Tamil music has a long history, wherein the classical roots blend with contemporary influences in an entirely natural way. In this process, it has soaked up most of the changes that happened in the cultural backdrop and the ingenuity of the artists over the last many centuries. This resulted in a very invigorating journey that went all the way from the old classical traditions of the Carnatic to the modern kaleidoscope of film and independent music.

Foundations on Carnatic Tradition

Carnatic tradition constitutes the very basis of Tamil music. Carnatic tradition, a sophisticated way of practicing vocal and instrumental music of Southern India, and it has compositions from various Dravidian languages such as Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, and malayalam. Use of Sanskrit was also predominant.

Characteristically Carnatic Music tradition is studded with intricate ragas and talas and take its references from ancient texts like Natya Shastra and Sangam literature.

Development During Sangam Era

As true with many other traditions of art, Tamil music also has evolved from devotional hymn as old as 7th to 9th century CE. Revered saints and poets such as Manikkavacakar, Sundarar, Appar are regarded as the creators of these earliest hymns. Books written during the Sangam period such as Ettuthokai and Pathupattu were intricately involved with early Tamil music because poems from such books were used to create music. Tolkappiyam, a Sangam age grammarian’s work, has given details of different types of music that pertain to the five landscapes (thinai) of Sangam literature. In order to depict each of these moods, every region had a musical mood (pann), melodic instrument (yaazh) and a percussion instrument (parai).

Bhakti Movement and Folk Influence

The Bhakti Movement during the medieval period made Tamil music available to the masses. Before that Tamil music was largely restricted to its intricate classical framework and used language with pure grammatical form which was hardly understandable to common people. The tendency of the Bhakti movement of using common language helped Tamil music to evolve and embrace folk traditions. During this movement devotees of Lord Vishnu,aka Alacars, and devotees of Lord Shiva, aka Nayanars, created devotional songs in language people commonly use, thus breaking the barrier between elites and commoners and set free Tamil music to masses.

Tamil Film Music

Tamil music, along with other music traditions of this country continues to evolve during the colonial era. The most notable is the induction of western music instruments and influence western classical music in Tamil music. The ultimate manifestation of this is observed in Tamil film music 1940 onwards. By perfectly amalgamating classical carnatic, western orchestra, and folk elements, legendary composers like Papanasam Sivan, G.Ramanathan, and K.V Mahadevan gifted us such melodies which still entrails us.

Current Developments in Tamil Music

The Tamil music scene today is transforming at a very fast pace, embracing the global while remaining firmly grounded in its cultural identity. Digital technology and social media democratized music production and circulation, thus allowing independent artists to find a place among mainstream film composers. Hip-hop, EDM, and fusion have been genres that have had a niche in Tamil music, showing changing tastes and aspirations of a diverse audience.

From classical to contemporary, the development of Tamil music—integrative of tradition and innovation—conserved the rich cultural legacy and adapted itself to embrace new musical forms and technologies. As Tamil music continues to evolve, it continues as a vibrant expression of identity and creativity, continuing to resound across the globe at all times.

Learning Tamil Music Online

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