As I browse my Instagram feed, I stumbled upon the video of Lucky Ali singing,” O sanam,” in his house by striking the guitar chords of the song’s tune. The video was shot in black and white. It got me thinking, one of the soul-soothing music genres is dying or breathing its last breath in this period, second, the genre is a thing of the past, it doesn’t hold water in today’s time. We have a rich history in creating some great soul soothers. But in the day of short attention span, and the formulaic music being produced over and over, the soul soothers are made less. The reason is simple, it takes time, and time is of essence. This proverb is taken seriously by some music composers. For making a trending music in this horde, some musician seems to lose some essence in making. For 15 seconds of impression, they are forgetting to make a lasting impression. This article will delve into why the genre is dying.
Rise of Commerciliazation
Indian music used to be closely associated with spirituality, human emotions, and cultural stories. The music of legends like Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar, Jagjit Singh, and Pandit Ravi Shankar struck a deep chord with listeners. Deep messages, complex compositions, and soul-stirring interpretations were all present in their songs.
However, commercial success takes precedence over creative depth in today’s popular music industry. Bollywood music, which formerly featured tunes by musical greats like Madan Mohan, R.D. Burman, and S.D. Burman, is now primarily consists of dance numbers, remixes, and catchy hooks meant to go viral rather than arouse strong feelings. Meaningful, enduring compositions are becoming less popular as streaming companies prioritise short, repetitive tunes that increase interaction. For example, if you listen to Bhool bhulayia 2 title song and Bhool bhulayia 3 title song, you will see no difference, they sound the same. The singers of both songs have the same tune. An international example, the Batman 2 opening theme sounds like Darth Vader’s theme. They cleverly slowed the tune and added new beats.
The Decline of Classical and Folk Traditions
Soul-calming tunes have long been found in Indian classical and folk music. In Hindustani and Carnatic music, ragas are believed to affect feelings, bringing about serenity, happiness, or even profound reflection. Folk songs that convey rich cultural narratives and emotions include Rajasthani folk tunes, Sufi qawwalis, and Bengali Baul songs.
Unfortunately, as younger generations gravitate towards fast-paced commercial music, these genres are becoming less popular. Traditional folk musicians frequently struggle to find a platform in the digital era, and the number of students studying classical music is declining. Pure forms of these traditions are in danger of disappearing, even though fusion music has preserved some aspects of classical and folk music
The Rise of Auto-Tune and Formulaic Music
The excessive use of pre-made templates, artificial beats, and auto-tune is another element causing the popularity of soul-calming music to wane. Legendary vocalists such as Mohammad Rafi, M.S. Subbulakshmi, and Bhimsen Joshi used to produce captivating melodies by using their unprocessed, natural voices and years of intense training. Many songs nowadays have undergone extensive processing, which eliminates the human flaws that give music its depth and charm.
Furthermore, a lot of songs have a recognisable format, with straightforward chord progressions, upbeat beats, and lyrics that emphasise trends over narrative. Although contemporary production methods have increased music’s accessibility, they have also resulted in the demise of natural, emotional
The Impact of Becoming Viral in Social Media
Today’s Songs are Earworms and have validity of a month or a week. And the next day, another earworm and the validity is the same. The beat in which the hookstep falls is important because the hookstep becomes a trend of the particular month. It’s tailored to get more likes and capture attention in less time. There is a sliver lining for soulful music in this era of instant gratification. If a particular remix of an old song becomes a hit, you are curious about that particular old song.
How to Revive the Soul soothing Music in India
To be immersed in soulful rhythmic music, you need to get out of listening to soulless formulaic songs. You need to support indie artists, programs like Coke Studio need to make a return in which various musicians could come and showcase their talent by creating soulful songs. Our audience should promote music composers who value quality over substance. Follow the footsteps of the other country’s music, how they fuse their folk music with modern music . Instead of chasing fads, listeners might deliberately decide to connect with music that has emotional depth.
