The history of music: tracing the origin of music globally and India

Amazing facts about India

Analytic thought, logic, reasoning, science, mathematics, and language. All of these have one thing in common: they are the functions carried by the left hemisphere of the brain. As it is evident, these faculties are immensely crucial for everyday life to continue functioning. However, overworking the left brain leads to a loss of productivity and frustration. And just like one balances a bicycle, doing activities that recharge the right side of the brain invariably refreshes the left side as well.

For several millennia, people have been reliant on music as the go-to activity that, mostly inadvertently, refreshes their mood and mind. As a chemical process, listening to the vibrations that are soothing to the brain release serotonin and dopamine. This helps the brain to relax, increase productivity and focus. The actual sound of music is a mood-enhancer, providing an energizing effect to a tired mind.

What is the origin of music?

Bharath Gyan, a passionate research initiative, is painstakingly dotting the pieces together, foraging amongst lost remnants to keep the glorious past alive and known. Here are some lesser-known facts:

From where did all music come?

Globally, the popular musical, “The Sound of Music” made popular the song ‘Do-Re-Mi’. And from there, the tools to build a song were known – Do Re Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti.

The music tradition in India is also based on a combination of seven notes, named as the Saptaswara. Sapta means seven and swara means a note. These are Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma, Pa, Da, Ni and this comprise is popularly known as sargam.

Although the origin of Saptaswara goes back to 5000 BCE, but the earliest recorded history of sargam was seen in the Sama Veda, which was last compiled in 3100 BCE.

Global correlation between different musical origins

In the 1500s, Europe was the base for Gregorian chants that were widely sung at that time. These chants sound quite similar to the Sama Veda when they are listened to simultaneously. The striking similarity makes those chants almost a close cousin of the Sama Veda chantings.

Similarly, the Islamic recitation of the Koran can also depict, musically, a close resemblance with the Sama Veda. A gradual likeness of the Saptaswara can be seen in the Mediterranean, West Asian, Persian, Arabic and even Irish and Welsh music. The music from most of the folk and old cultures invariably tends to have a similarity with each other.

Despite using only five notes, Chinese music is seen to be quite similar to the Saptaswara. The only difference being its use of five notes, the formal equivalent of Sa, Ri, Ga, Pa, Da. When one shifts to Japan, they use seven notes for their music, a direct similarity to Saptaswara.

Formal history of Western classical music

The seven notes, Do Re Mi … , and the popular five-line staff notation for writing music were formulated by an Italian monk, Guido d’ Arezzo. A music theorist of the Medieval Era, Guido called it the Solfege – the solmization system of learning music and singing by sight or by reading notes.

However, the seven notes have been traced to the Latin hymn, Ut queant laxis. Ut queant laxis or the Hymn of St. John was written by Paulus Diaconus in the 8th century CE. And the notes Do Re Mi come from the first verse of the hymn - Ut Re Mi Fa Sol La Si. The Ut became Do and Si became Ti in several parts of Europe.

Similarity of Solfege in other cultures

The Japanese notational system can be traced to a pangram, an ancient poem, called Iroha. The poem had seven lines of non-repeating characters which were used as a reference. One syllable from each of the seven lines formed the seven notes, similarly to the Solfege - i, chi, yo, ra, ya, a, we.

The traditional Scottish bagpipe music also had a vocal notational system which was called Canntaireachd. . The five-line Staff notation is the popular standard for reading and writing most music today and it bases its origin in the Guido notational music system. There are some exceptions, the major one being the Indian classical music.

Middle-East influencing Guido’s notational system

Several research findings have stated that the monk Guido had been largely influenced by Persian/Arabic music, which also comprised seven notes - dāl, rā’, mīm, fā’, sād, lām, tā. Researchers claim that this notational system must have made its way into Europe during the medieval era along with other Arabic/Islamic contributions.

This Arabic influence to the Do-Re-Mi notes was first suggested in 1680, by the author of Thesaurus Linguarum Orientalium, Franciscus a Mesgnien Meninski. Thesaurus Orientalium was a Turkish-to-Latin dictionary that was used as a reference for Turkish in the 17th century.

Jean Benjamin de La Borde, a French composer, and historian, also proposed a similar theory. A traveler, cartographer, and a writer on music, de La Borde believed that Arabic music must have influenced Guido.

Another reference to the same theory is French musicologist, Guillaume Villoteau. Guillaume had been appointed as a scientist who was on a commission along with Napoleon's army to Egypt to research on Oriental music. In his works, Description Historique, technique et littéraire des instruments de, musique des orientaux and the Description de l ‘Egypte, Guillaume ratified the view that Arabic music influenced Guido.