A music genre is a standard category that finds some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions. Genre is to be distinguished from musical form and musical style, although in practice these terms are sometimes used interchangeably. Each genre has its own following. Some listeners give importance to the lyrics while some give importance to the tunes. There are many songs with such great hummable music but are weaker in lyrics. There are also some songs which have great lyrics but are weaker in music. And there are songs with good music and good lyrics but are sung pathetically by the singer. While we all would agree that it is music that gives our ears and mind the feel, rhythm, vibrancy etc because music has the power to lift each word of the lyric.

A song has power to touch the right chords of the heart. Soothing music pumps up our feelings and emotions. I believe the lyrics are significant for every adult, trying hard to build a life and dealing with stress.

Music can be divided into genres in numerous ways. In 1982, Franco Fabbri proposed a definition of the musical genre that is now considered to be a final standard.  A music genre or subgenre may be defined by the musical techniques, the cultural context, and the content and spirit of the themes. Geographical origin is sometimes used to identify a music genre, though a single geographical category will often include a wide variety of subgenres. Timothy Laurie contends that, since the early 1980s, “genre has graduated from being a subset of popular music studies to being an almost universal framework for constituting and evaluating musical research objects”. Musicologists have strongly recommended that musical genre adds to the beauty of music.

The best way to describe music, with its complex melody and composition, is by the mood and range of emotions it invokes in us. Understanding how music affects us reveals that the subjective experience of listening to different songs can be mapped within at least 13 main feelings. These include amusement, joy, eroticism, beauty; relaxation; sadness (including both melancholy and grief); patriotic; subconscious or trance-like state; triumph (such as in ceremonial anthems); anxiety (worry); scariness (touching on fear such as horror films); and annoyance, with defiance thrown in for good measure. This spectrum of emotional responses illustrates the powerful connection between music and emotion in human psychology. Music is an essential part of our daily life. It can be therapeutic and helps to relax our mind.

Music helps people heal on a physical level by providing relaxation techniques that reduce stress levels and improve cognitive function. It also provides emotional healing by helping us express feelings of grief, fear or sadness which often accompany hospital stays or end-of-life situations. There are musical therapists who cure patients with ailments such as cancer.

Classical

Indian classical music is based on the concept of ragas, which are melodies that evoke certain emotions in the listener. Some of the most popular ragas used in Indian music include Bhairav, Yaman, Malkauns, Todi, Bhupali, Marwa, and Darbari. Each raga has a distinct melodic structure and is associated with a particular time of day, season, and mood. Indian classical music is the conventional music of the Indian subcontinent. It is generally described using terms like Shastriya Sangeet. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as Hindustani and the South Indian expression known as Carnatic. Even the English classical music is related to formal European music of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, characterized by harmony, balance, and adherence to established compositional forms.

Orchestra

Orchestral music is composed on instrumental combination of varying size of instruments. It is more of Western style by using string instruments such as guitar, mandolin, banjo, cello, violin etc.  the word stems from the Greek orchestra.

Melodic

Something that’s tuneful or pretty to listen to is melodic. Melodies are the part of music that is above the chords and rhythm. Musical notes played in a specific sequence that is easy to remember and that forms its own unit is the definition of melody. There These songs are usually crafted with a meaningful lyric usually written by intellectuals or distinguished poets. The lyrics are then given a suitable music.

Blues/sad songs

A person may experience “feeling blue” if he/she is feeling down, depressed, lonely. Sometimes it is possible to feel blue for no apparent cause, the mood just goes low. And at some other times, the mood dampens for reasons. People with the blues might feel unhappy or tearful, lack energy or motivation, or isolate themselves. Sadness often occurs at the same time as other feelings, such as anger, stress, guilt, grief, anxiety, or hopelessness. Sometimes, the other feeling may be so strong that they don’t realise they are sad.

Romantic

Romantic love is a feeling of love for someone, or a strong attraction towards another person, and the courtship behaviours undertaken by an individual to express those overall feelings and resultant emotions. Romance refers to the actions and feelings of people who are in love, especially behaviour which is very caring or affectionate.

Jazz, swinging

A jazz singer might be a vocalist who swings and creates magic. It might be a performer who phrases lyrics like an instrument or employs wordless scat (hiss) sounds in place of verses. Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime (in 1890s and 1920s). 1920s is called the Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major form of musical expression in traditional and popular music.  Jazz music is often considered soothing due to its use of beautiful harmonies, swung rhythms, and improvisation.

Hip-Hop/Rap

Hip-hop, also known as rap, and formerly known as disco rap, is a genre of popular music that originated in the early 1970s by African Americans and Caribbean immigrants in the Bronx, a borough of New York City. Is a genre of music most often characterized by a strong, rhythmic beat and a rapping vocal track. While several people were influential in the creation of hip-hop, much credit is given to Clive Campbell, a Jamaican immigrant who was the first major hip-hop disc jockey.

Folk Songs

Folk music is an important part of India’s musical heritage and is characterized by its own unique rhythms, melodies, and lyrics.  The term folk music denotes many kinds of music; the meaning of the term varies according to the part of the world, social class, and period of history. Music enthusiasts derived folk music from patterns of spread, social function, origins, and performance.

Indian folk music is diverse because of India’s enormous cultural diversity. It is sung in various languages and dialects throughout the length and breadth of this vast nation and exported to different parts of the world owing to migration.

The central traditions of folk music are transmitted orally; they are learned through hearing rather than the reading of words or music, ordinarily in informal style. In the 20th century, transmission through recordings and mass media began to replace much of the face-to-face learning. In comparison with art music, which brings cultural and musical enjoyment. Hindi cinema has made folk music very popular: Bhangra, Dandiya Raas, Hekaileu, Lavani, Sufi, Zumair and Pandvani are some folk song styles.  

Natya Sangeet originates from Indian semi-classic and classical music style. Natya Sangeet is lyrics in form of poetries/songs/gazals/nazm which are sung by the actors in a natak (drama).  So, musical drams are called Sangeet Natak in Marathi. Natya Sangeet is a form of vocal arts. The other form is Bhavageet. The ragas such as Bhimpalas, Yaman, Jaijaiwanti, Mand, Malkaunsa and others have been used in the music hence the songs are fadeless till date. The Natya Sangeet uses all the classical styles of singing including Khayal Ang, Thumri Ang and light classical forms like Dadra, Tappa and Bhavgeet.

In the early 19th century in Maharashtra, music was solely the union of the rich, aristocratic and royalty of India. Singers were called from all over the country to eneteratin the gathering of rich and royal people. Common people were barred from enjoying classical music. Natya Sangeet emerged essentially so that the common man could also understand classical music and enjoy the classical base. The key difference between Natyageet and Bhavageet is that the latter stresses more on words while the former gives a lot of significance to Raga. Therefore, Natya Sangeet caught popularity with masses in Maharashtra, so much so that during the British Raj they compared it with Operas. Initially, the sangeet natyas were mainly based on mythological stories of Mahabharat and Ramayan which the audience could easily connect with. They did not cover the complete epics but were limited to only small stories in them.

With the rising fame and success of the sangeet natyas, producers started experimenting social issues themes by bringing them to audiences. The example is Sangeet Sharda; this drama was based on the cruel practice of marrying young girls to much elder men, sometimes even widowers in their seventies. The dram portrayed feelings and sentiments of a teenage girl to be married to a widower in his late seventies. The social message of the drama had a great impact on the society. Few dramas, like Kichak Vadh, disturbed the Britishers; they banned this drama because in the drama Kichak was subtly compared to Britishers. Kichak is an evil character from Mahabharata who disgraces Draupadi and the drama was then synonymous with the oppressed common Indian masses.

Similalrly the famous musical drama Ekach Pyala by Ram Ganesh Gadkari depicts the pathetic decline of the alcoholic and the devastating effects his addiction has on his family life. How his family gets devastated because of his addiction.

During the 1960s, yet another transition came in natya sangeet with the entry of Jitendra Abhisheki, who was credited with applying simplicity to the complex composition of Natya Sangeet. He developed a distinct style of rendering Khayal, which is a form of vocal music in which some elements of ṭappā are used. This style was first introduced by Gammu Khan of Banaras. Abhisjki who was originally a khayāl singer, he learnt ṭappā from Shori-miyā. His unique rendition style is known today as the Abhisheki Gharana. Jitendra Abhisjeki was well known for his renditions in  Marathi Natya Sangeet compositions like “Guntatá Hrdáya Hai”, “He Suránno Chandra Vhá” and other songs/Marathi ghazals such as “Májhe Jívana Gáne”, “Kaivalyáchya”, “Sarvátmaka sarveshvara”, “Kátá rute kunálá” etc

Natya Sangeet Genius: Narayana Shripad Rajhans, popularly called Bal Gandharva was one of the most iconic Marathi stage actors and singers. The name was bestowed to Narayan by Lokmanya Tilak after listening to his public performance in Pune while he was very young. Gandharva was renowned for his portrayal of female characters in various Marathi plays. He essayed the role of women characters since women were barred from participating in stage plays during that time. Bal Gandharva began his stage career under the mentorship of Annasaheb Kirloskar and first joined his theater company known as Kirloskar Natak Mandali in 1905. It will be unfairness to conclude this article without contribution made by Bal Gandharva to Natya Sangeet.

I list here below some famous Natya Sangeet items:

• Title: Deva Gharche Dnyat Kunala: Album: Matsyagandha Drama: Artist: Ramdas Kamat

2.Title: Ghei Chand Makarand (Raag Salagwarali): Album: Katyar Kaljat Ghusali: Artist: Pandit jitendra Abhisheki

3.Title: Sarwatmaka Sarveshwara: Album: Yayati Devyani: Artist: Pandit Jitendra Abhishki

4. Title: Shura Mi Vandile: Album: Manapman Drama: Artist: Asha Bhosale

5. Marma Bandhatali Thev hi: Album: Sanyasta Khadag: Artist Vasantrao Deshpande