Significance Of The Four Basic Elements Of Carnatic Music Throughout Its History

The basics of Carnatic music feature four elements, namely: Shruti, Swara, Raga, and Tala. The foundation and improvisation of Carnatic music involve the optimum utilization of these four components. Like any other significant piece of Indian culture, the evolution of Indian classical music portrays a divine form of art. Mainly popular in the southern parts of India, the system of Carnatic music is credited with being an important subgenre of Indian classical music; the other being Hindustani music. Although certain differences exist in terms of style and composition, it is worth mentioning that both Carnatic and Hindustani music has witnessed the application of the same basic features; thus occupying a prominent role in the history of Indian classical music.

Shruti in Carnatic music is regarded as being equal to a tonic in Western music. All other notes in a musical composition are derived using Shruti as the base note. The general perception regarding Shruti is that it is the smallest gradation of pitch that is audible to a human ear or for a musical instrument to perform. Swara, another prominent feature of Carnatic music, provides emphasis on a single note capable of producing a musical sound. Swara pinpoints the relative position of a note, instead of highlighting any definite frequency of it. Significant differences exist between the Swara and the Shruti in Indian classical music. However, certain Carnatic musicians tend to believe that as both of them are Nadas, they are closely interrelated.

The set of prescribed rules for constructing a musical composition or building a melody in Carnatic music is defined as a Raga. From specifying upward and downward movement of music notes to the scales based on which such notes ought to played, Ragas are the collection of obligatory events that require proper observation for a Carnatic musical composition to be performed with absolute perfection.

Most Carnatic music singers follow a certain beat in the form of hand gestures and movements while performing a Carnatic tune. They track the time it takes for every beat to rise and fall simultaneously. A Tala forms the fourth and the last basic element of Carnatic music that refers to a fixed time cycle or meter in relation to any Carnatic melody. It represents a certain number of beats that occur within a song. Usually, a Tala consists of three basic parts, namely laghu, dhrtamand anudhrtam. 

Basic features of Shruti for Carnatic Music

The system of Carnatic music rose to prominence after being associated with the southern provinces of India for many years. It highlights the cultural values of ancient Hindu traditions and is an important subgenre of Indian classical music. The performance of Carnatic music requires an assembly of musicians playing different types of instruments, such as violins, veenas, ghatams, flutes, etc. Vocal music tends to be the major point of emphasis when it comes to Carnatic music; for almost all compositions require simultaneous singing performances even when they are played on musical instruments. Shruti for Carnatic music forms an important concept of conventional Indian music that originated from ancient and medieval Sanskrit texts. Being an important element of Carnatic music, it commonly refers to the smallest pitch interval that can be possibly detected by a human ear or produced by a musician while playing any kind of musical instrument.

Shruti for Carnatic music is considered to be equivalent to a key or a tonic in relation to Western music depending upon which all other music notes in a musical composition are derived. There can be witnessed a considerable difference in the meaning of Shruti when the two systems, Grama and Mela are taken into account. The Gama system uses Shruti to determine a perceptual difference that exists as a result of the possible interval between two notes. The Mela system focuses on utilizing the same initial Swara without providing any specific attention to any fixed interval for a Swara in terms of Shrutis. People generally tend to consider Shruti and Swara as the same concept of Carnatic music. However, there exists a significant difference between the two. A Swara may be defined as the combination of selected pitches that are utilized by a musician in order to construct the different scales, melodies, and ragas while writing a composition for Carnatic music. On the other hand, a Shruti is the lowest gradation of pitch that is used to derive all other music notes.

Certain Sanskrit gurus and Carnatic music experts tend to believe that the fundamental aspects of a Swara are closely related to those of a Shruti. They suggest that on account of Nadas (sounds that provide the perception of music), both Swaras and Shrutis are Nadas. Hence, the distinct identification of a Swara from a Shruti requires an impeccable knowledge of Carnatic music.