Music of Pakistan

Music of Pakistan

The Music of Pakistan includes diverse elements ranging from music from various parts of South Asia as well as Central Asian, Persian, Turkish, Arabic and modern day American music influences. With these multiple influences, Pakistani music has emerged as a "fusion" of these elements, to form a distinctly Pakistani sound.

Classical

Classical music has seven basic notes called "sargam" with five interspersed half-notes, resulting in a 12-note scale. Unlike the 12-note scale in Western music, the base frequency of the scale is not fixed, and intertonal gaps may also vary. However with the gradual replacement of the sarangi by the harmonium, an equal tempered scale is increasingly used. The performance is set to a melodic pattern characterized in part by specific ascent and descent. Other characteristics include "King" and "Queen" notes and a unique note phrase. In addition each raga has its natural register and glissando rules, as well as features specific to different styles and compositions within the raga structure. Performances are usually marked by considerable improvisation within these norms. Besides the voice, instruments used in classical music include the Sitar, Tanpura, Tabla, Harmonium, Sarangi, Santoor, Rubab and Ektara.

Gharanas

A gharana is a system of social organizations or schools linking musicians or dancers by lineage or apprenticeship, and by adherence to a particular musical style. A documentary called Khayal Darpan traces the development of classical music in Pakistan since 1947. Some famous gharanas include the Agra Gharana, Gwalior Gharana, Patiala Gharana, Kirana Gharana and the Sham Chaurasia Gharana.

Ghazal

In poetry, the ghazal is a poetic form consisting of couplets which share a rhyme and a refrain. Each line must share the same meter. Etymologically, the word literally refers to "the mortal cry of a gazelle". The animal is called Ghizaal, from which the English word gazelles stems, or Kastori haran in Urdu. Ghazals are traditionally expressions of love, separation and loneliness, for which the gazelle is an appropriate image. A ghazal can thus be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss or separation and the beauty of love in spite of that pain. The form is ancient, originating in 10th century Persian verse. It is derived from the Persian qasida. The structural requirements of the ghazal are more stringent than those of most poetic forms traditionally written in English. In its style and content it is a genre which has proved capable of an extraordinary variety of expression around its central theme of love and separation. It is considered by many to be one of the principal poetic forms the Persian civilization offered to the eastern Islamic world.