Indian classical music has developed over centuries of practice, observation, philosophical thought, and knowledge passed from one generation to the next. Its richness lies not only in performance, but also in the ideas, experiences, and intellectual efforts that have shaped it. As someone who has studied, performed, taught, and researched music, I believe that we need to think seriously about the purpose of research in Indian classical music. The question is not whether Indian music needs research. It certainly does. The more important question is whether we are conducting meaningful research or treating it simply as a way to obtain a PhD, qualify for a job, or fulfil an academic requirement.
Research is more than a doctoral degree
I often wonder why we sometimes question the need for research in Indian classical music. If music is considered a practical discipline, why do we offer undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in it? These programmes recognise that music involves theoretical knowledge, intellectual understanding, historical study, and practical training. Students study ragas, talas, aesthetics, musical treatises, performance traditions, and the relationship between theory and practice. If these areas deserve systematic study at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, why should doctoral research in music be considered less important?
A practical discipline can have a strong research foundation. In fact, practical experience often raises questions that require deeper investigation. A student may learn to sing a raga correctly but still struggle to understand the finer details of its intonation. A performer may practise for years and gradually discover new ways to approach a melodic phrase. A teacher may notice that students repeatedly struggle to understand swara, shruti, or raga grammar. These experiences can become the starting point for serious research.
A PhD should not be treated merely as a qualification. Its purpose is to deepen understanding of a subject and contribute something meaningful to existing knowledge. A doctoral degree has value when the research behind it demonstrates originality, careful investigation, and a genuine contribution to the field.
Research requires honesty and academic responsibility
I believe music research must meet appropriate academic standards and ethical values. A thesis should not become a collection of borrowed ideas or previously published material presented as new knowledge. Copying existing work, neglecting proper references, or producing a thesis merely to obtain a degree defeats the purpose of research. Universities have an important role in maintaining these standards. Students need guidance in selecting research questions, reviewing existing literature, choosing appropriate methods, analysing evidence, and presenting their findings honestly. Supervisors must help students understand that research requires patience, independent thinking, and intellectual responsibility.
A doctoral degree may improve professional opportunities, but it should not be the only motivation for undertaking research. The researcher must also be willing to question existing explanations, acknowledge limitations, and contribute new understanding. The real value of a thesis lies in what it adds to the subject, not simply in its completion.
Indian classical music has a long history of research
Research is not new to Indian music. Its history provides many examples of scholars who examined musical concepts, organised knowledge, and developed theories that influenced subsequent generations. Bharata's work on rasa and bhava remains important to the study of Indian aesthetics and performance. Dattilam discusses musical concepts associated with jati and early systems of musical organisation. Matanga's Brihaddeshi is a key text in the historical development of raga. Sharngadeva's Sangita Ratnakara preserves extensive knowledge of music and musical forms. Scholars such as Vidhyaranya and Venkatamakhin also contributed to mela classification and a systematic understanding of melodic structures.
Pt. Lochan's Raga Tarangini contains notable work on janaka-janya ragas. Pt. Damodar, in his book Sangit Darpan, discussed raga classification and Ragamala paintings. Pt. Srinivas, through Raga Tattva Vibodh, also contributed to the analysis of scales, swar, and shruti. He also analysed the swar positions on the 36-string veena taar established by Pt. Ahobala. He precisely calculated and fixed the veena strings’ physical lengths to determine the exact positions of tivra and komal swaras. His work helped standardise note intervals as Hindustani music moved away from its medieval structures. Pt. Ahobala's Sangeet Parijat first mapped swar and shruti on a veena's strings. Pt. Ramamatya wrote Svaramela Kalanidhi and was among the first scholars to discuss mela and melakarta raga classification. Pt. Pundarika Vitthala made notable contributions to the mathematical categorisation of ragas in South Indian music, a practice that continues today. Hridayanarayana Deva's Hridayakautuka and Hridayaprakasha adopted Ahobala's physics-based approach to musical notes and regrouped Northern ragas into a more unified scale matrix. Maharaja Tulaja I made a major contribution through his book Sangita Saramritam. Written during the golden age of Thanjavur, this work meticulously documented the existing repertoire, ragas, and performance nuances practised just before the arrival of the legendary Carnatic Musical Trinity. Mohammad Raza's Naghmat-i-Asafi boldly criticised older classification systems as outdated and impractical. He declared the Bilawal scale the standard natural scale (shuddha thaat) for Hindustani music, a foundational principle still practised.
Apart from these scholars, Somanatha, through his book Raga Vibodha, attempted to bridge the musical practices of North and South India. He was among the first to introduce a notation system for instrumental gamakas, using specific symbols to describe how a note should be plucked, shaken, or glided on the veena. In the late eighteenth century, Govindacharya contributed through his book Sangraha Chudamani. While Venkatamakhi developed the mathematical concept of the 72-melakarta scale system, Govindacharya modified it through the Kanaka-Ambari nomenclature. He institutionalised the sampurna raga structure, comprising scales with all seven notes in both ascent and descent, which Saint Tyagaraja and modern Carnatic musicians used. Subbarama Dikshitar's Sangita Sampradaya Pradarsini, published in 1904, is a monumental work preserving eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Carnatic music. It includes detailed biographies of past masters and highly detailed notation for hundreds of compositions by the Musical Trinity, particularly Muthuswami Dikshitar, with intricate symbols indicating performance techniques.
These scholars’ work shows that Indian music has a strong intellectual history alongside its performance traditions. Over many generations, scholars have examined and discussed questions concerning raga classification, swara, shruti, tala, musical forms, and aesthetic experience. These contributions should inspire contemporary researchers to investigate musical knowledge more deeply. Our responsibility is not merely to repeat what earlier scholars wrote. We should examine their ideas, understand the historical circumstances in which they developed, compare theory with actual performance, and investigate questions that remain open to further study.
A tradition becomes intellectually stronger when each generation contributes to the knowledge it inherits.
Performance itself can generate new knowledge
When we discuss research, we often think immediately of a thesis, a research paper, or a book. However, musical exploration can also lead to important discoveries. Consider the contributions of Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Allauddin Khan, Ustad Faiyaz Khan, and Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. Their work represents different approaches to musical interpretation, improvisation, and the development of performance traditions. Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ustad Allauddin Khan are also associated with creating or developing new ragas.
Similarly, Ustad Abdul Karim Khan, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Pandit Rajan and Pandit Sajan Mishra, Vidushi Kishori Amonkar, Vidushi Kesarbai Kerkar, Vidushi M. S. Subbulakshmi, Vidushi Gangubai Hangal, the Dagar brothers, the Gundecha brothers, and Pandit Uday Bhawalkar have made distinctive contributions to Indian classical music. Other musicologists and composers who contributed significantly to Indian classical music through research, bandish composition, methodology, and numerous compositions include Purandaradas, Shyama Shastri, and Tyagaraja. Over the past hundred years, Pt. Bhatkhande, Pt. Paluskar, Pt. Ramashraya Jha, Pt. Omkarnath Thakur, C. R. Vyas, V. R. Patwardhan, Ustad Vilayat Khan, Ustad Zakir Hussain, and many others have contributed to Indian classical music. The development of thumri, Kathak and the Laya also reflects the contributions of Wajid Ali Shah, Pt. Birju Maharaj, Pt. Kishan Maharaj, Pt. Samta Prasad Mishra, Kanthe Maharaj, Girija Devi, and Sitara Devi and many more. Their achievements remind us that musical knowledge develops through years of disciplined practice, listening, experimentation, reflection, and performance. Each artist develops a particular understanding of a raga and finds ways to express its depth through swara, shruti, melodic movement, ornamentation, and aesthetic interpretation.
A musician may explore a raga for decades and keep discovering new possibilities in its presentation. Such exploration may not always take the form of formal academic research, but it can provide valuable material for scholarly investigation. We should therefore encourage research that brings practical musical experience into academic discussion. Recording a senior musician's interpretation, studying differences between performances, or examining how a particular gharana approaches a raga can preserve knowledge and help others understand the depth of musical practice.
Connecting traditional knowledge with modern research
Indian classical music contains layers of philosophical, aesthetic, and practical knowledge. Contemporary research methods can help us investigate these dimensions while respecting their cultural context.
For example, the study of swara and shruti connects to acoustics and auditory perception. Researchers can examine how musicians produce and recognise subtle pitch differences and how these differences function within specific ragas. Comparative studies can investigate how different artists approach the same raga and identify the musical features that distinguish their performances. At the same time, we must recognise that pitch measurements alone cannot capture a raga. Its identity also depends on melodic movement, phrase structure, ornamentation, musical context, and aesthetic expression. Scientific methods can help us understand certain aspects of music, but they cannot replace an experienced musician's practical knowledge.
Indian music also offers opportunities for research in psychology, anthropology, philosophy, cultural studies, and education. Its relationship with devotion, meditation, emotional expression, and healing deserves serious investigation. When researchers claim therapeutic effects, they should examine those claims with appropriate evidence and methods. Such interdisciplinary work can expand our understanding of music and connect traditional knowledge with contemporary questions.
Universities must connect scholarship with traditional practice
Universities have a responsibility to create an environment in which meaningful research can develop. This requires a well-designed curriculum, appropriate research guidance, ethical standards, and faculty members with strong academic backgrounds. At the same time, universities should recognise the knowledge of traditional artists and experienced performers. An academically qualified researcher and a musician trained through years of traditional practice may bring different forms of expertise to the same question. Together, their combined understanding can produce richer research.
Music departments should encourage projects involving performance analysis, historical documentation, oral traditions, raga studies, music pedagogy, and interdisciplinary investigation. They should also give students opportunities to learn research methods alongside their practical training. The aim should be to bridge the distance between scholarly knowledge and traditional practice. Research must remain connected with the music itself rather than becoming an activity limited to writing and publishing.
Research can improve teaching and performance
Research can help teachers understand how students learn and why certain musical concepts are difficult to master. It can investigate the role of listening, repetition, imitation, feedback, voice training, and independent practice in developing musical ability. For example, a study of riyaz could examine how students develop pitch accuracy and how they learn to recognise the distinctive treatment of swaras in different ragas. Research into teaching methods could identify approaches that support musical understanding and encourage creativity.
Technology offers further opportunities. Digital recording, audio analysis, and artificial intelligence may assist students during independent practice. However, research is needed to understand their actual benefits and limitations. A tool that identifies a pitch does not necessarily teach a student the note's musical role within a raga. Carefully designed studies can help teachers decide where technology is useful and where personal guidance remains essential.
Research can therefore support both musical practice and better teaching methods.
We need the right kind of research
We often ask what research contributes to music or whether it is really necessary. In my view, this question reflects a limited understanding of research itself. Progress in medicine, space exploration, technology, and other fields has depended on people asking questions, testing explanations, examining evidence, and searching for solutions. Music research has its own purposes and methods, but the basic intention is similar. It seeks to understand what is already known, identify what remains unexplored, and investigate new possibilities.
Not every research project will lead to a major discovery. Some studies clarify existing knowledge, document a practice, or identify questions that require further investigation. These contributions are worthwhile when researchers conduct the work carefully and present their findings honestly. The same principle applies to Indian classical music. Research may lead to a better understanding of raga characteristics, the documentation of an oral tradition, improved teaching methods, or a fresh interpretation of historical musical theory. Its significance depends on the question being investigated and the contribution made.
Conclusion
I believe research in Indian classical music is essential, but it must be meaningful, ethical, and grounded in actual musical knowledge. We do not need research merely to increase the number of doctoral degrees. We need research that helps us understand the music more deeply, preserve its knowledge, improve its teaching, and discover possibilities for its future. Indian classical music already possesses a remarkable history of intellectual inquiry and artistic exploration. Our responsibility is to carry this tradition forward through careful scholarship and serious engagement with musical practice.
Research is not simply about writing a thesis or publishing a paper. It begins with a question, develops through investigation, and seeks an answer that contributes to our understanding. Sometimes it leads to a new interpretation, sometimes to a clearer explanation, and sometimes to further questions. The important issue is not whether Indian classical music needs research. The question is whether we are prepared to conduct research with the seriousness, curiosity, and integrity the tradition deserves.
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