Variety is the essence

The beauty of music is the variety that it generates based on its adaptation. The fundamental notes of music are a mere 12 in number. Interestingly, seldom are all these 12 notes used in a single music composition, the chief reason being, it only produces noise when done so. We then, finally end up using around 5-8 of them at a time. So what is it that produces this astoundingingly different variations that we hear?

I will take the example of 3 ragams from the Carnatic system to illustrate this. Lets take the simple ragams of the audava-audava group - Mohanam, Shivaranjani, and Baasanti.
Mohanam - S R2 G3 P D2 S - S D2 P G3 R2 S is a very common, ebullient ragam highly used by the composers of the yore as well as their modern day contemporaries - film music directors. With its 5 notes - all based on the major scale, the ragam tends to be highly pleasing and joyous to hear.
A small variation by tweaking the ragam, i.e modifying the G3 to G2 produces a orthogonal, higly sober ragam in Shivaranjani. The striking aspect of this small change is the impact it causes to the adjacent notes. Suddenly the Ri, Da seem to be unwelcoming this alien Ga. The difference is noticeable when you sing Mohanam for sometime and you shift to Shivaranjani. The Ga creates an environment that seems pungent to Ri and Da.
Another variation to Mohanam, this time the Dha - from D2 to D1 produces one of the most pleasng but underutilised ragam, Baasanti. The soul of Baasanti, simply put is D1. It gives a touch of melancholy to the ragam which is otherwise assuaging to hear. The sadness is not profound and overall, it manages to easily reach out to your heart that you can't say a NO to it. 'Kurukku Siruthavale' - from the movie Mudhalvan is Baasanti at its best. The interlude though is in Mohanam.

It's interesting to see that a subtle change among these three ragams causes differences of epic proportions. The mood and the effect that these ragams convey are colossally different. There in lies the beauty of these ragams and the variety that music offers.

Rock music, widely popular in the west, more often than not uses the notes of the Ragam Karaharapriya which are S R2 G2 M1 P D2 N2 S. Karaharapriya is the fond ragam of many a music director in the Indian musical style too. The incomparable janya ragams that it gives birth to makesit truly majestic. One such janya ragam is Shudha Dhanyasi - the overused ragam of all time probably in the world of non-carnatic music. I recently happened to hear a song -"Sabbra Ca Dabra" by Metallica - the world's renowned heavy metal band. Now, what's this has got to do with Sudha Dhanyasi, one might wonder. This song oozes with the high octane guitars and drums, beneath which there is Shudhha Dhanyasi! I don't know if that could be called by that name since literally speaking the ragam is called Shudhha Dhanyasi because of the prayogams it has in the world of carnatic music. A true connoisseur of the style would probably call it the A-shudhha Dhanyasi! But the point here to note is that, the same set of swaras when played to different styles, instruments and players paint entirely different pictures. And yet, the foundation is only one!

This is a tribute to all the musicians and composers all round the world of yesteryears and the current generation. The musical discoveries that our forefathers have gifted us is an unparalleled feat, the fruits of which we are able to enjoy and appreciate in our time. There is no better feeling than enjoying a composition that makes you well-up, produces goose-bumps, makes you reminisce and appreciate god's generous gift - Music.