Carnatic Music of South India

Here you will find information on Carnatic music. Each link will lead to a page specific to the header and will teach you about several interesting parts of Carnatic music.  I'd recommend going left to right, so that you can start off learning about the history of Carnatic and finish off with hearing what a concert using this style of music is like.

  The concert is the culmination of all parts of Carnatic. It is through the m elody, rhythm, instruments and of course the composition that a concert can be brought to life. It is where everything comes together and with a little bit of improvisation showcases the breadth of melody and song that Carnatic has to offer. In concerts, there are two types of music style, with one being based on a specific melody and the other being based on the singing of several songs. In song-centric concerts, there will usually be a main song or songs played after a warmup of several shorter pieces of music. On the other hand, melody-centric concerts will involve explorations of melody and rhythm with lyrics improvised to match. While compositions are much more important to Carnatic music, improvisation still has its own importance. 

  Just as all forms of music are expressed in song, so too is Carnatic music. Despite the many similarities between north and south, composition can be quite different. While Hindustani music has a focus on improvisation, Carnatic music is much more structured. Because of this, there is much more focus on each of the intricacies that make the song what it is.  When Carnatic music is composed into song, there are four pieces of information to be known about it; melody name, rhythm name, title, and composer. It is through these compositions that Carnatic can be learned and improvised upon. It is through these compositions, brought to life with vocalizations and instruments, that the vision of the composer can be at the forefront. In that regard, In struments have an enormous role to play in bringing that composition to life. Among those instruments is the tambura, which serves as a drone and ensures there is foundation to the melody that is being played. Its purpose is prevalent...

  As Indian music has only split off into two different traditions recently, many parts of these styles share similarities. In this case, the melody used is quite similar as both use the raga system. In the case of Carnatic music, there are 72 major melodies which are constructed from a number of notes based on set rules. These rules not only control what notes can be used and what notes may be sung together. It is due to this that Carnatic music can be seen as much more formal and structured than its counterpart. Each of these major melodies, known as janaka raagam, can have their own minor melodies which are known as janya raagam. Where they differ is in their size, with the minor melody being a subset of the notes chosen for the major melody. 72 major melodies of carnatic music

  Indian Classical music is as vast as the subcontinent itself, and amongst that vastness, two traditions have distinguished themselves as key to the music of India. From the north, comes Hindustani music and from the south comes Carnatic music. Where its counterpart was influenced by music of Persia, Carnatic music kept its original style, with hints of southern Indian folk music. Through the more recent centuries, it was practiced by the local kings of Mysore, as well as court-musicians such as Veena Sheshanna. Despite the centuries that have passed, Carnatic music can still be found today in the south Indian states like Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. However, Carnatic music is not solely contained to the south, and can be found wherever south Indian communities may be.  Map of India with Andhra Pradesh,  Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu highlighted.