Shankar Mahadevan is an Indian and a multiple National Film Award-winning music composer and singer. An accomplished musician in Bollywood  and Tamil Cinema, he is a part of the Shankar Ehsaan Loy trio team that provides music to Bollywood  films. He is considered as one of the best present-day Indian singers for his ability to sing at very high as well as low pitches.

Early life

Shankar Mahadevan was born and brought up in Chembur, a suburb of Mumbai to an Iyer family from Kerala. His Mother Tongue is Tamil. He learned Hindustani classical music and Carnatic music in his childhood and started playing the veena at the age of five. He went to OLPS High School in Chembur. He went to SIES College sion and completed his HSC. He graduated in 1988 with a degree in Computer Science Engineering from R.A.I.T. (D Y Patil, Navi Mumbai), under the auspices of Mumbai University. He is a qualified software engineer worked on Oracle Version Six Career

After working for a while for Leading Edge Systems, Shankar ventured into the field of music. He earned his first award as a playback singer in a Tamil movie, collaborating with A. R. Rahman and winning a National Film Award for his song in Kandukondain Kandukondain. A prominent star in the Kodambakkam film industry, he later gained more recognition by releasing his first music album called Breathless in 1998, in which he appears to sing through the whole song in a single breath. He later got into music direction and became a part of the Shankar Ehsaan Loy trio, composing music for Hindi films.

He has sung in many movies for A. R. Rahman, Anu Malik and other music directors, performing songs like "Urvashi Take It Easy" from Humse Hai Muqabla (1995), "I Love You" from Auzaar (1997), "Kay Sera Sera" from Pukar (2000) and many more songs in the nineties. He sings songs in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, and Marathi.

He enjoyed a successful run with the fusion jazz band SILK with Louis Banks on keyboards, Sivamani on percussion, Sridhar Parthasarathy on mridangam and Karl Peters on bass guitar.

Shankar Mahadevan has also provided vocals for several songs by the band Remember Shakti, which features maestros like Zakir Hussain, John McLaughlin, U. Srinivas and Selvaganesh Vinayakram. He was music director and singer for the famous "School Chale Hum" song that used to come on Doordarshan.

He was a mentor on Zee TV's musical reality show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2009.

He is a Team Captain, judge, and mentor on STAR Plus's musical show Music Ka Maha Muqqabla for the team Shankar's Rockstars and his team won Music Ka Maha Muqqabala 2010.

Different Music Genres

Different Music Genres

Classical Music: Classical music is a complex form of music as it requires high musical skills, like learning the ragas and ability to coordinate with other musicians. One has to maintain the complex relationship between its emotional flows. If you wish to learn this music, then you have to go through proper training.

Rock Music: This music genre originated in the rock and roll era of 1950s. The vocals are accompanied by guitar, drum and bass. (Read information on musical instruments.) Certain rock groups also use piano, synthesizer, saxophone, flute, mandolin and sitar for a deeper effect. This type of music has several sub genres, such as hard rock, progressive rock and metal rock. All these types of rock music are popular till date.

Metal Music: Metal music emerged after the Second World War. Here the melody of the song is heavily influenced by the structure of the songs. While in rock music, songwriting is based within a form; in metal music, the central melody decides the structure of the song. It is also known as ‘information music’.

Hip-hop Music: Hip-hop music always includes the use of instruments such as guitar, violin, fiddle, piano, bass and drums. In these types of music, the bass is the main instrument. This can be used in different intensities to emote feelings of anger, pride and others. This type of music is the result of hip-hop culture and is known as hip-hop music. This music shows a heavy influence of Jamaican music. The roots of the music are found in African American and West African music. It was first played by a group of traveling singers and poets of West Africa.

Wedding Ceremony Music: Wedding music is used in the ceremonies like wedding. These can be classical and modern, according the tastes of people. Some people prefer country melodies, while others opt for classical music as wedding music. Such music varies from every culture.

Trance Music: This type of music is usually played in club houses and discotheques. It originated in the 20th century. This music is characterized by fast tempo and repetitious beats of the percussion. It has a hypnotic effect on the souls of listeners.

Jazz: This type of music is featured by strong and complex rhythms. The main musical instruments used for jazz music are cornet, trumpet or violin, that help carry the melody. This is a rhythmic music and has a forward momentum called "swing". However, in this music genre, the skilled performer interprets a tune in his own way. To know more about the musicians of this genre read on jazz musicians.

Folk Music: Folk music is a kind of traditional music that is handed down from generations in every culture. This type of music reflects the emotions of common laity. Popular music and tribal music are the two sub genres of folk music. This folk music shows the social upheaval that lies among various classes of people. This also portrays their struggle for survival and their culture.

Techno Music: Techno music is also known as fusion music. This became popular towards the middle part of of the 1980s. This is a form of electronic dance music and based on African American music styles like funk, electro and electric jazz. It features fast beats and this form was initiated by Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson and Derrick May.

Opera Music: Opera music first emerged in Italy in the 1600s. This genre has a remarkable combination of theatrical art and musical invention and is specifically played in the theaters. This has greater appeal for its delightful orchestral accompaniment. The preludes and interludes of this music set the tone for the action on-stage.

Beside these, there are Blues, new age music, Celtic music, religious music, Chamber music that have a soul touching effects.

EARLY LIFE AND INFLUENCES:

A. R. Rahman was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India to a musically affluent Mudaliar Tamil family. His father R. K. Shekhar, was a Chennai based composer and conductor for Malayalam films. Rahman lost his father at a young age and his family rented out musical equipment as a source of income. He was raised by his mother Kareema (Kashturi). He was introduced to Sufism when his younger sister fell severely sick and as per the advise of a family friend, the family would pray at a mosque and vow conversion to Islam if she got well. The prayers were answered and accordingly, he along with other members of his family then converted to Islam in the year 1989 at the age of 23 and changed his name to Rahman. During these formative years, Rahman served as a keyboard player and an arranger in bands such as "Roots", with childhood friend and percussionist Sivamani, John Anthony, Suresh Peters, JoJo and Raja.  Rahman is the founder of the Chennai-based rock group, "Nemesis Avenue".  He played the keyboard and piano, the synthesizer, the harmonium  and the guitar. His curiosity in the synthesizer, in particular increased because, he says, it was the "ideal combination of music and technology". He began early training in music under Master Dhanraj. At the age of 11, he joined, as a keyboardist, the troupe of Ilaiyaraaja, one of many composers to whom musical instruments belonging to Rahman's father were rented. Rahman later played in the orchestra  of M. S. Viswanathan Ramesh Naidu and Raj Koti, accompanied Zakir Hussain, Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan and L. Shankar on world tours and obtained a scholarship to the Trinity College of Music where he graduated with a degree in Western classical music.

A.R Rahman full name is Allah Rakha Rahman. He is an Indian Tamil film composer, record producer, musician and singer. His film scoring career began in the early 1990s. He has won fourteen Filmfare Awards, four National Film Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, two Grammy Awards, and two Academy Awards.

Working in India's various film industries, international cinema and theatre, by 2004, Rahman, in a career spanning over a decade, had sold more than 150 million records of his film scores and soundtracks worldwide, and sold over 200 million cassettes, making him one of the world's all-time top selling recording artists.

Time magazine has referred to him as the "Mozart of Madras" and several Tamil commentators have coined him the nickname Isai Puyal In 2009, the magazine placed Rahman in the Time 100 list of World's Most Influential People.

ROMATIC ERA:

The Romantic Era: During the late 18th century, new ways of life and thought emerged from the many social and political revolutions that took place. The composers of the Romantic Period broke new ground by expressing their feelings through music. Between 1820 and 1900 all sorts of artists became more interested in expressing their subjective and personal emotions through long storytelling, poems of heroes traveling to distant lands and far away places. The first three Romantic composers came from Germany: Franz Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn, and Robert Schumann. They were closely followed by two piano masters Frederic Chopin from Poland, and Franz Liszt from Hungary. Next came two masters of orchestral works: Hector Berlioz from France, and Johannes Brahms from Bohemia. The composers of the opera turned to folk stories and literature for inspiration. Our featured composers of the opera are Richard Wagner from Germany and Giuseppe Verdi from Italy. We will also examine the music of Peter Tchaikovsky and Modest Moussorgsky - two entirely different Russian composers.

MIDDLE AGE MUSIC:

 The Middle Ages

After the collapse of the Roman Empire in the 5th century AD, Western Europe entered a time known as "The Dark Ages" — a period when invading hordes of Vandals, Huns, and Visigoths overran Europe. These years were marked by constant warfare, the absence of a Holy Roman Emperor, and the virtual disappearance of urban life. Over the next next nine centuries, the newly emerging Christian Church came to dominate Europe, administering justice, instigating "Holy" Crusades against the East, establishing Universities, and generally dictating the destiny of music, art, and literature. It was during this time that Pope Gregory I is generally believed to have collected and codified the music known as Gregorian Chant, which was the approved music of the Church. Much later, the University at Notre Dame in Paris saw the creation of a new kind of music called organum. Secular music was performed throughout Europe by the troubadours and trouvères of France. And it was during these "Middle Ages" that Western culture saw the appearance of the first great name in music,

WHAT MUSIC?????

Music is an art form whose medium is sound. Common elements of music are pitch (which governs melody and harmony), rhythm  (and its associated concepts tempo, meter, and articulation), dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture. The word derives from Greek μουσική (mousike), "(art) of the Muses."

The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of music vary according to culture and social context. Music ranges from strictly organized compositions (and their recreation in performance), through improvisational music to aleatoric forms. Music can be divided into genres and subgenres, although the dividing lines and relationships between music genres are often subtle, sometimes open to individual interpretation, and occasionally controversial. Within "the arts," music may be classified as a performing art, a fine art, and auditory art.

To many people in many cultures music is an important part of their way of life. Greek philosophers and ancient Indian philosophers defined music as tones ordered horizontally as melodies and vertically as harmonies. Common sayings such as "the harmony of the spheres" and "it is music to my ears" point to the notion that music is often ordered and pleasant to listen to. However, 20th-century composer John Cage thought that any sound can be music, saying, for example, "There is no noise, only sound." Musicologist Jean-Jacques Nattiez summarizes the relativist, post-modern viewpoint: "The border between music and noise is always culturally defined—which implies that, even within a single society, this border does not always pass through the same place; in short, there is rarely a consensus ... By all accounts there is no single and intercultural universal concept defining what music might be."

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