Music of Pakistan

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The music of Pakistan can be categorized into six general groups: classical, semi-classical/ghazal, folk, qawwali/devotional, film, pop/rock. These categories overlap considerably, and many artists are able to perform in more than one of the listed genres. It is generally identical to mainstream North Indian music, although it has a regional flavour of its own.

Contents

1 Classical
2 Ghazal gayaki
3 Folk
4 Qawwali
5 Film music
6 Pakistani pop music
7 Music journalism
8 See also
9 External links

Classical

In Pakistan the main form of classical music is a performing art, classical music in Pakistan is fast disappearing, however it still forms the basis of most other musical genres (save for pop/rock). Ghazal and qawwali music make use of many musical instruments such as the (sitar, tabla, harmonium, santoor etc). Pakistani folk, film and even some pop and rock also hold some classical elements.

Many Pakistani musicians of other genre (particularly ghazal, qawwali and folk musicians) therefore are nonetheless trained in subcontinent classical, and often belong to a gharana.

One of the most prominent gharanas in Pakistan is the Patiala gharana, to which the great Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, and the brothers Ustad Amanat Ali Khan and Ustad Bade Fateh Ali Khan belong.

Also see Hindustani Classical Music

Ghazal gayaki

Ghazal is the name of a poetic form, but musically Ghazal gayaki refers to the form of music in which the poem is sung. Ghazal gayaki is often termed semi classical music. Most Ghazal singers are trained in classical music and sing in either Khyal or Thumri. Some of the most famous Pakistani Ghazal singers are Mehdi Hassan, Ghulam Ali, Farida Khanum, Iqbal Bano, Abida Parveen, Nayyera Noor, Malika Phukhraj and Tahira Syed. Mehdi Hassan Khan Sahib is considered the greatest Ghazal singer in South Asia.

Folk

Each of Pakistan's four provinces has its own variation of popular folk music. Bhangra is a Punjabi folk dance that has become popular all over Pakistan.

Qawwali

One of the most dynamic and popular music of Pakistan is qawwali, which has been internationally popularized by stars like Sabri Brothers, Aziz Mian and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Qawwali, in multiple forms, is widespread throughout Pakistan and Northern India.

Qawwali refers to both the performance and the genre of music. Qawwals typically consist of a lead vocalist, two back-up vocalists and any number of percussionists. Qawwalis are traditionally led by a sheikh and are meant to help the audience realize the mystical ideals of Sufi Islam. Amir Khusrau is said to have invented qawwali in the 13th century; the legendary poet and composer is also said to have invented the tabla and sitar. The idea of music (sama) inspiring an understanding and love for the divine and communication with spiritual guides is known from at least the 9th century. Orthodox Muslims sometimes criticize qawwali for its erotic imagery and sometimes frank sensuality.

Qawwali is similar to Subcontinent's musical genres; it has three components: a rhythm (traditionally played on the dholak), the melodic line of the vocals, and the pitch of the melody which is reinforced on harmonium. Poetic verses are usually mixed with a chorus and instrumental passages. Traditional languages used include Urdu containing much Persian and Arabic, an ancient form of Sanskrit called braj bhasha, as well as Punjabi.

The ancient tradition of tarana, a rhythmic series of nonsensical syllables with meaning only to the singers, if anyone, has helped lead a fusion with qawwali and jazz, due to the parallel practice of scat singing. Qawwali fusion with filmi and Western pop music have achieved some popularity, with attendant criticism from purists for allegedly watering down the sacred sound of qawwali. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Aziz Mian, Sabri Brothers and Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali Group have become especially popular, especially after Nusrat's collaborations with Michael Brook (a Canadian producer), resulting in the unexpected hit of "Mustt Mustt", remixed by Massive Attack and popularized by its use in a Coca-Cola television commercial. Nusrat's compositions have also been used in Last Temptation of Christ, Natural Born Killers, Dead Man Walking.

Film music

Pakistan's film industry known as "Lollywood" is based in Lahore. One of the most famous singers of the Pakistan film industry is Malika-e-Tarranum Madame Noor Jehan. Noor Jehan had a brief and successful acting career before devoting herself completely to music. She sang extensively for Pakistani films and also sang Ghazals, folk songs and patriotic songs (milli naghmay) for Pakistan television. Until the 1960’s Pakistani film music enjoyed a robust period of creative activity with a great number of songs acquiring popularity across the sub-continent. The major music directors of this period (with the noted exception of Khawaja Khurshid Anwar) were mostly rababis. Some of the great names were, Ustad Inayat Hussain, G.A. Chishti, Rashid Attre, Ustad Tasadduq, Master Abdullah, Firoze Nizami, Tufail Farooqi and Ustad Nazar. During the early 1960s Urdu film and music quality declined as the result of various factors. The dominance of trend-setting music directors who had experience of seasoned pre-partition artists declined and they were replaced by a new and younger generation who tapped the Punjabi film market. Music from India's film industry, Bollywood, is also very popular in Pakistan. It combines Indian classical music, with its sophisticated, melismatic vocals and traditional instruments, with catchy tunes and stylings from Western pop music.

Also see Filmi

Pakistani pop music

The privatisation of Pakistani television has resulted in an explosion in the Pakistani pop music scene. New private television stations like Indus Music and The Musik regularly feature the latest pop music videos.

Artists such as Nazia Hasan and the Vital Signs (pop band) were pioneers of Pakistani pop music in the 1980’s. Pakistan Pop and Rock Music Industry has also begun to make a mark on the Global Music scene. The Pakistani band Junoon popularised a genre of music called Sufi rock. Their music blended traditional Pakistani folk and Sufi music with western rock. Bands like Strings, Jal, Fuzon , Mekaal Hassan Band, Atif Aslam and Noori have millions of fans across the border in India, and other parts of South Asia and beyond.

Strings's single Najane Kyun recently featured on the Urdu Soundtrack for Spiderman 2.

Music journalism

Music journalism in Pakistan has grown tremendously over the years, especially with the growth of the country's pop music industry and underground rock culture. Popular music journalism was uncommon in the country till about 1985 when Karachi's tabloid, The Star started printing reviews written by Farrukh Moriani who is also considered to be the country's first ever pop music critic. At the end of the Eighties and with the coming of the Liberal government of Benazir Bhutto in 1988, the once repressed and frowned upon (by the Islamist dictatorship of General Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq), Pakistani pop music emerged from the underground and started gaining mainstream popularity. With this came another pioneering Pakistani music and fashion critic Fifi Haroon who was amongst the first in the country to undertake full features on the growing local music scene. Another frontrunner in this regard was M. Ali Tim, but it wasn't until the arrival of the iconoclastic Nadeem F. Paracha in 1990 that music journalism started to be taken as a serious form of journalism in Pakistan. With Paracha was Farjad Nabi (at The The News International) and Aysha Aslam (at The Herald).

External links

South Asian music
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Pakistan

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