Characteristics of Indian traditional music culture

India is a country with profound cultural heritage. Do you know about Indian music culture? Below are the characteristics of Indian traditional music culture that I shared. Let’s take a look.

Introduction to the characteristics of Indian traditional music culture

Abstract: Indian music is an indispensable part of the history of world music and has left a lasting impression on people with its unique national characteristics and mysterious historical legacy. Deeply impressed. India has suffered from foreign invasions many times in history, so Indian music casts the essence of various national cultures and presents diverse characteristics. At the same time, Indian music has been influenced by a specific religious and cultural atmosphere for thousands of years and has unique religious and mysterious characteristics.

India has been a religious country since ancient times, with thousands of years of religious civilization and musical culture. The religion of the Indian nation controls people from birth to death, in every detail, but music can make the soul transcend the world and combine the basic spirit of faith and music into a whole. At the same time, influenced by the invaders, Indian music took on multi-ethnic characteristics. Other continuous melodies, intricate rhythms, strong and changeable drum sounds, lingering piano sounds, various styles of decorative sounds, endless decorative phrases, and varied improvisational singing and playing constitute a picture of Indian music. The wonderful picture is endlessly memorable.

The religious characteristics of Indian music

In the history of India, there have been multiple gods and multi-religious worship (there are 330 million gods recorded in Hindu classics), multi-ethnic groups and multi-religious worship. Languages ??(more than 100 ethnic groups, 1650 languages). [1] (P34-40) As of 2001, India had a population of 1.027 billion, including 820 million Hindus, accounting for approximately 79.8% of the total population; and 120 million Muslims, accounting for approximately 11.7% of the total population. ;____There are 24 million Christians, accounting for about 2.3% of the total population; 20 million Sikhs, accounting for about 1.9% of the total population; 8 million Buddhists, accounting for about 0.8% of the total population; There are 4 million Buddhists, accounting for about 0.4% of the total population. [2 ] (P44)

Among the many existing gods and religions in India, Hinduism and its three major gods have the longest history, and therefore also have the most believers. Hinduism has a history of more than 3,000 years since the Rig Veda was written. For a long time, the classics, doctrines, philosophy, ethics, laws, literature, myths and music it formed have had an undeniable influence on the Indian nation's beliefs and music culture. It is precisely under such a long-term historical accumulation that Indian music also has its own unique religious characteristics.

The basic spirit of Indian music culture and the Hindu philosophy of life are inseparable. "Brahma and I are one" is the core doctrine of Hinduism. In the "Atoriya Upanishad", the unity of "self" and "Great Brahma" is discussed in this way: "For whom is it? We respect as "self". Who is "self"? He sees colors, he hears sounds, he smells fragrances, he utters words, he talks about joys and sorrows. "Everyone who has this mind and this intention is sangruana. It is also the desire." , what is the intention? All these are sincerely called Prajna. 77 "The world is led by Prajna, and it is established in Prajna. Prajna is also the great Brahma." With this Prajna self, Vormativa gave birth to the happiness of this world. In the other side of the heaven, you can fulfill all your pleasures and desires, and achieve eternal life! It is perfect! -22)[3] (P21) In other words, once a person overcomes his own fleshly material desires, he can reveal his inner essential spirit. In essence, it will realize the "oneness of Brahman and me". Under the guidance of such philosophical thoughts, the art of Indian music has become the incarnation of the main content of Hindu culture, which regards overcoming material desires, pursuing spiritual nature and realizing the "oneness of Brahman and myself" as its main purpose. The highest ideal of life.

Among the various Indian dance videos today, the most impressive ones are the enchanting dancers, the bright music, and the Hindu architectural style. "Multi-level" is a typical feature. The building has a small roof, overhangs and lattice windows, and most of the carvings, mural decorations and decorations adopt the Hindu style, which is full of strong religious atmosphere, noble and mysterious. This noble and mysterious feeling also exists in the dancers and dancers. Among the musical characteristics, it leaves a deep impression and has endless aftertaste.

The national characteristics of Indian music

There are four major invasions in the history of India: the first. It was the invasion of the Sze people and the Yuezhi people, who established the Kushan Empire; the second was the invasion of Muslims; the third was the invasion of the Mongolian Timur in the second half of the 15th century; the fourth was the British and so on. The colonial deprivation of Western countries had a profound impact on the development of Indian music culture after these four major invasions. It is precisely for this reason that Indian culture is rich in ethnic diversity. The national culture has not affected Indian local music, but has enriched it with rich traditions, distinctive and eye-catching music, its continuous melody, intricate rhythms, strong and changeable drum sounds, and lingering sounds. The lingering sound of the piano, various styles of decorative tones, endless decorative phrases, and varied improvisational singing and playing, in a very unique environment, constitute a wonderful picture of Indian music.

India became a British colony in 1757. During this period, India's politics and economy were backward, but its religion and culture were relatively stable. From birth, adulthood, marriage, until cremation and leaving this world, Indians are indispensable with traditional music and dance. Traditional music and culture are rooted in the land of India and thrive. There is a motto in South India: "If art and science can be protected and nourished, they will shine like diamonds, otherwise they will become worthless gravel."

Indian music does not simply stay in traditional music forms, nor does it copy Western music in its entirety. Instead, it integrates musical elements from the West on the basis of retaining the characteristics of Indian classical music style, forming an "exchange between the East and the West." This kind of integration is mainly reflected in the creation of music. For example, the famous South Indian violinist Subramaniam collaborated with the Leningrad Kirov Symphony Orchestra of the Soviet Union to create "Vedic Hymns Fantasia". This Fantasia Taking Indian Vedic poetry as the framework, Western polyphonic creative techniques are used in the creation. The melody has twists and turns, and there are many decorative sounds. Together with the rich harmonic effect of the symphony orchestra, this fantasy has brilliant and delicate characteristics. In terms of musical instrument performance, the musical instruments imported from Europe have gradually been Indianized. Among them, the violin is particularly outstanding. The violin is integrated with South Indian classical music. In addition to retaining the shape and four-string tuning of the original violin, the playing form is changed to a sitting position, and the violin is held on the chest and right foot. Asked, and formed a complete performance system, using more portamento, more long bows and less broken bows. Indian violins are also played together with Indian zonas and veenas. In addition, unique Indian musical instruments are also played together with Western European instruments.

The basic characteristics of Indian music

In Indian music, the sound is called "Nada" (Nada). Nada is the original issue in Indian music theory and music research. Indian music theorists have divided nada into five types: sounds made with fingers, sounds made by tapping on some kind of membrane, sounds blown with air, sounds made by metal objects, and sounds made by human throats . These five sounds are actually five methods of producing sound, including human voices and musical instruments, which include plucked instruments, percussion instruments and bowed string instruments. The ancient Indian musicologist Harinayak divided sounds into three types. One is the sound of living things, such as the human voice; the second is the sound of non-biological things, such as the sound of musical instruments; the third is the sound of a combination of living things and non-biological things, such as folk vocal strings [4]. [5 ] (P21)

The scale of Indian music is also composed of seven tones. These seven tones are called "Swam" (Swam), and each Swam has its own unique sound. There is no exact consensus among Indian music theorists about the origin of Swaya. Several more representative theories include: 1. Vedic theory. It is believed that the seven main tones in the scale do not appear at the same time, but have their own development and change processes; 2. Natural theory. It is believed that the seven tones in the scale are derived from the imitation of animal sounds. 3. A physical perspective. Swaya is believed to be derived from six human organs. These six organs are: belly, chest, nasal cavity, throat, mouth and head cavity. 4. The views in the ancient book "Music Theory" (Sangit Makaranda) [5] (P38-45). "Music Theory" is a book about music. This book also discusses the origin of scales, and its views are mysterious. The book holds that seven different sages (Rishis) created seven different sounds (Nadas), and they were produced on seven different islands, at seven different times, and using seven different The colors represent seven different gods. This theory is very similar to the Chinese Five Elements theory.

We know that Indian rhythms, scales, beats, and melodies are particularly different from the unique system of Western music. They are formed through thousands of years of cultural inheritance and enrichment, and these are the formations of India. Music is what attracts people.

With the continuous enrichment of religious and national culture, Indian music has formed a music culture with unique regional characteristics. Indian music is also an indispensable part of the history of world music. Influenced by Hinduism, Indian music has formed a unique and mysterious culture. The impression of colonialism has enriched local music and formed a unique music culture.