India

From Classical to Bollywood 

Everyone is familiar with some sort of classical music--Mozart, Bach, Vivaldi. You either love it or hate it. What many American music lovers are not familiar with is the classical music of India. Classical Indian music is based on ragas, the colors that are used to create a scale of musical sound. Rather than the music being created by a composer, classical Indian musicians develop ragas over time based on certain moods, time of day and seasons.

While we normally think of Western classical music as only instrumental with little or no vocals, Indian classical music uses mostly vocals. Of course, there are many different genres of classical Indian music, each with varying styles. Some forms of classical music are mostly instrumental, but Carnatic music is one of the most highly recognized forms, and its emphasis is on melodic vocals.  

India also has a vastly diverse folk music tradition. Indian folk music takes on many forms due to India’s cultural diversity. The focus of Indian folk is lively instrumentals, and it is usually played at festivals where dancing is almost always involved.  

Lavani is the most popular form of Indian folk music, which is accompanied by many dance performances. The music is upbeat and sung in a quick tempo, while the dances are performed by women in saris. 

Other types of folk music are mainly vocal and carry with them a certain message. Ganasangeet usually has a social message with recurring themes of freedom, community and patriotism. Uttarakhandi music is always about the beauty and simplicity of nature, and it utilizes many different types of instruments.

Popular Indian music today has become increasingly part of a culture called film music. This is the usage of Indian music in Bollywood films. Instead of already composed songs being included in films, as we do in western culture, the music is specifically written and composed to fit with the movie script. 

Another feature of Bollywood film music is that often the actors/actresses themselves are singing the songs, rather than them being played in the background. 

Indian music has become extremely widespread with the introduction of music into popular culture. People all around the world are familiar with Indian music as well as Bollywood films.  

A.R. Rahman

One of the most skilled and well-known filmmakers and musicians in India, A.R. Rahman has earned the nickname “the Mozart of Madras” due to his extensive and impressive body of work. 

Rahman practices many forms of classical and folk Indian music, and he includes these elements in most of his film music. 

Rahman’s musical genre is technically Indian pop, but his music can also be categorized as dance, electronic and film score.

One of his most universally recognized film scores was for 2008’s Slumdog Millionaire, for which he won a Golden Globe and two Academy Awards.  

Rahman has not only been successful with composing film music, but he also released Vande Mataram in 1997, an album of his own compositions. His success was noted when the album became the biggest-selling Indian album that was not film music. 

The multi-talented artist’s success did not end there, however, as he has performed all over the world with his music and even along with a dancing troupe at a Michael Jackson concert. 

Rahman has collaborated with many artists and even performed his first world tour in 2010 called the A.R. Rahman Jai Ho Concert: The Journey Home World Tour.