Yoga and Music

     The two words - Yoga and Music are popular the world over. While Music surfaced in almost every civilization of the world in one form or the other, Yoga has been the legacy of the civilizations in the Indian region. In adaptations across cultures, Yoga has developed different meanings specific to the people of the regions.
     The original (native) meaning of the word Yoga is 'to combine' or 'to join'. Therefore, there must be things that need to be connected, and therefore things that are disjoint currently. Those things are the body and the mind, the mind and the voice. It is essential that the body obeys the mind and the mind thinks about the body. It is also essential that the voice be in the shape the person wants to convey the meaning. All these things are essential.
    Yoga, is certainly not a different type of acrobatics or a relaxation course. It must be undertaken to enhance awareness. An in an aware body, an original sense of music is more likely to prevail. Music will be in different colors when practiced with Yoga.

Listening to your own voice

        As a child, it always struck me when I saw some page in a book saying "And he realized that all pains are inevitable" or "he could finally listen to his own self". In those days, I tagged them to be poetic non-sense. After all, I could always listen to my own voice and I knew 'No pain, No gain' and other related quotes. There was nothing so impressing about it. Every book told it. Every body knew it.
       Then, there came times when I began to feel the things, realize the things. Yes, when they say be quiet, we should be quiet. Quiet not just in the manner of not uttering a word, but also quietening the mind. I could then feel blood flowing in my nerves. And these things also made me aware of so many tensions, and pains in the body. Pain, as they have said it, is inevitable.
       Now, after learning some basic ragas in Hindustani Classical Vocals, I must say my notions for the voice have changed. It is not just the sound produced from the vibration of vocal chords, it is the result of all the activities that go on inside us at that moment. It makes us conscious that now we are being heard, we own the words that we say, and we are responsible for it. I think, I am beginning to hear my own self.

The songwriter's world

       It becomes quite clear to the people watching a movie that the actors are merely playing the part as directed by the director. However, the same things can only be arguably applied to musical recordings. There is somebody who also directed the singer to produce some notes. After all having a mastery over your voice is know good if you don't know how to use it. It must be understood that a good voice and a good feel of music are not necessarily synonymous, or for that matter even synchronous.
      A songwriter's world is full of music that has never been heard. They have imaginations for the sounds they hear, and in a subjective way they have a feeling for what adds motion or contrast to a particular idea. It is true that the music they hear leads them to the next chord, but that next chord may not always be found. Many a times there are unquenched emotional thirsts that lay buried deep in the songwriter's mind.
    A big challenge to the songwriter's mind is the notes that remain in head. They are good when composing a song. Music is essentially an instrument guided by intuition and experience. But what about the time when you don't need music? The note still hangs there. Ringing aloud, and it may become very difficult to control it. Also, a songwriter has a feeling for almost any type of sound. And it can include an annoying person or event that is somehow unavoidable. It is therefore a must that a songwriter be able to divorce the mind from the prevalent 'bad musicality'. Ignorance is bliss, rightly said.

Intricacies in Hindustani Classical Vocals

     All around the world classical music developed as a discipline. None of these was without strict rules usually. Sticking to the constant practice it was inevitable that every music culture developed some specialties unique to them. The western world has harmony in its account, while Africa is usually known for excellence in rhythmic patterns. The lesser known Mongolian music is rich with overtone singing, and the Indian Classical Vocals are reputed for their highly developed melodic structures.
    At first, it should be noted that usually the Hindustani performances are very open to improvisation, if saying that any performance without them would be considered incomplete would only be an understatement. So, the ustads and the pandits developed feelings for the melodic tracks that seemed more beautiful to them.
   There is a specific device called 'taan' where the pitches change very quickly,  but always add to the decorations that the main body of the raga had formed. The taan must be such that the main notes are emphasized and certain and the beats are always respected.
  Such mastery over fast changing notes have captured the Indian audience to the bones, and it is also a vital element in the present pop Bollywood songs. They come out in fragments though, as a section devoted exclusively to them can get boring and may not fit the screen well.

Raag Yaman : A love Raga

  Raga Yaman is a distinctly popular raga in the Hindustani Classical Music. It is equivalent to the Mixolydian scale in Western Music Theory (i.e. a raised fourth degree). It should be sung somewhat after dusk.
  It is said that the raga was designed to be sung by the ladies during evenings while performing 'shringaar' (beautifying). Mostly, the lyrics describe a lady portraying her husband who casts a spell on her with his enigmatic eyes, or a lover in some distant land who is breathlessly awaited.
  This Raga has also been a choice raga for the film-makers. Many songs in Bollywood are based on the 'essential aspects' of this Raga. Improvisations from trained experts and the beauty written down by centuries of traditional singers combine to deliver great many songs to the public, who enjoys it without knowing virtually anything about its origin.
 This Raga is a heartfelt one for almost every classical singer. It is considered a 'Parent Raga' (the other one being Raga Bhairav). Ustads have said that these two should be the prime focus of any learner, and an extremely solid foundation on them is necessary.

Beauty of the Ragas

          The most popular and probably the most beautiful musical form of the Hindustani Classical Music are the Ragas. They have been practiced by generations of classical vocalists and form the basis for teaching and examination in the present day India.
          Raga in its simples form is similar to a 'scale' in Western Music. For example, Raga Yaman for example corresponds to the Lydian Scale. Additionally, there is a 'vadi' (dominant) and 'samvadi' (co-dominant) note that capture most of the attention. There are also some phrases that usually repeat in unveiled or disguised forms (the 'pakad').
         Ragas have a particular time to be sung, because it is suited to the emotion during that period ('peher'). As an example, mornings usually start with prayers or good thoughts, and therefore Raga Bhairav or Raga Bilawal should be sung. During the evenings, the mood gets romantic and Raga Yaman would be suitable. It is not a compulsion that Ragas be period-specific, but simply that the time of the day can help the singer attain the mood necessary for bringing of subtle beauties in the Ragas.
         Also, Ragas are open to improvisation. The vocalist may create any and as many phrases as wished keeping in line with the 'tala' (tempo) and the mood of the Raga. There have been greats who have sung the same Raga on almost every occasion and have still interested the audience by adding new features unique to their style of singing.
       Melodic Phrases in Raga are highly developed and use a lot of techniques which require time to be mastered. Anybody who wishes to learn Hindustani Classical Music, will certainly feel the warmth of the Raga.

The Film Music Industry

    A new haven for musical adventures has been the motion-picture industry. Many composers have been renowned for their skillful wisdom in choosing the sounds that would harmonize or contrast the screen. Many of the tools and figures in the classical European music have been employed and many creative users have found a space to experiment with.
    Cinema, at its core is altogether a new form of art. Considered elementally it is a fusion, and only a fusion of various classical art forms - drama, literature, music, dance etc. and some recent art forms like digital photography. Thus a wise producer must have all of this in comfortable chairs to produce a good movie.
    Hollywood is mainly focused on drama and literature. The essential elements driving a typical Hollywood movie are its story, and the enactment. Music here, serves the purpose of a smooth river (sometimes rash, though) on which these things can flow. The prime focus is almost never on music, but its sudden absence usually causes the audience to search for the sound.
    Bollywood, on the other hand, has a lot of 'visible' music. There is not only the background music that runs through almost the entire length of the film, but there are video songs, where the actors are usually shown to be singing the verses , and (sometimes, though) even playing an instrument. They are less 'rational' as it seems really strange how a police inspector could suddenly get such a lovely voice, or how any random person can suddenly get such good words.
    But it does not really matter, since people do not mind attaching good sounds to good faces. It is unfortunate with the music industry in India that most of their work is with the tag of a film and not independent artist labels. Musicians here are like 'secondary' stars to the film actors.
    It is absurd to think that the film industry is going to end some day soon. This is a serious business and occassionaly it covers areas even outside the scope of 'entertainment' in classical sense. And films will always need the music. An evolving world is the safest world. The emergence of new film forms will call for new musical forms. But, those musical forms will be in the background. Always.

Why Music Matters

           Music has been with everyone of us in some form or the other. Music, in its various incarnations has affected almost everybody significantly in some way or the other. We have always liked it, and we share a common craving to hear better ones.
           We are conscious beings and are consistently concerned with storing the knowledge that we have. Language has served as a medium to this requisite, but language was tough to be grasped. Sounds could be easily heard, but they could not be memorized. It came out eventually that a fusion of verbs and vibrations can produce something that qualifies to be unforgettable. There is almost no civilization where music was not being practiced.
          Children have an infinite appetite for stories. They like to imagine, play, and explore. Music is borne into us right from childhood. There is no function, no gathering, no party without music. And then of course, when the lonely hearts wants to weep, it has a full list of songs ready to resonate the sentiment. There is a song for every mood. Music is one of the few ubiquitous things in the world.
          We are normal people. We like to be heard. We like to express ourselves. And this will always keep us bound to music, because we see our own stories in the songs. We are really fortunate to be touched by music.