Tradition Interests You The Most In Chapter 2: Hindustani Or Carnatic?

Music
Your Name
Your Institution of Affiliation
February 1, 2018
1 What is the most interesting concept for you in the Introduction?
Perhaps, the most interesting concept in the introduction is the definition of Music itself, as defined by Webster New World Dictionary. Music, as defined is said to be the “(1) The art of combining tones to form expressive compositions; (2) Such compositions; (3) any rhythmic sequence of pleasing sounds” (p. 6). The reason why this piqued my interest the most is that because of the seeming generality of the concept, most people would fail to notice that this is not sufficient to provide a connotative definition of what music is. In some cultures or congregations, for example, rock music would be considered as unpleasing and less of an art, whereas in some jazz music would be considered as distasteful. This linkage towards cultural constructs makes defining music something that is difficult, unless you line your perspective with those on particular culture. Another good example of this would be the “art (and science) of music” as western music theory understands. In most cases, major chords are considered as “playful, happy, and joyous amongst others”, while minor tones imply somber and depressing tunes. Yet, there are other cultures who plays their festive music in a minor tone. This difference in understanding music for “what it is and what it is not” is one of the things that this chapter expounds on.
2. Which tradition interests you the most in Chapter 2: Hindustani or Carnatic? Explain.
The more interesting musical tradition in between the two is Hindustani music. The reason for this is because Hindustani is a rigid example of the days that music is not simply a product of culture, but rather culture itself. In the second chapter of the book, it was shown how Hindustani music embodied the teachings of Vedas (or at least became a part of it) as well as how it was passed down from one generation through the other only by oral traditions (p. 24). This resilience that Hindustani music exhibited simply shows how big music is, as a part of their own culture. Aside from resilience, Hindustani music also showed how complex it is by representing the underlying culture. In the article, it was discussed that the Sama-Veda, a collection of hymns, constitutes a huge part of the Vedic scriptures together with the Rig-Veda, which is the collection of poems (p. 24). However, despite being available for public co...