for students and lovers of Carnatic music
Martin Spaink (1961-2020) earned a name for himself as a leading tanpura expert. Read more on the finer points of tanpura playing, stringing, tuning, maintenance, restoration and playing techniques. | Read his article on fine-tuning of a tanpura | Backup PDF (100 KB) >>
At first, this question seems easy to answer: just watch performers from either strand of Indian music and you’ll know Which is Which, merely going by the instruments in use, or how they dress and watching the body language involved: harmonium or sarangi vs. violin for melodic accompaniment for most vocal recitals, and tabla drums … Read more
Colours, moods and feelings have been favourite subjects in the context of raga, literally “colour, beauty, pleasure, passion and compassion”.1 Explore this wonderful realm in imaginative ways – always in accordance with your own creativity and feelings Suggestions for widening the scope for the “Flow”-exercises offered in this course: To get going, click on “Details” … Read more
We are aware that the ultimate aim of every composer and musician is to achieve the coalescence, the essential factors of classical music namely bhava, raga and tala. We know bhava literally means, expression, the expression of existence. In a composition, bhava encompasses the aspects rasa, raga1 and laya and for a musical composition to … Read more
Ludwig Pesch, The Illustrated Companion to South Indian Classical Music (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1999) is a lengthy introduction to Carnatic music, with a useful chapter on voice training. John Potter and Neil Sorrell, A History of Singing. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012. (Sources and references, p. 310)isbn 9780521817059
Raga, Tala and Pedagogy: On the First Steps in Carnatic Music by Jeremy Woodruff The system by which any music is taught is the key to what is preserved, and how, in a musical tradition. I chose to research the basics of instruction in South India,both as an entry point for some practical knowledge on … Read more
Amidst lively debates within and beyond India these perspectives on our shared legacy make interesting reading:
Gouri Dange, The Hindu, 11 May 2019 | Read the full article here >> Every kind of music has a protocol for ‘beginners’ or ‘learners’. Students must practise paltay, alankaras, scales, études, tonalisation exercises, depending on the kind of music they pursue. […] However, here’s the rub: for many learners, these ‘early’ ragas get translated … Read more
The story of zero: How ‘nothing’ changed the world Before it could be used, it had to be invented. “This invention of the zero and the way we write our numerals today is what is now the basis of all modern technology,” Princeton mathematics professor Manjul Bhargava told IDEAS. “We often take it for granted. But … Read more
“Rasa is realised in from the combination of the sthāyibhāva (permanent and dominant emotional mood) with the vibhāva-s (the objects of emotions such as the hero and the heroine, and the exciting causes such as the spring, flowers, moonlight and the bower), anubhāva-s (the external manifestations of emotions such as the movement of the eye-brows, … Read more