijayanagar Empire reached its greatest extent. Purandara Dasa, who is known as the father (Pitamaha) of Carnatic Music, formulated the system that is commonly used for the teaching of Carnatic music. Venkatamakhin invented and authored the formula for the melakarta system of raga classification in his Sanskrit work, the Chaturdandi Prakasika (1660 AD). Govindacharya is known for expanding the melakarta system into the sampoorna raga scheme - the system that is in common use today.

Carnatic music was mainly patronized by the local kings of the Kingdom of Mysore and Kingdom of Travancore in the 18th through 20th centuries. The royalty of the kingdoms of Mysore and Travancore were noted composers and proficient in playing musical instruments, such as the veena, rudra veena, violin, ghatam, flute, mridangam, nagaswara and swarabhat. Some famous court-musicians and royalty proficient in music were Veena Sheshanna (1852-1926) and Veena Subbanna (1861-1939), among others.

With the dissolution of the erstwhile princely states and the Indian independence movement reaching its conclusion in 1947, Carnatic music went through a radical shift in patronage into an art of the masses with ticketed performances organized by private institutions called sabhas. During the 19th century, Madras emerged as the locus for Carnatic music.