for students and lovers of Carnatic music
A resource made available to all students of Carnatic music, without registration or contribution
a = middle octave (madhya sthayi)‘sa = higher octave (tara sthayi) The above svara pattern may be sung, hummed or practiced silently with any svara variants: those you are already familiar with (e.g. raga Mayamalavagaula, mela 15, raga Dhirasankarabharanam, mela 29, raga Mecakalyani, mela 65) or any other you want to practice. Enjoy practicing by … Read more
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) + … Read more
12 positions are available in the South Indian 72 mela system. To learn more, read the following explanations. Source © Ludwig Pesch | Creative Commons License >> A scale – mēla in Carnatic or thāt in Hindustani music – isn’t a raga yet: it is no more than an imaginary arrangement of notes for the … Read more
Audio source: singing by the author | Find details for “78RPM – V V Sadagopan” on Archive.org >> It is a curious irony that we, who claim to “hear” our music,1 are less sensitive to tone quality than the Westerner who “sees” his music. Happy exceptions apart, musicians and listeners (especially of the South) are … Read more
Here’s a delightful “flow-exercise” of a different kind: nadai in rupaka tala South Indian music has a vast repertory of compositions known as nadai (Tamil “gait, walk”) most students of south Indian rhythm (laya) should be familiar with; this one transcribed at the home of vidvan T.K. Ramakrishnan busy teaching a mridanga lesson with his … Read more