Ear trainer for indian music6/6/2023 ![]() Unlike the three-tone chanting of the Rig Veda, samans were rendered in melodies of up to seven tones, ranging from F above middle C to G below. These songs, known as samans, were chanted by special brahmin priests called Udgatri during elaborate sacrificial ceremonies to petition and praise the Deities that control the forces of the universe. The Sama Veda contains Vedic verses set to pre-existent melodies. The chanting and hearing of sustained musical notes has been linked to the Divine in Hinduism from early Vedic times. But according to modern scholars–and in modern practice–the udatta, left unmarked, is considered the tonic, the principal note upon which the chants are intoned (like middle C) the anudatta, often marked with an underline, is a whole step below (B-flat) and the svarita, marked with a small vertical line above the syllable, is a half step above (D-flat). The grammarian Panini (4th century bce), who knew the early tradition, described the svarita tone as connecting the other two. Special brahmin priests known as Hotri chanted selected verses from the Rig Veda in roughly three tones, notated in early manuscripts as accents on particular syllables: anudatta (grave, “not raised “), svarita (circumflex, “sounded “) and udatta (acute, “raised “). From those early times, chanting has been seen as a powerful means to interact with the cosmos and obtain spiritual merit that would help one to gain a heavenly afterlife or an auspicious next life. Recitation and chanting in Sanskrit are traceable to the Vedic period, when the Rig Veda was recited by priests during public and private fire ceremonies. Intrinsic to the ancient Vedic practice of fire sacrifice are chanting and meditation on sound. My 1993 book, Sonic Theology: Hinduism and Sacred Sound, deals extensively with the Hindu philosophies of sound and Nada-Brahman http:/[http:/It begins with Vedic chanting Nada-Yoga techniques, including Om meditation, are found in philosophical yoga texts such as the Yoga Upanishads and the major hatha yoga texts, as well as Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra and its commentaries. Nada-Yoga, the yogic discipline that seeks transcendental inner awareness of Nada-Brahman, has also influenced Indian traditions of chant and music. Combining the principles of Nada-Brahman with Indian aesthetics of rasa and the structures of raga and tala, the various gharanas have nurtured the formal classical traditions of music to the present day ![]() Since Brahman pervades the entire universe, including the human soul, the concept of sacred sound as Nada-Brahman expresses the connection between the human realm and the divine. Nada refers to the cosmic sound, which may be either unmanifest or manifest. Yoga texts use the term to denote the musical and inner sounds heard in deep yogic meditation. Nada-Brahman appears in musical treatises as the foundation of music. This sound is embodied in the Vedas and itself symbolizes Brahman, the Supreme Absolute of the Upanishads. Lord Siva Nataraja plays the damaru drum during the dance of creation.Įach of these instruments symbolizes Nada-Brahman–the sacred, primeval, eternal sound, represented by the syllable Om, which generates the universe. Lord Vishnu, the Preserver, sounds the conch shell, and in His avatara Krishna He plays the flute. ![]() Lord Brahma, creator of the universe, portrayed as playing the hand cymbals, fashioned Indian music out of the verses of the Sama Veda. The Goddess Sarasvati, depicted with vina in hand, is venerated by all students and performers of Indian music as the divine patron of music and learning indeed, She personifies the power of sound and speech. ![]() Music, both vocal and instrumental, is considered to be of divine origin and is closely identified with the Hindu Gods and Goddesses. These primordial principles are documented in Hindu scriptures such as the Vedas and Upanishads (ca 4000-1000 bce)–which are regarded as eternal and authorless, though later committed to written form. From the chanting of ancient Vedic hymns to the melodic bhajans of modern-day devotees, Indian music is ultimately rooted in basic theological principles of sacred sound.
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