Carnatic
Carnatic music is the classical music of the Indian South. It is one of the world's oldest music systems that continues to be in practice today. Carnatic music was originally used for worshipping the gods. In fact, it is said that music came from the Hindu Goddess Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, music, and the arts. The Vedas, the Hindu Holy book, claims to hold instructions for how one plays and uses music according to the gods. This genre is also recorded in compositions dating back to the ancient and medieval times.
Carnatic music has a defined rhythm and lively melody. It is structured, but allows a large range of creativity and improvisation for the artist. Artists are known not only for their improvisation, but to infuse their pieces with emotion and microtones. Tambura (or drone) is also a necessary element in Carnatic music as it helps performers maintain their relative pitch. Music varies from relatively simple to extremely complex compositions. This genre is also unique as it has a concept of relative pitch. A performer who uses relative pitch chooses a note as their fundamental which dictates the relative pitch. This gives a performer freedom to choose whichever composition they like as any pitch of a song can be adjusted to the natural tone of their voice. This is not possible for performers in western music as there are different categories, such as soprano, alto, and brass; depending on the tone of one's voice. Thus, they cannot sing every song well.
Carnatic music has a defined rhythm and lively melody. It is structured, but allows a large range of creativity and improvisation for the artist. Artists are known not only for their improvisation, but to infuse their pieces with emotion and microtones. Tambura (or drone) is also a necessary element in Carnatic music as it helps performers maintain their relative pitch. Music varies from relatively simple to extremely complex compositions. This genre is also unique as it has a concept of relative pitch. A performer who uses relative pitch chooses a note as their fundamental which dictates the relative pitch. This gives a performer freedom to choose whichever composition they like as any pitch of a song can be adjusted to the natural tone of their voice. This is not possible for performers in western music as there are different categories, such as soprano, alto, and brass; depending on the tone of one's voice. Thus, they cannot sing every song well.