Recipe of a Song

Discretionary Disclaimer:

The strings, notations, beats, tracks, rhythms, lyrics depicted in this articulate creation are purely fictional which is based on non fictional ideas & incidences. Any factual resemblance & relation, if found, to any of such strings, notations, beats, tracks, rhythms, lyrics has to be purely coincidental. Also due care has been taken while conceptualizing the connotations, nomenclatures & terminologies dealt while critically dissecting the addiction of ‘Music’

The pictorial representation, several content or otherwise depicted throughout the theme based of this articulate creation are for exemplary purpose & just an attempt of spreading the word creating awareness or some ‘issued in public interest’ kindda stuff of healing the world around through ‘Music’.

Having gone through more than couple of dozen informative sources & having further scrolled down several countless links, googled & wikied innumerous terms in context of the theme, this article, has been far from mere writing some abstract stuff. Instead it was just an impulsive attempt to explore more into the world of Music, while rewinding , repeating, shuffling, fast forwarding the music!!...

So one might be thinking, what does the title of this article sound like??...or simply wondering, why is volume of the words so high??.. Or, what if the chords of the fonts seem to be unusually coded??.. For some, food is life & for some music is passion; but when, food & music goes together; its, heavenly to digest the taste & tune as well!!.... Although the fact lies that, not everything can be expressed in words….’Music’ undoubtedly can be categorized in the genre of bestest best; when felt & hardly expressed….

Moving back to the theme, without wasting much of the words in prelude & time to catch up the beats & tunes of this article. Presenting all new tuneyy deliciouss soothing dish filled with strings & blend of words & music!!...Having arranged for all the ingredients, condiments, spices, tables spoons, forks, ambience, knives, utensils, preservatives, & most importantly salt….. Arrange for spare headsets, charge the battery, & swing into the ‘World of Music’; without disturbing the tuned strings & polished refined chords….Get ready, to drool in to the ‘World of Music’; tucking ipods, musical gadgets & on the tunes; from the era of gramophone to the era of ipods; from bathroom singer to concert rockstar; from maestros to musical master pieces & just get addicted to High power overdose of music!!….

‘Music’ is an art form whose medium is sound & silence. Its common elements are pitch (governing melody & harmony), rhythm (its associated concepts tempo, meter, & articulation), dynamics, & the sonic qualities of timbre & texture. The word is derived from Greek (mousike; "art of the Muses").

The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of music vary according to culture and social context. Music ranges from strictly organized compositions (and their recreation in performance), through improvisational music to a leatoric forms; & is generally divided into genres and subgenres subtly.

Ancient Greek and Indian philosopher’s defined music as tones ordered horizontally as melodies and vertically as harmonies. Common sayings such as "the harmony of the spheres"; "it is music to my ears"; "There is no noise, only sound." points to the notion that music is often soothing & pleasant to listen to. By all accounts there is no single and intercultural universal concept defining what music is perceived to be

‘Musicology’ in broader sense is the scholarly study of music. A person who studies music is a musicologist. In the broad definition, the parent disciplines of musicology includes history; cultural studies and gender studies; philosophy, aesthetics & semiotics; ethnology & cultural anthropology; archeology and prehistory; psychology and sociology; physiology & neuroscience; acoustics and psychoacoustics; and computer/information sciences and mathematics.

Musical knowledge and know-how are applied in medicine, education and music therapy, which may be regarded as the parent disciplines of Applied Musicology.

Systematic musicology includes music acoustics, the science and technology of acoustical musical instruments, physiology, psychology, sociology, philosophy and computing. Cognitive Musicology is the set of phenomena surrounding the computational modeling of music.

‘Musical Analysis’ is the attempt to answer the question how does this music work?. The method employed to answer this question, and indeed exactly what is meant by the question, differs from analyst to analyst, and according to the purpose of the analysis. The principle of analysis has been variously criticized, especially by composers, “to explain by means of [analysis] is to decompose, to mutilate the spirit of a musical work” 

‘Music Cognition’ is an interdisciplinary approach to understand the mental processes that supports musical behaviors, including perception, comprehension, memory, attention, and performance. Originally in fields of psychoacoustics & sensation, cognitive theories of how people understand music more recently encompass neuroscience, cognitive science, music theory, music therapy, computer science, psychology, philosophy, & linguistics.

 

‘Music Therapy’ is the final clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program. Music therapy is an allied health profession and one of the expressive therapies, consisting of an interpersonal process in which a certified music therapist uses music and all of its facets—physical, emotional, mental, social, aesthetic, and spiritual—to help clients to improve or maintain their health.

Music therapists primarily help clients improve their health across various domains to achieve treatment goals and objectives. It is considered both an art and a science, with a wide qualitative and quantitative research literature base incorporating areas such as clinical therapy, biomusicology, musical acoustics, music theory, psychoacoustics, embodied music cognition, aesthetics of music, and comparative musicology.

‘Music Psychology’, or the psychology of music, may be regarded as a branch of psychology or a branch of musicology. It aims to explain and understand musical behavior and musical experience. Modern music psychology is mainly empirical: music-psychological knowledge tends to advance primarily on the basis of interpretations of data about musical behavior and experience, which are collected by systematic observation of and interaction with human participants. Music psychology is a field of research with practical relevance for music performance, music composition, music education, music medicine, and music therapy.

So having taken a tour of the world of music, let’s get back to the chef of music, who, not only arranges & prepares the food; but also presents so deliciously; that the foodie is already tempted just by seeing it. Well, without, discussing or complaining much over the calories, vitamins, nutrition, carbohydrates, fats, preservatives & addictives, proteins, calcium etc. Before moving to the dining table; lets jus move around the kitchen filled with music….

‘Lyricist’ is a writer who specializes in writing lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.

‘Composer’ or ‘Songwriter’ is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material as electroacoustic music.

‘Poet’ is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Throughout each civilization and language, poets have used various styles that have changed through the course of literary history, resulting in a history of poets as diverse as the literature they have produced.

‘Playback Singer’ is a singer whose singing is pre-recorded for use in movies. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras, while the actual singer does not appear on screen.

So, having introduced the chefs of the songs; moving over to the recipe, ingredients etc..

‘Lyrics’ are a set of words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of expression. The lyricist of traditional musical forms such as Opera is known as alibrettist.

Lyric is derived from the Greek word, meaning "singing to the lyre". A lyric poem is one that expresses a subjective, personal point of view.

The word lyric came to be used for the "words of a song"; this meaning was recorded in 1876. The common plural, predominates contemporary usage. The differences between poem and song may become less meaningful where verse is set to music, to the point that any distinction becomes untenable.

 

‘Musical Composition’ can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. Although today composition is considered to consist of the manipulation of each aspect of music (harmony, melody, form, rhythm, and timbre); Composition consists in two things only. The first is the ordering and disposing of several sounds. The second is the rendering audible of two or more simultaneous sounds in such a manner that their combination is pleasant. A piece of music exists in the form of a composition in musical notation or as a single acoustic event (a live performance or recorded track). If composed before being performed, music can be performed from memory, through written musical notation, or through a combination of both.

Compositions comprise musical elements, which vary widely from person to person and between cultures. Improvisation is the act of composing during the performance, assembling musical elements spontaneously. Piece is a, "general, non-technical term, applied mainly to instrumental compositions from the 17th century onwards; other than when they are taken individually 'piece' and its equivalents are rarely used of movements in sonatas or symphonies.

‘Song’ is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing. A choral or vocal song may be accompanied by musical instruments. The lyrics (words) of songs are typically of a poetic, rhyming nature, though they may be abstract verses or free prose.

A song may be for a solo singer, a duet, trio, or larger ensemble involving more voices.

Songs can be broadly classified as "art songs", "pop songs", and "folk songs". Other common methods of classification are by purpose (sacred vs secular), by style (dance, ballad etc.), or by time of origin (Renaissance, Contemporary, etc.).

An ‘Instrumental’ is a musical composition or recording without lyrics, or singing, although it might include some inarticulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments.

In a song that is otherwise sung, a section not sung but played with instruments can be called an instrumental interlude. If the instruments are percussion instruments, the interlude can be called a percussion interlude. These interludes are a form of break in the song.

The opposite of instrumental is a ‘Cappella’. In genres which the non-vocal part is conceived using electronic media, the instrumental not necessarily has to be conceived by musical instruments, but is the term to refer to some composition or version that does not include vocals.

‘Medley’ is a piece composed from parts of existing pieces, usually three, played one after another, sometimes overlapping. They are common in popular music, and most medleys are songs rather than instrumental. A medley which are mixed series is called a megamix, often done with tracks for a single artist, or for popular songs from a given year or genre.

‘Alankara’ means "ornament" in Sanskrit and is used in the context of Hindustani classical music to collectively refer to the various embellishment techniques used in both vocal and instrumental music. Some common types of alankar used in classical music are meend (a technique of singing notes in a fluid manner with one note merging into the next - there are many different kinds of meend), kan-swar (grace notes - the use of grace-notes depends on the raga being performed), andolan (a gentle swing on specific notes, used selectively), gamaka (a heavy to-and-fro oscillation involving two or three distinct notes), khatka/gitkari (a rapid rendition of a cluster of notes distinctly yet lightly) and murki (an even lighter and more subtle rendition of a cluster of notes).

In the context of Indian classical music, Svara means a note in the octave.

The seven basic swaras of the scale are profoundly named as Sadjam, Risabh, Gandhar, Madhyam, Pancam, Dhaivata & Nisad, & are abbreviated to Sa, Ri (Carnatic) or Re (Hindustani), Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, and Ni and written S, R, G, M, P, D, N. Collectively these notes are known as the sargam (the word is an acronym of the consonants of the first four swaras).

The ‘Shruti’ is a Sanskrit term used in several contexts throughout the history of Indian music. It is considered the smallest interval of pitch that the human ear can detect.

‘Raga’ (often also spelled raag, raaga, ragam) is one of the melodic modes used in Indian classical music. It uses a series of five or more musical notes upon which a melody is constructed. However, the way the notes are approached and rendered in musical phrases and the mood they convey are more important in defining a raga than the notes themselves. In the Indian musical tradition, ragas are associated with different times of the day, or with seasons. Indian classical music is always set in a raga.

‘Tala, Taal or Tal’, is the term used in Indian classical music for the rhythmic pattern of any composition and for the entire subject of rhythm, roughly corresponding to meter in Western music.

It is a regular, repeating rhythmic phrase, particularly as rendered on a percussive instrument with an ebb and flow of various intonations represented as a theka, a sequence of drum-syllables or bol. Indian classical music, both northern and southern, has complex, all-embracing rules for the elaboration of possible patterns and each such pattern has its own name, though in practice a few talas are very common while others are rare. The most common instrument for keeping rhythm in Hindustani music is the tabla, while in Carnatic music it is the mridangam (also transliterated as mridang).

‘Carnatic Music’ is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, with its area roughly confined to four modern states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. It is one of two main sub-genres of Indian classical music that evolved from ancient Hindu traditions; the other sub-genre being Hindustani music, which emerged as a distinct form because of Persian and Islamic influences in North India. In contrast to Hindustani music, the main emphasis in Carnatic music is on vocal music; most compositions are written to be sung, and even when played on instruments, they are meant to be performed in gayaki (singing) style.

Although there are stylistic differences, the basic elements of sruti (the relative musical pitch), swara (the musical sound of a single note), raga (the mode or melodic formulæ), and tala (the rhythmic cycles) form the foundation of improvisation and composition in both Carnatic and Hindustani music.

Carnatic music is usually performed by a small ensemble of musicians, consisting of a principal performer (usually a vocalist), a melodic accompaniment (usually a violin), a rhythm accompaniment (usually a mridangam), and a tambura, which acts as a drone throughout the performance. Other typical instruments used in performances may include the ghatam, kanjira, morsing, venu flute, veena, and chitraveena.

‘Hindustani classical music’ is the Hindustani or North Indian style of Indian classical music found throughout the northern Indian subcontinent. The style is sometimes called North Indian classical music or ‘Shastriya Sangit’. It is a tradition that originated in Vedic ritual chants and has been evolving since the 12th century CE, Today, it is one of the two subgenres of Indian classical music, the other being Carnatic music, the classical tradition of South India.

‘Music Manuscripts’ are handwritten sources of music. Generally, they can be written on paper or parchment. If the manuscript contains the composer's handwriting it is called an autograph. Music manuscripts can contain musical notation as well as texts and images. There exists a wide variety of types from sketches and fragments, to compositional scores and presentation copies of musical works.

‘Music Engraving’ is the art of drawing music notation at high quality for the purpose of mechanical reproduction. The term music copying is almost equivalent, though music engraving implies a higher degree of skill and quality, usually for publication.

‘Beat’ is the basic unit of time, the pulse of the mensural level (or beat level). In popular use, the beat can refer to a variety of related concepts including: tempo, meter, rhythm and groove. In modern pop music, the term "beats" has been used to describe whole pieces of composed music.

‘Rhythm’ is characterized by a repeating sequence of stressed and unstressed beats (often called "strong" and "weak") and divided into bars organized by time signature and tempo indications. Metric levels faster than the beat level are division levels, and slower levels are multiple levels.

Downbeat: The downbeat is the impulse that occurs at the beginning of a bar in measured music. Its name is derived from the downward stroke of the director or conductor's baton on the first beat of each measure. It frequently carries the strongest accent of the rhythmic cycle. However, in some cases, the downbeat may not be emphasized. Such departure from the normal stress pattern of a measure is a form of syncopation.

Upbeat: An unaccented beat or beats that occur before the first beat of the following measure. In other words, this is an impulse in a measured rhythm that immediately precedes, and hence anticipates, the downbeat. It can be the last beat in a bar where that bar precedes a new bar of music.

On-beat and off-beat:

Off-beat or backbeat pattern, popular on snare drum; Off-beat is a musical term commonly applied to syncopation that emphasizes the weak even beats of a bar, as opposed to the "normal" on-beat.

‘Break’ is an instrumental or percussion section or interlude during a song derived from or related to stop-time – being a "break" from the main parts of the song or piece.

In acoustics, a beat is an interference between two sounds of slightly different frequencies, perceived as periodic variations in volume whose rate is the difference between the two frequencies.

With tuning instruments that can produce sustained tones, beats can readily be recognized. Tuning two tones to a unison will present a peculiar effect: when the two tones are close in pitch but not identical, the difference in frequency generates the beating.

 

To be Continued…..