Tabla

The tabla developed as a hybridized drum, influenced by all of these varieties, in particular, the mrdangm and the puskara. Muktesvara temple (6th-7th century) and Bhuranesvara (and three other cave temples) of Badari in Bombay (6th century) contain depictions of the Puskara. Musicians often placed the puskara's smaller verticle drum (called 'alinga'), on their lap and played more than one drum at a time. Given the the design, technology, and musical structure for drums common in this this period, we can piece together numerious features of the tabla.
The name 'tabla', probably derived from the Arabic word for a drum (generic), called the 'tabl'; and possibly to some extent the Turkish word 'dawal'. Another popular notion is that Amir Khursuro invented the tabla by splitting the Pakawaj into two drums. This is highly disputed. Abul Fazil, the court recorder neither mentions nor describes the tabla, leaving doubt that Amir Khursuro invented the tabla, contrary to a previously popular notion. The Muslim invaders undoubtedly influenced the culture and structure of the tabla. However, the earliest depictions and literature describing the tabla as we recognize it today come from the 18th century.
Details available from this point on enable us to chart the development to modern day. Over the last two centuries the tabla begins to take the forefront of percussion instruments in north Indian classical music. We can trace the family lineage of the gharanas from the 18th century onward. Over this time, the tabla slowly changed, the dayan decreasing in size while the bayan increased. During this time the instrument slowly became the primary drum for both classical and popular music of north India.

VIOLIN

The violin first emerged in northern Italy in the early 16th century especially from the Brescia area. Many archive documents testify that from 1585-95 Brescia was the cradle of a magnificent school of string players and makers, all called with the title of "maestro" of all the different sort of strings instruments of the Renaissance: viola da gamba (viols), violone, lyra, lyrone, violetta and viola da brazzo. So you can find "maestro delle viole" or "maestro delle lire" and later, at least from 1558, "maestro di far violini" that is master of violin making. From 1530 the word violin appear in brescian documents and spread all around north of Italy. While no instruments from the first decades of the century survive, there are several representations in paintings; some of the early instruments have only three strings and were of the violetta type. Most likely the first makers of violins borrowed from three different types of current instruments: the rebec, in use since the 10th century (itself derived from the Arab rebab), the Viola da Braccio (or Renaissance Fiddle), and the lira da braccio. The earliest explicit description of the instrument, including its tuning, was in the Epitome musical by Jambe de Fer, published in Lyon in 1556. By this time the violin had already begun to spread throughout Europe.

Player Piano

In 1881, an early patent for a piano player was issued to John McTammany of Cambridge, Mass. John McTammany described his invention as a "mechanical musical instrument." It worked using narrow sheets of perforated flexible paper which triggered the notes.
A later automatic piano player was the Angelus patented by Edward H. Leveaux of England on 27 February 1879, and described as an "apparatus for storing and transmitting motive power." John McTammany's invention was actually the earlier one invented (1876), however, the patents dates are in the opposite order due to filing procedures.
On March 28, 1889, William Fleming received a patent for a player piano using electricity.

PIANO

The piano first known as the pianoforte evolved from the harpsichord around 1700 to 1720, by Italian inventor Bartolomeo Cristofor. Harpsichord manufacturers had been determined to produce an instrument with a better dynamic response than the harpsichord. Bartolomeo Cristofali, the keeper of instruments in the court of Prince Ferdinand de Medici of Florence, was the first to solve the problem.
The instrument was already over a hundred years old by the time Beethoven was writing his last sonatas, around the time when it ousted the harpsichord as the standard keyboard instrument.

Classical Guitar

According to an oft-quoted phrase we are all adolescent intellectuals without history. So it makes sense to explore the noble history of classical guitar, which has travelled a long way only to carve a niche for itself in the world of music globally.This history would be incomplete without naming the legendary guitarist Luther Antonio de Torres (1817-1892) who made significant changes in the construction of the newly framed modern version these guitars. He is also considered as the founder of the modern classical guitar school. This unique history can be traced back to the Near East. The archaeologists found its representation in myriad forms in the excavations of Babylonia. Also referred to as a Spanish guitar, classical guitar heralds from the family of instruments called chordophones. They have been a part of the ancient musical tradition for over 100 years.Spanning over four centuries history classical guitar has been a subject of great debate and controversy. Many earlier instruments also contributed a great deal in shaping its history. Many great players and composers also contributed to an amazing extent in shaping up this amazing journey of this popular instrument. The popularity of the guitar was on the downslide with the emergence of the piano in the middle of the 19th century. Francisco Tarrega (1852-1909) initiated a whole new style of playing which added a new definition to the entire history of the classical guitar.

History of Guitar

The guitar is an amazing musical instrument with ancient roots and used in a huge variety of musical styles today, it is also called as solo classical instrument. It is most well known as the primary instrument in blues, country, flamenco, rock music and many other forms of pop. The guitar normally has six strings, but four, seven, eight, ten, and even twelve string guitars are as well available. Guitars are actually made and repaired by lutheirs. Guitars could be played acoustically or they may also rely on an amplifier, which usually allows for electronic manipulation of tone. The electric guitar was established in the 20th century, and had a huge profound influence on popular culture.

In many of the history books, even some which are highly rated, you would come to know that guitar was invented by the classical-era Greeks. This is in fact due to a simple mistake. The Greeks had an instrument that they called as “Kithara”. As this was a stringed instrument and as the name also resembles very closely that of guitar, historians tend to assume that it was a guitar. The Kithara was actually a sort of Lyra or Harp, which has nothing to do with a guitar. Also, if you view at ancient Egyptian paintings, you would see many musical instruments that could be easily be mistaken for a guitar. Even by those who have been playing the instrument for twenty years.

Another fact is that quite often, in these ancient paintings, the instruments in question were used as spiritual objects and were not even played. Through rigorous study, it becomes obvious that the guitar is not actually an ancient musical instrument.

Modern Indian Music

In the present day, there are far less people who enjoy Indian classical music as they feel it is too slow for them. Many youngsters go a step further terming classical music to be boring. But then, enjoying music is a personal journey and purely depends on the moods. However, in keeping with times and demands, today, most music composers have shifted from the classical to newer forms, whereby they imbibe the Indian melody and tunes with the western beats.



Modern Indian music comprises:

· Remixes, where old tunes are blended with faster beats making them popular amongst the younger generation. These are generally played at discos and parties.

· Fusion is that type of music where Indian classical music is combined with the western music forms to create a musical mix of east and west

· Film music is in fact extremely popular amongst people of all age groups. In fact an Indian film is considered incomplete without songs with the heroes and heroines dancing. Undoubtedly there is a clear distinction between the type of songs that were composed between the 1940s and 1980s and those composed ever since

· Indi pop, which is basically the Indian version of the western pop music. There are number of young artists who sign up with music companies to cut an album of pop songs in Hindi and other regional languages.



Modern Indian music has more of the western influences and barely imbibes any of the traditional forms. In fact even the basics of classical Indian music, raga and taal, has been removed from the latest compositions with composers using the western scale and tones. In fact the new music being generated brings in the older styles and blend them into the western chords, thus creating a fusion of east meets west type of music

Types of Indian music

India is a country known for its unity in diversity. India is made up of innumerable and varied cultures that inhabit various regions of the country. Though this country is made up of over twenty States, each one having its own mother tongue, culture, traditions and art forms, these states have varied regional cultures. Every region has its own unique art forms, which includes music, poetry, prose, handicrafts, paintings, etc.

While there are varied musical forms, Indian classical music has been broadly divided into the north Indian tradition also known as Hindustani music and the Carnatic music belonging to south India. What differentiates the two is their arrangement and performance.

Apart from the abovementioned broad based categories, there are varied types of Indian music. The fact is that many associate all Indian music compositions of the eras gone by to be classical, however there are other entertaining and purposeful ones that have come down the ages. These include:

· Folk

· Tribal

· Bhajans or devotional

· Ghazals and Qawwalis

· Bhangra

· Indi-pop

· Film songs

· Remixes

· Fusion

With passing time the role of music has been changing. With Vedic beginnings and spiritual compositions, Indian music has seen numerous genres step in. Apart from the original classical forms, every foreign invasion brought with its musical influences, thus giving musicians more scope for creative and tuneful compositions. Today, the country has innumerable types of music that is enjoyed by people in every nook and corner. It could be in the form of live performances or what is heard and seen through the electrical medium.

Taal

Taal is considered the rhythmic basis of Indian music, be it instrumental or vocal. There are common rhythmic patterns that are used in various combinations to create a musical composition. The taal is defined as a rhythmic structure or time measure, also known as time cycle. Though this is supposed to remain fixed within each composition, it can be repeated in cycles and each cycle can be divided into either equal or unequal parts.

The cycle of a taal can consist of any number of beats with the minimum being 3 and the maximum 108. Sum or the first beat of the cycle is the most important part of a taal. In fact maximum stress has to be placed on the sum.

The setting of the taal into a composition is based on the belief that as there is a perfect balance in the universe, there should be balance in music too. The compositions based on rhythm are generally divided into simple and complicated meters. It is usually independent of the music that goes along with it and moves in bars. The smallest unit of a taal is the matra.

Musicians consider the taal to be the pulse of Indian classical music. The following are some of the taals that are usually used by musicians:

· Dadra is a cycle of 6 beats

· Rupak is a cycle of 7 beats

· Jhaptal is a cycle of 10 beats

· Ektal is a cycle of 12 beats

· Adha-Chautal contains 14 beats

· Teen-Tal is comprised of 16 beats

Raga

Raga is basically the melodic basis of Indian musical forms. In the western world musicians base their compositions on mode and scale, which are considered the equivalent of the Indian raga. There are thousand of ragas that are the basis of Hindustani music, of which six are considered as fundamental. These being:

· Bhairav

· Malkauns

· Hindol

· Dipak

· Megh

· Shree

Carnatic music has 72 fundamental ragas.



Irrespective, whether the composition is that of Hindustani or Carnatic music, the composer is able to create tunes that are soulful and not mechanical. The compositions seem more as though it has been the musician’s personal journey.

The Indian musician generally attempts to use the ragas in a combination to create meditative music, which is music that can take the listener into a trance. Some famous compositions have been known to actually take listeners into a state beyond the conscious, giving them a vision of what exists in the sub-conscious state. The ragas are considered to represent the tunes of the universe, as they were not developed on the basis of mechanical process, but from the sounds around the ancient musicians who gave Indian music these musical notes.



The fact is that raga is an accurate, fine, and aesthetic form of melody having its own distinctive ascending and descending movement. Every raga has its own temperament. In fact each one of these melodic notes of Indian music expresses emotions and feelings. These include peace, bliss, calmness, piety, dedication, solitude, sadness, suffering, valor, strength, etc. The notes were created to bring about a unity between humanity and nature. In fact, composers combined ragas to create music compositions to bring about certain moods in the listeners. The correct play of ragas help people to go through the process of catharsis or emotional cleansing.



Though musicians are taught to follow certain prescribed rules when composing their music, the also have the freedom to improvise on the existing ragas, bringing out their aesthetics. The composer should be able to bring about the appropriate mood in what they have composed. It is said that the ragas were created representing the various times of the day such as dawn, morning, afternoon, evening, dusk, night; as well as the beauty and varied aspects of each season.

India’s musical history

India’s musical history dates back to the prehistoric times and is in fact regarded as one of the oldest in the world. Most experts claim that the origins of Indian music dates back to the era when the Vedas were created. No matter what time and age maybe associated with the history of Indian music, there is no doubt that it has been and important part of the country’s rich cultural and traditional heritage.

India’s music is based on the combination of vocal and instrumental music, along with dance. And these three combined is what is known as sangeet. According to the documented history of Indian music, performances were complete with the combination of the three. This includes the musical performances in the royal court, temples, during celebrations and festivals, in the villages as part of their entertainment program, etc.

One of oldest music forms known as Sama was developed during the Vedic period, which stretched from 1500 to 500 BC. The hymns that were penned by the learned men of that age were put to tune. Ever since the history of Indian music saw continuous evolution from the devotional folk to the present day structural form based on the melody and rhythm, also called raga and taal, respectively.

According to historic recordings concerning the music of India, prior to the 13th century there was primarily one type of musical form. But with the invasion of the Mughals, the music of north and central India blended with the Mughal influences of Arabia and Persia bringing into being Hindustani music. On the other hand the Carnatic music of the south has remained untouched by any kind of external influences.

Indian music has continued to evolve and develop through the eras. It undoubtedly, forms an essential part of every Indian’s life living in this country or overseas. In fact there are a large number of foreigners who have taken to learning the various forms of Indian music. As the history of Indian music clearly declares, music has been the foundation for religious inspiration and rituals, cultural and traditional expression and has been a source for entertainment.

Indian music

Indian music is one of the oldest musical traditions in the world.[6] The Indus Valley civilization left sculptures which show dance[7] and musical instruments (some no longer in use), like the seven holed flute. Various types of stringed instruments and drums have been recovered from Harrappa and Mohenjo Daro by excavations carried out by Sir Mortimer Wheeler.[8] The Rigveda has elements of present Indian music, with a musical notation to denote the metre and the mode of chanting.[9] Early Indian musical tradition also speaks of three accents and vocal music known as "Samagan" (Sama meaning melody and Gan meaning to sing).[10] The classical music of India includes two major traditions: the southern Carnatic music and the northern Hindustani classical music. India's classical music tradition is millennia long and remains important to the lives of Indians today as a source of religious inspiration, cultural expression, and entertainment.

Indian classical music (marga) is monophonic, and based around a single melody line or raga rhythmically organized through talas. Carnatic music is largely devotional; the majority of the songs are addressed to the Hindu deities. There are a lot of songs emphasising love and other social issues. In contrast to Carnatic music, Hindustani music was not only influenced by ancient Hindu musical traditions, Vedic philosophy and native Indian sounds but also by the Persian performance practices of the Afghan Mughals. The origins of Indian classical music can be found from the oldest of scriptures, part of the Hindu tradition, the Vedas. Samaveda, one of the four vedas describes music at length.

Romantic music

In the Romantic period, music became more expressive and emotional, expanding to encompass literature, art, and philosophy. Famous early Romantic composers include Schumann, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Bellini, and Berlioz. The late 19th century saw a dramatic expansion in the size of the orchestra, and in the role of concerts as part of urban society. Famous composers from the second half of the century include Johann Strauss II, Brahms, Liszt, Tchaikovsky, Verdi, and Wagner. Between 1890 and 1910, a third wave of composers including Dvořák, Mahler, Richard Strauss, Puccini, and Sibelius built on the work of middle Romantic composers to create even more complex – and often much longer – musical works. A prominent mark of late 19th century music is its nationalistic fervor, as exemplified by such figures as Dvořák, Sibelius, and Grieg. Other prominent late-century figures include Saint-Saëns, Fauré, Rachmaninoff and Franck.

music history

The field of music history, sometimes called historical musicology, is the highly diverse subfield of the broader discipline of musicology that studies the composition, performance, reception, and criticism of music over time. Historical studies of music are for example concerned with a composer's life and works, the developments of styles and genres (such as baroque concertos), the social function of music for a particular group of people (such as music at the court), or the modes of performance at a particular place and time (such as the performance forces of Johann Sebastian Bach's choir in Leipzig).

In theory, "music history" could refer to the study of the history of any type or genre of music (e.g., the history of Indian music or the history of rock). In practice, these research topics are nearly always categorized as part of ethnomusicology or cultural studies, whether or not they are ethnographically based.

The methods of music history include source studies (esp. manuscript studies), paleography, philology (especially textual criticism), style criticism, historiography (the choice of historical method), musical analysis, and iconography. The application of musical analysis to further these goals is often a part of music history, though pure analysis or the development of new tools of music analysis is more likely to be seen in the field of music theory. (For a more detailed discussion of the methods see the section on "Research in Music History" below) Some of the intellectual products of music historians include editions of musical works, biography of composers and other musicians, studies of the relationship between words and music, and the reflections upon the place of music in society.

classical music

Celebrating the ‘India Calling’ event at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, a special ensemble of music created by Pandit Ravi Shankar and accompanied by his daughter Anoushka showcased Indian classical and contemporary music.

An audience of over 15,000 sat enthralled all through the spectacular musical treat on September 20 organised jointly by National Geographic and Incredible India at the Hollywood Bowl, according to a Tourism Ministry release.

The musical programme included Bhangra by Malkit Singh, songs by Kailash Kher and folk singers from Rajasthan.

Tourism Secretary Sujit Banerjee said “The rewards of producing ‘India Calling’ are endless, but is rooted in promoting more inbound tourism for India from all around the world and exporting India’s culture at the same time.”