Music and Your Emotions – Class 6 Arts Chapter 6 Notes & NCERT PDF

Class 6ArtsChapter 6NCERT book: Kriti - Arts Class 6

Notes and a simple summary of Chapter 6 of the NCERT Class 6 Arts book, with the official chapter PDF, flashcards, an MCQ quiz and an AI tutor for your doubts.

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Chapter 6: Music and Your Emotions (Music)

Introduction

This chapter opens the Music section of Kriti. Its objective is to listen to musical pieces, understand how they influence our moods and emotions, and learn to express our own thoughts and feelings through musical elements.

The chapter begins with a lively Malayalam song, Kuttanadan Punjayile. Most of us may not understand the words, yet the melody and rhythm still make us feel something. This shows a big idea: music can convey emotions even when we don't know the language.

Key Ideas

Music and memories

Music has the power to influence our thoughts and emotions. A festival song, a jingle from an advertisement or a song from childhood can bring back fond memories. Even if you forget the words, you can often hum the melody.

Sounds and emotions

From dawn till dusk we hear music — the shehnai, nadhaswaram, dhol, damru, edaikka or a melodious song. The feelings these sounds bring to life are called emotions, and emotion is natural in all humans.

In one activity, several pieces are all played on the same instrument — a violin — yet each piece makes us feel differently.

Just as your voice can sound happy, sad, loud or soft, an instrument can also evoke different emotions.

Musical elements

Pitch — how high or low a note is.

Dynamics — how loud or soft the music is.

Rhythm — the pattern of symmetrical beats played with a song. Rhythm is everywhere, even in your heartbeat and your walk.

Pitch and dynamics are used to communicate emotions.

The Swara Song is set to ragam Shankarabharanam (Carnatic) or raga Bilawal (Hindustani). The nakkara has a loud volume, while the ghumat has a deep resonance — two instruments with different pitches.

The swaras

There are seven swaras, written as S, R, G, M, P, D, N.

S and P have no variations, so they are called achal swaras.

R, G, M, D, N have two variations each, so they are chala swaras. This gives 12 notes in total.

Hindustani names: Sa–Shadaj, Re–Rishabh, Ga–Gandhar, Ma–Madhyam, Pa–Pancham, Dha–Dhaivat, Ni–Nishad. Variations are komal and shuddha (for Ma: shuddha and teevra).

Carnatic names: Sa–Shadjam, Ri–Rishabham, Ga–Gandharam, Ma–Madhyamam, Pa–Panchamam, Da–Daivatam, Ni–Nishadham (e.g. Madhyamam has shuddha and prati).

All songs — film songs, bhajans, folk, regional and instrumental music — are built from these notes.

Alankar (sargam)

Vocal warm-up patterns of notes are called alankar or sargam. Alankar means ornamentation: just as jewellery arranges gold and stones, the seven notes are arranged into pleasing patterns. All music should be sruti madhur — pleasing to the ears. Example: S R G, R G M, G M P …

Medley

A medley is a mix of different songs or tunes played together as one piece. The book's medley strings together celebratory songs from different parts of India.

Activities

Listen to this song — the Malayalam boat song; notice the feelings it creates.

Music and our memories — write down a jingle or festival song you remember; make a playlist of advertisement music.

Listen and feel — write the emotions you felt while listening to violin pieces.

Drawing music — listen to a piece and draw or paint it; give your art a title.

Express emotions through music — use your voice and body percussion (claps, stomps, snaps, breath) to show anger, joy or sadness; create sounds for a three-scene safari story.

Games: identify a classmate's voice while blindfolded; identify a song from its hummed melody; the rhythm game with groups named Tishra (3: Ta Ki Ta), Chaturashra (4), Khanda (5), Mishra (7) and Sankeerna (9).

Extended activity: narrate a folk story or a Jataka/Panchatantra tale with songs and musical effects.

Key Terms

Emotion — a natural feeling (भावना)

Melody — a tune (धुन)

Pitch — highness or lowness of a note (सुर की ऊँचाई)

Dynamics — loudness or softness (ध्वनि का उतार-चढ़ाव)

Rhythm — pattern of regular beats (लय)

Swara — musical note (स्वर)

Achal swara — note without variation (अचल स्वर)

Chala swara — note with variations (चल स्वर)

Alankar / Sargam — ornamental note pattern (अलंकार)

Medley — mix of songs (गीतों का मिश्रण)

Body percussion — making rhythm with the body (शारीरिक ताल)

Sruti madhur — pleasing to the ear (श्रुति मधुर)

Artists & Traditions Mentioned

M.S. Subbulakshmi — famous Carnatic singer and the first musician to receive the Bharat Ratna; 'Hari Tum Haro' and 'Vaishnava Janato' were Gandhiji's favourite bhajans sung by her.

Lata Mangeshkar — Bharat Ratna playback singer who recorded songs in over 36 Indian languages; her voice spanned three octaves; she sang 'Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon', dedicated to soldiers who died in the 1962 war.

Animals and sound: the Ganges river dolphin, India's national aquatic animal, is blind and uses clicks and whistles; male humpback whales sing long songs.

Connect to Your Life

Notice the songs you hum when you are happy, or the music that calms you. Try walking in rhythm, or clapping the beat of your favourite song.

Common Mistakes

Confusing pitch (high/low) with dynamics (loud/soft).

Thinking all seven swaras have variations — S and P do not.

Thinking music only works if you understand the language.

Let's Reflect

What emotions did different pieces create in you, and why?

How can you use pitch, dynamics and rhythm to show excitement or sadness?

Name the achal and chala swaras.

💡 Key Learning Points

✓Music can express and influence emotions, even in a language we don't understand
✓Pitch is how high or low a note is; dynamics is how loud or soft music is; rhythm is a pattern of regular beats
✓There are seven swaras (S R G M P D N); S and P are achal and the other five are chala, giving 12 notes
✓Alankar or sargam are ornamental note patterns used as vocal warm-ups
✓Voice and body percussion can be used to express feelings and tell stories

👨‍🏫 Teaching Tips

→Play the Malayalam boat song and ask students what they felt before explaining the lyrics
→Play the same melody on one instrument in different moods to show how an instrument can express emotions
→Sit on the floor in a circle for singing to encourage good posture and breathing
→Use body percussion (claps, stomps, snaps, breath) to act out the three safari scenes in groups
→Practise one alankar daily as a warm-up, keeping rhythm with hands
→Play the blindfold voice game and the hum-the-song game to build listening skills
→Run the Tishra–Chaturashra–Khanda–Mishra–Sankeerna rhythm game in groups
→Invite students to sing songs they learned at home and discuss the emotions in them

📋 Assessment Questions

Can the student explain the difference between pitch, dynamics and rhythm?
Can the student name the achal and chala swaras?
Can the student describe the emotion a piece of music creates and give a reason?
Can the student sing a simple alankar with steady rhythm?
Does the student participate in group activities using voice and body percussion?

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