Music of Assam

The music of Assam consists various genres of folk and modern music, drawing its artistic basis from the history of Assam, from Assamese culture and its ancient traditions. In recent times, starting from the late eighties, popular artistes have modernized the music catering to local popular demand.

Music of India
A lady playing the Tanpura, c. 1735 (Rajasthan)
Genres
Traditional Classical Carnatic Odissi Hindustani Folk Borgeet Baul Bhajan Shyama Sangeet Ramprasadi Rabindra Sangeet Nazrul Geeti Dwijendrageeti Atulprasadi Prabhat Samgiita Thumri Dadra Chaiti Kajari Sufi Ghazal Qawwali Modern Bhangra Bhangragga Blues Filmi Bollywood Ghazal Qawwali Chakwood Goa trance Dance Indi-pop Asian Underground Jazz Rock Bengali Raga
Media and performance
Music awards	Filmfare Awards Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
Music festivals	Saptak Festival of Music Chennai Music Season Dover Lane music festival Purandaradasa Aradhana Tyagaraja Aradhana Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan
Music media	Sruti The Record
Nationalistic and patriotic songs
National anthem	Jana Gana Mana
Regional music
Andaman and Nicobar Islands Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Chhattisgarh Goa Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu and Kashmir Ladakh Jharkhand Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Odisha Punjab Rajasthan Sikkim Tamil Nadu Ancient Tripura Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand West Bengal

Part of a series on the
Culture of Assam
History Proto-historic Pragjyotisha Kingdom Classical Kamarupa Kingdom Medieval Dimasa—Kachari Kingdom Kamata Kingdom Sutiya Kingdom Baro-Bhuyan Ahom Kingdom Modern Colonial Assam Assam Province
People Assamese people Ahoms • Brahmins • Kaibartas • Kalitas • Muslims • Sikhs • Sutiyas Tribes Bodos • Deuris • Dimasas • Karbis • Misíngs • Rabhas • Rajbongshis • Tea tribes
Languages Major Asamiya (and dialects; Kamrupi • Goalpariya) Script Minor Bodo Karbi Extinct Ahom[1]
Traditions Bihu Gamosa Kirtans - Namghars Lagundeoni Pujas Satras Xorai Zikir
Cuisine Poitabhat Jolpan Masor Tenga Narikol'or Laru Til'or Laru Pitha Bilahir top Assam Tea
Festivals Ali Ai Ligang Ambubachi Mela Me-Dam-Me-Phi Bihu Durga Puja Sahitya Sabhas
Religion Major Hinduism[2][3] Traditional – Sanātana Dharma Panentheistic – Ekasarana Dharma Polytheistic – Shaktism Others Ahom • Bathouism • Christianity • Islam • Sikhism
Art Cultural Development of Kamarupa
Literature History Beginnings Orunodoi Era Jonaki Era Archives Charyapads Kotha Ramayana The Orunodoi The Jonaki The Hemkosh Kodom Koli Genres Poetry Novels Folk literature Institutions Assam Sahitya Sabha Awards Assam Ratna Assam Sahitya Sabha Award Assam Valley Literary Award Kamal Kumari Foundation Award Krishnakanta Handique Award
Music and performing arts Music Performing arts
Media Cinema Joymoti – the first motion picture
Symbols Coat of arms

A basic characteristic of the indigenous ethnic music of Assam is its descending scale similar to East Asian music which distinguishes it from the Mode-based or folk music (Raaga-based) forms from the rest of India.

The tunes are structured in a pyramid and are in always in pentatonic scale similar to other traditional music of Asia like China, Mongolia etc and dissimilar from the seven-scaled Indian music, (in contrast to the music of rest of India which is Meend based),[4] such as the Bihu songs, (common in South-East Asia and East Asia) besides languorous music of other forms.

The legend of Princess Usha of Sonitpur and her cohort Chitralekha also enlighten us on the musical expertise of the Assamese women. The connoisseurs however, have divided the classical Assamese music into two parts – Borgeet and Ojapali. The composers of Borgeets, Sankardev and his disciple Madhavdev added versatility to Assamese music.