There are three broad classes of ornamentation ( gamakas) in Carnatic music: slides (ascending and descending), deflections (often performed as a rolling or sliding oscillation or shake of the note), and fingered stresses (often performed as a mordent, turn or grace note). Ornaments or gamaka are another significant element of Carnatic music. The sruti layer is often played by a specialized instrument such as the tambura, a four-stringed plucked instrument with a buzzing timbre. Other percussion instruments include the tavil (a drum), a tambourine ( kanjira), mouth harp ( morsang) and a clay pot (the ghatam). The most frequently used percussion instrument is a double-headed drum called the mridangam. Although the voice is often used for the melody, other melodic instruments frequently used include the violin, vina (a large plucked lute), bansuri (a bamboo flute), nagasvaram (an oboe), and saxophone. This layer is comprised of a melodic soloist, and melodic accompanist. In Carnatic music, ragas are classified into approximately 72 main scales or melakartas, and 35 principal rhythms or talas.Ĭarnatic music generally has three layers of musical activity: Raga is the basis for the melody, and is a specific set of notes in ascending and descending scales (melodic modes), and tala is the rhythmic pattern used in the music (metric cycles).
Carnatic and Hindustani music are both based on two main elements: raga and tala. Although the music of northern and southern India share many similarities, their music began to diverge from the thirteenth century on when northern India became subject to Islamic rule. There are two major musical systems in India: Carnatic (Karnatik), the music of southern India, and Hindustani, the music of northern India. Two of the earliest manuscripts to describe significant aspects of Indian classical music theory are the Nātyaśāstra (musical portions in this manuscript are estimated to have been written in the 4th-5th centuries), and the Sangīta-ratnākara (written between 12). Indian music is a highly developed art form, and although performing traditions have been transmitted orally, the theoretical basis for Indian music has been described in manuscripts for centuries.
Sara Sara, a Carnatic instrumental piece, was composed by Tyāgarāja (1767-1847), a South Indian composer.