Mathematics and Carnatic Music

I had an interesting discussion once with Deepti on juxtaposition of Mathematics with Carnatic music. She said she is going to write a blog on it in detail but here are a few excerpts of the discussion which I could relate to and felt true. Much of the below sentences are, I confess, her own and copyrighted.

Aesthetics is philosophy of beautification.
Science is something that covers Aesthetics in shrouded mystery.
Mathematics describes the Science using numbers.
Progressions, be it linear or geometric, are an integral part of Mathematics.
Patterns are an inherent component of Progressions.
Symmetric pattern is pleasing because there is beauty in symmetry and vice versa.

So how that’s how we have the circle of Beauty. Via Aesthetics, Science, Math, Progressions and Patterns.

Invariably, the best musical patterns are progressions.

And that’s how Carnatic music starts : sarale varase; dhaatu varase; jhanti varase; alankaara…

I leave the rest (and the more intricate things) for Deepti to add…

Excerpt from Sama Veda

Reproduced from pages 157-159 of the book "Autobiography of a yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda"

The Samaveda contains the world's earliest writings on musical science.
The foundation stone of Hindu music is the ragas or fixed melodic scales. The 6
basic ragas branch out into 126 derivative raginis (wives) and putras (sons).
Each raga has a minimum of 5 notes: a leading note (vadi or king), a secondary
note (samavadi or prime minister), helping notes (anuvadi, attendants), and a
dissonant note (vivadi, the enemy)

Each of these 6 ragas has
natural correspondence with certain hour of day, season of year, and a presiding
deity who bestows a particular potency:

1. Hindola: heard at dawn
in spring to evoke mood of universal love
2. deepaka: played at evening in
summer to arouse compassion
3. megha: melody for midday in rainy to summon
courage
4. bhairava: mornings of Aug, Sept, Oct to achieve tranquility
5. sri: autumn twilights to attain pure love
6. Malkounsa: midnight in
winter for valor

Indian music divides octave into 22 srutis or
demi-semitones. These microtonal intervals permit fine shades of musical
expression unattainable by western chromatic scale of 12 semitones. Each of 7
basic notes of octave is associated in Hindu mythology with color and natural
cry of bird or beast:

Do: green and peacock
Re: red and
skylark
Mi: golden and goat
Fa: yellowish white and heron
Sol: black
and nightingale
La: yellow and horse
Si: combination of all colors
and elephant

3 scales-major, harmonic minor, melodic minor-are
only ones which Occidental music employs, but Indian music outlines 72 thatas or
scales. Musician has a creative scope for endless improvisation around the fixed
traditional melody or raga; he concentrates on sentiment or definitive mood of
structural theme and then embroiders it to limits of his own originality. Hindu
musician does not read set notes; he clothes anew at each playing the bare
skeleton of the raga, often confining himself to single melodic sequence,
stressing by repetition all its subtle microtonal and rhythmic variations. Bach,
among Western composers, had an understanding of charm and power of repetitions
sound slightly differentiated in 100 complex ways.

Ancient Sanskrit literature describes 120 talas or time measures. Indian
music is a spiritual, subjective and individualistic art, aiming not at
symphonic brilliance but at personal harmony with the Oversoul. Sanskrit word
for musician is Bhagavathar (he who sings the praises of God) The sankirtans or
musical gatherings are an effective form of yoga or spiritual discipline,
necessitating deep concentration and intense absorption in the seed thought and
sound.

About this blog…

Much inspired by the number of blogs on Carnatic music, and due to the multitude of thoughts flowing on in my mind about the music, the only resulting upshot of it all was for me to come with a Carnatic blog of my own. While I may not be as talented nor have the diverse knowledge of the innumerous and intricate Ragas, or for that matter even the simplest of Geethas as others, I still feel very deeply about Carnatic Music and truly believe that it is the language of the Gods.

This blog will be a collection of my thoughts, and material which I find interesting, about Carnatic music.