What is Good Music ?

What is Good Music? You and I have grown enjoying the lullabies that mom sang when we were infants. Over the years, we developed an ear for the music that came from the environment, I mean the TV, the operas, the cinema, and the big big orchestra. Now, we listen to all types of music, the classical, the eastern and the western music. Several musical instruments also enchant us. Violin, Sitar, guitar lure us . What is good amongst these? It is relative. None is bad, if it pleases and relaxes you. For the job of "music" is to pacify your physique and drive you into an oblivion where you forget your physical ills of the moment to elevate yourself into a seventh Heaven of JOY. For me it is Carnatic music. When someone sings Bairavi, even when I am on some other job, I stand there to listen. For you it must be classical western. Or something else. Then, what is important in a music ? Is the rhythm, the tune, or the lyric or all? In our days, the lyric was most important. Nowadays it does not appear to be so. Words hardly matter in today's environment. There are ragas which are of particular value to the time in which they are tuned. In Southern India, we normally say : Early Morning Ragas: Boopalam, Morning: Hamsadhwani, Hindolam Noon: Thodi, Kamboji, Evening: Kalyani, Naattai, Bandu Varali Night: Anandha Bairavi, Nilambari, Sahana We have in our midst musicians who have elevated themselves to versatile scholars in the grammar of music. Dr.Bala Murali Krishna is one such musician who has done a lot of research in the field of new ragas. Apart from musicians we have also critics, who are not musicians themselves, but could pass on their value-based constructive criticism of any performance. Dr.Yesudas is known throughout the world for his heart rendering performances. you may visit his website to know more about his contribution. I am equally a fan of Bombay Jayashree, Nithyashree, Aruna Sairam, Unnikrishnan, whose performances make any listener spell-bound. The beauty of Carnatic music is that once you get accustomed to it, or say develop an ear for the particular type, you become a die-hard addict. Other music is taboo for you. There are many websites which give a lot of information about Carnatic music in the area of curing many ailments. You might have heard of the famous Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan, the violonist turned cine-music-director whose melodies lure the folk and the masses apart from the classes. If you visit Chennai, in Southern India in the months of December and January, please do not forget to attend performances by any of our great carnatic musicians, both vocal and instrumental. After listening to the performances, you will agree, that yours was a thrilling one-time life experience.