Take a Musical Trip: Music of India (Bollywood)
Origin and History of Bollywood Music: The music of India is fascinating to the Western ear, because it is so different from the music styles that we are generally accustomed to hearing. Indian music is known for its melodic nature and solo performances, with the melodic nature of the music allowing for continual improvisation and enhancement (ipassio, 2022). Microtonal music (microtones) and the use of quarter tones are also common in this part of the world, with some similarities to Persian music. The definition of a microtone can be extended to include any music that uses intervals that are not found in Western music, specifically, the customary Western tuning of 12 equal intervals per octave (Wikipedia, 2022). I first learned about microtones when I began playing playing harmonic minor scales on the violin. My teacher had a Persian/American background, and I remember being fascinated by the complexity of the different musical ideas and patterns that I had not been aware of previously. As you will be able to hear in the songs that I chose for this blog post, the melodies of Indian music differ from sounds that we tend to hear very often in Western music. I think this difference is particularly evident in Nagada Sang Dhol.
Bollywood first originated in Bombay (the city now known as Mumbai), and the name takes a twist on Hollywood. The first full-length movie in the history of the Indian cinema was made in 1913 by Dadasaheb Phalke, who is considered the father of the industry (JustLanded, 2022). After Phalke's first movie was released, many other Hindi films quickly began to appear. Over the last century, the films of the Hindi cinema have undergone several changes in their focus, just as eras or phases that the American film industry has undergone. Cultural changes, politics, new inventions, all contribute to such changes in the entertainment industry. In the early days of the Indian cinema, most movies were based on ancient texts, transitioning to the struggles that the entire country was facing (1950s), and then comedy, laughter, and rock music for a period of about 10 years, following the early 1950s. Films during the period from 1970-1990 again sought to tackle the problems that India was facing, including natural disasters, disease, political unrest, and so on. From the 1990s to the present, the Indian cinema has more or less gone back to the romantic, more light-hearted movies that were produced in the 1960s (Wikipedia, 2022). I also found that many of the songs in Bollywood films are not actually sung by the actors themselves. They just lip-sync the songs and there are vocalists that earn a living by singing the songs for these films (Wikipedia, 2022).
It is so interesting to see how the entertainment industry, as well as many other aspects of life, are influenced by what is happening in a specific country or perhaps, the world. I was surprised to learn that presently, the Hindi cinema has surpassed the American film industry to become the largest center for film production in the world (Wikipedia, 2022). I have never seen a film from either the Indian or Hindi cinema, but after researching Bollywood, I think it would be very interesting to see what some of the films are like - especially some of the older ones.
Nagada Sang Dhol: I first heard this song several years ago, because Tatiana Volosozhar & Maxim Trankov (pair skating team from Russia) performed a short-program routine to selections from this song. I really liked it, so I listened to the complete song afterwards without realizing that I was listening to Bollywood.
The song begins with a single note, presumably played by some type of wind instrument. I was unable to find exact details about this piece written in English, but some possibilities as to this instrument's identity could include the shehnai, bansuri, bargu, or bhungal (Indian Culture, 2022). The first two instruments look somewhat similar to wind instruments that we are familiar with, such as the flute, oboe, and recorder. The bargu and bhungal actually look as if they would belong in the horn family. Either way, the instrument that starts this piece is some sort of wind instrument. Immediately after this opening, percussion can also be heard with a relatively slow beat. This effortlessly transitions into a much faster tempo, faster percussion, and the first vocalist also enters at this point. After the first "verse" or first section of lyrics, there is an instrumental section. The instrumental section is probably my favorite part of the song, and if I am not mistaken, it sounds like there is a change in meter in this part, as well. It could just be that the emphasis is placed on different beats, with the absence of the vocalists. After the instrumental interlude, there is a new section of vocals and lyrics, with the same chorus-like feature at the end, as well as a repetition of the lyrics at the beginning of the song. A short instrumental interlude follows this section, before transitioning to vocals for the rest of the song. You can find an English translation of the lyrics here.
Nagada Sang Dhol - 2013, India (as performed by Shreya Ghoshal and Osman Mir)
Tujhe Dekha Toh Yeh Jana Sanam: This particular song really helped to define the term "Bollywood", according to the YouTube description that popped up when I listened to the recording. As you will be able to tell after listening, this recording is definitely older than the first song that I have included in this post. The song starts out with one vocalist singing in a questioning or a longing kind of tone. I really like when he reaches the highest pitch or the peak of the phrase at 0:25. This serves as the introduction and it sounds like there is wind blowing in the background. After this section, light percussion, strings, more vocals, and some kind of instrument played by plucking the strings takes over for a brief interlude. The style of this song is very different from Nagada Sang Dhol. There are also several parts that sounds like a conversation or a "call and answer" section in the middle and towards the end of the song. From the English translation of the Hindi lyrics, this is the type of love song that Bollywood films have been known for producing.
Tujhe Dekha Toh Yeh Jana Sanam - 1995, India (as performed by Lata Mangeshkar and Kumar Sanu)
Analysis of Musical Elements with Comparison to Western Music:
I think that the biggest difference between Bollywood music of India and Western music is the use of smaller intervals, which results in a distinct sound that intrigues many people. These tiny intervals are referred to as "shruti" and are defined as the smallest interval that a person or instrument can produce, and can also be detected by the human ear (Wikipedia, 2022). From what I found regarding microtonal music, it seems as if Western musicians often have a difficult time hearing the differences in such small intervals. I think with practice, however, one could develop sensitivity to those notes. I remember when I first started taking violin lessons, I could not really hear when one of my strings was flat or sharp (out of tune). After a few years of lessons, though, I was much more sensitive to the intonation of my strings and the notes that I was playing.
Aside from the melody-related differences, another distinction between the two genres combines the musical elements of rhythm, meter, and tempo. All of the music from India that I have listened to so far (specifically the Bollywood songs) seems like music for dancing. Whether the songs are upbeat and energetic or more melancholy and serious, it all makes me want to move and dance along. I think that Western music can have a similar effect on me, but it normally makes me feel like clapping with the beat or just simply moving along with the beat. I also watched a few dancing scenes from some Bollywood films, and it seems like these scenes are an essential part of the films. I think that this used to be the case for many of the American musicals, and while I do not watch a lot of movies, I think that dancing scenes (the American equivalent of the Indian cinema dance scenes) have gone by the wayside. For example, the Shirley Temple movies have great dancing and singing scenes, as well as movies (musicals) like Oklahoma, Singing in the Rain, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and Mary Poppins, among others. These movies are all older, though, and I think that dancing was a bigger part of the American culture in those decades.
Thoughts: Although I would not necessarily say that Indian music, specifically Bollywood, is my favorite music besides that of the Western world, I do find the music enjoyable to listen to. If I could speak Hindi, I am sure that I would appreciate the songs on a whole different level. Lyrics can add so much to a song, but even without speaking Hindi, I still think that the vocals are beautiful. I look forward to exploring Indian music and Bollywood more in the future. Please feel free to share any Indian songs that you enjoy in the comments!
References:
"Bollywood." India. Just Landed, 2022. Web.
"Hindi Cinema." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 25 Oct. 2022. Web.
28 Oct. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindi_cinema.
"Indian Music - Everything You Need to Know About Music of India." ipassio, 2022. Web.
"Microtonal Music." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 24 Oct. 2022. Web.
"Shruti (music)." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation Inc., 21 Oct. 2022. Web.
"Sushir Vadya." Indian Culture, 2022,
I am glad someone in our class did a blog post about this subject. I watched the Bollywood movie RRR on Netflix and loved the music in it. I think the microtones within this music make it sound so intriguing because I am not accustomed to them. I have never heard of the term "shruti," and I appreciate the knowledge.
ReplyDeleteAfter hearing about microtones, I looked up Western Music that has adopted these in their sounds. Some of the songs I found are songs I already knew, but I just never realized they were utilizing microtones. Here is the link to the list of songs I found expressing microtonality.
https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/pop-songs-that-use-microtones/
Thanks for your comments, Tel! I think microtones are so cool, and have enjoyed getting to play some pieces that incorporate those types of notes.
DeleteThis is an excellent option for this assignment. In fact, I find your blog to be very detailed and informative compared to mine. Nice work!
ReplyDeleteHi Areli,
ReplyDeleteI found your blog post so interesting. I was thinking about doing Bollywood music but ended up deciding on a topic I had more knowledge on. I enjoyed how before going into analysis of the music, you first mentioned the history and origin of the music. I as well like how you used different examples to show how the music has been used in different ways. For instance mentioning your exposure of a song through a skating pair using it. I think my only exposure to Bollywood was from the Cheetah Girls movie from when I was younger. I have never really looked into or heard much Bollywood music but I always found the culture intriguing.
When I was doing my own research I actually found that this type of music is called "Hindi Film songs." It is more formally known as Hindi Geet and Bollywood music is actually the informal name for it. I found this fact interesting because I have never heard it referred to anything other than Bollywood. Here is an article from Sonoma State University that has some random facts about Bollywood music. https://news.sonoma.edu/article/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-bollywood
Hey Noelia! Thanks for sharing the link - I will definitely take a look. :)
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