Raga Megh by Shivkumar Sharma - Essay Example

Raga Megh by Shivkumar Sharma Lecturer: Raga Megh by Shivkumar Sharma Music is a language that everyone and anyone in the world can easily understand without having to take up particular classes. Music is, however, different depending on the region where it is got from. There are cultures where the music is different and have their own understandings and meanings to the songs. In a study of music, there are some musical genres that one would come across and find that there are some aspects that are unique to that particular genre. In the body to investigate this, the aim of this paper shall be to look into the Indian music culture and find a music type and study it and its characteristics, from performance to meaning. Bruno Nettl studied music to find out its relationship with the culture of the people that listened to it and he found that there is a relationship that exists between culture and the music. He found that a culture is comprised of different components that ranged from politics, economy to religion (Bakshi 2005). He said it was these components that had the power to determine the direction of a musical piece. Music is part of a culture that each and every aspect of the culture has its own relationship to culture depending on the component. Furthermore, he said that music being a part of a culture meant that it had the potential to be part of a culture and it contributed to the growth and development of a culture while still maintaining its uniqueness. Nettl further took leaf from Merriams approach to find that music came as a result of the choices that people made in their lives; and so is the case in raga music. The raga idea is one that is defined by the rules that specify the musical notes that are used to denote an ascent or a descent. Raga is one if the musical groups in Hindustani that was measured on a greater scale with more detail. The major scales of the piece are associated with cheerful moods, with minor tones being associated with darker moods. It is with this that raga music is played based on the type of occasion that is up. The performer makes this possible due to the edits. The diversity of the Indian culture makes raga a very important part of Hindustani culture. This is because there is no way in which a culture may be separate from its musical affiliations because, music and culture are inseparable. The idea is that the people need to be at one with their culture and music, as well. In Shivkumar Sharmas performance, the entire song is directly connected to culture. There is no vulgarity in the song and the raga tone is passed through the song. According to Claytons definition in the article, there is a definition that is behind the tones and the way in which the music sounds. In the raga form of Indian music, the musics definition and understanding are based on an outside meaning. Clayton, furthermore made the definition more complex by adding that music could be defined as something that refers to another thing. Raga music in the Indian culture is a form of music that is used in the definition of things that are related to the Indian way of life. In the performance of Raga music, the performer must be capable of ensuring that all the emotions and the tones that are related to the song are met. In Shivkumar Sharma’s performance of the song Raga Megh, the listener can see such an instance of emotional discharge. At 1:04, Sharma begins to intensify the introduction so as to get the emotions of the listener into a frenzy and desire to listen more and get the underlying meaning and message. The genre is dependent on the understanding of the tones and ensuring that every note is accurately considered. In the performance of the song, the meaning is driven home by the use of facial expressions and the way in which the tones are said (Alterhaug, 2004). Raga Megh is a scale that is used in many places and is able to be edited, as well. Furthermore, when asked the meaning of the performance, Sharma said that that the song was performed as a form of praise for to the gods for coming so as to quench the fire that had been brought forth during the hot season. The scale is furthermore different because, despite the meaning of the song and its reference to the monsoon, it gives meaning to the time and tone that is used in the performance. Raga Megh is simple yet diverse and is capable of giving a meaning to the song and its performance. It is with the meaning of the Raga Megh and its relation to the monsoon that one will be forced to agree that, in music, the meaning and the understanding of something is always related to something else that is outside the scope (Bor and Rao 2002). Besides, there is a different way to which the Hindustani music of Raga is performed. Yes, there is a way in which the body must be put so as to ensure that the message is past. However, in the Raga music, the song is the same. It is sung over and over and with time, there gets to a point whereby the performer is forced to change the song and create a refrain that would later give way to a different kind of song. The song is considered to be unique because, the following refrains and verses are created in the spot and are dependent on the type of occasion and the reason as to why the occasion is occurring; not to mention the mood of the event. For many people, this would be the deciding factor on the way in which people would like the mood of the event (Daniélou and Daniélou 2007). Instantaneously, the performer will be forced to be more vigilant in the crowd and be able to tell their demographics and be able to come up with a type of song that will be entertaining to them. In the performance by Sharma one sees that, the performer takes advantage of the three types of improvisations and applies them throughout the entire presentation. At 1:04, Sharma intensifies the introduction and uses this to cause an overflow of emotion. Vista is the type of improvisation that is employed at this point. This is the ‘expansion’ of the important notes of the Raga through various types (Mirchandani 2011, 15-30). As per the opinion of Alterhaug, there is improvisation in the performance of the piece by Shivkumar Sharma. This is because the performance is not as per the contemporary method that is known by most people. Shivkumar Sharmas piece is full of improvisation because, she performs a Raga Megh scale (Raga Megh 2006). This improvisation is easy because the scale does not have a particular third major or minor and thus causing the scale to be considered an ambiguous. Alterhaug believed that, even though there was a need for there to be training so as to play a particular tune, improvisation was among the ways for one to manage to create their own unique piece. Sharma uses improvisation as a way to interact with the listeners and does this so as to make the listener open to interacting with the musician and the song. In the large scale section of the song, the performer decides to use a slow and unmetered introduction as a point whereby they may improvise and introduce their own (Ram Avtar. 2000). The artist managed to avoid the mistakes that would accompany the improvising in a performance. In conclusion, the Raga Megh is one of the musical scales that are incorporated in the Indian musical scene. The performer is a descent artist and is capable of writing numerous compositions that have resulted in him being well known. However, despite the knowledge of his power in music, in the performance of the Raga Megh, he was capable of interacting with the people and the audience while still maintaining his authenticity. Works Cited Alterhaug, Bjørn. "Improvisation on a triple theme: Creativity, Jazz Improvisation and Communication." Studia Musicologica Norvegica 30, no. 3 (2004): 97-117. Bakshi, Haresh. 101 raga-s for the 21st century and beyond. Victoria, B.C.: Trafford, 2005. Bor, Joep and Savarnalata Rao. The raga guide. Monmouth: Wyastone Estate, 2002. Daniélou, Alain and Alain Daniélou. The rāga-s of northern Indian music. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 2007. Mirchandani, Rajan. Learn How to Play Indian Raga Scales on your Guitar: A complete look at Raga scales, fret board patterns and techniques, with examples. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2011. "Raga Megh." Ravi Shankar. 2006. film. Ram Avtar. Theory of Indian ragas. New Delhi: Pankaj Publications, 2000. Read More