2. Classical/ Traditional (1)
• One convention of Indian classical (IC) music which is similar
to European Classical (EC) is that songs will only use
traditional instruments such as a tabla or dholki (types of
drums), harmoniums and etc… just how in the European
version, instruments such as harps and violins are used which
are not seen as particularly modern. The difference the two
styles of classical have while comparing instruments is who
plays them, for example, in EC a musician who can play a harp
or violin is considered a very accomplished person where in IC
it’s common for people of all Classes to be able to play the
traditional instruments.

3. Classical/ Traditional (2)
• Another feature which IC has is that there is almost always
someone singing, and it would be about an event e.g. a wedding or
a special festival or even about love. In EC, singing is almost
completely avoided, the only example when singing is used is in
opera however opera does not have guaranteed singing.
• This is important because if you were to make a music video on IC,
it means you will already have an outline which you can follow, so
for example if a song was about a festival, you would be able to film
and make shots of the different ceremonies taking place while
inserting the appropriate music into it. It also means it’s easier to
focus on a specific character; the singer, and can make the whole
video less confusing. This genre is useful because it means that the
music is easier to follow and it’s also clear so you know exactly what
instruments are being placed and what words are being sung.

4. Classical/ Traditional (3)
• Overall its important to consider this genre of Indian music as it
is still extremely popular and may be compared as the more
soulful type of pop in our own society.
• A good song to consider which contains these conventions
would be ‘Mamala Garbar Hai.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0Jd-x-nAD0
• This song is about a pre wedding ceremony and the lexis used
refers to the male and making him seem like a funny Character
by saying (in Punjabi!) “the lad sneaks out at night to go to pub
and drink, because he’s nervous …”
• This is a good example because you can easily identify that
different instruments are used and what the singing is about
aligns with the conventions.

5. Music which use traditional and
classical styles and themes
This is a songs list which contains some tracks of music which
would be considered to have this Indian genres style or theme.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0Jd-x-nAD0 Mamala
Gar Bar Hai – Gurdas Maan
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BhivVIZQ6s Ghalla
Gurian – Punjabi MC
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSJ_jcEPOu0 Aaj Mausam
– Mohammed Rafi
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjuVjasezig Kali Teri Gut –
Asa Singh

6. (Additional info) Mainstream
Today, most Indian themed songs are from the Bhangra genre or even drum
and base. This, in my opinion is because of the instrument know as a dhol.
A dhol is a larger type of drum which
requires specialist drum sticks (carved out
of wood) to play. The dhol also serves as
one of the conventions to mainstream
Indian Music and is fair to presume that it
will continue to be so in the future.
Despite this, there are songs which are
popular to the largest of audiences
because they have traditional influences
but are new because of the use of
technology to add sounds which you
wouldn’t be able to make normally.

7. (additional info) Bhangra
• Bangra originates from the Punjab region and the main
convention is that it is lively. It is seen as extremely upbeat
and many people would play this at parties because you can
dance to it in sync and Bangra even has its own dance form.
• Recently, artists such as Punjabi MC have tried to integrate
classical themes into Bangra, although would keep the music
updated by using DJ decks and special effect sounds. This
shows that even today, music audiences enjoy listening to
‘tranquil’ music as well as upbeat.
• A song which shows integration of the two genres is by
Punjabi MC and is called ‘Kuriyan Punjab Diyan.’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6Lrx-8ywuQ

8. Extra : Indian themes in ‘western’
society
Western Society has also been affected by Indian Genres and many songs have been
influenced by it such as;
• Artist Selena Gomez made a song called ‘Come and get it’ which has people playing the
Tabla drums dressed in traditional Indian costume. The main influence is even from
Classical Indian Genre. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-D1EB74Ckg
• Maroon 5’s song ‘Daylight’ features various different
influences from many different backgrounds including
Indian. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqR-ElB5kXY
• Finally, a song that is from a Bhangra background
has been mixed with a ‘grime’ rap song. It is by Kray
Twinz ft. Twista, Lethal B & Gappy Ranks and is called
‘What We Do.’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYk635pttNQ