Some of my thoughts and understanding of music here.
Its so amazing to think that there in total just seven notes that form music
but still there’s so much of variation, so many different moods, styles,
forms. What makes all this possible? Certainly there’s gotto be a few
parameters that forms the music. Before I go on any further lets just think
about the notes. What do I mean by saying there are just seven notes? What
are notes? Well, notes are like letters in a language. When there’s language
existing, to help teach the language or to help put down something in the
paper, we need letters right? For just the same purpose we have notes here.
Imagine describing music in the paper by a frequency sequence like this:
440hz, 261.63hz, 263.63hz, 440hz Uff! Its much easier to see it as notes
rather. (A C C A don’t you agree now?)
To say about notes, they are just a form of representing the frequencies. And
Imagine it just happened that everyone in the world, used only the same
number of alphabets to describe their language. Its something like that here
with music. Carnatic music calls it "sa re ga ma pa tha ne"(7 notes), western
classical would call it "Do re me la fa so te"(7 here) and anyone who learns a
music instrument would call it "c d e f g a b "(ya, you knew it- 7 notes here
too)
Beautiful isn’t it? How did it happen that everyone started using the same
standard(the seven note standard, lets call it) to describe their music? I am
still thinking!
But then there’s a whole spectrum of wavelengths or frequencies in a sound
wave which human beings can hear. say something like from 27hz to some
5000hz.
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( an ear can perceive all these frequencies)
And do we pick up just some 7 discrete values from that and call it our notes?
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Like this?
Would that not leave us with so many other frequencies that that cannot be
described?
The answer lies in the fact that "everything is relative." These notes are all
just relative. Take up just any frequency and call it "sa" there is a "re ga ma pa
tha nee" for that "sa"
So when we say that two people are singing a song in different pitches, we
mean that they are taking different frequencies as their reference- "sa"
So that’s where comes in this concept of "pitch" So with pitch and notes one
can describe music!
Or at least that’s what I thought once. But then its not just so. Give the same
sequence of notes two a beginner and a pro, and you know the difference.
Why is that so? There are just so many more elements in music that one
understands only with time. To me, some of the parameters of music are
rythm, the tempo, the touch, the sustainability. and I am pretty sure there
are so many more that I will only slowly start observing.
So to talk about these elements of music, the "rhythm" first.
We can call it the "taal" or the "beat" or the "rhythm" but then its all just the
same- thats what that makes your foot tap, that’s so essential that if there’s
no rhythm- it doesn’t sound like a song anymore, no one can play some music
instrument to back the singing, no one can dance for that song. It just gotto
be there.
Why is it that one can dance for a song and not for a recital?
Cuz, a song has the "rhythm".
And this is such an important element of music that it has helped in creating
different genres of music. blues has a rhythm or a set of rhythms that are totally
different from spanish music.
Who then sets the rhythm during a song? The drummer(or any other
percussion instrument for that case) I am sure you’ve noticed a drummer
hitting the two sticks some two three times before starting a song or
someone say 1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4 before starting a song. They set the rhythm and
the tempo for the song. and when there’s a drummer he maintains the rhythm
throughout the song and helps other artists to "get into the rhythm" The
vocalist or a lead guitarist need not then worry about sticking to the rhythm
because he knows that he is doing it right- Things are taken care of by the
drummer:)
Is it only the drummer who sets the rhythm? No. A rhythm guitarist too.
Sometimes he does it so well that he sets the rhythm even for the drummer!
Once BB king had said to a band, "whenever you guys wanna play, jus call me
and I am there" for the rhythm guitarist of the band set such a good rhythm for
him that enabled him play the pieces very comfortably.
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