The power of art
It has been in my mind for while on how people take appreciating art. Here is a link to my brother's blog which talks about appreciating art - (Read here). There is one more interesting link, which talks about music (Deepti's blog). I will talk about these points with a different analogy.
I believe music is an art which needs NO language. It has the same concept of 'art of painting'.
Read the above two sentences few more times before going ahead.
How did music start? Its first form was drums ONLY. Just beating the drums in the jungle was music! This was also used for signalling and send messages within a boundary. Later came some form of syllables - just imagine Tarzon shouting!
Music did not have human voice in its earlier form. Staying with drums, Shiva had 'damaru' which was used for rhythmic dancing. There are many examples related to instruments and Gods - Krishna with the Flute and Saraswathi with the Veena are the most common. Is there any God with 'vocal' (or 'voice') as His instrument? No. There isn't any. So, where is the point of talking about language in music?
Even in Arabic or Africa music, vocal is NOT a major requirement. Vocal is more prominent in Indian Classical music because we had composers who were philosophers too and had a message in their songs. But, the vocalists don't understand the value of it. Art of vocal music is to talk and sing- not just perform. Here is a detailed explanation of how language can be used if it is vocal music. Many don't use it - so people (common man) believe that vocal music is not as impressive as instrumental.
Read this:
"howareyoudoingiamdoinggoodiwanttowriteablogonclassicalmusicanditsintonationandmodulation".
Were you able to read it? Tough? let me improve it:
"how are you doing i am doing good i want to write a blog on classical music and its intonation and modulation". Was this better? Some what. Next step now...
"How are you doing. I am doing good. I want to write a blog on classical music and its intonation and modulation." Looks much better. Read it again as-it-is. If you know English language, you will understand when I mean 'as-it-is'. Read next,
"How are you doing? I am doing good! I want to write a blog on Classical Music and, its intonation and modulation."
In the last sentence, I have used punctuation marks and have given emphasis on 'classical music' by making it 'Classical Music'. If you give this above sentence to a news reader, she will read it with the right expression with correct voice modulation at punctuation marks. If you are watching her read, she will have those expressions on her face for an exclamatory mark! She will be more impressive than a novice reader who just reads it in his mind without any change in voice throughout the passage.
How about a typo error in the above passage? Something like...
"How arey ou doing? I amd oing good! ..."
It is awful and not professional at all. No book is printed with such typos!
Ok, bottomline - All negatives I mentioned above - you can compare them with classical music vocalists. :( Some singers split the words wherever they want, take a breath between two syllables of the same word, don't give that exact facial expression, and what not! That being the case, how can someone who doesn't understand music sitting in the audience like this type of music???? I myself will run off from there ;) and go to a Flute or Mandolin concert. To end, if there is language, make the best use of it. Don't waste it.
Coming back to 'no language required'.
I will give you a wonderful painting. If you have eyes and some common sense, you will say, 'wow'. You don't even need to understand it or know how to do it. You are just amazed with the colors there and the message that painting is conveying. That is called 'art'. Music also is called 'art' and that is the magic of art. The power of art is to make people appreciate it even without understanding it. Else, music and painting would have been called 'science'. No doubt it is! But, in a broader sense, music, dance, theatre, writing, magic, etc., are just art.
Giving a comparison of painting and music - Painting/sketching has varieties like pencil sketching, monochrome painting and color painting. Nodoubt there is that unique beauty in pencil sketches, but color is always color. Pencil sketch is black and white. Same is the case with music forms - Carnatic Classical and Hindustani Classical have too few instruments. It is like black and white sketch having its own beauty. Put twenty more instruments (call Rehman man) and it will be colorful attracting millions of audience! No rock please ;)
Conclusion is - art has its own power and artists have to understand it. Music is one such art form which needs no langauge. If at all there is any, 'music' itself is the language.
I believe music is an art which needs NO language. It has the same concept of 'art of painting'.
Read the above two sentences few more times before going ahead.
How did music start? Its first form was drums ONLY. Just beating the drums in the jungle was music! This was also used for signalling and send messages within a boundary. Later came some form of syllables - just imagine Tarzon shouting!
Music did not have human voice in its earlier form. Staying with drums, Shiva had 'damaru' which was used for rhythmic dancing. There are many examples related to instruments and Gods - Krishna with the Flute and Saraswathi with the Veena are the most common. Is there any God with 'vocal' (or 'voice') as His instrument? No. There isn't any. So, where is the point of talking about language in music?
Even in Arabic or Africa music, vocal is NOT a major requirement. Vocal is more prominent in Indian Classical music because we had composers who were philosophers too and had a message in their songs. But, the vocalists don't understand the value of it. Art of vocal music is to talk and sing- not just perform. Here is a detailed explanation of how language can be used if it is vocal music. Many don't use it - so people (common man) believe that vocal music is not as impressive as instrumental.
Read this:
"howareyoudoingiamdoinggoodiwanttowriteablogonclassicalmusicanditsintonationandmodulation".
Were you able to read it? Tough? let me improve it:
"how are you doing i am doing good i want to write a blog on classical music and its intonation and modulation". Was this better? Some what. Next step now...
"How are you doing. I am doing good. I want to write a blog on classical music and its intonation and modulation." Looks much better. Read it again as-it-is. If you know English language, you will understand when I mean 'as-it-is'. Read next,
"How are you doing? I am doing good! I want to write a blog on Classical Music and, its intonation and modulation."
In the last sentence, I have used punctuation marks and have given emphasis on 'classical music' by making it 'Classical Music'. If you give this above sentence to a news reader, she will read it with the right expression with correct voice modulation at punctuation marks. If you are watching her read, she will have those expressions on her face for an exclamatory mark! She will be more impressive than a novice reader who just reads it in his mind without any change in voice throughout the passage.
How about a typo error in the above passage? Something like...
"How arey ou doing? I amd oing good! ..."
It is awful and not professional at all. No book is printed with such typos!
Ok, bottomline - All negatives I mentioned above - you can compare them with classical music vocalists. :( Some singers split the words wherever they want, take a breath between two syllables of the same word, don't give that exact facial expression, and what not! That being the case, how can someone who doesn't understand music sitting in the audience like this type of music???? I myself will run off from there ;) and go to a Flute or Mandolin concert. To end, if there is language, make the best use of it. Don't waste it.
Coming back to 'no language required'.
I will give you a wonderful painting. If you have eyes and some common sense, you will say, 'wow'. You don't even need to understand it or know how to do it. You are just amazed with the colors there and the message that painting is conveying. That is called 'art'. Music also is called 'art' and that is the magic of art. The power of art is to make people appreciate it even without understanding it. Else, music and painting would have been called 'science'. No doubt it is! But, in a broader sense, music, dance, theatre, writing, magic, etc., are just art.
Giving a comparison of painting and music - Painting/sketching has varieties like pencil sketching, monochrome painting and color painting. Nodoubt there is that unique beauty in pencil sketches, but color is always color. Pencil sketch is black and white. Same is the case with music forms - Carnatic Classical and Hindustani Classical have too few instruments. It is like black and white sketch having its own beauty. Put twenty more instruments (call Rehman man) and it will be colorful attracting millions of audience! No rock please ;)
Conclusion is - art has its own power and artists have to understand it. Music is one such art form which needs no langauge. If at all there is any, 'music' itself is the language.
Comments
How much ever the instruments may be perfect in generating music, the lure of human voice,( plainly because the bhava associated wiht it) is hard to suppress. So music sans language is fine, but music sans voice brings in some limitations of expression.