Music plays an important role in storytelling. It adds emotion, rhythm, and meaning to a story. Music helps the listener feel happiness, sadness, fear, devotion, or excitement. In many cultures, stories are not only spoken but also sung, chanted, or performed with music.
Importance of Music in Storytelling
- It makes stories interesting
- Music makes stories easy to remember
- It creates a strong emotional connection
- It supports oral traditions
- It brings the storyteller and audience closer
ROLE OF MUSIC IN STORYTELLING ACROSS THE WORLD
Music is an important part of storytelling in many cultures across the world.
- In Africa, Griots are traditional storytellers who sing stories of kings, heroes, and ancestors using instruments like the kora.
- In Ancient Greece, epics like The Iliad and The Odyssey were sung by bards with musical support.
- In Native American cultures, stories are told using songs, drums, and chants, often connected to nature and spiritual beliefs.
- In Japan, Bunraku and Noh theatre use music and chanting to tell traditional stories.
- In Europe, medieval ballads were sung stories about love, war, and adventure.
- In China, Peking Opera uses music, singing, and instruments to narrate historical and mythical stories.
- In Middle Eastern cultures, storytelling often includes rhythmic chanting and music, especially in oral poetry traditions.
Across cultures, music helps preserve history and culture through stories.
ROLE OF MUSIC IN INDIAN STORYTELLING
In India, storytelling and music are closely connected.
- Harikatha uses songs and musical instruments to tell stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. The storyteller sings verses and explains them.
- Kathakalakshepam combines narration with classical Carnatic music.
- Baul songs of Bengal tell stories of life, love, and spirituality through music.
- Ancient Indian epics were remembered and passed on through chanting and singing.
Music helps Indian stories become memorable and emotionally powerful.
ROLE OF MUSIC IN STORYTELLING IN THE KERALA CONTEXT
Kerala has many musical storytelling traditions.
- Kathakali uses songs and instruments to narrate stories while actors perform with gestures and expressions.
- Koodiyattam uses vocal music and the mizhavu drum to support storytelling.
- Ottamthullal uses fast rhythm, humour, and song to tell stories and social messages.
- Vanchippattu and Pulluvan Pattu use music to tell stories related to daily life, nature, and folk beliefs.
In Kerala, music guides the mood of the story and makes emotions clear.
Music is a universal language of storytelling. From Indian epics and Kerala art forms to African, Asian, and European traditions, music gives life to stories. It helps stories travel across time, place, and culture, keeping traditions alive.
WORKS CITED
“Music in Oral Storytelling.” Smithsonian Folkways, folkways.si.edu/magazine-fall-2016-music-oral-traditions/world/music/article/smithsonian.
Frey, Diane. “Music as a Tool for Narrative Structure in Storytelling.” Journal of Aesthetic Education, vol. 44, no. 3, 2010, pp. 54–67. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25609928.
Rubery, Matthew. The Untold Story of the Talking Book. Harvard University Press, 2016.
Nettl, Bruno. Music and Culture. University of Illinois Press, 2005.
Dr Aswathy Aravindakshan is a teacher, bilingual writer and artist with over two decades of experience in teaching English language and literature. She currently serves as Assistant Professor of English at NSS College for Women, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. Her blog, ashlit.in brings together academic resources, creative writing in Malayalam and English, and visual art. The platform features lecture notes, study materials, poems, reflections, short prose, and a curated collection of her paintings. Through this space, she seeks to foster learning, creativity, and meaningful engagement with literature and the arts.
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