Musical Tradition meets Cultural Innovation
Anirudh Rajagopalan
Going to school in Japan for the first few years of my life, I went to an international school on the island metropolis where I was born and lived, and back then, I remember cultural events having music as a major pillar in performances, particularly featuring a number of Japanese instruments such as the Taiko (big drum) and various types of bamboo flutes and zithers such as the Koto. Years later when I started getting exposed to Carnatic music and as I got older, I found myself reflecting back to my time in Japan more than ever. And now that I am really venturing into music on my own, I find myself reflecting back on all my life experiences in music and I came to realize that various Indian musical genres and Japanese music share so many cultural similarities in music.
What struck me as similar was that different groups of instruments had essentially the same core purpose as they were being performed together. For example, the Taiko drum is used in Japan to keep a beat or a base rhythm or tempo. In Carnatic music, Mridangam (which I play) is the equivalent. What’s even more interesting is that I find myself translating some Taiko rhythms into Mridangam jathis and thinking how can I replicate these rhythms and beats into mridangam? This sort of connection is true with all genres to a significant extent.
I attended the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana for a number of years. It is an annual festival of Carnatic music and it is the largest of its kind outside the Indian subcontinent. Artists from all over the world come to participate in this 2-week long festival. As it took place in the United States, the festival also saw a number of collaborations with non-Carnatic musicians.
One event I saw in particular had a group of Carnatic vocalists and instrumentalists on stage with a number of Western orchestra musicians from Cleveland State University. The latter had several violins, a couple violas, two cellos, one bass, and one grand piano. This was something I had never seen back then, so I decided to check it out. It turned out to be s one of the best decisions I ever made. I listened to how the two groups - Carnatic and Western - were able to connect so seamlessly and smoothly. The pieces they were playing were all Carnatic-based, but what really got me energized was hearing the Western orchestra play Carnatic melodies such as various ragas while they infused some of their own techniques and styles into their performance.
At that point in my life, I had been viewing Carnatic music and Western orchestra as two separate worlds. By modern convention, many Carnatic musicians have never really been open to the idea of practicing or performing with non-Carnatic instruments or musicians. As such traditions are ancient, it is understandable that people do not want to break them. I learned Carnatic music at home and Western orchestra in school, but I had never thought well about how one could possibly fuse the two together. But, watching this event in particular made me turn my whole mind around and believe that there was something much bigger out there. And I began to ask myself: Do these worlds really have to be kept separate?
Yes, there have always been cultural differences between the two styles of music, but watching this event made me feel that barrier was removed for the first time. I began to believe that just because something is ancient or tradition doesn’t mean that it can never be changed or reimagined, as long as one wants to do something meaningful and wonderful with those barriers removed. We already see so much diversity in communities based on their demographics, and many of these communities organize such events to celebrate diversity. I began to wonder, can the same happen in music?
Classical music, from German to Indian to any part of the world really, has certain elements that help reduce stress and improve relaxation. Studies show that blood pressure is reduced, and this impacts the stress levels in your body. A study from Germany showed that Mozart and Strauss’ music “lowered participants’ blood pressure more than pop music” [BetterSleep]. I definitely see this when preparing for my actuarial exams. These exams are super-stressful and take a lot of months to study for, and designations take years to attain, but classical music like German has definitely helped reduce my stress and increase my concentration levels.
A number of meaningful studies have been done exploring the link between Classical music and mental well-being, but there needs to be much more awareness in the community as a whole. Or else, the world can do numerous more studies, but if the awareness is not there, then the effect won’t be much. For researchers and practitioners, I think a good place to start in this direction would be to analyze how musical therapists practice today and see what different practices they can possibly apply for different patients. As mental health is gaining more awareness, more people are likely to consider therapy. This can open a door for musical therapists, who use music to assist patients in understanding their own emotions.
Anirudh Vijay Rajagopalan is an Indian-Japanese-American music composer, director, singer, songwriter, producer, performer, and model who is passionate about integrating different music cultures of the world to create new works of fusion. He has various covers and compositions to his credit and has performed in numerous venues across the United States. You can find him on Spotify here.
