My favourite music is Indian Classical of both varieties. I must however confess to a bias towards the Hindustani version simply because of greater exposure to it having mostly lived in the Northern parts of the country.
Quite why this genre of music should be my favourite can only be answered by saying that it is a matter of taste. Something that is indescribable but something that I can only experience with satisfaction.
From childhood, my siblings and I were exposed to music of all kinds and my late mother was an accomplished singer who had sung for the Indian Radio and also the Mauritian Radio. My late father could carry a tune too and during long drives and at home in our childhood, we would listen to these two singing solos or duets and we picked up some nuances of music from those experiences.
My own initial preference was for Tamil Film music which those days was just beginning to become the fusion kind combining elements of Carnatic / Hindustani ragas and blending those with the use of Western instruments. I slowly graduated to Western pop and rock n roll moving to Jazz eventually. I still like to hear all kinds of music and my memory keeps coming up with songs from the past as my readers well know. I have not however written much about my passion for Indian classical music as my readership here is not quite one that will relate to it.
Everywhere I go now I hear Hindi film music from the FM Radio and quite a few of those are from films that I have seen. Some of them are very catchy and I enjoy listening to those too.
Considering all that I have said above, I think that I should say that my taste in music is eclectic but the favourite will be Hindustani Classical.
This week’s topic for the LBC Friday Post was suggested by me. Please visit Shackman and Pravin to read what they have to say about the topic.
I got hooked on Dixieland Jazz in college when the thing to do on Friday afternoons was visit a beer bar and enjoy the music. One of my highlight musical experiences a few years ago was a visit to Preservation Hall in New Orleans. Standing in the semi-darkness and listening to an improvised “When the Saints Go Marching In” was a great feeling that is hard to describe.
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I can relate to the experience you had in New Orleans. I have had many such while attending live concerts here. Before it became impossible, I used to attend all night concerts which are quite common for our classical music concerts and some of them were enough to transport me to different planes of existence.
Call me eclectic as well. This is a fun topic
Yes, I enjoyed writing it and reading yours.
I like music I can sing and dance to.
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Yes. I too.
isn’t it strange how some of us have our favorites formed at an early age… just as you did listening to your parents singing!
my own mother had a beautiful voice and would always sing. in the house. the car. even the grocery store sometimes! i would sing right along with her. i knew all the words! some of my favorite times with her.
and because of ‘her era’ they were the songs from the 40’s and 50’s. sinatra. and dean martin and the various groups from the war years.
and i also like mellow jazz especially.
i loved ricky nelson as a teen ager. even more than elvis. and then the beatles of course.
but i also love puccini! it never fails to bring tears to my eyes!
so i guess i am also very eclectic in my musical appreciation.
i remember listening in amazement at a duo you gave us once here in a video clip.
i cannot remember their names but they played for 2 hours… sitting cross legged…
an older man with a special instrument and a younger one on drums. i think they are both famous classical artists of renown there in india.
i listened to the entire video. it was magical! and rather hypnotizing in a way.
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Yes, Tammy, if you had listened to the magic of Ustads Amjad Ali Khan and Zakir Hussein, (http://rummuser.com/?p=14942) you would understand why Hindustani Classical Music is my favourite music.
I am not surprised that you love music too. It just suits your personality.
I enjoy most music apart from modern ‘Thump ! Thump! and Scream!” or whatever it’s called and have always liked what I call ‘East meets West’ music, where the music of different cultures blends together. Many of today’s movies and TV dramas have good examples of this, such as ‘Tyrant’ … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH2yqil6oxk
I might as well have written what you have. I agree in total.
Well, I just learned something; there’s Indian classical music! I love classical music, especially that from the Romantic period of history, which of course means mainly Europeans, especially Russian and German composers. It’s my 2nd favorite music and helps to keep my mind calm.
Of course #1 is disco because it’s the era I grew up in, mainly fast and syncopated which made me smile and feel happy. Escape music to some, boring to others, but I did and still love every bit of it. Well… maybe not ALL of it. lol
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I can listen to Disco too but I would soon get bored of it if that is all that is played. That does not happen when I listen to Indian classical music.
I can cope with all kinds of music, but some of it only small doses…I love heavy rock best, but also R&B, Rap…
I am surprised. Somehow you don’t fit the Heavy Rock type picture!
I listen to classical all morning on an FM radio station. It’s is calming and sublime. I do have one CD of East Indian music, not sure if that is the correct way to name it. I have, Meeting by the River, by Vishwa Mohan Batt and Ry Cooder, and love to hear similar sounding music on radio or YouTube. So beautiful and seems to resonate in some way more than sound. Do you have any names we should Google? Perhaps find on iTunes?
Vishwa Mohan Bhatt is from one of our Hindustani Classical Music schools though his instrument is unorthodox, and his recording with Ry Cooder A Meeting by the River, will be called fusion music here. I am a purist when it comes to our classical music and though I have heard this recording, I am not overly fond of it. There are a number of other recordings, notably with Ravi Shankar and the Beatles, where you can hear fusion music. If you can be more specific in terms of your taste, I can give you some options. Here is a link for you to pursue if you are interested – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collaborations_(Ravi_Shankar_and_George_Harrison_album)
It was my introduction. I don’t understand the form well enough to have a “taste’. I’d like to learn.
There is a music program on CBC which I love because it teaches me, but not your classical music. I grew up in a family of musicians, but for me. I cannot as the saying goes “carry a tune in a bucket”. I was the adoring audience on a little stool in the corner. I just listen. This morning, Leonard.
I’ll pursue your link. It doesn’t have to be fusion. Any links youi care to share thank you.
That is a very tall order. Would you like vocal or instrumental?
Oh no please don’t. Once I started looking through the Wikipedia link I found so much so I will just work through that. I also remember now having seen some concerts years and years ago. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, a different culture? Well like any music I have to find what is what, and what I like and learn the distinctions. Mostly from what’s on YouTube. I also found more fusion, and because I like slide guitar I enjoy it. Thank you for the direction.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVKOWmnRdFg
Entirely my pleasure Marms. Nusrat sings in a completely different genre called sufi music which too is very popular here. He is remarkable.