Music-Culture V

When I typed in “North Indian Classical Music” on YouTube, I found all sorts of videos. I was not sure which one actually fit the description. So, I searched Ravi Shankar and watched some of his videos. This way, I had a better understanding of what North Indian Classical Music was supposed to sound like. I saw that the sitar was a key instrument in this music-culture. So, I searched for a classical sitar song. I came upon a video titled “Indian Classical Music w/ Sitar by Morshed Khan”.

The song was instrumental, without any words. It starts out with a very slow beat of the drums and the mesmerizing sound of the sitar. The obviously skilled sitar player in the video uses the different pitches of this chordophone’s strings to make different melodies. The drums in the background change the tempo according to the sitar. At times, they are played slowly. At other times, they are played much faster.

The sitar is played very fast throughout most of the song. However, the most distinguishable characteristic of the sitar is the numerous ornaments that occur throughout the song. There are almost no cadences as the song goes on nonstop. The harmony created by the sitar and the drums continues throughout the song. The speed of the music makes it very catchy while the mellow sounds of the sitar evoke emotions of solace and relax the listener.