What did music sound like 3000–3500 years ago? I have several examples to share, but let’s begin with this battle chant from the Yajur Veda (1200~ B.C.).
The video above demonstrates Vedic recitation in two different styles. First, in samhitā pāTha (संहितापाठ), which is a straightforward recitation of a verse, and then in ghana pāTha (घनपाठ), which uses a complex back-and-forth pattern of recitation that creates high levels of energy and inspiration.
The Vedas are ancient Indian Hindu scriptures. There are four of them (Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sāma Veda, and Atharva Veda), and each one is a large corpus of hymns and poetry on a variety of religious as well as non-religious topics. The Rig Veda (1500–1000 B.C.) is the oldest and most comprehensive (containing 10,600 verses), while the other Vedas are derived from or based on the Rig Veda in various ways.
For instance, while the Rig Veda is mainly chanted using three notes, the Sāma Veda is more musical. The word “sāman” means song in Vedic Sanskrit and it may be where the word “hymn” comes from (see “hymn” etymology). The Sāma Veda consists of 1,875 sāman, which are mostly Rig Vedic verses, but they are set to music using up to seven notes.
The musical notation for each of these verses is also an integral part of the Sāma Veda and is included above and within the text using numbers (or syllables depending on the school) to denote musical notes and other information.
As you may have noticed, the hymn above uses at least six distinct notes in an octave, with a hint of the seventh (lowest) note. The numerals and other markings on top of the text as well as within the lines of the text provides information as to which note each syllable should be sung to, what the duration of each note should be, how many times a phrase should be repeated, what level of stress to apply to specific syllables, what musical ornaments are to be used, and so on.
The Vedas are written down for preservation and reference purposes, but they are strictly required to be transmitted orally from teacher to student to preserve the music and the sounds in their original form. In the oral tradition, the musical notations are transmitted through hand gestures. These hand gestures are a mandatory part of sāman singing, and not just for educational purposes. The video below provides an explanation of musical notation as shown through hand gestures (English captions available).
After a lengthy initial period of evolution, the Vedas were codified, according to historians, sometime between 1500–1000 B.C. and have remained unchanged since. Vedic scholars and priests over the millennia have gone to great lengths to preserve the Vedas, transmitting them faithfully from generation to generation, word for word, syllable for syllable, and intonation for intonation. A complex system of cross-checking is used to ensure accuracy for proper preservation and transmission. As a result, we still have today a remarkable corpus of sacred literature that has remained uncorrupted for at least the past 3000–3500 years and is regarded as some of humanity’s oldest surviving historical records.
One of the unique things about Vedic music is that it is not just written music or information about this genre of music that survives, to be recreated using our imagination in modern times. There is an unbroken tradition of singing and chanting this music that has been kept alive for thousands of years, which makes it a very authentic piece of live history.
It is also a complete collection of chants and music that were used in a range of scenarios that gives us a great deal of insight not just into music, but into society as a whole in those times.
Let me leave you with two more invaluable videos of Sāma Vedic chants that, unfortunately, seem to be unavailable in some parts of the world, but please do access them if you’re able to.
The first video includes mainly songs that belong to the “village songs” (ग्रामगेय गानम्) category. These are songs that are sung as part of rituals and ceremonies conducted by householders (गृहस्थ) in villages.
The second video seems to include songs that belong to the “forest songs” (अरण्यगेय गानम् ) category, which are intended to be sung in the wild, for the benefit of animals and other beings that inhabit wilder spaces. They use mainly meaningless words and sound very different from the village songs.
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