More about the above person(s) and topics
Periodicals and sites included | More resources | Disclaimer >>
Category archives: Free for all learners
“Cosmic Order, Cosmic Play: An Indian Approach to Rhythmic Diversity.”
Music by T.R. Sundaresan
Concept by Ludwig Pesch
Inspired by a conversation on the subject of ‘korvai’ with the late Sangita Vidwan S. Rajam
Full information: https://archive.org/details/CosmicOrderCosmicPlayLudwigPesch
Originally published in 2001 by KIT Publishers in Rhythm, A Dance in Time by Elisabeth den Otter (ed.) in conjunction with the exhibition titled Ritme, dans van de tijd at the Tropenmuseum Amsterdam
Find the PDF-files for downloading and more information on Archive.org >>
Video | Jati (konnakkol) exercise for intercultural education
with the help of Carnatic jatis (solfège)*
Subject: Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks by Richard Strauss >>
Courtesy © Tony Makarome – mridangam student of TR Sundaresan >>
I am working on a new composition for a singer, to be premiered in the States which is based on the Indian Konnakol (rhythms). I am also working on arrangements as well as original compositions for chinese orchestra (with Jeremy Monteiro) and bands. […] Growing up in Singapore meant that influences from different cultures were inevitable. Embracing different musical languages became a natural progression of my creativity. […] I am completely immersed in a “musical life”. I have recently gotten married and so family time is important, but out of the classroom and beyond Jazz, I am also caught spending time with little side projects and musical hobbies (if you consider playing an instrument for 10 years a “hobby”) such as practicing and performing on Indian instruments such as the Mridangam.
Learn more about Tony Makarome >>
Practice the tala applied in the above video clip: Misra cāpu tāla (7 syllables) >>
*Solfège sol-fa, solfa, solfeo, among many names, is a music education method used to teach aural skills, pitch and sight-reading of Western music. Solfège is a form of solmization, though the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably.
Wikipedia
Date Visited: 29 August 2022
Learn more
- A brief introduction to Carnatic music (with music examples and interactive map)
- Introduction (values in the light of modernity)
- Why Carnatic Music Matters More Than Ever
- Worldcat.org book and journal search (including Open Access)
Voice culture and singing
Full screen viewing and download link:
https://archive.org/details/voice-culture-and-singing-kalakshetra-quarterly-1983
Tips: 1. Search inside this file by first clicking on the (…) Ellipses icon; 2. click eBook title to access [ ] Toggle fullscreen; 3. to Read this book aloud, use the headphone icon.
Voice Culture and Singing by Friedrich Brueckner-Rueggeberg
Kalakshetra in 1983 © Ludwig Pesch
This course material was originally produced for – and used by – teachers and students at Kalakshetra College of Fine Arts, today known as Rukmini Devi College Of Fine Arts.
Meaningless and uncontrolled singing and exercising are rather harmful since the long-term memory of the brain needs to be supplied with correct impulses which requires immediate recognition of functional disorders and their correction.
Herein lies the great and far-reaching responsibility of the teacher whose full care and control is demanded in order to allow the singer to acquire an automatic and playful sense for the correct usage of his voice. In this manner, he is relieved sufficiently to devote himself fully to content and presentation of his music (described as Bhava in India). […]Many victims of either wrong techniques of singing or careless teachers keep wandering from teacher to teacher in pursuit of their shattered hopes. This fact lends weight to the concept of voice control from the very beginning before defects can encroach that are so hard to correct later on, if at all.
Quote from page 15 in the printversion | Learn more >>
Context
A two week long voice culture course was offered at the request of its Founder-Director, Rukmini Devi (1904-1986) when introduced to the renowned singer and voice trainer, Friedrich Brueckner-Rueggeberg in 1982.
This project was conceived on the basis of earlier experiences, namely that Indian singers would benefit from time-proven as well as modern methods such as described here, mainly in order to prevent injury caused by mechanical practice (e.g. a lack of awareness that a pupil’s vocal range, breathing and posture should be taken into account).
The method described here is oriented towards “intercultural learning” which explains why it has since been adopted by several voice coaches from all over India, be it for “classical” singing or otherwise.
It has also been adapted for a major chapter on vocal music in The Oxford Illustrated Companion To South Indian Classical Music by Ludwig Pesch (Oxford University Press, in print since 1999, 2nd rev. ed. 2009).
Credits
The Chennai branch of the Goethe Institut (German cultural institute, better known as Max Mueller Bhavan) sponsored Friedrich Brueckner-Rueggeberg and his senior disciple Peter Calatin to conduct the voice training course hosted by Kalakshetra in 1983 for which the present contents was created.
First published by K. Sankara Menon and edited by Shakuntala Ramani in Kalakshetra Quarterly Vol. V, No. 3 (Chennai, 1983).
Co-author, translator and researcher (adaptation to the Indian context including illustration and photography): Ludwig Pesch – the author’s former student at Freiburg Musikhochschule (Germany) – then a student of Kalakshetra College.
Illustration (graphics): A. Mai
Boggle Your Mind with Mela (BYMM) method – free mini course
Have you been looking for a fun way of memorizing the 72 melakarta names and numbers, finding them “mind bending” rather than “mind boggling” until now?
Here’s one method that may work – if you are ready to practice it for a few minutes every day; like passing time while waiting in queues or commuting, or unable to fall asleep. Silently so … such is the beauty and usefulness of the melakarta system.
STEP 1
Take today’s date (or your favorite musician’s birthday) in the format you commonly use (DD-MM or MM-DD, here we’ll use DD-MM)
12-07 for 12 July
STEP 2
Pick the corresponding mela numbers from the list available here (a special gift for all motivated learners):
There you look up the number pair for any given date, for instance:
12 = Rūpāvati R-P=21><12
07 = Sēnāvati S-N=70><07
Tip: if interested, find more explanations on page 2 to understand how the Kaṭapayādi sūtra is being applied to the names of 72 mēḷakartā rāgas (“melas”).
STEP 3
Remember how “yesterday … your troubles seemed so far away?”
11-07 for 11 July … so keep moving forward and backward after getting today’s numbers and names right, to start with.
You got it, all ready to go for days and weeks to come: because that date, too, is another day; one bound to become a memorable one with the help of the Boggle Your Mind with Mela (BYMM) method.
STEP 4
What’s next? Here are some suggestions:
- find the actual DD-MM date in the Western calendar which corresponds to “72 October 2021”
- or any other DD-MM date you consider booking a ticket and attend the Chennai December Season
- if motivated to do so: memorize the entire list of 72 melas in batches of 10 (rather than 6): you’ll spot the patterns more easily
- apply mela numbers in order to remember daily matters: birthdays, holidays or passwords – you name it
- print the above PDF-attachment, then fold the sheet along the lines “accordeon style”: this yields a neat, visiting card size BY-MM paper-app (battery free for 24/7 use)
- use it as a gift for fellow music lovers interested in this subject
Just one more thing as regards general well being
Although it seems unlikely you didn’t know yet: remember how good walking is for both, one’s mental and physical health? For our brains and moods … even for learning all the 72 mela ragas by heart in a stress-free manner.
So I gladly recommend listening to the following podcast episode by BBC Crowd Science:
Why is standing more tiring than walking?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct1pqm
So keep walking, and rather than talking, boggle your mind through mela memorization whenever you are out there – enjoy!
Ludwig Pesch on Ratnāngi-Sēnāvati-Kharaharapriya Day (02-07-22)
Find out more about the persons and subjects covered above
A music worth sharing
Whatever one’s personal background and aspirations may be, Carnatic music remains a quest for undiluted aesthetic experience (rasa). Three basic concepts are essential. Read the brief introduction for more!
What is the Katapayadi sutra?
The Kaṭapayādi sūtra is an aid to memory or “mnemonic system”.
Its name corresponds to a “thread” (sūtra), here provided by the initials of four sets of letters within the Sanskrit alphabet:
Ka Ṭa Pa and Ya
A total of 33 letters are distributed among ten numbers including 0 (zero):
K (1st) to 9 (nava = 9) + 0 = 10, Ṭ (1st) to 9 (nava = 9) + 0 = 10, P (1st) to 5 (pañca = 5) = 5, Y (1st) (aṣṭa = 8) = 8
Note:
- each letter is associated with a particular number from 1 to nine or 0 (zero)
- there being more letters than numbers, each number corresponds to several letters:
four letters (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
three letters (6, 7, 8)
two letters (0) - not all the available letters serve as key syllables in Govindachari’s scheme of 72 mēḷakartā ragas (e.g. only “N” and “S” are used to indicate “0” and “7” respectively)1
For details please refer to the file attached below (PDF, 145 KB)
Tip
This website offers many resources for free (see menu for details): to learn more about the above mentioned composers and scholars, the places where they flourished; and about the musicians who tread in their footsteps today.
Enjoy your exploration of a wonderful music!
- The theorist and composer of the 17th-18th c. credited with establishing Vijayanagar culture at the Nāyak court of Tanjāvūr; author of a treatise titled Samgraha cūdāmani[↩]
Raga, Tala and Pedagogy: On the First Steps in Carnatic Music
Tips
- to fully appreciate the following points, listen to a vocal rendition of ‘Sri Gananatha’ by Sreevidhya Chandramouli, specially recorded for the benefit of all learners >>
- practice Rūpaka tāla (3 counts) while listening to Sreevidhya Chandramouli’s singing; to get prepared follow this exercise: audio track 4 in Practice four widely used Carnatic talas >>
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 the South Indian flute, and as away of examining basic tenets of karnatic music. Using advanced knowledge of a foreign music without having prior knowledge of its basic pedagogy is a bit like attempting to build a chair without a seat for one’s backside. Only by studying the basic assumptions of the music, may we identify what techniques are useful to us, or not, because only then we carefully consider for what they were originally intended. […]
All melodic instrumental training in karnatic music is focused on reproducing subtleties of vocal performance. As imitating singers was the main way that instrumentalists from the time of ‘the Trinity’ updated, preserved and greatly enriched what is now known as karnatic music, it is natural that it is considered the greatest means to accomplishment in instrumental training. Where schools mainly disagree is on how (and how far) these vocal subtleties should be imitated. […]
Gitas are the first pieces to be learned after the rigorous basic exercises outlined above. The Gita, ‘Sri Gananatha’ is the first of these Gitas to be learned by any student. Maybe it is the ‘Für Elise,’ or ‘Minuet in G’ by Bach of karnatic music. It is therefore a special case, but it can still serve well as a concrete demonstration of how gamakas of a single raga, on a single song can differ radically from teacher to teacher. The gita is given in fig 2.1 in Indian notation.
[Bold typeface added above for emphasis]
Read the full paper A Western composer’s view of early music education in Carnatic music on Academia.edu >>
Audio | What Makes Indian Music Unique – Kennedy Center Education
To listen to the educational resources shown below, click here >>
Source: Music of India, An exploration of Indian music
URL: https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/resources-for-educators/classroom-resources/media-and-interactives/media/international/music-of-india/
Date visited: 2 August 2021
Related post
“Sampradaya is like a broad river and the bani is a tributary”: Umayalpuram Sivaraman on his 75 years of performance >>
Find out more about the persons and subjects covered above
Why Carnatic Music Matters More Than Ever
by Ludwig Pesch
For this musicologist and author, there are good reasons to believe that Carnatic music matters, perhaps more than ever and almost anywhere in the world. So why not perform and teach it in the service of better education for all, for ecological awareness or in order to promote mutual respect in spite of all our differences? And in the process, get “invigorated and better equipped to tackle the larger issues at hand”.
Published by Shankar Ramchandran on behalf of Dhvani Ohio | Read or download the full article (PDF, 800 KB, updated 19 June 2021):
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License
Related post: A brief introduction to Carnatic music >>
Find out more about the persons and subjects covered above