Which ragas are to be sung in Madhyama Sruthi and why?
-Thejasvi
Nadanamakriya, Shenjuruti, Navroj and Kurunji are some of the ragas sung in madhyama sruti. The range of these ragas is limited and they are mainly panchamantya, dhaivatantya or Nishadantya, i.e the sancharas do not go beyond these swaras. If sung in the regular panchama sruti, the pitch will sound very low and will have less of an impact. Of late, other ragas like Manirangu, Sindhu bhairavi and Yaman Kalyan are also being sung in madhyama sruti.
What are the points to be borne in mind while singing Tanam?
-Antovin
Tanam singing is a vast subject and cannot be simplified into a few lines. The method of rendering, the words used, the stress on syllables, is all very important and that can be learnt directly from a person well-versed in tanam singing.
All music in all cultures elicits some kind of physical response, even if that response is perfect stillness, but the formal marking of time by members of the audience seems to me to be unique to Carnatic music. I am curious to know how this came about. Did it begin with fellow musicians just wanting to be helpful, or perhaps with a tendency of some people to show off!? What do you think about this?
-Nick Haynes Mridangam student of M Balachandar, London
In our concerts, there is an involuntary tapping of feet or movement of fingers, that is the power of rhythm and signifies spontaneous audience participation. One does not have to sit still and just clap at the end of a piece. One can shake the head, make appreciative sounds and maintain the talam or formal marking of the beat. It shows that the audience is enjoying the music. Formal marking of time by the audience need not necessarily be helpful, infact it can be disturbing if the person does not keep the right beat.
While rendering the Sri Ragam Pancharatna Kirthi (Entharo Mahanubhava) in groups, most of the singers stretch at Brahma... in Anupallavi thereby seperating the word "Brahmananda" and similarly at Tyaga... by seperating "Tyagaraja" in charanam. Is it right or wrong to do so?
-Dr. Ganesh, Mumbai
While singing a composition, there may be a desire to halt on a note for a while, specially at the tara sthayi shadjam. This has a beautiful effect. We cannot go by the sahityam alone. Sometimes it may be permissible to break up the word keeping in mind the nuances of sangeetham. But at the same time one has to be very careful about the words while singing the kritis. Whole words should be kept together as far as possible. If one is particular about the sahityam one can halt after saying 'Brahmananda' at the shadjam, the same can be done with 'Tyagaraja'.
Voice culture or correct usage of voice is not taught by many carnatic music teachers. What is your opinion about this ? What are your suggestions to singers as far as voice usage, breath control and strain reduction are concerned?
-Rajeshwari
Though the term 'voice culture' has not been in use, voice training is very much a part of Carnatic Music. It starts with the sarali varisai. The student is trained in producing the right sounds. Also one or two avartanas are to be sung in one breath. There are many exercises like this. This is training in breathcontrol. Holding long notes and singing in akara also helps breath control. Opening the mouth too wide or too little produces different sounds. The Guru should guide the student in voice production. One has to bear in mind that individual voices have different structures and volume levels. Optimum use of one's voice will automatically help in strain reduction.
Is language important in Carnatic music during concerts?
-Karthik
In a concert, singing a mix of languages will lend variety and spirit to the programme. The are compositions in many languages in Carnatic music. Singing continuously in the same language may become monotonous. Sometimes there may be thematic concerts in single languages.
My eight-year old daughter is learning to sing Carnatic music for the past two years. She practises at 6 kattai (A). I feel that this sruti is a bit low for her, since she is not able to sing the madya stayi Sa strongly and also not able to reach mandra stayi Da and Pa. If she increases her sruti to 6.5 kattai (A#) she is able to sing some of these low notes clearly. She does not seem to have a problem with the tara stayi notes up to Pa, in both the srutis. I am told by some people that continuous singing at 6 or 6.5 kattais from a young age will permanently damage the voice in later years and that young girls should not practice at more than 5.5 kattai (G#). Some others tell me that young girls should start at high pitches like 6.5 so that when they mature, they will settle nicely at 5.5 kattai. I am really confused on hearing these two opposing views. Please advice on what is the correct method.
-Shoba, Australia
Each individual voice has an inherent range and pitch. At a young age this pitch is usually high even for a person with a base voice. With age there is a natural reduction in the pitch for all singers As long as it is comfortable for the singer, the chosen pitch does not matter. If 6 and a half sruti is comfortable for the child, then there is no harm singing in it.
Since children cannot see for themselves what is a comfortable pitch, it is the duty of the parents or the teacher to see that the child is not straining in the upper octave in the chosen pitch. In case there is a visible strain, it may be advisable to reduce the pitch marginally.
What are the points that one should keep in mind while learning from a cassette?
Maya, Madras
A learner must have a certain level of proficiency before venturing into learning from cassettes and cds. The learner has to be able to recognise when making a mistake.
The talam of the composition has to be identified first - it is very difficult to understand the eduppu, kalai and other aspects of talam. For instance sama eduppu and 1/2 eduppu can be very confusing and difficult to recognise. So, unless the learner is capable of identifying and following the talam, it would be very difficult to learn a composition from a cassette.
Before starting to learn from the cassette, one has to be prepared with the correct sahityam, probably taken from standard books. The learner has to first listen to the composition three or four times, without singing along, thus assimilating it. Then the composition can be learnt little by little.
After learning the song, the learner should record the rendition and compare it to the original. However, learning from cassettes and cds is not the ideal way.
What are the different types of tanams?
-Prakash, Kanchipuram
Some early treatises refer to two types of tanam- shuddha tanam and koota tanam. Shuddha tanam is mentioned to be when tanam is sung in mela ragas and ragas with straight ascent and descent. Koota tanam is mentioned to be tanam sung in vakra ragas.
Another interpretation is that shuddha tanam is sung in raganga or upanga ragas, and koota tanam is sung in bhashanga ragas. One more opinion is that shuddha tanam is singing tanam in the same raga chayai, while koota tanam brings forth other raga chaayas also (maybe in graha bedham).
Apart from these, some books mention chakra tanam, vakra tanam, vidyut tanam, misra tanam, malika tanam, and gambira tanam. How these were rendered is not known.
There is also mention of aja tanam, gaja tanam, mandooka tanam, and kukkuta tanam. Vidvans of earlier generations used to say that vikatakavis used these to humour audiences. However no clear explanations are available about these types of tanams.
Svaraprastharas mentioned in earlier texts is similar to the tanam in its current form.
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