Understanding the structured information of the music
This article is written by Nair. It was posted as a comment in one of the articles on mohdrafi.com
Lata Mangeshkar once commented about Rafi Sahab: Woh Har Tarah ke Gane is Khoobi se Gaate the ki Gaana Na Samajhne Wale bhi Wah Wah Kar Udthe the. This is not a mere accolade for a colleague. She had observed and convinced about a rare quality in Rafi Sahab that makes him stand out among others. In order to explain this let me please take a listeners perspective. I mean our perspective.
An ordinary listener does not hear a song in isolated units. Rather, he/she perceives it in a larger pitch and rhythmic organization. In other words, the listener perceives it in “whole”. However, a musicians approach is different, for he can perceive it analytically - I mean, he can mentally de-compose the song into its elementary components. This, however, requires knowledge of music and its composition.
The music composer normally organizes the music in a systematic way based on many complex features of music and textures it with contextual lyrics (these days, lyrics is the skeleton). At this stage the song is a compact structure and accessible only to music specialists. It comes to the ordinary listener through the singers’ voice. The singer first understands the structured information in the song. It is at this point that the real difference between a trained and untrained singer comes up. An untrained singer cannot fully grasp the structure. Now, a trained singer, who has grasped the essentials, can render it with all the complexities packed in the song, for e.g., renditions by most of the Ustads. The listeners perceive it with awe.
A singer like Rafi Sahab, who apart from understanding the complexity of the song, renders it with that simplicity that he makes the musical structure explicit even to the musically illiterate listeners (like Nair).
A few examples of such complex songs rendered with simplicity are songs like Aye Gulbadan, Suhani Raat Dhal Chuki, Ehsaan Tera Hoga Mujh Par, Tu Hi Who Haseen Hai, Mujhe Tum Se Mohabat Hai, Jis Raat Ke Khwaab Aayee etc. Rafi Sahab exposes every molecule of the song explicit that the listener understands and appreciates the structured auditory information. This simplicity of Rafi Sahab also enables the listener to recall the lyrics and associate it with a socio-cultural context in which the song is played. Now the listener, who has seen the wonderland of music, which was alien to him till then, in delight, says Wah Wah.
Rafi Sahab in his renditions takes care of the interdependencies between the structured sound material of the music and the listener’s capacity for apprehending. To acquire this quality the singer needs to be disciplined, organized, pious, humble, and above all trained in music; it’s a tapasya.
It is this quality of Rafi Sahab that Lata Ji has praised. Most of the Rafi fans are those who have experienced this feeling. It needs some effort from the part of the listener as well; no matter his/her musical knowledge. Only those who fail in this effort will say Rafi Sahab is inferior. Rafi fans are calling him God of music not out of emotion or blind devotion; it is with proper understanding of the divinity inherent in his voice.
Long Live Rafi Sahab!
August 20th, 2006 at 6:28 pm
Dear Rafik,
I agree with that who singed for free it not mean that he or she is good,but when some one sing for all not only with big MD and help people and all who worked with him are happy from his work,what we can say about him?I agree most of u r points.
August 20th, 2006 at 4:59 pm
Hi unknow1,
I have come here to read and know the facts about HFM, it seems I am going deeper
into a debate. Is it ? If you want, then I will honestly join and talk on this matter.
I didn’t say Rafi doesn’t need any award, they gave him national award, filmfare award
etc what I said even if you give an award after his name like RD award, Kishore Kumar
award there will be no change. So why fight for that and say they shouldn’t give RD
award ?
Again some people say Rafi was a great man, why so ? I said and will say again:
Rafi was a very good person and also a great singer. I don’t know who are talking
about, but there is a difference between great man and great singer. Buddha was a
great man, Mother Teresa was a great man, Swami Vivekananda was a great man.
Pele was a great player, he was not a great man. Honesty/simplicity doesn’t make
you great man, it makes you a very good person. Your sacrifice, dedication and
devotion for the society make you great man. I see these in Rafi for his music, so I
call him a great singer. You are right, he always sang without bothering the returns
sometimes for free, does it make a man great ? Mr. Bachchan also played many small
roles in movies and he didn’t take money for that. Do you say Amitabh Bachchan is a
great man ? No. I would say he is a great actor.
Talking about Classical and playback singing, I don’t compare them. When I want to
listen to shastriya sangeet, I listen to Ustad Rashid Khan, Padit Jasraj. When I want
to listen to hindi music, I listen to Mohd. Rafi, Mukesh. There is a difference between
these two. If Ud. Aamir Khan, Pt. Bhimsen Joshi are not gods then who are gods ?
I maintain a difference between playback singers and classical maestros.
Hope, you won’t take it as a humiliation. As I said, I don’t want to hurt your feeling
any more.
August 20th, 2006 at 2:50 pm
Dear Rafiq,
As u said Mohd Rafi don’t need any award because I think he is and will be award for music lover for ever,when u have money you can do what do u want,I don’t know about music but what said by the people who know Mohd Rafi,he is not only a great singer but he was greater human as who know Mohd rafi they said,
Do u know that mr Bachchan didn’t worked for KK in Free but Mohd Rafi did?
we human we said that God made us all but why we say that we Pakistani are better than Indian or we Indian are better than Pakistani not we all made same God?as human when we see something greater than us(human)God made manythings only one Sun one earth and one Mohd Rafi.
August 20th, 2006 at 2:47 am
Hi unknow1,
Yes you are correct. There were many MDs other than RD, there were many singers
other than Kishore Kumar. Then why awards only after their names. But you see this
happens everywhere. Not only in music, in many other areas. So, it’s not Mohd. Rafi or
Shankar Jaikishan or SDB you like, it’s everywhere. Though they might have named the
awards after other MDs and singers, what they have done is not good. At the same
time, you can say they haven’t done bad either. It was because of versatility of RD and
fame of Kishore. I agree with you here but you too must agree with me.
In any case, why did you drag the names of RD and Kishore ? do you have some
problem with them ? you may prefer somebody else, but the world has nothing to
do with your preference and what I believe is: singers like Rafi didn’t need any
award to name after him, he was awesome and he will be. I feel no change at all.
As you asked “what is great than human?”, we have another word for this and that
is great man, great singer, great actor etc. we call someone great when he/she has
some magic, something that others don’t have. That’s called great.
If people like Buddha is great man then who else can be god ? if singers like Ghulam
Ali is great then who else can be god ? I will put everyone including Rafi, Manna Dey,
Mukesh, kishore in great singers list. But they are not god or god of music.
Please don’t take it offense, I don’t want to comment on them any more.
Regarding your comparison with Tansen, he was a magic himself. Another singer of
that era was Baiju Bawra. They are the highest and greatest of all times though
I haven’t seen them, it’s just the books that described about their lives. If you don’t
think he was better than Rafi, then what can I do ? Classical singing is something
and playback singing is something. I don’t want to compare and talk about this.
You go with your choice, you are not going to loose anything. Your choice won’t
change the truth but it will keep you away from the truth.
Still, I believe I am a big fan of all those singers of our HFM.
August 19th, 2006 at 6:01 pm
dear Rafiq,
the Technology yes we have better technology than Mohd Rafi time but with this great technology we can get some one sing like Mohd rafi to better,Tansen was a good singer maybe that time and I don’t think he is better than Mohd Rafi.Look dear Rafiq we can write many thing about any one and make him greatest as did media for KK,(as I think only)I think there are many better MD than RD not they are giveing award in the name of RD?there are many great singer if we speak honestly KK will not in best 10 in bollywood.
Offcourse we can’t compare human with God but when god gave us something that like a magic it can’t be compare with other human in this case we say that is God because it is better as human,what is great than human?
August 19th, 2006 at 4:34 pm
Suhani Raat Dhal Chuki
August 18th, 2006 at 9:28 pm
Are Rafiq bhai, You are too sensitive yaar. And who we people don,t wanna know about you ? You are most welcome to join this site from our side. Yaar, what did I say: KI KUCH RAAGING HO JAAYE? Bass! You know you need not have to be so formal with us. I was just pulling your legs. any I would recommend you to visit may archive, Kishore-rafi saga- true voice of Rafi: and all these sections to get a rough idea of how we people deal with each other. Again I on behalf of everyone formally welcome you to join us in our comtributions. We are all your Brothers and sisters.
Regards
Roger Federer.