Shankar-Jaikishan's compositions broke new ground in Hindi film music. Apart from relying upon their knowledge of Indian classical music, they also employed western beats and orchestration. Shankar-Jaikishan were the pioneers in establishing the role of the orchestra in song compositions as a medium to express and enhance the meanings and feelings of songs rather than using it just as a `filler' as per the prevalent practice before their advent on the scene. They made use of the orchestra and musical instruments (often dozens or hundreds of them) in their songs which consisted of the following format: The song starts with a `prelude' (preparatory music to create and introduce the environment and mood for the beginning of the song), then the mukhda starts and is followed by 'interlude' containing music pieces on the orchestra. With very few exceptions ("Ye mera deewana pan hai" is a good example), they always used different interludes before each stanza. 'Multi-layered music studded with counter melodies' played by the orchestra accompanied while the mukhda or the antara of a song was being sung and finally came the `epilogue' – the music with which the song ended after the singer(s) had finished their singing.