Flow | Mela practice – number patterns (3 counts)

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

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) + … Read more

“Learning should be a source of joy” – V.V. Sadagopan on Music education

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

Flow | And what about rhythm? – Let’s go on a musical walk!

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