Indian music is one of the oldest musical traditions in the world. The origin of this system goes back to the Vedas. Mythology refers to music being brought to the people of India from a place of celestial beings.

The long cherished history of Indian Music makes it important in defining Indian culture. It is a universal sound, which can create emotions and express feelings. Music also soothes the mind. There is rarely anybody who is not touched by music in some way at some time in his or her lives.
Modern historical and cultural research has shown that Indian music has developed within a very complex interaction between people of different races and cultures. The basis for Indian music is sangeet. Sangeet is a combination of three art forms: vocal music, instrumental music and dance. Even though these art forms have emerged from the single stagecraft, these three forms have differentiated into complex and highly refined individual art forms. The two important pillars of Indian Music-rag is the melodic form while tal is the rhythmic. In the beginning music was devotional purely used for ritualistic purposes and restricted to temples only.

There are two major traditions of classical music. Historical roots of both reaches to Bharata's Natyasasthra. The North Indian tradition is known as Hindustani sangeet and the south Indian is called Carnatic sangeet. Even though both systems are similar in fundamentals, they differ in performance and practice. Carnatic music is Kriti based and Iyrics oriented, while Hindustani emphasises the musical structure and the possibilities of improvisation in it. Apart from these there are other varieties of music such as jazz, pop, fusion, etc, which are now popular in India also.

The growing popularity of fusion music both vocal and instrumental indicates that multiculturalism and globalisation are influencing tastes and creativity in music worldwide. Those who love experiments and want to explore new horizons and international boundaries music is the ideal choice.

Musical Instruments

Instrumental music occupies an important position in Indian music. Instrumental music is known as 'vadhya sangeet'. Many musical instruments are peculiar to India. The nature of the loudness of an instrument makes it dynamic. Flute, Nagaswaram, Harmonium, Shank, Shehnai comes in the 'sushira vadhya' section. Main stringed instruments are Santhoor, Sarod, Sitar, Tamburu, Veena, Rudhra veena, etc. Damaru, Dholak, Mridangam, Tabla, Chenda; etc. are important drums.
Apart from these, there are many other Eastern and Western instruments such as trumpets, saxophone, guitar, piano, jazz, etc. Artists used to develop their own styles in playing instruments. Styles enhance the strong points while avoiding the weaknesses.

Career Prospects

An inborn talent to sing is a wonderful gift, but making a career out of this talent needs regular devoted practice. Talent, genuine interest, sincerity and willingness to work hard can guarantee a big success in the field of music. The first step towards making a career in Music is to join an institution and get trained. But the main emphasis should be real dedication and commitment. A person hoping to take up a career in music should have a genuine love for music, a musical sense of time and rhythm, versatility, creative ability and also stage confidence. At the same time one needs to have publicity contacts with the right people to become popular.

Just as there is a wide variety of forms in music like classical, folk, jazz, pop, fusion, etc there are also a variety of opportunities in this field. Besides becoming a performer (vocal or instrumental) or a teacher, one can be a composer/song writer, music publisher, music journalist, disc jockey/video jockey, music therapist, artist's manager and so on in the music industry. Today with the advent satellite television, the growing popularity of the music channels and corporate sponsorship of musical events, has all made music a big business. Although fame and money in this field depends a lot on luck and getting a good break, once you are established there is ample scope for making it really big in the field.

Job Areas

Talented and qualified people can find numerous opportunities in this field. Some of the leading employers in this area are:
Television channels
Music channels
AIR and private FM channel stations
Government departments of culture and public relations
Production houses
Music troups
Music research organisations
Music companies
Educational institutions, Kala Kendras, etc.
Hospitals ( as music therapist)
Newspapers and magazines as music critic or correspondents.
There are also many opportunities for self-employment in the form of holding private classes at home or opening a music school or producing and directing independent programmes.

Eligibility & Course areas

No specific qualification is required for entering into this field, just that you should have the taste for music. However, to take up a course in this subject the basic requirement is 10+2. Courses offered in this area are certificate courses, bachelor courses, diploma courses and postgraduate level courses. Duration of various courses: Certificate course is of one year, Bachelor courses is of three years, Diploma and Postgraduate level courses is of two years. Many schools and institutions impart training in this field. Most prominent among them is Kalakshetra in Chennai and The Bharatiya Kala Kendra in Delhi.

Course areas include: music theory, music interpretation, history of music, composing and voice instruction . Personal attributes: a good voice, inherent talent, dedication, ambition, determination and hard work, creativity and adaptability, team work, accepting criticism in the right spirit and self confidence .

Kerala Institutes

Major university level training centres in the state of Kerala are
College of Women, Thiruvananthapuram
N.S.S. College for Women, Niramankara, Thiruvananthapuram
Maharajas College, Ernakulam
R.L.V. College of Music & Fine Arts, Thripunithura (Vaypattu, Veena, Violin, Mridangam).
Governmet College, Chittor, Palakkad
Chembai Memorial Government College of Music, Palakkad (Vaypattu, Violin, Veena, Mridangam).
Sree Shankara Sanskrit University, Kalady.
Dr. John Mathai Centre, School of Drama, Aaranattukara, Thrissur (MA Musci, PhD)
University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram
Sree Narayana College For Women, Department of Music, Kollam
Sri Swathi Tirunal Govt. College of Music, Thycaud P.O. Thiruvananthapuram

Indian Institutes

Some of the nationally reputed training centres:
Faculty of Music and Cine Arts, University of Delhi, New Delhi-110 007.
Faculty of Music and Fine Arts, Banaras Hindu University,
Varanasi-221 005
Kalakshetra, Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai-600 014.
Prayag Sangeet Samiti, Allahabad
Santiniketan Vishwa Bharati University, Sangeet Bhawan, Bolpur, Birbhum, West Bengal.
Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra College of Music and Dance, 1, Copernicus Marg, New Delhi-110 001.
SNDT Women's University, Mumbai-400 020.
University of Calcutta, College Street, Kolkata-700 0073.
University of Mumbai, Mumbai-400 032.
University of Mysore, Mysore-570 005.

Courtesy : Deepika Education