A Tribute to Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson's artistic legacy spans the decades

- USATODAY.com

On a magical night in 1983, Michael Jackson struck a pose on stage, clasping the black fedora on his head with his white sequined glove. His black jacket and silver vest glittered as white socks showed under his high-water black pants. Then he erupted into a flurry of fluid dance moves in a performance of Billie Jean that would catapult the former child singing sensation into full-blown superstardom.
Probably no celebrity has been as revered and reviled over the past 40 years as Jackson, 50, who died Thursday in Los Angeles, according to the Associated Press. The troubled, reclusive star was rushed to UCLA Medical Center by paramedics responding to a call from his home at about 12:30 p.m.
The cause of Jackson's death was not immediately announced, nor were circumstances surrounding it. Jackson was not breathing when Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics got to his Los Angeles home, Capt. Steve Ruda told the Los Angeles Times. The paramedics performed CPR and took him to UCLA Medical Center, Ruda told the newspaper. Jackson had been scheduled next month to begin the first of 50 sold-out concerts at London's O2 Arena, a testament to his enduring popularity with fans around the world, a love affair that reached a peak on that March evening 26 years ago.
The occasion was the Motown 25: Yesterday, Today and Forever television special that celebrated a milestone for the legendary label, but it was also a seminal moment for the King of Pop. A then-record 47 million people watched in awe as Jackson unveiled the moonwalk with an electrifying performance. Other Motown greats performed that night and Jackson himself had reunited with brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Randy for a walk down memory lane with the Jackson 5. But in that moment, Jackson stood alone in the spotlight, a singular figure riding a wave of popularity rarely seen anywhere. His groundbreaking Thriller— still the biggest selling album of all time — was dominating the charts and Jackson was in the process of reshaping the musical landscape with his videos and celebrity. There were still millions of records to be sold, acclaimed videos to be filmed and record-shattering concert tours to be undertaken. It was also before years of tabloid exposes, bizarre behavior, artistic flops, financial crises, health issues and child sex abuse scandals tarnished his image. His run of triumphs in the 1980s, in addition to Thriller, included the blockbuster albums Off the Wall and Bad.
Since he first arrived on the scene in 1969 as the cherubic 11-year-old phenom singing I Want You Backwith the teen heartthrob J5, Jackson has been at the forefront of pop culture.
The brothers were the eldest sons in a family of nine children born in Gary, Indiana, to steelworker Joe Jackson and his wife, Katherine. The father recognized his sons' talent and molded them into a singing group, one that was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. But it was Michael who transformed pop music as a solo act, becoming the first African-American singer to gain mass crossover appeal. The premiere of videos for songs likeBeat It, Billie Jean, Thriller, Bad andSmooth Criminalwere major events and he helped popularize the then-fledgling MTV. It, in turn, brought him into millions of homes daily.
Thriller won a record eight Grammy Awards in 1984. Virtually every song became a hit single and it changed the industry's thinking about how albums were put together and marketed. It also opened the door for artists to have more creative freedom and higher royalty returns. At the same time, he inspired legions of imitators and a line of dolls and accessories. He spent his life under the glare of paparazzi flashbulbs, but in recent years, he has more often been the subject of negative news about his eccentricities and personal life. Jackson's seemingly charmed life started to change when a pyrotechnics accident during the filming of a Pepsi ad set his hair afire and burned his scalp. He got outpouring of sympathy after that and won a $1.5 million settlement from Pepsi, which he donated to charity. But his health also became a public fascination, especially as he began to change his appearance through plastic surgery. He had several nose jobs, his lips thinned, and chin clef put in, among other alterations. Meanwhile, Jackson's brown skin grew progressively lighter, rumored to be the result of skin bleaching, but later diagnosed as vitiligo. The skin disorder causes a loss of pigment.
Jackson himself fueled gossip column by leaking false stories that he slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, reportedly to slow the aging process, or next to the bones of Joseph Merrick, the 19th century Englishman known as "The Elephant Man" because of his congenital deformities.
He addressed many of these issues in his 1988 autobiography, Moonwalk, in which he also revealed that he had been physically abused as a child. That same year, he built his $17 million Neverland Ranch near Santa Ynez, Calif., replete with an amusement park and exotic animals.
And while none of his post-Thriller albums matched its success, 1987's Bad, 1991's Dangerous and 1995's HIStory were still commercial successes. Jackson reminded the world again of his power as a artist with an exhilarating halftime performance at 1993's Super Bowl XXVII before a U.S. TV audience of more than 135 million.
But despite such triumphs, curiosity and controversy were his constant companions. Not long after the Super Bowl, he talked abot his troubled childhood, his vitiligo and other tabloid issues in a wrenching 90-minute televised interview with Oprah Winfrey. Later that year, he was accused of sexual abuse by a 13-year-old boy. The stress of that situation led Jackson to become addicted to various painkillers and rather than stand trial, he ultimately settled with the boy's family for $22 million.
His reputation never fully recovered, even when he married singer Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley, later that year. They kept their Dominican Republic ceremony secret for nearly two months, and had an amicable parting two years later.
Jackson's 82-concert HIStory World Tour in 1996 was seen by 4.5 million fans. It was his biggest ever, and also his last. It was also during the tour that he married Deborah Rowe, a dermatologist nurse with whom he had two children — Michael Joseph Jackson Jr. in 1997, and Paris Michael Katherine Jackson in 1998. They divorced in 1999, with Rowe giving Jackson full custody rights.
Again, this parting proved amicable, but his split with Sony Records— his label since Off The Wall— was anything but. Just before the release of 2001's Invincible, he accused Sony chief Tommy Mottola of being a racist. It was another commercial success, though short of Jackson's standards.
In 2002, Jackson had a third child, Prince Michael Jackson II, who he claims was conceived via the artificial insemination of an unidentified surrogate mother. The tabloids scandalized him again after he dangled the baby over a hotel room balcony for photographers.
The following year, he was charged with nine felonies relating to the molestation of a 14-year-old. The charges came after a documentary, Living with Michael
Jackson, showed him holding hands and discussing sleeping arrangements with the boy. Jackson was acquitted of all charges at a highly publicized trial five months later and he left the United States to live in Bahrain as a guest of Sheikh Abdullah, a member of the royal family who had paid Jackson's legal fees. Jackson constantly struggled with his finances after the 2003 trial, with news reports describing the 2009/2010 London concerts as a fight to erase his crushing debts.
Relations with Abdullah soured recently, with Jackson reaching a settlement in November in the sheikh's $7 million breach-of-contract suit. He had accused Jackson of reneging on a deal to produce an album, an autobiography and a musical for his 2 Seas Records company. Jackson, who earlier in the year was photographed at a Bahrain shopping mall disguised an Arab woman, moved back to California, living in a rented home near the Playboy Mansion in Holmby Hills.
In November, Jackson gave up the title to his 2,500-acre Neverland ranch, transferring the deed to a company he partly controls. Jackson had gone into default on the $24.5 million he owes on the property and had faced foreclosure before the real estate investment company Colony Capital bailed him out earlier this year by purchasing his loan.
Jackson's most recent controversy found a spokesperson refuting British tabloid reports that Jackson, who has been seen in a wheelchair and frequently wears a surgical mask on his face, was in dire health suffering from Alpha 1-antitryspsin deficiency, a rare lung disease. The rumors stemmed from an interview given by Ian Halperin, author of an upcoming unauthorized Jackson autobiography.
But despite all of his peccadilloes, Jackson remains a revered figure to those in the record industry. A broad range of pop artists, such as Jay-Z, Kanye West, Akon, Britney Spears, Usher, Justin Timberlake, R.Kelly, Chris Brown, baby sister Janet, and dozens of others cite his influence on their music and even their desire to be entertainers.
Will.i.am, who this year produced three remixes on the celebratory reissue Thriller 25, explained: "It was the first time a black dude was on MTV. It was the first time you saw things that were happening in the ghettos and kids in the suburbs were copying it. It was like Broadway fused with street performance and his wardrobe was fly. He made it possible to be yourself and be free and just do you." Jackson is a two-time inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Jackson 5 and solo), a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, a 13-time Grammy winner, and has 13 solo No. 1 hits and another four with the Jackson 5. Thriller alone sold more than 27 million copies in the USA.
Whether he was wowing fans as a singing/dancing machine, turning heads with his outlandish wardrobes, or alternately amusing or horrifying everyone with his kooky behavior, Jackson could never, would never be ignored.
The King of Pop was always center stage. And the world was always watching.

Dear artists of music!,

An All India Competition for Hindistani Classical Music organized by Rashtriya Sangeet Sankalp is to be held at Allahabad in November 2009 . As a part of the said competition Delhi Sangeet Sankalp proposes to hold its competition at local level on Sunday the 16^th August 2009 at MUKTADHARA, Banga Sanskriti Bhavan, Bhai Veer Singh Marg , near Gole Market, New Delhi.

The rules and regulations for the said competition are enumerated below:

1. The Competition shall start at 9.30 a.m. on 16^th August,2009
   
2. Competition will be held for the following categories:
   
   1. Vocal – Khayal, Dhrupad & Dhamar
      
   2. Instrumental – Sitar, Sarod, Rudra Veena, Guitar Santoor, Violin, Israj,Sarangi , Flute, Shehnai and Tar-shehnai.
      
   3. Percussion – Tabla and Pakhawaj
      
3. Participants should be of the age group of 17 to 24 years as on June 30, 2009 and are required to submit a valid age proof.
   
4. Participants should not be empanelled artistes of Doordarshan or Akashvani and should not have any album recorded for commercial purposes.
   
5. Duration of performance should not exceed 7 minutes.
   
6. An entry fee of Rs.100/- , an authenticated copy of a valid age proof and a Photo I Card are to be deposited to the Officials at the time of registration an hour before the competitions start. However for the sake of convenience, the contestants should intimate their names by 8^th August 2009 to the Convener Dr Ravi Sharma , 28, Bharti Artistes' Colony, Vikas Marg, Delhi -110092 (Tel : 22445624 and Mobile: 9873107335)
   
7. The results shall be announced soon after the competition and the decisions of the judges shall be final.
   
8. The first three contestants in each category shall be nominated to represent Delhi Sangeet Sankalp in the All India competition to be held at Allahabad in November 2009.
   

   To download the guidelines as well as the participation-form, visit my home page and there you will find a heading: Hindustani Classical Music Contest
   

Through the Click Here!Link, the guidelines and the participation-form can be downloaded.

 

Final

 

 

 

Musical Tones As An Alternative Therapy

 

 

Dr. RAVI SHARMA

Reader & Head

Dep't. Of Music

M. D. University.

ROHTAK – 124001.

 

dr_ravisharma@yahoo.co.in

 

[Abstract: There are many kind of therapies, existing in medical field treating patients with medicines as direct and indirect ways with an alternative therapies. Music has emerged as very strong alternative therapy. Because treating with different kind of medicines resulting into side effects. Though its development is very recent in India, but western countries has already been experimenting and implementing through research and professional music therapist in different hospitals and at patients home as well. There is a boom in the minds of doctors and other practitioners adopting music as alternative therapy now days. This paper deals with the personal experiences and different view to support the facts.]

 

 

Fine arts directly stimulate and sometime excite our senses. Fine arts have this capacity of stimulus. Here we are going to talk specifically about music. Music, which is expressed through various intervals of tones and overtones, these tones are perceived by the mind through one of our five senses the ears.

 

This is the human being, who express their feelings through many ways i.e. language, touch, tones and by being silent too. All these can be divided into two categories, physical and psychological. Through these expressions our senses get a stimulus, which is unique to each of the five senses. Each organ of sense produces peculiar sensation, which cannot be excited by means of any other; the eye gives sensation of light, the ear sensation of sound, the skin sensation of touch. Even when the same sunbeams which excite in the eye sensations of light, impinge on the skin and excite its nerves, they are felt only as heat, not as light. On the same way the vibration of elastic bodies heard by the ear, can also, be felt by the skin, but in that case produce only a whirring fluttering sensation, not sound (Helmholtz:1954,p-7). The sensation of sound is therefore a species of reaction against external stimulus, peculiar to the ear, and excitable in no other organ of the body, and is completely distinct from the sensation of any other sense.

 

As has been already mentioned that music is based upon the different intervals of tones, that is sound. Man is always concerned with the sound. It is said that the universe hangs on sound. What ever we listen and speak is of mixed kind of sounds. It could be musical and non musical too. What ever it is but it is true that we are surrounded by sound. Sound is every where, within an around us a continuum of vital force and latent energy (Rowell: 1992; p-35). It is the air which transmits all kind of vibrations to our ears. It is a matter of everyday experience that whenever two bodies mutually strike each other, an impression is produced on the ears by the vibration of the air adding upon that organ and thus we get the idea of sound. Where there is no air like on the moon we can not hear any kind of sounds through our ordinary ears.

 

We have established the importance of various kinds of tones. It is also known that the music of various nations of different times varies according to the conventions, taste and liking of the people. There are two most common elements exist in any kind of tune, consist of rhythm and sound. It reflects the vibration impact on all the living beings. Though it is totally different that the capacity of reaction is impulsive only on human being. Animals are not capable of identical thinking like human being, thus cannot be included as a part if experiment because they cannot express through speech. Hence, we are limited up to the activities related to the human being. In reality the sense of music is common element not only in human beings but also in almost all living beings.

 

Today specially in urban life our habits and other procedure have develop in such a way that the relation have been more and more complicated resulting in more and more tension and stress. Moreover our life styles are giving more blood pressure and more diabetes. These led to more medicines more prescriptions and more tests. These in turn create more side effects then the real effects. For example an antibiotic which are given in many ailments, gives you acidity as side effect and prolong usage of an antibiotic can create an ulcer in the stomach. Therefore the doctors are in search of some kind of alternative therapy whereby they can reduce the intake of medicines and add to the comfort of the patient. There are other kind of alternative therapies exist also i.e. Homeopathy, Acupressure, Acupuncture, Magnetic therapy, Reiki etc. Whereas the music therapy is considered to be the best. We are not of the view that these therapies have no role in the medical field but here we are more concerned with the music therapy.

 

The most important influence or effect of music on human body is it teaches us how to examine our mind and what changes it under goes from time to time under certain influences. It is also said that Indian Ragas have the capacity to change the entire mood of a person who is under stress. It is just like a doctor observing the change to the physical condition of his patient under the influence of a particular drug. Many Indian musicians have furnished the list if many Ragas claiming with their benefits and disease cured, but without mentioning the research methodology and the nature of experiments through they established the facts and how, when and where did they get the result. I think it is not the Ragas that influence the human body but it is kind of music, which he likes. The dose of music should be given on the basis of one's liking to music or according to his nature. I had an opportunity to be in a clinic with doctors to undergo and experience related to the music therapy. We applied the science of music in certain patients of different diseases and noticed the change in them. We observed that some of them even liked the sound of sea-waves and rejected the whole idea of listening any kind of classical music. A heart patient was also tried with the classical music, but he complaints the increasement of throbbing the heart beats. Initially I experienced that after few cases of music therapy, off course the result was not encouraging at all. We enquire the music of their liking and after playing the music of their taste and got the positive results. It reveals that music therapy should not be bound to any particular class of music; but to provide the music as per liking of the patient. It is evident that music, off course has the patient provided the right approach is made. Hence it gives us more freedom from all kind of boundaries which we had as pre-determination. With reference to the main subject of music therapy, one should not try to impose a particular kind of music instead the liking of the patient. It is a therapy of tones which has it physics of frequency with their colours of mixed combinations on human mind's chemistry which differs from one to another. One cannot treat on the same pattern of sound therapy with another. Because it is a matter of emotional behavior of individual psychology. In fact it is the magnetic power of tiny vibrations of music he appreciates that changes his mind's direction from negative to positive. The mental conditions of a patient cause to create biological changes in the body. Dr. Oliver Lacks stated in a World Music Congress that music therapy is a tool of great promises in many neurological disorders, because of music's unique capacity to organize or re-organize the cerebral function, when it has been deranged (Lacks: 2003). After studying the content of Dr. Oliver Lacks, we analyzed the advance conditions of mental faculties of human being. After a micro study we came to the conclusion that cerebral is related only to the general behavior of human kind. The refined thoughts go to the cerebrum by optic thalamus of the human brain.

 

In certain countries the experiment on music therapy has proved that it allows tremendous relaxation to the nervous system of human being. In other words, music calms their nerves or reduces the mental stress and provides enlightenment. All fine arts like music, dance, painting and architecture etc. have a common quality- that of deep emotional experiments of a collective consciousness which is social but individually and subjectively expressed (Doraiswamy:2007). The main purpose of music is to control all types of emotional irregularities that exist in human beings because it is a subject of emotions. It is a usual practice by the psychologists to treat patients with tranquilizer who are under stress. In this treatment drugs are not important, instead pleasing and soothing music is required.

 

According to famous psychologist, Dr. Anthony Starr, music is the best medicine in relaxing stress. The case of a pregnant woman in this context is very important. She confessed that her delivery was very smooth as she was listening to the piano from a music therapist, playing in a room above the labor ward. It reveals that music stimulates the nerves of a person very mildly and regulates the flow of blood. It creates a power of concentration in the mind and spreads an agreeable massive sensation throughout his body. It reveals that sensations influenced our mind and mind influences the body.

 

A research had been conducted on the recovery of patients after surgery that women undergoing hysterectomies. Who listen to relaxing music and sound of ocean waves while under general anesthesia experienced less pain, were less fatigued when released from the hospital, and were able to sit up sooner after their operation than patients who did not listen to music? Women who enjoyed the music and encouraging words during the operation felt less pain. It revealed that the flow of rhythm and melody had natural ability to enhance the avenues of mental and physical well being.

 

Music has immense amplitude in increasing memory power also. It has been noticed that people lose memory power in old age and it is very difficult to cure it even by using psychological treatments. Here the magic of music works. It is not necessary that one should listen to music only when he is under stress or anxiety. It is always preferable to have music in the background through tape recorder or radio while working at home or in the office. Now days some business houses keep people listening to music while their calls are in hold.

 

Music is a powerful medium which turns the heart and mind of the man kind. Ultimately such type of tuning creates harmony in the faculty of mind and the heart; it has been proved that music imparts a biological effect on every living being.

 

After analyzing all above points we came to the conclusion that music has the special capacity to stimulate our body and to generate positive affects through a prefect combination of tones. Although in India we do not have music therapist. But in the western world, there are music therapist who play a greater role in comforting the patient as whereby the physician. It is the choice of patient whether or not he/she has an inclination to an alternative therapy. He/she can or cannot opt any of these i.e. Homeopathy, Acupressure, Acupuncture, Magnetic Therapy, Reiki etc. Secondly Dance is also a part of music can be treated as yogic exercise. Dance with perfect rhythmic and orchestral effect can cure obesity also, which will help in reducing the risk of diabetics. Dance therapy is very effective on those who are deaf and dumb people. Their physical problem can be cured through it. It is not only benefited for physically challenged people but also for the normal people also to be cured or any irregularities in their physiques. A well known dancer of Bharatnatyam reveals that avoid of caesarean operation of a pregnant women by adopting and learning of Bharatnatyam dance. There is a latest trend in Banglore –where many mothers are to be are happily dancing their way to the labour room. Reveals A. V. Satyanarayan, Banglore-based Bharatnatyam Dancer, who has completed his Ph. D. in dance therapy from International Open University, Sri Lanka, also evaluates the importance and role of exercise at the time of pregnancy that a pregnant woman needs exercise to keep her body and limbs supple for easy labour. According to him, dance therapy, if followed correctly, helps the mother deliver naturally and avoid labour-ralated complications (Chakraborthy: 2007).

 

Many artistes of Indian origin settled in other countries had a great role in popularizing Indian music and different dance forms there. They have already established very deep rooted cultural impact in their respective countries of living. They have given an immense impact and effected not only to Indian origin people but also to the people of that particular country. Recently Mira kaushik, a famous dancer of Indian origin settled in United Kingdom is the first ever Indian dancer had been awarded with prestigious order of the British Empire, recognition of her contribution to the dance. Her academy trained special teachers to teach people with learning difficulties, physical disability and other emotional and social challenges. She is the most committed dancer who has delivered the most talented students of dance from her academy which required special skills to treat patients of physical disorders. Due to her hard work and enthusiasm dancers therapy is now well established in United Kingdom. She also revealed that the classical dances of India were not considered as the therapy in that country. That was a challenge to her which she successfully overcomes. She trained many dancers who are still working as dance therapist in UK very successfully (Bhattacharya: 2007). There is no doubt that music has therapeutic impact mostly on all human body with few common factors that particular sound waves effected the body through conscious and unconscious mind controls the very body of own and is a central part of consciousness but we should not ignore the direct therapeutic value of dance posture which has an immense, direct and immediate effect on body with quick results as mentioned above while discussing the importance if dance as therapeutic value. Author of an article "Music Therapy – Loose Ends Galore" (Doraiswamy: 2007) also established the same views on therapeutic value of music and said that it has widely effects on human being i.e. (a) it is the result of certain frequency pattern which act independently of the patients awareness, perception or appreciation of the music itself and (b) it depends in the patients perceiving the administered sound pattern of music. Though Doraiswamy restricted himself commenting about therapeutic value up to music but dances too have remedial value.

 

I would suggest here that music therapy should not be taken as an emergency tool treating only when some one is under stress or in some psychological disorder, rather music or any other creative art should be a compulsory part of our daily life through learning or listing.

 

Here it is note worthy that medicines have a very special role in curing an ailment we can not say no to medicine. Only music therapy will not give the desired result, but it is true that if this therapy is added to the medication with other routine medicine also it is expected that the patient will be alright with less amount of chemical intakes. It is a great help to the medical science. As music also is a scientific art.

 

 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

Bhattacharya, Nandini, (2007), March 02. Hindu: Article: Succour and Hope through Dance.

Chakraborthy, Ajanta: (2007) The Times of India, Article: Dance your way into Labour, avoid C-section.Times House, 7, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi.

Dorraiswamy, P. K. (2007) Shruti, Issue 268, Music Therapy – Loose Ends Galore?

Helmholtz, Hermann, (1954) On the Sensations of Tones. Dover Publications, Corporation, New York.

Lacks, Oliver, (2003) The Times of India, Article: Music Therapy.Times House, 7, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi.

Rowell, Lewis, (1992) Music and Musical Thoughts in Early India. The University of Chicago Press,Chicago.

 

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Final

 

 

 

Musical Tones As An Alternative Therapy

 

 

Dr. RAVI SHARMA

Reader & Head

Dep't. Of Music

M. D. University.

ROHTAK – 124001.

 

dr_ravisharma@yahoo.co.in

 

[Abstract: There are many kind of therapies, existing in medical field treating patients with medicines as direct and indirect ways with an alternative therapies. Music has emerged as very strong alternative therapy. Because treating with different kind of medicines resulting into side effects. Though its development is very recent in India, but western countries has already been experimenting and implementing through research and professional music therapist in different hospitals and at patients home as well. There is a boom in the minds of doctors and other practitioners adopting music as alternative therapy now days. This paper deals with the personal experiences and different view to support the facts.]

 

 

Fine arts directly stimulate and sometime excite our senses. Fine arts have this capacity of stimulus. Here we are going to talk specifically about music. Music, which is expressed through various intervals of tones and overtones, these tones are perceived by the mind through one of our five senses the ears.

 

This is the human being, who express their feelings through many ways i.e. language, touch, tones and by being silent too. All these can be divided into two categories, physical and psychological. Through these expressions our senses get a stimulus, which is unique to each of the five senses. Each organ of sense produces peculiar sensation, which cannot be excited by means of any other; the eye gives sensation of light, the ear sensation of sound, the skin sensation of touch. Even when the same sunbeams which excite in the eye sensations of light, impinge on the skin and excite its nerves, they are felt only as heat, not as light. On the same way the vibration of elastic bodies heard by the ear, can also, be felt by the skin, but in that case produce only a whirring fluttering sensation, not sound (Helmholtz:1954,p-7). The sensation of sound is therefore a species of reaction against external stimulus, peculiar to the ear, and excitable in no other organ of the body, and is completely distinct from the sensation of any other sense.

 

As has been already mentioned that music is based upon the different intervals of tones that is sound. Man is always concerned with the sound. It is said that the universe hangs on sound. What ever we listen and speak is of mixed kind of sounds. It could be musical and non musical too. What ever it is but it is true that we are surrounded by sound. Sound is every where, within an around us a continuum of vital force and latent energy (Rowell: 1992; p-35). It is the air which transmits all kind of vibrations to our ears. It is a matter of everyday experience that whenever two bodies mutually strike each other, an impression is produced on the ears by the vibration of the air adding upon that organ and thus we get the idea of sound. Where there is no air like on the moon we can not hear any kind of sounds through our ordinary ears.

 

We have established the importance of various kinds of tones. It is also known that the music of various nations of different times varies according to the conventions, taste and liking of the people. There are two most common elements exist in any kind of tune, consist of rhythm and sound. It reflects the vibration impact on all the living beings. Though it is totally different that the capacity of reaction is impulsive only on human being. Animals are not capable of identical thinking like human being, thus cannot be included as a part if experiment because they cannot express through speech. Hence, we are limited up to the activities related to the human being. In reality the sense of music is common element not only in human beings but also in almost all living beings.

 

Today specially in urban life our habits and other procedure have develop in such a way that the relation have been more and more complicated resulting in more and more tension and stress. Moreover our life styles are giving more blood pressure and more diabetes. These led to more medicines more prescriptions and more tests. These in turn create more side effects then the real effects. For example an antibiotic which are given in many ailments, gives you acidity as side effect and prolong usage of an antibiotic can create an ulcer in the stomach. Therefore the doctors are in search of some kind of alternative therapy whereby they can reduce the intake of medicines and add to the comfort of the patient. There are other kind of alternative therapies exist also i.e. Homeopathy, Acupressure, Acupuncture, Magnetic therapy, Reiki etc. Whereas music therapy is considered to be the best. We are not of the view that these therapies have no role in the medical field but here we are more concerned with the music therapy.

 

The most important influence or effect of music on human body is it teaches us how to examine our mind and what changes it under goes from time to time under certain influences. It is also said that Indian Ragas have the capacity to change the entire mood of a person who is under stress. It is just like a doctor observing the change to the physical condition of his patient under the influence of a particular drug. Many Indian musicians have furnished the list if many Ragas claiming with their benefits and disease cured, but without mentioning the research methodology and the nature of experiments through they established the facts and how, when and where did they get the result. I think it is not the Ragas that influence the human body but it is kind of music, which he likes. The dose of music should be given on the basis of one's liking to music or according to his nature. I had an opportunity to be in a clinic with doctors to undergo and experience related to the music therapy. We applied the science of music in certain patients of different diseases and noticed the change in them. We observed that some of them even liked the sound of sea-waves and rejected the whole idea of listening any kind of classical music. A heart patient was also tried with the classical music, but he complaints the increasement of throbbing the heart beats. Initially I experienced that after few cases of music therapy, off course the result was not encouraging at all. We enquire the music of their liking and after playing the music of their taste and got the positive results. It reveals that music therapy should not be bound to any particular class of music; but to provide the music as per liking of the patient. It is evident that music, off course has the patient provided the right approach is made. Hence it gives us more freedom from all kind of boundaries which we had as pre-determination. With reference to the main subject of music therapy, one should not try to impose a particular kind of music instead the liking of the patient. It is a therapy of tones which has it physics of frequency with their colours of mixed combinations on human mind's chemistry which differs from one to another. One cannot treat on the same pattern of sound therapy with another. Because it is a matter of emotional behavior of individual psychology. In fact it is the magnetic power of tiny vibrations of music he appreciates that changes his mind's direction from negative to positive. The mental conditions of a patient cause to create biological changes in the body. Dr. Oliver Lacks stated in a World Music Congress that music therapy is a tool of great promises in many neurological disorders, because of music's unique capacity to organize or re-organize the cerebral function, when it has been deranged (Lacks: 2003). After studying the content of Dr. Oliver Lacks, we analyzed the advance conditions of mental faculties of human being. After a micro study we came to the conclusion that cerebral is related only to the general behavior of human kind. The refined thoughts go to the cerebrum by optic thalamus of the human brain.

 

In certain countries the experiment on music therapy has proved that it allows tremendous relaxation to the nervous system of human being. In other words, music calms their nerves or reduces the mental stress and provides enlightenment. All fine arts like music, dance, painting and architecture etc. have a common quality- that of deep emotional experiments of a collective consciousness which is social but individually and subjectively expressed (Doraiswamy:2007). The main purpose of music is to control all types of emotional irregularities that exist in human beings because it is a subject of emotions. It is a usual practice by the psychologists to treat patients with tranquilizer who are under stress. In this treatment drugs are not important, instead pleasing and soothing music is required.

 

According to famous psychologist, Dr. Anthony Starr, music is the best medicine in relaxing stress. The case of a pregnant woman in this context is very important. She confessed that her delivery was very smooth as she was listening to the piano from a music therapist, playing in a room above the labor ward. It reveals that music stimulates the nerves of a person very mildly and regulates the flow of blood. It creates a power of concentration in the mind and spreads an agreeable massive sensation throughout his body. It reveals that sensations influenced our mind and mind influences the body.

 

A research had been conducted on the recovery of patients after surgery that women undergoing hysterectomies. Who listen to relaxing music and sound of ocean waves while under general anesthesia experienced less pain, were less fatigued when released from the hospital, and were able to sit up sooner after their operation than patients who did not listen to music? Women who enjoyed the music and encouraging words during the operation felt less pain. It revealed that the flow of rhythm and melody had natural ability to enhance the avenues of mental and physical well being.

 

Music has immense amplitude in increasing memory power also. It has been noticed that people lose memory power in old age and it is very difficult to cure it even by using psychological treatments. Here the magic of music works. It is not necessary that one should listen to music only when he is under stress or anxiety. It is always preferable to have music in the background through tape recorder or radio while working at home or in the office. Now days some business houses keep people listening to music while their calls are in hold.

 

Music is a powerful medium which turns the heart and mind of the man kind. Ultimately such type of tuning creates harmony in the faculty of mind and the heart; it has been proved that music imparts a biological effect on every living being.

 

After analyzing all above points we came to the conclusion that music has the special capacity to stimulate our body and to generate positive affects through a prefect combination of tones. Although in India we do not have music therapist. But in the western world, there are music therapist who play a greater role in comforting the patient as whereby the physician. It is the choice of patient whether or not he/she has an inclination to an alternative therapy. He/she can or cannot opt any of these i.e. Homeopathy, Acupressure, Acupuncture, Magnetic Therapy, Reiki etc. Secondly Dance is also a part of music can be treated as yogic exercise. Dance with perfect rhythmic and orchestral effect can cure obesity also, which will help in reducing the risk of diabetics. Dance therapy is very effective on those who are deaf and dumb people. Their physical problem can be cured through it. It is not only benefited for physically challenged people but also for the normal people also to be cured or any irregularities in their physiques. A well known dancer of Bharatnatyam reveals that avoid of caesarean operation of a pregnant women by adopting and learning of Bharatnatyam dance. There is a latest trend in Banglore –where many mothers are to be are happily dancing their way to the labour room. Reveals A. V. Satyanarayan, Banglore-based Bharatnatyam Dancer, who has completed his Ph. D. in dance therapy from International Open University, Sri Lanka, also evaluates the importance and role of exercise at the time of pregnancy that a pregnant woman needs exercise to keep her body and limbs supple for easy labour. According to him, dance therapy, if followed correctly, helps the mother deliver naturally and avoid labour-ralated complications (Chakraborthy: 2007).

 

Many artistes of Indian origin settled in other countries had a great role in popularizing Indian music and different dance forms there. They have already established very deep rooted cultural impact in their respective countries of living. They have given an immense impact and effected not only to Indian origin people but also to the people of that particular country. Recently Mira kaushik, a famous dancer of Indian origin settled in United Kingdom is the first ever Indian dancer had been awarded with prestigious order of the British Empire, recognition of her contribution to the dance. Her academy trained special teachers to teach people with learning difficulties, physical disability and other emotional and social challenges. She is the most committed dancer who has delivered the most talented students of dance from her academy which required special skills to treat patients of physical disorders. Due to her hard work and enthusiasm dancers therapy is now well established in United Kingdom. She also revealed that the classical dances of India were not considered as the therapy in that country. That was a challenge to her which she successfully overcomes. She trained many dancers who are still working as dance therapist in UK very successfully (Bhattacharya: 2007). There is no doubt that music has therapeutic impact mostly on all human body with few common factors that particular sound waves effected the body through conscious and unconscious mind controls the very body of own and is a central part of consciousness but we should not ignore the direct therapeutic value of dance posture which has an immense, direct and immediate effect on body with quick results as mentioned above while discussing the importance if dance as therapeutic value. Author of an article "Music Therapy – Loose Ends Galore" (Doraiswamy: 2007) also established the same views on therapeutic value of music and said that it has widely effects on human being i.e. (a) it is the result of certain frequency pattern which act independently of the patients awareness, perception or appreciation of the music itself and (b) it depends in the patients perceiving the administered sound pattern of music. Though Doraiswamy restricted himself commenting about therapeutic value up to music but dances too have remedial value.

 

I would suggest here that music therapy should not be taken as an emergency tool treating only when some one is under stress or in some psychological disorder, rather music or any other creative art should be a compulsory part of our daily life through learning or listing.

 

Here it is note worthy that medicines have a very special role in curing an ailment we can not say no to medicine. Only music therapy will not give the desired result, but it is true that if this therapy is added to the medication with other routine medicine also it is expected that the patient will be alright with less amount of chemical intakes. It is a great help to the medical science. As music also is a scientific art.

 

 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

Bhattacharya, Nandini, (2007), March 02. Hindu: Article: Succour and Hope through Dance.

Chakraborthy, Ajanta: (2007) The Times of India, Article: Dance your way into Labour, avoid C-section.Times House, 7, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi.

Dorraiswamy, P. K. (2007) Shruti, Issue 268, Music Therapy – Loose Ends Galore?

Helmholtz, Hermann, (1954) On the Sensations of Tones. Dover Publications, Corporation, New York.

Lacks, Oliver, (2003) The Times of India, Article: Music Therapy.Times House, 7, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi.

Rowell, Lewis, (1992) Music and Musical Thoughts in Early India. The University of Chicago Press,Chicago.

 

• 
  

Music industry must move on

 
 

Victor Keegan

 
 

It simply won't give up blaming everyone but itself for the sorry state it claims to be in.

 
 

It is said to be one of the biggest robberies in history, but where is the actual damage? Yes, it's downloads time again. The music industry simply won't
give up blaming everyone but itself for the sorry state it claims to be in. It has eased off prosecuting teenagers — future customers — for downloading
in their bedrooms. Smart move, that. But it still insists that internet service providers do its dirty work by stopping the flow of illegal downloads.

 
 

But what's so special about music? If ISPs are responsible for pirate music flowing past them, then ditto for pornography and everything else. Great idea:
I can sue my service provider whenever a virus gets on to my PC. How dare they let it through! It is an unworkable solution designed to placate an industry
that still doesn't fully understand what is happening. The industry's response to the creative revolution, in which artists remix and mash each other's
work, is to go hell-for-leather to extend copyright law for recordings from an overlong 50 to 70 years so that a minority of rich copyright holders — often
companies set up to exploit someone else's rights — can pass royalties on to their successors. If copyright lasted for 20 years, as patents do, the economy
would gain from wealth produced by artists making their own versions of Snow White, or whatever.

 
 

The industry, which successfully sued The Pirate Bay operation, claims that more than one billion illegal music downloads were made in 2007, crippling the
industry. I don't approve of illegal downloads, but where is the evidence of economic damage? Look at the figures. In the last quarter of 2008, album sales
in the U.K. were — wait for it — 0.9 per cent up on the previous year, when the economy contracted by 1.5 per cent. And U.K. royalties for songwriters
rose 8 per cent in 2008. Recession? What recession? Overall album sales, which some had predicted would collapse by more than 10 per cent in 2008, fell
by only 3.25 per cent, while digital albums rose by 65 per cent. And the singles market? Why, 2008 was the biggest year on record in terms of units sold
across all formats.

 
 

So where is the damage? The music industry is like no other. It is a spectrum ranging from constantly broadcast free music (including internet radio where
you can search for a favourite track being played live) to albums bought in shops. If you buy a Nokia Xpress Comes With Music phone (for under £130 in
the U.K.) you can download up to 4,000 tracks legally. Does anyone need more? Spotify enables you to hear streamed music of your choice with occasional
adverts, free and legally. This is easier than sorting through thousands of peer-to-peer tracks downloaded to your desktop. Last.fm does something similar
and Apple's iTunes paved the way, proving that people will pay for affordable music that is easy to download.

 
 

Have you noticed something about these companies? None of them came from the music industry. While the industry was suing customers to preserve the status
quo, it took outsiders to create mechanisms to ensure paid-for music has a viable future. If music had created its own payments system with prices reflecting
the zero cost of extra tracks it could have seized control of the creative revolution. It has certainly spawned millions of freeloaders, but also people
who buy new tracks after hearing pirated versions and lots like me who started buying music again after a long absence because it is so easy.

 
 

As people increasingly listen to music on their mobile devices where, unlike the web, there is a built-in payments system, the problem of pirated tracks
should diminish.

 
 

Meanwhile, how many of the billion tracks claimed to be downloaded represent actual economic damage such as lost sales it is impossible to say, except that
it is not remotely as great as the industry claims. Indeed, if there had been no publicity about illegal downloads then, on the published evidence, the
music industry is one that has been doing remarkably well during the recession. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2009

 
 

******

Tanpura: the base of Indian music

There have been many musical instruments which have added to the beauty of Indian music but Tanpura or Tambura is the one which is the base of our melody. For centuries now, it has incessantly been providing the basic note or the key note to the vocal as well as the instrumental music. Its accompaniment provides a kind of drone effect which enables the vocalist to establish the tonality of different ragas around the drone of this enchanting instrument. In this essay, let us go deep into this instrument and discover its implied features.

The origin of the instrument

Although Tanpura has been providing the basic accompaniment to the vocalists as well as the instrumentalists for centuries now, yet there has not been much effort to look into the historical aspect of it. Many scholars suggest that there was a Gandharva in the name of Tumbru who discovered this instrument. Others claim that there was a Tamburi Veena which might have been behind the origin of Tanpura or Tambura. Some other musicologists differ from the aforesaid view and submit that it has come to India from Iran. Some even go on to say that it has come from the Greek Lyre. Many scholars insist upon the fact that there are the resemblances of this musical instrument in the wall painting as well as the inscriptions of the pre-medieval period. Therefore it cannot said to be of a foreign origin. There are divergent views. However all the scholars converge upon the fact that this is a unique instrument in our music. It looks to be especially made for our matchless music. That is why, it could not have come from outside. Let us assume that it is an Indian instrument, suitable to the requirements of our music. Tanpura has been used by the musicians for around two centuries for sure; we have found references in different books of Pt. Bhatkhande and Pt. Vishnu Digambar Paluskar of Tanpura or Tambura. Hence it can be stated without any reasonable doubts whatsoever, that this instrument existed in India before the advent of the aforesaid scholars.

The structure of Tanpura

Traditional Tanpuras are made of pumpkin and Teakwood. Firstly, a pumpkin of the suitable circumference and diameter is obtained. Then it is cut from its upper side and all the pulp is taken out so that it gets hollow. Then it is dried up. It goes through many processes in order to give it the perfect shape. One such process is that it is cut from the front and is covered with the teakwood of the suitable thickness. Then a bar is attached to the uppermost portion. This bar is called the "Daand". This is made of teakwood and it is also hollow. On the top of the Daand, there are four wooden "Khoontis" which are used to hold and tighten the strings. The four strings are attached to the bottom of the gourd with a screw. The wooden structure covering the gourd from the front is called "Tabli". A Bridge is put over it. This is made of the horn of a turtle or dear but gradually, this practice is discouraged as the animal-protection movement is growing. Now-a-days, it is made of some synthetic material. The surface of the bridge is given a suitable shape through a process called "Juvari". The four strings pass through the bridge and are attached to the aforesaid Khoontis. On the upper side of the Daand, there are two strips. The strings are put over these strips so that a perfect distance is maintained from the Daand. The strings can be tightened/loosened as desired. The first string is called "Pancham Ki Taar" and it is tuned in the Pancham of Mandra Saptak. Second and third strings are called "Jodi Ki Tar" and are tuned in the Shadja of Madhyasaptak. The last one is called "kharaj" and is tuned in the Shadja of Mandrasaptak.

There are two kinds of Tanpuras available: one, the Male Tanpura and the other, the Female Tanpura. The former is fifty-five to sixty inches long whereas the latter has the length of forty-five to fifty inches. The first one is tuned in C major and above and the other one is tuned in G onwards. At the bottom of the strings, there is a bead which is used to make minor tuning adjustments.

Tanpura is a cumbersome musical instrument. The artists face many problems as they have to travel from one place to another in connection with their performances in different concerts. The problem gets much more aggravating when it comes to the foreign visits. The artists are concerned with the safety of the instrument as the cargo has to be taken separately. Generally, they think it better to have the instruments with themselves. However, during the journey through the Air, it is not possible. This instrument is so delicate that the slightest jerk can spoil it. In 1980's, keeping the problem of mobility of the instrument in view, many manufacturers experimented with new innovations and one of them came up with a smaller version of the instrument which was named as "Riki Tanpura". This was around forty inches in length and hence provided some relief to the users. In this version of Tanpura, the whole body of the instrument was made of seasoned teakwood. The pumpkin gourd disappeared. Thus, the Riki Tanpura got to be stronger and easy to move. More experiments were conducted on the instrument and a new version was brought about combining the Swaramandal with the Tanpura. This version of Swaramandal Tanpura had 15 additional strings so as to tune them in the performing Raga according to the choice of the artist.

Experiments and the innovations continued on the instrument and many more modifications were tried. However, the remarkable change was seen as the electronic and the synthesized versions of the instrument came up. Now an electronic version of Tanpura is available with many different models to choose from. There are several new features which were not available previously. But most of the artists of Hindustani music, especially, the vocalists do not like the electronic version as the tone of the instrument is not natural but the synthesized one. In the south Indian music however, it is broadly recognized and extensively used during the concerts. In North India too, the instrumentalists are gradually are coming to terms with it. During practice sessions, artists/learners of Hindustani music use the electronic version more often than not.

Features

Finally, after describing the different types of tanpura, let us now focus our attention at its salient features which make it a unique and very relevant musical instrument in the context of Indian music.

The very tone of Tanpura is so fascinating that it attracts our attention as the instrument is played. Its sound creates the environment which is suitable for the creation of Indian music; be it through vocal cord or through the instruments. Secondly, it supports the voice of the vocalist. It not only provides the tonic note or the basic note to the singer/instrumentalist, but it also improvises the tonal quality of the singer. Thirdly, besides the musical notes which are produced by its strings, its specifically adjusted Bridge helps creating numerous overtones which, in turn, help in finding all the seven notes of the octave which are used in our music. Thus, it helps choosing the proper notes by the singers. Those who use Tanpura while singing have this feeling that it helps developing a proper musical voice as more and more practice with it helps the singer to find the perfect tone through the numerous overtones. These overtones help develop a perfect voice-culture. As the learners of the present era are substituting the original tanpura with an electronic version or with the Harmonium, the tonal quality of such singers lacks the depth and the voice culture which is essential for Indian music.

To conclude, it can be submitted without any disagreement from the music lovers that the traditional Tanpura is better than its electronic version. That is why; the vocalists should use the traditional one as comprehensively as possible.

Music therapy:

*Footnotes are given at the end.

In this era of rapid growth and nail-biting competition, life is getting full of tension. This tension leads to different diseases like the hypertension, heart problems, and insomnia and so on. Moreover, many ailments occur due to the lack of physical exercises. Our life-styles have become so comfortable and relaxing, thanks to the science and technology, that most of our day-to-day activities are performed automatically by different machines. For example, we have remote control devices for TV, air conditioners, fans etc and therefore need not trouble our legs in order to use them. Outdoor games have been replaced by very meticulously designed video games. Hence, most of us need not go out and play. Mobile phones have made it possible to sit at home and replace important meetings with the video conferencing. There is just no scope for physical activities. The result is that we are becoming victims of the diseases like obesity, diabetes, heart attack, sleeplessness etc. the more the diseases, the more medicines to consume. Then comes the problem of the side effects or the after-effects of the medicines consumed. This side effect leads to more illnesses like ulcers of different kinds, acidity, and defect in our immunity system etc.

Almost all of us are tired of medicines. Therefore, different alternative medical therapies are getting popular day by day. Medical practitioners themselves suggest these days, that the drugs sometimes make the situation worse. That is why; people are looking for such kind of medical therapies which have lighter medicines to consume. Hence, many new alternatives for the allopathy are being suggested these days. These include homeopathy, acupressure, acupuncture, ayurvedic system of medicines and the last but not the least, the music therapy.

 

1 What is music therapy?

 

Music therapy is the alternative treatment for various diseases. It is a kind of nonmedical therapy supplemented with the medical treatment of the patients. In a broader sense, it is an alternative therapy for those patients who wish to avoid the amount of allopathic medicines as much as possible. These days, the doctors recommend music therapy in coherence with the medical or the allopathic therapy. It is recognized by many physicians. The doctors are convergent on the fact that music is a powerful tool which can be used to give relaxation to our minds. It arouses our sensations and keeps us out of negative feelings. If we listen to fine quality of music, our mind is concentrated towards it and we forget our worries, tensions, troubles, problems etc. it is this potential of music which is tapped by the specialists to use it as a medical treatment.

Aesthetics tells us that all the fine arts divert our minds and activate our senses. This brings us to the spiritual upliftment. The spiritual upliftment liberates us from the worldly tensions and we feel a kind of pleasure which cannot be expressed in words. This inexplicable feeling is very precious and can be compared with the Rasa as has been mentioned in Natyashastra.

 

2 The human mind:

 

Before going deep in the analysis of the music therapy, let us understand the basics of the human mind.

The human brain, it has been said, is the most complexly organized structure in the universe and to appreciate this you just have to look at some of the statistics.

The brain is made up of one hundred billion nerve cells or "neurons" which is the basic structural and functional units of the nervous system. Each neuron makes something like a thousand to ten thousand contacts with other neurons and these points of contact are called synapses where exchange of information occurs. And based on this information, someone has calculated that the number of possible permutations and combinations of brain activity, in other words the numbers of brain states, exceeds the number of elementary particles in the known universe.

Even though it's common knowledge these days, it never ceases to amaze me that all the richness of our mental life - all our feelings, our emotions, our thoughts, our ambitions, our love life, our religious sentiments and even what each of us regards us his own intimate private self - is simply the activity of these little specks of jelly in your head, in your brain. There is nothing else.

Given the staggering complexity, where do you even begin? Well let's start with some basic anatomy. It's the 21st century and most people here have a rough idea what the brain looks like. It has got two mirror-image halves. These are called the cerebral hemispheres. Hence, it looks like a walnut sitting on top of a stalk. This walnut-like structure is called the brain stem, and each hemisphere is divided into four lobes: A. The frontal lobe, B. The parietal lobe, C. The occipital lobe and D. The temporal lobe.
The occipital lobe in the back is concerned with vision. If it's damaged, you become blind. The temporal lobe is concerned with things like hearing, with emotions and certain aspects of perception. The parietal lobes of the brain are concerned with - at the sides of the head - they are concerned with creating a three-dimensional representation of the spatial layout of the external world, and also of your own body in that three-dimensional representation. And lastly the frontal lobes, in the front, are the most mysterious of all. They are concerned with some very enigmatic aspects of human mind and human behavior such as your moral sense, your wisdom, your ambition and other activities of the mind which we know very little about.

The brain, together with our psyche, is called our mind. Mind is composed of two parts: the brain and the subconscious part of our psyche. This subconscious part is responsible for various psychological activities including the emotional development and different sentiments. It is not just a biological structure but our mind is something greater than that. In the coming paragraphs, we will interpret how our mind is hypnotised by the beautiful musical composition.

 

3 Music therapy in India:

 

Long before acoustics came to be understood in Europe as a subject of study, the ancient Arab, Greek and Indian civilizations were already familiar with the therapeutic role of sounds and vibrations and the later day concepts pertaining to them. While music as a whole is well recognized for its entertainment value, the Indian civilization had gone a step forward to attribute the curative aspect to music.

The ancient system of Nada Yoga, which dates back to the time of Tantras, has fully acknowledged the impact of music on body and mind and put into practice the vibrations emanating from sounds to uplift one's level of consciousness. It is the Indian genius that recognized that ragas are not just mere commodities of entertainment but the vibrations in their resonance could synchronize with one's moods and health. By stimulating the moods and controlling the brain wave patterns, ragas could work as a complementary medicine.

 

3.1 What is a melody or Raga

 

Raga, we all know is the sequence of selected notes (swaras) that lend appropriate 'mood' or emotion in a selective combination. Depending on their nature, a raga could induce or intensify joy or sorrow, violence or peace and it is this quality which forms the basis for musical application. Thus, a whole range of emotions and their nuances could be captured and communicated within certain rhythms and melodies. Playing, performing and even listening to appropriate ragas can work as a medicine. Various ragas have since been recognized to have definite impact on certain ailments.

 

3.2 Historic References on Raga Chikitsa.

 

The ancient Hindus had relied on music for its curative role: the chanting and toning involved in Veda mantras in praise of God have been used from time immemorial as a cure for several disharmonies in the individual as well as his environment. Several sects of 'bhakti' such as Chaitanya sampradaya, Vallabha sampradaya have all accorded priority to music. Historical records too indicate that one Haridas Swami who was the guru of the famous musician in Akbar's time, Tansen is credited with the recovery of one of the queens of the Emperor with a selected raga. The great composers of classical music in India called the 'Musical Trinity', - who were curiously the contemporaries of the 'Trinity of Western Classical Music, Bach, Beethoven and Mozart– were quite sensitive to the acoustical energies. Legend has it that Saint Tyagaraja brought a dead person back to life with his Bilahari composition Naa Jiva Dhaara. Muthuswamy Dikshitar's Navagriha Kriti is believed to cure stomach ache. Shyama Sastry's composition Duru Sugu uses music to pray for good health.

Raga Chikitsa was an ancient manuscript, which dealt with the therapeutic effects of raga. The library at Thanjavur is reported to contain such a treasure on ragas that spells out the application and use of various ragas in fighting common ailments.

 

3.3 Raga Chikitsa: Raga Therapy in India

 

Living systems show sensitivity to specific radiant energies – be it acoustical, magnetic or electro-magnetic. As the impact of music could be easily gauged on emotions and thereby on mind, it can be used as a tool to control the physiological, psychological and even social activities of the patients

Indian classical music can be classified into two forms: kalpita sangita or composition, which is previously conceived, memorized, practised and rendered and manodharma sangita or the music extemporized and performed. The latter can be equated to the honey-mooner's first night as it conceives both spontaneity and improvisation. It is fresh and natural as it is created almost on the spot and rendered instantly on the spur of the moment.

According to an ancient Indian text, Swara Sastra, the seventy-two melakarta ragas (parent ragas ) control the 72 important nerves in the body. It is believed that if one sings with due devotion, adhering to the raga lakshana (norms) and sruti shuddhi, (pitch purity) the raga could affect the particular nerve in the body in a favourable manner.

While the descending notes in a raga (avarohana) do create inward-oriented feelings, the ascending notes (arohana) represent an upward mobility. Thus music played for the soldiers or for the dancers have to be more lively and up lifting with frequent use of arohana content. In the same way, melancholic songs should go for 'depressing' avarohanas. Although it is not a rule, most of the Western tunes based on major keys play joyful notes, while those composed in minor keys tend to be melancholic or serious.

Certain ragas do have a tendency to move the listeners, both emotionally as well as physically. An involuntary nod of the head, limbs or body could synchronize with lilting tunes when played.

 

3.4 Some Therapeutic Ragas

 

Some ragas like Darbari Kanhada, Kamaj and Pooriya are found to help in defusing mental tension, particularly in the case of hysterics. For those who suffer from hypertension, ragas such as Ahirbhairav, Pooriya and Todi are prescribed. To control anger and bring down the violence within, Carnatic ragas like Punnagavarali, Sahana etc do come handy.

Sairam, experimenting on the impact of raga on mentally-retarded (MR) children have noticed that it is the right combination of rhythms and tempo, which also affect the quality of a raga.

Not only psychological impact, but also somatic or physiological impact of ragas has come to light in some recent works. For instance, stomach-related disorders are said to be cured with some Hindustani Ragas such as Deepak (acidity) , Gunkali and Jaunpuri ( constipation) and Malkauns or Hindolam (intestinal gas and for controlling fevers). Fevers like malaria are also said to be controlled by the ragas like Marva. For headaches, relaxing with the ragas like Durbari Kanada, Jayjaywanti and Sohni is said to be beneficial.

There is a growing awareness that ragas could be a safe alternative for many medical interventions.

Simple musical rhythms with low pitched swaras, as in bhajans and kirtans are the time-tested sedatives, which can even substitute the synthetic analgesics, which show many a side-effect. They are capable of leading to relaxation, as observed with the alpha-levels of the brain waves. They may also lead to favourable hormonal changes in the system. It is therefore felt that there is an urgent need for further detailed enquiry to be based on scientific parameters, which will go a long way in unearthing the goldmine on which the Indian musical system is resting now.

For this purpose, it is necessary that a group of exponents in Indian ragas join experts in medicine to help evolving a scientific system of raga therapy for the most common illness of the modern times: stress and stress-related disorders. Our leaders, professionals and managers all suffer from stress, thanks to the ever-increasing man-machine interface, resulting in the machine making the man to behave!

"Nada centre for music therapy" is an inconspicuous outfit at Chennai committed to propagate the concept of music therapy among the general public. So far one national (2005) and one international conference (2006) has been successfully organized by this centre at Chennai with the support of a few music therapy enthusiasts. A few modest publications and cd's on music therapy have also been brought out by them as may be referred to from their website.

Thus, we see that music therapy is getting momentum in the present era. More and more individuals and institutions are making efforts to popularise this kind of therapy as a supplement to the medical treatment. The initial clinical tests show that it is a very effective tool for some specific kinds of ailments. Mental illnesses, tension related problems, hypertension, psychological problems like depression, anxiety etc are some of the diseases which can be cured through the music therapy supplemented with the routine available treatments. Music therapy helps in the rapid cure of the ailment with the lesser quantity of the drugs so that the after-effects of the same are eliminated.

Footnotes

1. Music mind and Mental Health by Bagchi, P.31.

2. Ibid: P.72.

3. Self-transformation through Music by Crandall, J: P.51.

4. B. B. C. Reith Lectures Series 2003.http://yahoogroups/sayeverything.messages_Brain.htm

5. Music, Mind and Mental Health. by K. Bagchi, Society for Gerontological Research P.43.

6. Ibid: P.44.

7. Music, mind and mental health, Society for Gerontological Research by K Bagchi, P.43.

8.Ibid: P-44.

9. The Psychology of Tones, by Sairam. P.21..

10.

11. Ibid: P.34.

12. Music, mind and Mental Health byK. Bagchi, 2003, P.61

13. Taken from the link:http://ayurveda-foryou.com

14. Same Link.

Same link.

15. For further information:http://ayurveda-foryou.com/health_articles/health_articles.html

16. Medicinal Music. Nada Centre for music therapy. by T. V. Sairam, p-33

17. Nada music Therapy Centre located in Chennai.

18. Self-transformation through Music by Crandall, P5.).

19. http://www.nada.in

 

Taken from:

Omenad

U.G.C. Conference: 'Music in Perspective of Globalization'
By Dr. Rajiv Trivedi

 
 

Educational institutions generally organize conferences and workshops during each academic session depending upon the grants available. Such meetings of academics and professionals helps in forwarding the process of education by sharing and documentation of recent innovation, experimentation and meditation in the discipline. Where theoretical observations outweigh novel revelation, the interest of participants and the audience in the proceedings is likely to wane. The conference organized by Music faculty of Delhi University was held in the compact but acoustically strong auditorium called Shankarlal Hall. Apart from the first few rows reserved for the speakers and guests, the hall was filled to capacity with students. It was refreshing to find so many bright-eyed youth interested in music - a heritage whose epithet 'ancient' is more likely to drive them away. A little later, it was apparent that the students attended the seminar not due to any pressure but because the proceedings held real meaning for them. This indeed is the victory of Dean Anjali Mittal and organizing secretary Suneera Kasliwal who not only chose an interesting topic but could also motivate participants whose presence together spelled plurality of Indian music.

After the traditional Vandana (enjoyable both in composition and presentation as it was presented by students of music) and welcome address by Dr. Anjali Mittal, Shri Lalit Mansingh inaugurated the two-day seminar. He drew attention to basic ideas beneath the ubiquitous term 'globalization' that were of value to scholars and performers alike. Art never changes externally; when it is forced as such, it might give birth to a new genre, but the main body stays the same. It is only when the artiste changes in accordance with fundamental values that his art portrays a new look. This fact was stated in different terms throughout the seminar by speakers, artistes and observers. Among the audience were such names as Dr. Saubhagyavardhan Brahaspati, Dr. Mukesh Garg, Prof. Ravi Sharma who is looking after music courses in IGNOU, Ustad Iqbal Ahmed Khan, classical vocalist and doyen of Delhi school. The seminar was attended by a large number of ex-students of the Music faculty.

It was still a step forward when Vidushi Shanno Khurana was going down memory lane to recall the days when she first started using classical compositions in opera. As she sang out different parts, one could picture the the story unfolding on the stage. Yes, the audience shared her wonder; what was wrong with this to cause uproar and statements like 'Shanno Khurana has abandoned serious music'. She described how gradually people began to see creativity instead of degeneration in this venture. The few lines she recited from her first Urdu opera were a treat -- a rare blend of poetry, diction, drama and music.

When Prof. Vidya Dhar Vyas was invited as the next speaker, there was a momentary fear that after such a presentation would the young audience grant due attention to the scholar-performer. Some of the students had attended his lectures and looked forward to his presentation here. Dr. Vyas briefly described how technology has aided promotion and practice of Indian Classical music. He pointed out that when students from West or Far East come to learn Indian music, it is not only a body of knowledge they seek but an understanding of an alien culture as well. Most institutions and independent teachers formulate a starter module which acquaints these students with salient features of Indian culture important for understanding Indian music. He proceeded to relate how a keen student was groomed in this fashion and when everyone in the audience was curious about him, he put on a tape of his performance. No one can guess from the recording that the singer is not an Indian. Chairperson Dr. Krishna Bisht invited questions from the audience and helped the speakers in stressing an active role of musicians towards building a pluralistic global culture.

In the post-lunch session Hans Utter presented a perfect sequel to Dr. Vyas. Through his paper he emphasized the need for taking a cultural approach to understanding Indian music. He talked about the fundamental differences in western and Indian music. The very nature of western music calls for a definite progressive structure based on harmony that effects an impediment to appreciating Indian music. The Indian system is cyclic based on establishment of shadja laying stress on accuracy of microtonal units. This produces a kind of cultural deafness; unless trained for it west can not appreciate east and vice-versa. It is the degree of insight gained which marks whether the western rendering of Indian Raga approximates the original. He used compositions in Todi performed by three artistes on different instruments to substantiate this hypothesis.

Though western artistes like James Barralet and Nancy Lesh have used Cello to play Indian music, Saskia Rao de Haas has gone a step farther. She is wedded not only to Indian music but also to an Indian musician. An erstwhile student of Delhi university she completed her Ph.D. from Amsterdam and stalwarts like Pt. Hariprasad Chourasiya are all praise for her. She credits a Dutch musician for designing her Cello and Sanjay Sharma of Shivam Musicals for making her instrument. It has five playing strings with tonic in D and uses ten sympathetic strings. The deep tones of Cello suited the Bhimpalash composition in Jhaptal and teen tal. At times, the very strength also becomes its weakness as thirst for softer tones remains unquenched, but considering that this is pioneering work, Saskia comes out a winner.

The presence of a number of artistes, scholars, critics in the audience lend credence to the seminar. Dr. Krishna Bisht, who headed the music faculty till her recent retirement acted as bridge across generations and vocations. The organizers had thoughtfully arranged for the presence of major publishers of books and music. Latest releases by Sangeet Natak Akademi and Akashvani archives were on display. As they offered handsome discount, during breaks they were filled with students and visitors eager to update their libraries and collection.

Director of Sangeet Natak Akademi, Dr. Jayant Kastuar and chairperson Pt. Bhajan Sopori set the mood for second day of seminar by interpreting the paradoxical impact of globalization. Anyone who has moved out his town, city or country suddenly learns the value of native identity. Globalization has brought his realization to people without their moving out. In the plethora of activities, commotion and babble the anchor of things known and proximate is necessary for defining one's individuality; else one's sanity would be in question. Later Pt. Sopori expressed his complete agreement with Dr. Kastuar's emphasis on defining policies for reinforcement of the local so that the steps to regional and national might give a stable movement to global. Despite several significant contributions to the discussion by eminent personalities, due perhaps to the essence of seminar being more artistic than philosophical, the misapprehension of globalization as an upward climb could not be successfully belied. Still, the speakers were clear about bolstering our immediate culture in order to contribute to the global one. Dr. Kastuar went as far as to state that citizens should work towards making Indian culture as the global culture. Quite patriotic! Yet, the statement was made more in spirit of encouragement than denial of pluralism. Pt. Sopori was more concerned about the heady spirit of experimentation. Egged on by an opening world market, many Indian artistes tend to experiment with fusion which is "possible only when marketing is successful". It is no more than gymnastics or lampooning completely devoid of true music. The legendary santoor player is right to be angry because all that goes in the name of fusion rises out of material ambition and not aesthetic sensibility.

It shall take some time for Indian artistes to admit the yeoman service that Shri G. Rajnarayan has performed. If one takes the global view, wide in span and sensibility, then perhaps this engineer-musician inventor has made the largest contribution in granting expanse to practice of Indian classical music. In the words of Santoor artiste and composer Pt. Omprakash Chourasiya, "the sole invention in twentieth century which has revolutionized practice of Indian music is G. Rajnarayan's invention, electronic Tanpura and Tabla". Rajnarayan in tandem with wife Radhika, an acclaimed artiste of Tanjour or Saraswati Veena presented his invention Digital Veena. The first synthesized Indian music instrument to hold patent, the Digital Veena addresses many trivial issues that together make the original acoustic instrument a challenge to artiste's creativity. Portability is not an issue when one is debating on merits of various instruments in a conference hall, but soon as the artiste gets a chain booking of eight or ten performances three thousand miles from home, it acquires draconian proportion. Many concerts have been cancelled because of damaged instrument. Indian artistes used to reverent disciples looking after their mentor's instrument find to their loss that they are not reincarnated as airport baggage attendants. But Digi-veena takes care of other crucial issues like freedom from fixed frets through single button tuning, ease for smooth finger-work, powerful sound that can hold its own with any percussion and has rich benefits like built-in Tanpura, memory for various settings and so on. Radhika ji was truly enjoying playing on this Veena which was designed on her suggestions and to her tastes. Her fingers glided with unbridled joy, for the digi-veena needs merely the touch and no pulling to produce the perfect notes.

Equally proficient is Dr. Francesca Cassio in her Dhrupad recital. Clarity of diction is pleasantly surprising. She has attained this difficult art-form through the path of poeple-culture-art. Once again, only time shall tell whether she is able to cross over from being a practitioner to master. Yet, she has already performed a great service by establishing that overcoming all sorts of deafness and closed doors the great Indian art which passed from master to son has now finally be opened up for those who dare.

Before this presentation with another senior member of faculty. Ajit Singh Paintal as moderator a panel of four renowned music scholars discussed the place of indian music in global perspective. Shri S.L. Kandara a sensitive violin player and media administrator initiated the dialogue by affirming the cultural stream running unperturbed by economic activity. The globalization phenomena is technology driven economic activity that despite inconveniencing Arts here and there would not be able to affect its course. Prof. Najma Perveen Ahmed was less critical and seemed ready to take the bull by horns through bringing about some changes in methods for teaching of Indian music. Prof. Deepti  Bhalla a Kathak performer said that it all depends on the conviction of the artiste. (S)he can present as much or as little of the art before the global audience as required. This control grants them the key to tackling this phenomena. On the other hand when anyone wishes to learn this art, it has to be taught in absolutely the manner in which it was learnt. This way it is Indianization of the alien sensibility and not globalization. Prof. Uma Garg and Prof. Pankaj Mala Sharma too helped in charting out ways available to artistes and academics for furthering the cause of Indian music without losing its essence. Dr. Sharma pointed out that performing arts are always experimental and thus change is the tradition of music; only such change is acceptable which does not abuse the integrity of the art-form.

As a fitting finale, another erstwhile member of faculty Padmashree Dr. Debu Choudhury gave a moving sitar recital.  Prof. Sunita Dhar proposed a vote of thanks for all participants, guest speakers, students and supporting artistes, namely, Pt. Dal Chand Sharma, Pt. N. Padmanabhan, Pt. Somnath Mukherjee, Pt. Subhash Nirwan, Shri Gulshan Kumar and Shri Rashid Zafar.

On behalf of the organizers Dr. Suneera Kasliwal promised to come out with publication of proceedings of the seminar. With Hindi Madhyam Karyanvaya Nideshalaya being situated so close to Music faculty, one can hope it to see another issue of Vageshwari soon.