Type of sri lanka music pattern
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Chapter Six
Music in Sri Lankan Society
As a social artifact, art plays an important role in people‟s daily life-styles and reflects
sociological, psychological and anthropological patterns and status of different cultures
and traditions. In the same way, to some extent, sociological thoughts and other
ideologies could be seen, understood and used to illustrate some of the artistic forms such
as painting, dance, drama, film and so on. Considering the other art forms, the “art of
listening” or music plays a significant role in people‟s everyday lives. People from
different socio-cultural contexts and different ideologies commonly experience music as
series of sound track of their everyday lives1
. The main function or the key factor behind
listening to music would be the state of appreciation or sole mental satisfaction.
However, on some occasions, it performs additional functions such as creating social
identity. People generally encounter various types of musical experiences day by day.
Although music is utilized in different ways in everyday lives of people, the value of
music depends on their usages and this usage may vary from person to person, place to
place and, time to time. Thus music is thoroughly bound with people‟s mind, emotions
and attitudes etc. Furthermore, music is employed to indicate social status, cultural and
political views of specific communities and different social groups. In addition to this
fact, it can also be said that music is utilized in religious, cultural and socio-political
spheres for different purposes. Hence, music could be considered as a social product as
well as a social institution.
Where the long term human history is concerned, music has been used in various social
contexts such as religious, educational, political, economic and other cultural purposes.
Due to the usage and the popular demand for it, music has become one of the precious art
forms. Further, it is a commodity that is produced, distributed and
consumed just like
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other 'objects' in the contemporary world when compared to the past. In contrast to the
earlier times, music has been utilized in order to fulfill a variety of purposes in a large
number of social and cultural contexts or spheres in the modern world besides its ultimate
objective appreciation.
roles of aesthetics have become shifted to some extent. Conversely, as it has been stated
by North et al, development of mass media during the 20th Century has resulted in a lose
aura and aesthetic value of music to some extent5
. Using music in mass media seems to
be making s negative impacts on original aura and the aesthetic quality other than the
original context that is being used. The use of North Indian classical music (especially
instrumental music) as background music of funerals and presenting obituary notices
during the telecast times with or without visuals of the people who hold high positions in
various fields such as religious, art and political arena is commonplace in Sri Lankan
electronic media context can be given as a fine example.
Even though the SLBC had given the high priority to propagate North Indian music in Sri
Lanka, it also made the field somewhat confusing due to the practice of performing an
elegiac music composition on the funerals of the leading political figures. This practice
was initiated at the funeral of the late Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mr. S.W.R.D.
Bandaranayake and such type of music was played by the late Musician named Edwin
Samaradiwakara on that occasion. The result was that the North Indian music was
degraded by the public, at least to a certain extent.
In the same way, other classical music genres have been utilized in several advertising
purposes in the electronic media all over the world which has highly affected their
original aesthetic quality.
Due to the high demand attached to music in a diverse range of contexts, some classical
and/or other genres have been utilized under different labels and names which relate to
different moods and feelings in day to day life. This trend can be seen common place in
commercials. For example, sometimes classical instrumental Western music of the
Baroque period (especially Bach‟s compositions) and the Indian classical music are
employed as heeling, mediations, relaxation, weight loss, etc. It could be assumed that
since the new technology, producers and artists have attempted to sell and commercialize
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