Raag
Raga is basically the melodic basis of Indian
musical forms. In the western world musicians base their compositions on mode
and scale, which are considered the equivalent of the Indian raga. There are
thousand of ragas that are the basis of Hindustani music, of which six are considered
as fundamental. These being:
• Bhairav
• Malkauns
• Hindol
• Dipak meningitis
• Megh
• Shree
Carnatic music has 72 fundamental ragas.
Irrespective, whether the composition is that of Hindustani or Carnatic music, the composer is able to create tunes that are soulful and not mechanical. The compositions seem more as though it has been the musician’s personal journey.
The Indian musician generally attempts to use the ragas in a combination to create meditative music, which is music that can take the listener into a trance. Some famous compositions have been known to actually take listeners into a state beyond the conscious, giving them a vision of what exists in the sub-conscious state. The ragas are considered to represent the tunes of the universe, as they were not developed on the basis of mechanical process, but from the sounds around the ancient musicians who gave Indian music these musical notes.
The fact is that raga is an accurate, fine, and aesthetic form of melody having its own distinctive ascending and descending movement. Every raga has its own temperament. In fact each one of these melodic notes of Indian music expresses emotions and feelings. These include peace, bliss, calmness, piety, dedication, solitude, sadness, suffering, valor, strength, etc. The notes were created to bring about a unity between humanity and nature. In fact, composers combined ragas to create music compositions to bring about certain moods in the listeners. The correct play of ragas help people to go through the process of catharsis or emotional cleansing.
Though musicians are taught to follow certain prescribed rules when composing their music, the also have the freedom to improvise on the existing ragas, bringing out their aesthetics. The composer should be able to bring about the appropriate mood in what they have composed. It is said that the ragas were created representing the various times of the day such as dawn, morning, afternoon, evening, dusk, night; as well as the beauty and varied aspects of each season.
