Firstly, I am neither an expert music analyser nor have I taken any kind of professional music training. But I have always been fascinated by the rythem inherent in day-to-day sounds. Probably that is how our forefathers came up with the concept of music. I believe that music is the 'soul of life'. For me, music serves as a way to calm the mind and transport the soul to a different plane of pleasant languor. In essence, I have an ear for music. You can call me a listener (sorry, the software engineer in me surfaces once I a while; beg your pardon for that).
The criteria against which I propose to compare the (g)olden era with the contemporary are the following:
- Quality of playback singing
- Quality/Effect of background music
- Popular mindset
1. Quality of playback singing
Observation:
Playback singers are the soul of a song. The voice of a playback singer is the first thing that comes to notice on listening to a song. They are the real artists who give their voices to the 'lip sync'ing puppets on the screen. Forgive me for coming out hard on actors but I have always felt that playback singers do not receive their due.
Olden days' singers possessed a mature voice. They were capable of carrying the whole song on their shoulders. People like Asha Bhonsle, Janaki, TMS had mesmerising voices that captivated the listeners senses within seconds. Not once during a sequence did they let their voice waver from the prescribed pitch and loudness.
Modern day singers show versatility in their talent. They have learnt to adapt to the varying demands of the public (and of course of the music directors!). For intance, Sunidhi Chauhan, whose is first name that comes to one's when thinking of an item song, has also done melodious numbers like 'Aa Bhi Ja' (Sur). In fact, 'Yeh Dil Deewana' was the song that propelled Sonu Nigam to the top of the chart (fans of Sonu would know that this particular song was not in typical Sonu style).
Comparison:
The following results are gathered by the aforementioned observations.
Olden days' singers stuck to their effective routine and seldom deviated from the route in terms of improvisation. Their voices were tuned to the non-varying demands of the age. In modern terms, they epitomised 'specialization'.
Contemporary singers are more versatile, open-minded to singing in false voice and ready to experiment (w.r.t. genre of songs) to a certain extent. Although, it is not completely wrong to say (In what might be assumed as a contradiction to the previous statement) that some singers have actually marked their territory or area of expertise i. e. if(genre of song = "some_genre") then singer = getSinger["some_genre"].
2. Quality/Effect of BGM
Observation:
Background music (BGM) has evolved to a great extent in recent times. Earlier it was just a tool to fill the void created by the absence of anything other than the singer's voice. But today it is the foundation of a good song.
Older BGMs consisted of a few instruments without any processing done to make them sound better. This was evidently done to keep the focus on the singer/lyrics/actors. BGM was not supposed to be for listening alone and simply didn't make much sense sans the voice.
Today, background score is a major component in the commercial success of a movie's music. 'Karaoke' is a concept that refers to a music entertainment system providing prerecorded accompaniment to popular songs. The popularity of karaoke supports the exponential rise in the quality of BGM in current times. Instruments like synthesizers have been designed that can produce sounds belonging to other traditional instruments. Computerised processing can make voices sound better.
Comparison:
Considering resource availability, olden music deserves the acclaim it had got since there were no computers/advanced technology to enhance the effect. Ask any person on why he/she thinks olden music is better, the immediate reply would be "Coz it was at that time when there were no hi-fi instruments/systems to give the kind of effects that are prevalent today".
Current technology undermines the talent of the singer in a way that it can make the singer sound good when he is actually not. But it also offers opportunity to excel in other areas of music, like instrumentals. I bet one cannot name many instrumentalists of old time. Today, artists like Sivamani are considered a league of their own.
3. Popular Mindset
Observation and comparison:
This is perhaps the most important factor that leads to analysis (and blogs!) like this. People in the years gone by had an affinity towards soft music that was soothing to the ear. Music was something to relax and enjoy. Something that poured incessantly from the transistor and made a good change from the normal conversations of day-today life. But today music is omnipresent. It is a professional career path. The life of discotheques. A madatory resident in everyone's personal computer.
The requirements that music needs to satisfy has thus changed with time. This has been due to the varying mindset of the people. Factors like westernisation, improvisation, the ability to take a risk etc. have moulded the thoughts and actions of the people, leading to such diversity. One can always come up with a thousand reasons for supporting his/her claim. The fact to understand is that change is permanent and absolute truths (or claims) can always be refuted.
Einsten words 'it's all relative' come into play once more.
