Lesson 1
d06131 Isai Amaithi
Tamil music is one
of the most ancient music systems in the
world. This lesson discusses the
The 7 basic notes in Tamil music are ‘sa’,
‘ri’, ‘ga’,
complex and highly developed
the oretical
structure underlying Tamil music. Isaithamizh, which
is
one of the three components of
ancient Tamil
anguage, speaks extensively of the nuances and
intricacies of Tamil music.
‘ma’, ‘pa’, ‘da’ and ‘ni’. These were called
‘kural’,
‘thutham’, ‘kaikkilai’, ‘uzhai’, ‘ili’, ‘vilari’ and talam.
Pan
and Thalam are the primary components of music. Pan
is broadly classified into 4 types as ‘perumpan’, ‘pan
iyal’, ‘thiram’ and ‘thirathiram’. Much of ancient Tamil
literature was in the form of poetry that was set to
music. Numerous literary works that date back to the
Sangam period abound in references to music. ‘Nattrinai’,
‘Ainkurunuru’ and ‘Kurinji Paattu’ describe the Aambal
pan, while there is a mention of the Kanchi pan in the
‘Purananuru’. ‘Malaipadugadaam’, another popular literary
work, talks about the Kurinji pan and there
is a
reference to a pan called Naivalam in “KurinjiPaattu’,
‘Sirupaanaatrupadai’ and “Pari Paadal’.
It is also
‘Thevaram’, the devotional
hymns composed by
‘Thalam’ is the rhythmic beat
set to time. It is
interesting to note that in Sangam literature
each
pan is associated with a specific
landscape and
emotion.
the saivaite poet-saints Thirugnanasambandar,
Thirunaavukkarasar and Sundaramurti,are noted not only
for their poetic beauty but also for their musical appeal.
The poet saints have specified the names of the pans
in which each of these hymns were to be rendered.
also known as ‘paani’, ‘seer’, ‘thooku’, and ‘kattalai’.
‘Pathittrupathu’, a literary work of the Sangam period
has references to ‘thooku’. There are seven types of
thooku. Thalam is defined by
a system of clapping,
Tamil music is also classified
as ‘midattrisai’ (i.e.
waving and counting of fingers. Accordingly,the
3
thalauruppugal are ‘anuthirutham’, ‘thirutham ’ and ‘lagu’.
Thalam is also characterized by
10 uyirnilaigal. Devotional hymns
such as ‘Thevaram’ and
‘Thiruppugazh’ serve as important texts
on the
grammar of thalam.The hymns in these two works are
set in intricate thalams.
vocal) and ‘karuviisai’ (i.e. instrumental). The instruments
used in Tamil music are categorized as ‘thorkkaruvi’ (i.e.
instruments made of hide stretched
on wood),
‘thulaikkaruvi’ (wind instruments), ‘narambukkaruvi’
(or
stringed instruments) and ‘kanjakkaruvi’ (or
metal
instruments). Udukkai, Urumi, Ganjira, Gatam, Kinai,Thavil,
Pambai,Parai,Mirudangam and Murasu are thorkkaruvigal.
Nagaswaram, Flute, Othu, Harmonium and Mugaveenai
are thulaikkaruvigal. Yaazh, Thamburaa, and Veenai are
narambukkaruvigal while Kaithaalam, Bramhathaalam,
Kuzhithaalam and Sallari are a few kanjakkaruvigal.
