The Social Organization of Music and Musicians: Northern Area

The social organization of music and musicians in the northern parts of South Asia, the ways musicians relate to each other and to the larger community, as in much of the world, involves appropriate behavior, practice techniques, performance norms, training systems, and relationships between students and teachers, performers and patrons. Especially in North India, certain musical genres, styles, and instruments—and the musicians who perform them—are considered more important and prestigious than others. Respect, status, and financial remuneration are linked to this hierarchy. Sound and social structures in North India are inextricably related, and an appreciation of Indian music is incomplete without a knowledge of the social environment that nurtures and molds it.