Music is a representation of divine beauty. It is the harmonious voice of
creation positioned somewhere between the regions of the mind and of matter, a
meditator between the spiritual and sensual life as Beethoven put it. To some
it is a higher acquirement than even delight and devotedness in prayer. It is
also a sort of medicine which has the capability of healing the aching hearts
of living beings. It is a universal language of emotions and a vehicle of human
feelings, answering to various moods of the mind. Perhaps early humans sang and
danced because they found diversion and comfort in moments of monotony and
distress.
The Antiquity of Indian Music
It is said that Indian music is so ancient that the story of its conception
cannot be traced. The ancient Puraanaas, the religious books of the Hindu
civilization, and the accounts and references in them, show that a close
relationship existed between religion and music already by 1000 B.C.E. Hence,
in order to trace back the roots of this ancient art, one may make use of these
books and stories. The musical instruments held by different gods and goddesses
for example, Saaraswati holding a Veenaa (a string instrument similar to the
present day Sitar), sage Naarada holding a Naarada Veena, Shankar holding a
Damaru drum, and Vishnu holding a conch shell show that there has been an
artistic awareness of music in India since the dawn of civilization.
How Nature Inspired the Creation
of Musical Notes
Like commands from a superior, man received cues and impulses for discovering
music from mother nature. Just as beautiful environments, scenes, shadows and
perspectives inspired him in discovering the art of painting, and physical
shapes and images of stones inspired the creation of sculpture as an art, early
humans realized that the sonic environment - waves of the ocean, gentle ripples
of rivers and brooks, the chirping of birds and humming of bees, love calls of
the peacock, and the infinite variety of fascinating living sounds - was
similar to his emotions and sentiments. He started to interpret his hopes,
wishes, and his ecstasy and excitement of appreciation, by imitating, repeating
and composing phrases from this wide variety of natural sounds. With the advent
of time, this process became music.
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