MUSIC AS COMMUNICATION – AN INDIAN PERSPECTIVE

(This article written by me was published in UK based online magazine FFM.
Link to which is-http://ffmrecords.com/2017/10/04/music-communication-indian-perspective/)

Music is that medium of communication which provides a way by which people can share emotions, intentions, and meanings. Music can exert powerful physical and behavioural effects which can produce deep emotions within us. It can generate a sense of peace and happiness within a person. Music be it vocal or instrumental has a deep impact on the human body.

Playing an instrument is a way to express and communicate our thoughts and feelings. In Indian music where ragas are the whole and soul of the music, Indian musical instruments conveyed the essence of raga without the use of lyrics. The beauty of Indian music is that it is an unusual combination of technique, structure and improvisation. So, even the person playing some instrument can communicate a lot of things to the audience through its playing of a particular instrument. Every instrumentalist, specially in India has a distinct style of playing the notes.

Some instruments like sarangi and violin are considered to be the closest to the vocals of a singer. Instruments like flute and sehnnai have effectively communicated the sweetness and richness of a particular raaga or the song. If one listens to Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia or Ustaad Bismillah Khan, its sure one won’t miss the vocals. Their instruments are sufficient to take the audience into a journey of melody and peace.

 In Indian Music concerts specially in instrumental music concerts, I will regard the audience as the “consumers.” The quality of performance is dependent on the quality of the audience participation in this manner. It is definitely a two-way communication, where the performer and the audience share a symbiotic and mutually beneficial relationship. That is why, I regarded audience as the consumers.  The instrumentalist attracts more audience then a vocal musician because in vocal music their is a barrier of language. For example- a person who does not understand Hindi may not be interested in Indian Vocal Music but that person may be interested in instrumental music because it does not include any language.  When our Indian instrumentalists tour different countries for the concerts, its not just they go and play a particular raga but its like communicating the Indian culture through their instruments.

To conclude, instrument playing is an effective way of communicating one’s emotions and thoughts to the audience.If one listens to Ustaad Amjad Ali Khan’s Raag Malhar one could feel the pouring of rains beside him/her. Its not just the case with Ustaad Amjad Ali Khan’s sarod but if one listens to anyone of that level one can get the true feel and essence of the raga/song.