Music Comes first and language next

MUSIC COMES FIRST,LANGUAGE NEXT
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Ramya madam's beautiful snippet on'Endaro mahanubhavu'( as corrected by Syamala)and subsequent responses thereto made me introspect a little more on the subject.I am a rasika of music, sitting glued to the seat all through the concert.

Many of my friends argue that they cannot remain in a concert hall of alapanas and Kalpana swaras and kritis of Thyagaraja, Dik****ar and others but can only enjoy and appreciate songs like’Enna Thavam Seithanai, Yasoda, Engum nirai Parbrahmam ‘Amma’ enrazhaikka?For them the lyrics alone matters.

Of course songs of poets like Bharathi are simple to understand.Will they be able to understand the meaning of Thevara Pathigams and Pasurams of Alwars, though their mother tongue is Tamil?


But what makes an infant respond to the lullaby of its mother? Does the baby understand the lyrics?

All children understand the music of their mothers' hearts.Even an uneducated man/woman turns to the sound of a drum.Does the drum speak?countries in the world make music,play music and move to music-whether it is jungles of South America or African tribal land and the intellectual Asia.When music pleases it evokes response-may be a simple clap or dance to the tunes.


Not the language, but it is the music that relates you to events –whether the day you met your beloved first, or the day your little darling came into this world.
Scientifically too,neurological links between music and both the left and right lobe of the brain are faster and stronger than those of language.Certain songs which we might not have heard for decades-we are surprised at our ability to reproduce verbatim, not because of lyrics, of music. Music and tunes linger long,while phrases of language memorized even with meaning vanish soon.


It can be said that we are opening ourselves to the global structure of language only through music.That is why gurukula system insisted on listening many number of times before the lyrics were presented in writing to the shishyas.Music and melody came first, lyrics and language came next.


If we start from language first,it acts like a sleeping pill offering instantaneous, yet temporary relief.Very often we hear that people who have lost their sense of speech due to paralysis,, or brain injury ,have regained speaking ability by listening to tunes which activated their memory .


Everyone will agree that listening and learning sounds ( music) first ,is the preliminary process of any language learning.Doesn’t matter,if you don’t understand .You may start singing along without knowing what you sing.But the rhythm of language automatically gets impressed in your brain.Picking melody ,sounds and patterns makes a fine imprint.


For those intellectuals who loudly proclaim that lyrics alone form the soul of music,I wish to say that every human being, whether educated or not is a born’Rasika’,though he may not be able to distinguish between Ananda Bhairavi and Ritigoula , or Simhendra Madyamam and Shanmuka Priya.Every street vendor has his own specific tune or unnamed raga to market his product,and the same can be invariably understood by one and all.
“ The man that hath no music in himself,
Nor is not mov’d with concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treason”says Shakespeare in Merchant of Venice.
For a poor labourer the rhythmic mixing sound of concrete is'mohanam',the digging sound of borewell is bhupalam,. and for a carpenter the sawing sound of wood is’Saveri’.A farmer finds pleasure in listening to winnowing sound,a fisherman enjoys the sounds of waves from the seas.Only the elite wants the lyrics to be understood in order to appreciate music.

Music is becoming global. Spanish enjoy French Music, Americans enjoy Chinese music. Neither know the language of the other nation.While there is so much of musical harmony among various nations, why can’t we , belonging to same nation and culture appreciate music for music sake without making fus on lyrics?
Why don’t we understand that music comes first and language next?


Jayasala42

 

Dear RamyaMadam,
Thank you for your wonderful response.There is no doubt that we will be able to appreciate better if we understand lyrics.
Shri Lalgudi Jayaraman's violin bowing technique is such that you can listen the sahityam through his violin.
Music, without lyrics or language itself is very pleasant.Richer it becomes when meaning is understood.
Jayasala 42

 

Dear Viswa,
A wonderful response as always.Yes, there is one language, language of the heart.When music is globalised, we cannot run after language.Sometimes meaning may not be as rich as language.
Even in Thyagaraja's krithi, if you simply segregate the words and understand the meaning, there may not be much to conveyed. But when it flows through music and devotion.For Thyaga brahmam, Rama was all. He saw Rama everywhere.We will be stunned to hear anecdotes in Thyagaraja's life.

We had no means to engage pattu vadyar and pay him Rs5 a month.I learnt all the songs by overhearing the neighbour's class through a small window in between.Nothing in the world gives as much solace as music.

Jayasala 42
Jayasala 42

 

Dear jskls,
Very happy to receive your response.No doubt, music is a stress reliever.We are able to appreciate better if we understand the lyrics especially when it is in mothertongue.
Though Tamil Trinity were there even before Thyagaraja, Tamil songs never became popular.Thyagaraja's sishya paramapara took lot of efforts to popularise his songs. There were no such concentrated efforts by Tamil trinity or their students.Though there is hue and cry very often about Tamil concerts, they have not been totally successful.
Jayasala 42

 

Dear GuesshooA lovely child!She is trying to find out!How smart today's kids are!My grandson, 8 months old would try to convey what CD he liked while his mother was driving.He would be nagging and after 5 0r 6 CDs were tried, he would clap when a particular CD was played.The he made special sounds for each CD he liked,from which his mother/father were able to identify his liking. Now at the age of 30 months, he takes the I phone, switches on to You-tube selects the song, cartoon he likes.

Jayasala 42