Music: A Journey From Africa to Humanity's Soul - Essay Sample

Introduction

Music is found in all known cultures, whether past or present. Music varies with time and place. Since all communities around the world have music, it can then be concluded that music may have begun a long time ago in the old times and the beginning of the world. It is believed that the first form of music may have been started In Africa, from where it gradually spread to other places (Emmerson, 2016).

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After the evolution of music, it became an essential part of human life. Certain cultures' music is influenced by the features of the culture, for instance climate, economic and social organizations, emotions expressed by the music, attitude of composers and the players, and even religion. Music history is a field in musicology, that studies music from the past (Emmerson, 2016).

The earliest music is known as prehistoric music because it was produced in the prehistoric times. Ancient music then followed prehistoric music. Ancient music was produced in some parts of Europe at around 1500 BC (Manuel, 2015). Later, the music gradually spread to other European regions.

The first musical instrument was the human voice (Manuel, 2015). A variety of sounds can be made from the human voice. Such sounds include singing, whistling and humming. The current paper will discuss and compare the north Indian culture and the northern Australian indigenous culture. In addition, it will give conclusions on the comparisons.

North Indian Culture and Northern Australian Indigenous Culture

North Indian Culture

The music found in northern India is known as Hindustani. Hindustani originated from ritual chants (Alter, 2016). Around the 12th century, Hindustani music was changed its name to Carnatic classical music. The forms of Hindustani music were initially designed for vocal performance. The forms involved a melodic mode, also known as raga, and a rhythmic cycle also known as tala.

Many instruments were made according to their relations with the human voice. The main vocal forms associated with the Hindustani performance include khayal, thumri and dhrupad. In the 20th century, the sponsorship of the nawabs and maharajahs to the Hindustani music weakened due to the diminishing of their power (Alter, 2016).

The classical music is made up of seven notes, which include Sa, Re, Ma, Pa, Ga, Ni, and Dha. Additionally, it consists of five combined half notes. The base frequency varies, and the tonal gaps may also vary. However, with the harmonium having gradually replaced the sarangi, the use of an equal scale has been adopted (Orsini & Schofield, 2015).

The presentation is set in a melodic form known as raga, which is characterized by a given descent or ascent, known as arahona, which is not alike. Additionally, each raga has its own rules, known as mend, and its register known as ambit. Furthermore, each raga consists of specific features in relation to different compositions and styles within the structure of the raga. The most commonly used and known instruments in the Hindustani music are the sarod, sitar, drone, shehnai, sarangi, table and tambura (Manuel, 2015).

Ragas can originate from various sources which include folklore, bhajans, religious hymns and folk tunes. Ragas are comprised of ascending and descending notes. Ragas should consist of a minimum of five notes. There are three types of ragas, and they include ourab, which is made up of five notes, sharab made of six notes and sampurna, made up of seven notes (Alter, 2016). Musicians have to be very cautious so as not to include other ragas while singing or playing a certain raga.

Musical motes help in the composition of a raga, similar to the way that words help in the composure of stories. The continuous singing or playing of a raga creates a mood which listeners like. Different moods can be created by different ragas. The moods can include anger, love or romance.

Ragas also have different times of performance, for example, there are ragas of the morning, noon ragas, evening ragas and also night ragas. In between these ragas are other ragas known as sandhi Prakash or twilight ragas, which are sung in the morning and the evening. Other different ragas can be ragas suitable for different seasons such as the summer, spring, winter and monsoon (Orsini & Schofield, 2015).A traditional Hindustani performance may last for more than an hour. The performance starts with the improvising of an alapa by the soloist. An alapa is a long and nonmetric instrument. The alapa is then followed by jor, an imprecision having an observable pulse but lacking the metric cycle, and then with a faster but similar jhala. Finally, the composed piece follows, whereby it is performed with spontaneous variations. The variations are mostly a poetic form known as khayal, mostly used to perform vocal music, and gat used to play instrumental music. The singer is then accompanied by a table, whereby the inventions frequently involve different forms of virtuosic rhythmic cooperation and competition (Orsini & Schofield, 2015).

Northern Australian Indigenous Culture

The northern Australian indigenous music was started way back by the native people. Most of the songs are believed to have come in the form of dreams. Humans are usually recognized for the composition of the songs, but more credit is given to ancestors who are believed to have given the songs to the people while they sleep or when they are in quiet period (Wells, 2018).

The northern Australian indigenous music has been popularly known for the classic tone of the didgeridoo together with the rhythm brought by clapping of sticks. Different clans perform different indigenous music using different tones. The traditional dancing is mostly performed in ceremonies. Also, it can be used as a method of storytelling, for instance, when mimicking a kangaroo (Gibson & Connell, 2016)).

Musical styles which originated from the aboriginal people of northern Australia are still used today even in other regions such as the central region, Western Australia, and Cape York. The traditional indigenous music of north Australia is primarily vocal. The music involves a singer or two or more singers who can sing together, but they have to be of the same gender. A single male singer or a group of male singers may accompany themselves with boomerang sticks or paired sticks. Similarly, a single female or several female singers can perform songs with the help of body thumping and paired sticks. The performance may also involve the didgeridoo. A didgeridoo is a natural trumpet that lacks fingerholes (Wells, 2018).

Performances lack written prompts, and are done out of doors. They are often accompanied by energetic male presentations, and also virtuosic performances by women. However, the female performances are normally more contained. The ceremonial complex may further be extended for instance by the use of paintings which include rock painting, body painting, special boards painting, ceremonial poles, and also figurine carvings. Also, different costumes may be used. The costumes include props, for instance, the feathered strings (Fisher, 2016).

Currently in areas with active traditional styles, musicians in co-operating their music with the available styles. For instance, a rock artist may use his guitar, drum set and bass to sing a song that had been written by an indigenous person in their language. Often, the rock assemble is combined with didgeridoo (Fisher, 2016).

In recent decades, the indigenous music of the northern Australian people has made a name for itself all over the world. Northern Australia is home to some of the famous artists and bands. Some of them include warumpi band, Yothu Yindi, and Geoffrey Yunupingu. The genres commonly used currently include hip hop, reggae, rock and country. However, the styles are more often accompanied by traditional instruments.

Comparison

There are similarities and differences between the north Indian culture and the northern Australian indigenous culture concerning music. One of the similarities is that in both cultures, music is mostly comprised of vocals. Soloists use vocals to perform music. In both cultures, instruments are also used to add flavour to the music.

There are differences between the two cultures. In the north Indian culture, their music is known to have originated from ritual chants. Ritual chants involve the morals of people and the experiences that one has gained. The northern Australian indigenous music is believed to have come from dreams. The dreams could appear when one was sleeping, or when they were in a quiet place. The ancestors were believed to appear and present the music to soloists, whose work was only to compose.

The north Indian cultural music involved a melodic mode, also known as raga, and a rhythmic cycle also known as tala. In the northern Australian indigenous culture, people used the classic tone of the didgeridoo and also the rhythm brought about by the clapping of sticks. The most commonly used and known instruments in the Hindustani music are the sarod, sitar, drone, shehnai, sarangi, table and tambura. In the northern Australian indigenous culture, the most familiar instrument is the didgeridoo. Often, sticks are also used.

In the northern Australian indigenous culture, traditional dancing is performed in ceremonies unlike in the north Indian culture. Additionally, the dancing and singing in the northern Australian culture are often accompanied by other activities such as the use of costumes by performers, and also paintings.

In the northern Australian indigenous culture, it is rare for women and men to perform together, unlike in the northern Indian culture, where women and men can perform freely. Also, unlike in the northern Indian culture, different musical styles have been in cooperated with the original songs in the northern Australian culture. Artists who perform modern styles such as hip hop and reggae have used the styles to sing songs that had been written by their predecessors in their native language, which has helped preserve the culture until now

Conclusion

The cultures of northern Indian and that of indigenous northern Australia are different. They are different in their styles, vocals, instruments and also their time and ways of presentation. Although the music history and culture of different people may be different, some similarities make them seem similar to a certain degree. For example, in this case, the northern Indian culture and that of indigenous northern Australia are identical because they all use vocals and instruments in their music.

References

Alter, A. (2016). Dancing with devtas: Drums, power and possession in the music of Garhwal, North India. Routledge.

Emmerson, S. (Ed.). (2016). Music, electronic media and culture. Routledge.

Fisher, D. (2016). The Voice and Its Doubles: Media and Music in Northern Australia. Duke University Press.

Gibson, C., & Connell, J. (2016). Music festivals and regional development in Australia. Routledge.

Manuel, P. (2015). The Intermediate Sphere in North Indian Music Culture: Between and Beyond "Folk" and "Classical". Ethnomusicology, 59(1), 82-115.

Orsini, F., & Schofield, K. B. (Eds.). (2015). Tellings and Texts: Music, Literature and Performance in North India. Open Book Publishers.

Wells, K. (2018). Recirculating songs: Revitalising the singing practices of Indigenous Australia [Book Review]. Australian Aboriginal Studies, (1), 80.