Scientific Research

A Scientific Research Department in SRA, set up in 1980 is carrying out research and development work on various aspects of Indian Classical Music, both vocal and instrumental, using modern scientific methods techniques. The department applies scientific methods to observe and standardize various musical techniques and parameters such as pitch, timbres, shrutis, and different types of alankar and styles of music. SRA’s unique infrastructure, where specialised musical training by traditional gurus co-exists with sophisticated scientific research laboratory facilities, gives it the unique capability to undertake this research.

A systematic scientific investigation into the perception and production of music requires a multidisciplinary approach. The pitch, the articulation of vowels, and the beauty of voice and rhythm, each of this unfolds its own vista.
Modern science has given us insights into the physiology of voice production and the theory of articulation and perception. Technology enables us to precisely analyse these.

While considerable scientific research has been done in Western Music, a systematic investigation has not hitherto been undertaken into Indian Classical Music. Probing the physiology and psychology of speech and music involves very basic research. Interestingly, the neuro-physiological processes in music and speech are the same.