Music, Emotions and Creativity – Class 7 Arts Chapter 6 Notes & NCERT PDF

Class 7ArtsChapter 6NCERT book: Kriti - Arts Class 7

Notes and a simple summary of Chapter 6 of the NCERT Class 7 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, Emotions and Creativity (Music)

Introduction

Music expresses emotions. In Indian performing arts these emotions are called rasas. When you sing or play, you communicate a feeling, and that emotion is experienced at the same time by the artists and the audience. It is this shared emotion that connects them, so the chapter reminds you to always sing with passion and expression.

The Abhinaya Darpana, written by Nandikeshvara, says 'sabha kalpataru bhaati': the audience is like a tree which fulfils your inner wishes. It was written about dance, but it applies to all art forms.

Key Ideas

Devotional music

People pray in different ways, and music lets them express devotion. People often gather in groups to sing devotional songs in different styles, with different words, tunes and rhythms. The chapter gives two examples.

1. Shabad (Sikh devotional music)

Shabads are musical prayers in the Sikh religion, sung in the Gurudwara. The shabad in the book begins:

koi boley raam raam koi khudaye / koi sevai gosayya koi alaahey

and ends with "kahey naanak jin hukam pachhataa…".

Meaning: We pray using different names, such as Rama, Guru, Allah and others, but the aim is the same: to thank the almighty for giving us such a beautiful world.

2. Urdu song: *Lab Pe Aati Hai Dua Ban Ke Tamanna Meri*

A devotional and patriotic song in Urdu.

Lab pe aati hai dua ban ke tamanna meri / Zindagi shamma ki surat ho khuda ya meri

Meaning (as in the book): I carry a wish in my heart, with words on my lips, that my life shines for everyone like a guiding light. May my work uplift the lives of the less fortunate, just as flowers bring beauty to nature. Let life be marked by care and compassion, and let my purpose be to offer a beacon of hope.

Creativity and storytelling

Music can tell stories and bring pictures to life.

A Phad painting by Prakash Joshi is used to turn a painting into a song.

The teacher may also show students ragamala paintings exhibited in museums.

India has many forms of musical storytelling, including Powada, Kaavad Katha and Alha-Udal.

Active listening

Active listening means listening to something carefully and trying to understand it. The more music you listen to, the more you notice different styles, structures, rhythms and production details that you might otherwise miss.

Activities in the Chapter

Activity 6.1: for a devotional song you have learnt, note its emotion, its language and its important words with their meanings. This is a good way to grow your vocabulary.

Activity 6.2 Understanding a Painting through Music: observe the painting and guess its state or region from the style. Then write two rhythmic, easy-to-sing lines describing each plate (in any language, e.g. "Dekho dekho sakhi dwar pe suj sanwar kay kaun khada"), sing them in groups, and continue plate by plate. Record the whole process.

Activity 6.3 Musical Narrative: choose a history topic from your Social Science book: Chandragupta Maurya and Kautilya, Prabhavati Gupta, Chandragupta II (Vikramaditya) and his nine jewels, or Prithviraj Chauhan. Write a short story, draw a picture, describe the scene, and sing your lines to a tune of your choice. This is how musical storytelling is made. The teacher's note links this to art integration (NEP 2020, 4.7), which uses art and culture as the basis for learning across subjects.

Activity 6.4 Active Listening: listen to a folk, tribal, modern or contemporary song. How do its lyrics and tune tell a story, and what moods do they create? Repeat with an instrumental piece and compare the moods.

Activity 6.5 Act It Out: listen to an instrumental piece or film background music, identify its emotions, and enact them using what you have learnt in Theatre and Dance.

Key Terms

Rasa (रस) — emotion in the performing arts

Shabad (शबद) — Sikh musical prayer

Gurudwara (गुरुद्वारा) — Sikh place of worship

Devotional music (भक्ति संगीत)

Abhinaya Darpana (अभिनय दर्पण) — text by Nandikeshvara

Kalpataru (कल्पतरु) — wish-fulfilling tree

Phad painting (फड़ चित्रकला) — scroll painting tradition

Ragamala painting (रागमाला चित्र) — paintings linked to ragas

Musical storytelling (संगीतमय कथा-वाचन)

Active listening (सक्रिय श्रवण)

Art integration (कला समेकन)

Instrumental music (वाद्य संगीत)

Artists and Traditions Mentioned

Nandikeshvara (Abhinaya Darpana)

Prakash Joshi (Phad painting)

The Sikh Shabad Kirtan tradition in the Gurudwara

Storytelling forms Powada, Kaavad Katha and Alha-Udal

Photo captions show Sobha Mani playing the Nata Pung, and artists playing the Ektara, Veena and Santoor.

Connect to Your Life

Think of a song that always cheers you up, and one that makes you calm. What in the tune, the tempo or the words creates that feeling? Try turning a chapter from your History book into a short song. It is a fun way to remember it.

Common Mistakes

Thinking only the singer feels the rasa. The chapter says the artist and the audience experience it together.

Believing 'sabha kalpataru bhaati' applies only to dance. The book says it applies to all art forms.

Treating active listening as background listening. It means listening carefully and analysing what you hear.

Writing lines for Activity 6.2 that are hard to sing. They should be rhythmic and easy to sing.

Let's Reflect

Which rasa did your devotional song express, and how did the tune support it?

How did the mood change when you listened to an instrumental piece instead of a song with lyrics?

What did you learn about history by turning it into a song?

💡 Key Learning Points

✓Understands that music expresses emotions (rasas), which are shared by the artist and the audience
✓Learns devotional songs from different traditions (Shabad, Urdu song) and understands their meaning
✓Uses music creatively to interpret a painting and to tell a historical story
✓Practises active listening to identify moods, styles and structures in songs and instrumental music
✓Expresses the emotions of a piece of music through acting, drawing on Theatre and Dance

👨‍🏫 Teaching Tips

→Begin with 'sabha kalpataru bhaati' and discuss how the audience's response inspires performers
→Teach the shabad and the Urdu song line by line, with students noting new words and their meanings
→Show a Phad painting (or a local painting) and let groups compose two rhythmic lines per plate
→Co-plan Activity 6.3 with the History teacher so the musical story reinforces the Social Science chapter
→Play one vocal and one instrumental piece back to back and chart the moods students hear
→Let students mime the emotions of film background music, using Theatre and Dance techniques
→Invite students to bring a devotional song from their own culture or faith

📋 Assessment Questions

Can the student name the rasa of a song and explain which musical elements create it?
Can the student explain the meaning of the shabad and of Lab Pe Aati Hai Dua?
Did the student create singable lines for a painting and perform them with a group?
Can the student compare the mood of a vocal piece and an instrumental piece after active listening?
Did the student act out the emotions of a piece of music creatively?

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