HAPPY NEW YEAR

I wish all the readers a Happy and Prosperous New Year. Sorry for not writing for the last four months. Since I was very busy with my profession, I could not spare time to concentrate on this subject. From the New Year 2008, readers can see new information every week and in addition, there will be some useful information in the middle days. At present, there are carnatic music musicians everywhere in the world and I trust this would be very interesting for them to read these blogs. I once again wish all the readers a very very happy New Year!

FACTS ON GAMAKAS IN CARNATIC MUSIC

Gamaka is one of the most beautiful aspects of Indian Carnatic Music. Only carnatic music has gamakas. Gamakas are used to beautify the swaras. If the music is without gamaka, it would not be good. The music without gamakas is described as a pond without water, the sky without stars and the garden without flowers. This special aspect gamaka provide the required life and bhava to the raghas of carnatic music. The name gamaka, could have been used in ancient days to mention about two different topics. The other one could have been used to mention about the ways of forming the phrases, which is important to create sancharas in ragha alap and kalpana swara rendering.
In this topic, the gamakas are the ways to form the phrases in carnatic music system. At present, ten types of gamakas are used in carnatic music. These are the ways to form the phrases. This is the grammar to combine swaras and when they are combined together according to the grammar, many wonderful phrases are created. Creativity never comes by itself. In the beginning stage, there should be some phrases in the mind for the development of phrases. This method of gamakas shows the way to combine swaras.
Ten Gamakas used in carnatic music:
1. Aarohanam
2. Avarohanam
3. spuritham
4. Thriputcham
5. Aahatham
6. Prathyahatham
7. Daalu
8. Gampitham
9. Aandholam
10. Moorchai or Moorchanai

Aarohanam:
This is the ascending part of the ragha. Generally, scale of the ragha means the Aarohanam and Avarohanam.For example, S R G P D S is the Aarohanam of Ragha Mohanam.
Avarohanam:
This is the descending part of the ragha. For example, S D P G R S is the Avarohanam of Ragha Mohanam. The sacle of Mohanam is S R G P D S - S D P G R S.
Spuritham:
This is also known as Jandai. This is the combination of two same swaras. For example, S S S is Spuritham.
Thriputhcam:
This is the combination of three same swaras. For example, R R R is a Spuritham.
Aahatham:
This is the combination of two swaras in Aarohanam. That is, one swara followed by the next swara in Aarohanam is Aahatham. For example, S R, R G, M P are Aahathams.
Prathyahatham:
This is the combination of two swaras in Avarohanam. That is, one swara followed by the next swara is Prathyahatham. For example, S N, N D, P M are Prathyahathams.
Daalu:
This is the combination of two swaras both in Aarohanam and Avarohanam. That is one note or swara followed by any swara other than the next swara is Daalu. It is used in Aarohanam and Avarohanam. For example, S G, S M, S P, P G, P R are Daalu gamakas.
Gampitham:
This is the combination of a long swara, followed by two Jandai Sets. For example, GA - G G G G is a Gampitham.
Aandholam:
This is the combination of a note followed by the next note, again the previous note, followed by a Jandai. Swaras used to form the first phrase should not be used to form the Jandai. For example, S R S G A G A, R G R M A M A are Aandholam gamakas.
Moorchanai or Moorchai:
This is an unfinished phrase in Aarohanam and Avarohanam. For example, S R G M P D N, S R G M P D, S R G M P, S R G M are Moorchai gamakas.
All the above gamakas are based on the given scale of the ragha. That is, the gamaka will change according to the Aarohanam and Avarohanam of the ragha.
For example, In Mohanam, G P, D S are Aahatham, since P is the next swara to G and S is the next swara to D. In a Melakartha Ragham Sankarabaranam, the same G P, and D S are not Aahatham and they are known as Daalu, since P is not the next swara to G and S is not the next swara to D in Sankarabaranam, since the scale of Sankarabaranam is S R G M P D N S - S N D P M G R S
With the above ten gamakas, thousands of phrases can be created by imagination. Creativity never comes by itself. Only by creating many phrases with the above ways, it is possible to play or sing many phrases. These phrases combine together to form the alap. When the same phrases are created according to the thalam, they form the kalpana swaras.

MUDHRAS USED IN COMPOSITIONS

Generally, the composers use one of the Mudhras in the compositions they create. Many composers have their own Mudhra to identify them. Vaakeyara Mudhra is very commonly used in songs. There are other types of Mudhras also in the compositions. Detailed information about the Mudhras would be provided later.
Mudharas used in songs:
1. Vakkeyakara Mudhra
2. Ragha Mudhra
3. Thala Mudhra
4. Guru Mudhra
5. Poshakar Mudhra
6. Vamsa Mudhra
7. Prapantha Mudhra
8. Nayaka Mudhra
9. Sthala Mudhra
10. Rasa Mudhra
11. Virudhu Mudhra
12. Lakshana Grndha Mudhra
13. Chandha Mudhra
14. Bakthi Mudhra
15. Chakra Mudhra
16. Samvathsara Mudhra
17. Linga Mudhra
18. Graha Mudhra
These are known as Ashtadasa Mudhras.

TRADITIONAL WAY OF CARNATIC CONCERTS

The traditional way of presenting carnatic music concerts
The concert should start with a Varnam. It may be in Adhi Thala or in Ata Thala. Other thala varnams may also be taken. The traditional way is to render the first part of the varnam in two kalams. This may be done in Thisram also according to the situation. The second part of the varnam may be played in two kalam. Since this is the first item of the concert, it should be rendered at the highest level. Some students may think that the varnams are used for warm up. This is not true. All the varnams have been composed with artistic work and Bhava.
After varnam, a composition on Lord Ganapathi is taken with a small glimpse of the Bhava of the ragha, before the song. After the song, a few Kalpana swaras are rendered for that song.
Then, one of the Pancharathna Krithis of Sri Thyagaraja is rendered. This should be presented as the musicians present in Thiruvaiyaru.
After this Pancharatham, a brief alapana is presented with the complete Bhava of the ragha. After the alap from the main artist, the violin player would render a brief alap in the same way. It is important to render sancharas based on the song that is going to be rendered after the alap. A krithi in Rupaka Thalam or a krithi in One Kalai Adhi Thalam would be presented. Then, kalpana swaras would be presented with mathematical artistic work. Speical korvais would be presented.
Then, one or two small krithis are performed with fast tempo.
Here comes the major alap of one of the main raghas of the concert. This is the highlight of the concert. The alap would be presented with full colors of the ragha with all the important phrases that are meant for the ragha. After the alap, the violin player would present the alap in his own style. A krithi in Two Kalai Adhi Thalam would be presented with Niraval and detailed Kalpana swaras are presented. After the Kalpana Swaras, Thani Avarthanam is rendered by all the accompanying artists. It would be highly enjoyable.
After Thani, one or two Padams are rendered with importance to the Bhava of the ragha. After finishing the padams, a Javali is presented. After this, a Bhajan or a Slowka is presented. Generally, the last item before the Mangalam would be a Thillana. After the Thillana, no other songs would be presented. The final item is the Mangalam. The traditional way is to perform the Mangalam in Ragha Sourashtra, by Sri Thyagaraja. The most traditional way to end the concert is performing Madhyamavathi, a very brief alap, which would be the outline of the ragha.

Information About Varnams

Varnam is the most important lesson to gain knowledge of Bhava and Gamaka. Generally, there will be less Sahithya in Varnams. Varnams are composd with different beautiful phrases of that ragha and they care composed with the laya Bhava and Ragha Bhava. There is a lot of difference between a Krithi and a Varnam. When we see an article in a particular angle, it would be possible to see that portion of the article only. Krithis are composed in that manner. That is, one particular angle of the Ragha is taken and improvised to create life to that ragha. Varnam is different. It is like seeing that article in the hands and seeing all the angles of the article. In varnams, all the life giving phrases are combined together and that is the reason there are many beautiful phrases in varnams. Since all the lines of the varnams are entirely dfieerent, it will take time to render without book. Krithis are easy to render without book, since the structure of the krithi is based on the first line, followed by different sangathis, without changing the structure of that song.
There are different types of Varnams in carnatic music. Thana Varnam, Padha Varnam, Padha Jathi Varnam, Ragha Malika Varnam.
Parts of Varnam:
Pallavi, Anuppallavi, Mukthayiswaram, Charanam, Charana Swaras. These Charana Swaras are also known as Ethukadaiswaras.
Thana Varnam or Tharu Varnam:
This is a type of varnam where Sahithayam are composed for Pallavi, Anuppallvai and Charanam. Importance is given both to Laya and Bhava in this type of varnam. Varnams are available in Aadhi Thalam, Ata Thalam, Jampai Thalam and other Thalams also. These varnams should be played in two or three Kalams to gain strength in Thalam. Since the varnams are played at the beginning of the concerts, it is very important to perform the varnam neatly.
Padha Varnams are composed mainly for dance. They are artistically constructed and beautifully designed. In some Padha Varnams, there will be Jathis and these are known as Padha Jathi Varnams.
Ragha Malika Varnams will have different raghas for Pallavi, Anuppallavi, Mukthayiswaram, Charanam and Charana Swaras. A detailed article with the Lakshana and structure of the varnams would be posted later.

The Facts of Swara and Sahithya

Swara and Sahithya are the two eyes of our Carnatic Music system. It is always very important to have thorough knowledge of Swara and Sahithya. Generally, all the students are taught the swaras in the beginning stage. All the first stage basic lessons have only swaras. These lessons help the vocal and instrument students to realize the positions of the swaras. After Sarali Sets, Jandai Sets, Top notes sets, Base notes sets, and Dhattu sets, the first lesson with the Sahithya starts, this is Geetham. In this lessons, students are taught the swaras first and then the Sahithya. When they start to practice the swaras and Sahithya repeatedly for many times, they start to get the knowledge of the combination of swara and sahithya. Here, there is a difference between the instrumentalists and vocalists. All the other instrument students will learn the swara and sahithya together, except the wind instrument players. They cannot do it at the sametime. First they have to play the swaras and then they have to sing the sahithya. It would be difficult for the wind instrument students to understand the relationship between the swara and sahithya, of course, in the beginning stage of learning Swara and Sahithya together. It may take a little time for them to understand. After the stage of the Geethams, all the students would start to realize the position of the Swara and Sahithya. After the Geethams, students would be taught Swarajathis. In these lessons, they would start to learn the long duration of Swara and Sahithya. This is the lesson to get fluency over Sahithya and Swara. Although the swarajathi KaMakshi Kama Koti in Bairavi is the swarajathi lesson, it would be very difficult to get the BhaVa of Bairavi in that stage. The composition is too good to understand the structure of the composition.
After the above stage, the next lesson is varnam. It is the best lesson to get the realization of Swara and Sahithya. Different types of varnams are available for the students to learn. All the students would be provided with the Adhi ThaLa varnams to start with. After learning about ten Adhi ThaLa varnams, students would be taught the Ata ThaLa varnams. While rendering the varnams, students would be taught the swara and sahithya, whenever necessary, until they get perfection. This is the most important stage to get the swaragnanam, that is, the knowledge of swaras. There is a difference between listening singing Swaras and Sahitha. In swaras, there is no sahithya, whereas the swaras are hidden inside the sahithya. Therefore, all the music students should be able to know the swaras of the sahithya. After learning the above lessons, students start to learn Krithis. Here, the BhaVa is very important. There are three aspects in rendering a Krithi. The first one is to sing with perfect swarasthanas for vocal students and to know the sahithya perfectly for the instrument students. The second one is to get the meaning of the song and the real feeling of the song. This will help the students to get the BhaVa of the ragha of the song with perfection. The third one is to render with proper gamakas. Gamaka is the most important factor to get the BhaVa of the ragha. To get this, students should listen to the songs many times with complete dedication. Since our music is entirely based on Bakthi, it is very important to have the situation accordingly. At the end, the swaras and sahithya merge together to provide the best result for the performer.

Fixation of Sruthi with Aadhara Shadjam

Fixation of the Pitch (sruthi) in carnatic Music
It is one of the interesting aspects in carnatic music system. Total music produced is always based on the sruthi. It is very important to understand one’s sruthi. Generally, in group learning, the common sruthi is fixed. This is generally, five kattai. The term kattai is used to mention about the sruthi. Although many children have different sruthis, it would be easy for them to sing in five sruthi. It is known as G scale in western music. Male singers would be having the sruthi as one in group singing and learning, since it would be convenient for them to sing and the female singers would fix the sruthi as five or five and half. This is the normal procedure.
Individual sruthi:
This is the most important aspect of learning advanced stage of carnatic music. In the beginning stage, most of the students would have sung in the common sruthi five kattai. When a person wants to sing individually, first he or she should verify the sruthi perfectly. Of course, the teacher knows it very well than the student. The most important factor in fixing one’s sruthi is Aadhara Shadjam.
First, a singer has to understand about the lowest sound and highest sound he or she can produce with melody and perfection. The lowest sound could be taken as base shadjam. When he or she slowly sings the notes one by one in any ragha, he or she would arrive to Shadjam. When he or she continues further note by note, he or she would reach top shadjam. When he or she goes to the top, he or she would be able to sing next top Shadjam without strain. In this process, the sound of the Aadhara shadjam would be between one and one and half. For some male persons, it would be less than one and for some persons above one and half. Generally, the sruthi of male is between one and one and half and the sruthi of female is between five and five and half.
The sruthi system is arranged as one, one and half, two, two and half, three, four, four and half, five, five and half, six, six and half and seven. After this, again the sruthi one comes. It is in the same cycle and there are no any other scales in the entire music system. Once you are regular with the changed sruthi for individual singing, you can fix this in your mind very easily. Whenever you sing shadjam, directly it will land there without any support. That is your natural sruthi. Then, you have to find exactly where your sruthi is, and tune your sruthi box according to your sruthi. In those days it was very easy to tune the manual sruthi box. Most of the singers would be having this sruthi box, since it is easy to tune the sruthi. Of course, it is easy, when you have knowledge. When there is a very small difference in the sruthi, it is very difficult to tune the sruthi box. Manual operating sruthi boxes are available generally with the sruthi one and five. Most of the buyers would change the sruthi to their comfort by tuning them. I will write a separate article for tunning the sruthi box, since it is a very delicate job. Electronic sruthi box is now available with complete range and singers can gradually increase or decrease the sruthi according to their Aadhara shadjam. A few have the doubt about the sruthi since they are not aware of the fact there are no other sruthis in music system. Each sruthi is corresponding to that sruthi only. When a singer’s Aadhara shadjam is less than one sruthi, it would be above seven and below one. For our remembrance sake, we can say the sruthi as three-quarter or one and quarter. It is always better to mention as less than one or just above seven. The scale starts from C, which is one sruthi and ends in B, which is seven. After seven, again the C scale comes. These twelve sruthis are the same as Shadjam, suddha rishabham, chathusruthi rishabham, sadharana gandharam, andhara gandharam, suddha madhyamam, prithi madhyamam, panchamam, suddha daivatham, chathusruthi daivatham, kaisiki nishadham and kakali nishadham.
There is a vast difference between the voice and the instruments in fixing the sruthi. For example, if a singer’s original sruthi is one and if he happens to sing in a group with one and half sruthi, immediately he will tune his voice for a few seconds and will start to sing with them with one and half sruthi, without any problems. It is not the same case with instruments. They have to tune the instruments and in the case of flute, it is also not possible. All the notes will change and only the tune will be the same. If they are singing Mohanam, they will be singing as:
Shadjam, chathusruthi rishabham, andhara gandharam, panchamam, daivatham and shadjam with one and half sruthi. When you are having one sruthi flute, then, you have to increase half sruthi for all the notes. With the one sruthi flute, if you play suddha rishabham, sadharana gandharam, suddha madhyamam, suddha daivatham, kaisiki nishadham and suddha rishabham, it will be perfect a perfect Mohanam. A detailed article in this topic would be provided later.