Early Hindu Music

Among the Asiatic races that still retain national, although not a separate political existence, and have a musical system peculiar to themselves, the Hindus are prominent. The Hindus belong to the Aryan race, (from which we also sprang), and had their home originally in Central Asia, probably north of the Hindu Koosh range. When they swarmed off from the old home they made their way down trough the mountains along the river valleys to the great fertile plains of India, and conquering the aboriginal races, developed the system of caste, which has had so great an influence on their religion, literature, science and art. The old Hindu literature shows clearly the high regard in which the art of song was held. Celebrated minstrels were maintained in the royal courts whose duty it was to chant songs in praise of their patrons. Music, or song, was just as indispensable in the religious ceremonies. One of the holy books makes the statement that "Indra rejects the offering made without music." In time the singer became a member of the priestly caste.

From antiquity to the present time among the Hindus pure instrumental music held almost equal place with song or accompanied vocal music.

The Hindu instruments belong to the percussion types, trumpets and trombones, nose flute, and especially to the stringed class. It is noteworthy that the simpler kinds, in which each string gives but one tone, do not exist, whereas there are many varieties of those which have fingerboards. The oldest and most important is the Vina, which consists of a wooden pipe about four feet long attached to two gourds or resonators. The seven metal strings are stretched over nineteen bridges or frets, becoming gradually higher, and touch only the last and highest one. The other eighteen serve to fix the pitch of the tone desired, as in our guitar or mandolin, the strings being set in vibration by being plucked with a metal thimble or ring like that used by zither players. Another Hindu instrument, considered by some as the prototype of stringed instruments played with a bow, is the Ravanastron.

Hindu myths ascribe a divine origin to music. A close connection was established between the scale and their religious ideas. Each single tone was under the protection of a nymph, and the first syllables of the names of the nymphs, according to Clement, the French historian, were given to the tones, thus: Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma, Pa, Da, Ni, seven in all, differing in that respect from the pentatonic form usually found among the early races. In their endeavor to satisfy the melody of speech, the inflections of the voice in speaking, the Hindus divided the interval of the octave into small parts, and transposed the scale freely up and down; so it is easily conceivable that their complete system recognized 960 scales, their sacred writings speaking of 16000. In practice they contented themselves with 36, some writers say 72. The following is given as the scale:

The principal feature of Hindu music is the melody and rhythm, the latter being very complicated. Of harmony our sense of the word there is no sign. In accompanying the voice the Hindus used only the pure fifth, which they considered a perfect consonance, the fourth, an imperfect consonance, and the octave.

Music had a high place among the Hindus, all festivities made use of it, and the private and social life demanded it. It was used freely in the Hindu drama, the latter calling for the dance, spoken and sung dialogue and instrumental music and songs. The main reason why Hindu music did not develop in the past centuries doubtless lies in the fact that, as in Egypt, the ruling power was vested in the priesthood, which controlled all the arts and sciences. Music was so interwoven with their religious rites and observances, and so hedged around with irrevocable and sacred laws that the slightest alteration was considered a sacrilege. In closing this sections it may be added that investigators refer to gypsies, particularly those of Hungary, who are noted for their musical temperament, to Hindu origin, probably the pariah caste. Their music, with its wild, free rhythm and elaborate melodic embellishment, has a marked resemblance to the music of the Hindus.