Sunday Musings - Commercial/Light Music - Taboo OR Tool?

Many exponents of Indian Classical Music consider listening and appreciating light music or commercial music or popular music TABOO. Somehow they tend to equate listening & enjoying this type of music as some type of dilution of the classical genre or perhaps some kind of corruption of the years of Riyaz that they have put in to achieve mastery over their art form. Undoubtedly, it is NOT easy to gain mastery of the art form, especially any music pursuit. That said, there really is no need to vilify all other formats of music.

In the past, music in India was presented in a very limited format and that was in the form of the "baithak" - a small to medium sized gathering of enthusiasts that used to come to listen to a master perform. OR the master musician was invited (or a permanent fixture) in some king or nobleman's court where he presented his art form, in return for continued patronage by the nobility. Given this type of arrangement, classical music was pretty much the dominant genre of music that everyone listened to. So, naturally that was the only type of music that was commonly heard.

"Vintage Radio" by Digital Glover 
is licensed under CC BY 2.0

At some point in our history, the radio happened and that seemed to change everything. The advent of radio broadcast started in India about a 100 years ago (Sometime around 1923-24). Initially radio broadcasts were also limited to inviting and presenting the great classical musicians. This in itself was a huge culture shift because the performers were used to seeing rasiks sitting in front of them and enjoying music, whereas now the expectation was for them to sit in a studio recording room, from where the music was broadcast. This led to another significant development - gradual reduction of the duration of a typical classical music presentation. The primary reason seems to be the need to downsize the format to fit the medium and perhaps some commercial considerations as well, that I am not aware of (just assuming here). Within the next 10-15 years, another huge development came along on the entertainment horizon - cinema with sound. And it brought with it - filmy Geet. That genre, allowed creators a lot of flexibility to play around with sounds and ended up creating a genre of music that gained easier and faster acceptance among the masses. This was the start of a brand genre of music, that was unheard of in the past - light music (a.k.a Sugam Sangeet). 

What is abundantly clear is that Sugam Sangeet is a very significant and important aspect of our musical diversity and it is here to stay. So instead of classical musicians cringing at the thought of light music, they should harness its potential as a learning aid. As a music teacher (teaching tabla), I must say that it is a great tool that new learners can easily relate to and understand the concept of how music is structured. I find this especially true when teaching the tabla. It is very easy to describe "rhythm" in theory. But it's an entirely different ball game, explaining it to a student who has no background in music. Often times it is really frustrating because in a very new learner, that deep sense of appreciating how a taal is played alongside an instrument OR an classical vocal is not yet developed. But that same learner may have been extensively exposed to light music Or film music. So, when that is used as a medium to demonstrate and explain the concept of rhythm and how a certain pattern of beats is used in that music, it leads to easier acceptance and a greater retention of the knowledge. And once that foundation is firmly laid, it becomes very easy to expose the learner to more classical forms of music and explain the structure and flow. I have routinely used film music to emphasise how a taal is actually used in the real world and it has by far been the most successful approach. Conversely, if I begin to demean the person for listening and & liking light music because (s)he is now a classical music student, all that will be achieved is to drive them further away from this beautiful genre of music.

There are many who rue the fact that Indian Classical Music seems to be losing its appeal among youngsters. There may be many opinions about the why's & the wherefores but one thing is clear. Indian Classical Music cannot afford the "ivory tower" approach. Although one does not need to dilute the essence of the genre, yet one also needs to be mindful of bridging the gap between the what classical music has to offer and what the common layperson is able to understand. Using light music as a tool and a stepping stone towards appreciating classical music, seems to be the most sensible approach in this respect.

Don't you agree? I'd love to hear what you think about this and it would be awesome if you would share your thoughts in the comments box.

Cheers!