The Feeling of Pleasure or Pain Relative to Musical Notes
Oriental vocalists specially in Sri Lanka and India are accustomed to base their vocal performances on a pitch which can be sounded effortlessly. This pitch, normally used for speaking, is the one that can be sounded comfortably. The first note 'Sa' of the Middle Scale or the 'Madhya Swara Sapthaka' is considered to be the starting pitch of the musical presentation. This selected pitch is normally the pitch of speaking voice. Therefore, in producing this basic note, the muscular effort required is negligible. Consequently the face becomes bright and calm, cheeks muscles are quite relaxed and eyes are partially closed as in the state of meditation.
To keep this pitch constant, the drone of the Tampura or Sruthee box is maintained. Attention of the artiste and the listener is concentrated at one point or directed inwards and reaches the condition of a deep sleep or self-absorption. Consciousness will therefore by away from the outer world and concentrated inwards and at zero point which we can call the deep sleep.
According to the fundamentals of psychology, it is understood that sensation is directly proportional to stimulus. Let OX represent the line of increase of stimulus and its perpendicular OY represents the line of increase of consciousness. Let us now consider the sensation caused by singing the notes one by one in the Middle Octave respectively. The notes in the middle scale are:
S R1 R2 G1 G2 M1 M2 P D1 D2 N1 N2 S
| Oriental |
Western |
| S-Sadja |
Middle C |
| R1-Suddha Rishab |
D Flat |
| R2-Chatusrati Rishab |
D Natural |
| G1-Komal Gandhara |
E Flat |
| G2-Anthara Gandhara |
E Natural |
| M1-Suddha Madhyama |
F Natural |
| M2-Prathi Madhyama |
F Sharp |
| P-Panchama |
G |
| D1-Suddha Dhaivatha |
A Flat |
| D2-Chathusrati Dhaivatha |
A Natural |
| N1-Kaisaki Nishada |
B Flat |
| N2-Kakali Nishada |
B Natural |
| S-Uchcha Sadja |
Octave C |
When R1 is sung, a sensation of disturbance relative to the original peaceful condition of the mind is experienced. Unlike in the performances of western music, the difference of sensation is clearly noticed in the case of Indian Classical Music, since the ears are accustomed to the basic pitch (S) of the drone of the Tampura and then to the note sung or produced in relation to the basic note (S). When a new note is sung, a new sensation - either pleasure or pain is experienced in relation to the one experienced immediately before it. If R1 was heard at first without S for sometime, then this R1 would have created the sensation of the deep sleep. But since R1 is heard in relation to S which is the basic pitch, R1 creates the disturbance or the uneasy sensation.
This feeling of uneasiness created by R1 tends to be a feeling of slight pain and the attention is drawn outwards. It is a disturbance to the concentration felt at S or Deep Sleep. In the figure, let O be the point of consciousness. According to basic physiological principles, the sensation tends to increase proportionately to the stimulus. Therefore let OX represent the line of increase of stimulus and line OY perpendicular to OX be the line of increase of consciousness. The OZ will be the resultant of the feelings aroused.
According to the 'physiology of pain', a feeling of pain is experienced due to the inconvenient vibration of the molecules of the nerve fibre and its intensity is directly proportional to the inconvenience.
The slight pain caused by R1 will again recede if the singer comes back to S which is the deep sleep. But in reaching the R2 which is at a longer distance from S than R1, the pain experienced is not so uneasy as in the case of R1. This phenomenon can also be explained in terms of the difference of frequency of the notes or the beats and the positions of Shruthees occupied by the different notes in question.
