The characteristic of Indian music is that it depends upon the creative talent of the musician in improvisation. An outline is given by the composer, and the musician fills it in as he pleases. Very little is given by the composer, the outline only, and the rest is the expression by the singer of his feeling at the time of singing. Music in India has always been used not as an amusement but as a means of mystical development. Therefore the sound of the instruments is faint, and even when several instruments are played together the effect is not produced by the chord, by harmony, but by melody. Each instrument has the melody.