Fundamental of Ancient Indian Music and Dance

Author(s): Sureshchandra Benarji
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 80

APPENDIX A
INDIAN AND WESTERN MUSIC
Now-a-days there is a tendency to westernise Indian music at least to some extent. Before introducing western methods and spirit, we must understand the basic difference between the two systems.
The fundamental difference between the two systems is that, while Indian music rests on melody, Wes ern music is founded on harmony. In an Indian song, the successive concordant notes produce a definite rāga The harniony of the west is dependent upon the concord of different notes related to one another. The melody in India has a uniform unchanged mood: time and tune make a homogeneous unit. In Indian music, the balance is effected by time-variations and grace. In western music mood is used to articulate the balance of the whole piece'. In India, the prominent notes and the mutual relation of the individual notes are fixed by long tradition. In the west, the principal notes are made by the transient impulse of the harmony; in it what maiters is a group of notes and not the individual ones. In India, melody depends upon the relation of fixed notes which vary in accordancc with the rāga; it has no concern with development through notes suggesting harmony. In the west, melodies centre around notes harmonically connected with the tonic. Consequently, imitation at different stages, though common in western music, is very rare in the Indian system. In India gamakas (tremor of the notes) are deliberate as these are considered to add to the grace of songs. In the west, these are accidental embellishments. The use of microtones distinguishes Indian music from the western. In Indian songs, conformity with the