Experimentation in instrumental music in India

Abstract

Music is a medium of expressing the feeling of human pleasures. newlineAccording to music scholars, music is the combination of Swara (Notes), Pada (Text) and Laya (Tala). In Instrumental Music, there are Swara and Laya as primary elements, but the role of Pada is substituted with Strokes or Boles. Musical instruments have an important place in Indian Music. The art of playing musical instruments in India have been traditionally carried on from generation to generation, from primitive stage to this modern age. As Music is a performing art, which is being creative, itself, and cannot be static, hence the gradual developments and experiments have always given new ideas to the modern generation. In this modern age of science, things are in continual flux and changing by following the process of experimentation. Although, our traditional instrumental music is based on the highest traditional forms of music yet this oldest form of music, which was conceptualized thousand Years ago, have undergone changes in various stages due to Experimentation. The main objective of this study is to highlight experimentation in Indian Instrumental Music. No doubt, Vocal music is acknowledged by our scholars, in due course of time, there is a need to analysis the relative importance of experimentation in Instrumental Music. Music is cultivated as an Art to attain perfection. From the ancient times to modern age, great instrumentalists made and adopted critical observations in Instrumental Music through experimentation. Thus, the scope of experimentation becomes too wide. Although, at present there has been tremendous focus on experimentation by many contemporary renowned musicians, but it was not possible to include all of them due to various factors, but the purpose is to highlight the subject in order to focus on the modern experimentation in our Instrumental music by limiting itself to performing aspect of Hindustani Classical Instrumental Music. newline