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Wikipedia / Music of Assam

The music of Assam consists various genres of folk and modern music, drawing its artistic basis from the history of Assam, from Assamese culture and its ancient traditions. In recent times, starting from the late eighties, popular artists have modernised the music catering to local popular demand.

A basic characteristic of the indigenous ethnic music of Assam is its descending scale similar to East Asian music which distinguishes it from the Mode-based or folk music (Raaga-based) forms from the rest of India.

The tunes are structured in a pyramid and are always in pentatonic scale similar to other traditional music of Asia like China, Mongolia etc and dissimilar from the seven-scaled Indian music, (in contrast to the music of rest of India which is Meend based), such as the Bihu songs, (common in South-East Asia and East Asia) besides languorous music of other forms.

The legend of Princess Usha of Sonitpur and her cohort Chitralekha also enlighten us on the musical expertise of the Assamese women. The connoisseurs however, have divided the classical Assamese music into two parts – Borgeet and Ojapali. The composers of Borgeets, Sankardev and his disciple Madhavdev added versatility to Assamese music.

Musical genres

Devotional

Indigenous Traditional Folk

Popular

Musical instruments

Early contributors to Assamese music

Other notable composers, musicians and singers

References