Ravi Shankar and World Music...

Perhaps pivotal to a discussion of world music and its accompanying cross-cultural and cross-border flow of creative ideas is the mention of Indian Classical Satirist Ravi Shankar. For many listeners, Indian classical music is synonymous with the name Ravi Shankar. From the 1960s to the present, this sitarist and composer has captured the imagination of fans across the globe not just as a self-contained artist but also as an ambassador for Indian music and culture more broadly (Murphy, 2008). Often being referred to as the ‘godfather of world music,’ the 1960s saw Shankar become an icon in Europe and America. This popularity was spurred by such memorable appearances as his performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and at Woodstock in 1969 (Murphy, 2008). Crucial for the purposes of studying the global processes of stylistic hybridization and revitalization in music is the fact that during the late 1960s and early 1970s, Shankar was increasingly interested in writing music that bridged the European and Indian classical music traditions.

With this in mind one might begin to question, what is it about Indian music or the sound of Ravi Shankar in particular that drew the ‘pop’ crowds of North American and Europe? Also, how much of Indian music’s influence and popularity can be attributed to the interest shown in the sound of Ravi Shankar by George Harrison? And what implications did the Beatles borrowing of Indian themes have on the idea of world music?

Apart from a sense of perspective, Indian music has the ability to teach Western musicians many practical lessons. One prominent example as cited by (Murphy 2008) is that leading Indian musicians have a particularly heightened rhythmic sense. Rather than being constrained by bar-lines they have a system of talas or rhythmic cycles. On a basic level studying Indian rhythmic cycles hones a Western musician’s sense of the passage of time. As the rhythmic skills involved are likely to be complex, this study facilitates concentration on the here and now. Indian skills are noted to tighten up the concentration on the moment and enhance rhythmic accuracy to a remarkable degree (Murphy, 2008).

Aside from these notable attributes that classical Indian music has the ability to bring to the Western musician one may choose to focus for the purposes of a case study on the influence Ravi Shankar had on the Beatles, which in turn have had an unprecedented influence on music, culture, and record sales for the better part of the last 40 years. George Harrison essentially created a fusion between the Western and the Indian music and musical instruments. After learning the sitar from Ravi Shankar, George Harrison included the instrument in several songs most notably however were Norwegian Wood-being the fist Beatles song to include the sitar and Within you and With Out You- from the 1967 landmark record Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band (Making the Album, 2008). These deviations from the traditional rock and roll band formula created a fusion of Western and Eastern music, essentially borrowing form the Indian Eastern tradition and further promoting the world music scene. But does this fusion imply that the Western pop group was stealing from an Eastern tradition or rather that a commercial desire for authentic musical elsewhere’s was being met. This question remains unanswered, however it can be generalized that in either case the fusion of these different types of music brought the Sitar and Ravi Shankar into the mainstream of western music. Essentially, the utilization of eastern music types by the Beatles opened up the door to a whole new market wherein “world music” could make a rather easy transition on to the Western scene.

In the words of Ravi Shankar, “Fusion music will get stronger and stronger in the days ahead. It is one thing, which I always felt, was bound to happen. It is known by several names the world over like World Music, New Age Music, etc. The future belongs to fusion music” (Murphy, 2008). As an example of this fusion I urge you to take a look at the video post below depicting George Harrison taking a sitar Lesson from Ravi Shankar himself.

Sources:
Murphy, David. “Influences: Ravi Shankar” David Murphy Conducts. http://www.davidmurphyconducts.org/?page_id=7 accessed 2 April, 2008.

“Making the Album- Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band” The Beatles.com http://www.beatles.com/sgtpepper/ accessed 2 April, 2008.