More about the basics of Carnatic music

Let us discuss the issue of difficulty in understanding Carnatic music by all. It’s true that initially for a novice, there is always a fear to go near Carnatic music. The phobia is similar to several others, or for instance the most common one, i.e, many people had towards chanting of Sree Lalitha Sahasranamam. The more you put an effort, go nearer to it, see it, feel it and start enjoying it, you will definitely get addicted to it. Therefore, the best possible way is to get to know Carnatic music through movie songs, various forms of it are easily available for us.

There is also another illusion. Many people tend to believe that most of the Carnatic musicians know nothing else. Earlier I too believed the same. The belief changed gradually and it got cemented even further by watching the re-cap shows of Raga Ratnam the other day, in which they were focusing on our little Mahadevan.

Talent comes as a complete package, and that package has to be nurtured every moment. Each moment, if you have a vidhya in you or you know you have an affinity for it, or if you long to learn it, you have to be focused and try to acquire as much information from all sources and polish it in every opportunity available. This is also one thing I learnt long back from an interview of Ustad Zakir Hussain, the Tabala maestro. In his interview, he was asked a question that how and where he practice during his hectic globe trotting schedule? Immediately he answered back by taking a match-box lying in front of him and tapping on it, answered that he practice in his mind and on every object he could lay his hands on during travel.

This belief has further holds the fact that training in Carnatic style, either vocal or instrumental, can lead to later improvisation to any music style around the world. We have many examples and most easy one is Shivamani on the drums. Our own Stephen Devassy is another example.

Talking about continuous practice within mind also bring another very lively example. Recently, I had put on this forum a video upload of a Shiveli melam at Irinjalakuda Koodalmanikyam temple. If you have not watched it, kindly watch. Look at the rhythm, tempo and co-ordination of all the 250 odd artists participating in it. And the devotees who cheer them up in front of them. They all raise their hand rhythmically waving and cheer the artists. Many times, we even get the feeling that the artists perform in such a high tempo, purely because of the highly devoted fans in front of them. When you look at it seriously, can you tell how many of these performers actually get to practice on real chenda or ilathalams or kurumkuzhal or kombu in that tempo which is created live at the venue. Not even one. It all comes from within.

To make an effort to listen Carnatic music takes a bit of getting used to is required. Some knowledge of the theory as well as an appreciation of what goes into it will really help you understand Carnatic music. Unlike other popular music, it doesn't always have a catchy tune, usually isn't sung by people in cool clothes and with great hair, and isn't over in three-and-a-half minutes. Plus, you don't always understand the words. These are big barriers to learning Carnatic, but some listening and learning will get you started. So, do you have a few minutes to sit patiently and read what is going to be put in here. If YES, is the answer, within few months, I bet you will be in front of a Kacheri, in the front row, enjoying it better than anyone else.

Beware, if you take more interest, soon you'll be collecting tapes and CDs and MP3s of your own and start to be a true rasika.

Many times, you could be humming a tune, and believe it or not, you're already understanding Carnatic. The language some times is hard to understand because it is either in one of these languages, usually Sanskrit, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, or Malayalam. Since the languages are pretty different, it's hard for people to understand them. Don't worry, sometimes even the singers don't know what the words mean!

Raga

As for the tune, you can start learning to like it by listening. You can hear a few songs on tape (or hey, MP3), and slowly you'll start to recognize them, because maybe you can hum them, or maybe you've heard something similar before. You'll notice that each song has a particular kind of tune to it - it tends to stick to the same sorts of notes. That's what is meant by the term raaga.

Carnatic uses only particular notes in a particular song or section of a song. So you might think, hey, this song sounds a lot like that one I heard last night - and you'd probably be wrong because you were sleeping. But with practice you'd be right a lot, because songs are sometimes written in the same raagas! So they're supposed to sound similar.

Tala

The other component of a song is rhythm. People on stage and in the audience keep beating their thighs or clapping their hands to the rhythm - no, this is not some strange masochistic ritual or a weird way of showing appreciation (appreciation is usually expressed with shaking of the head as if you're saying no, closing your eyes, and exclaiming Wa! Aahaa! or Besh!), these people are keeping time. This rhythm or system of keeping time is called Taala.

How can YOU keep time? Watch someone who seems to be pretty good. Make sure the person on stage appears to be going at the same beat (sometimes the audience can be really confident and really WRONG). Now copy their movements. You can do this softly on your thigh or hand without inflicting horrendous pain which will make you scream and make everyone else lose their beat!

Slowly you'll start to see a pattern arising - usually of 8 beats or 3 beats on your thigh. Each cycle of the pattern determines what taala it is.
If it's 8 beats (or 16) it's usually aadi taala, and if it's 3 (or 6), it's usually roopakam. The trick is keeping track of the beat even during complicated parts of the music. Learn to do that, and you'll be a pro! Then, you're worthy of sitting in the front row.

The notes of Carnatic music are not usually fixed. In this sense they are much like the do re mi fa so la ti of western music. A performer tunes an instrument to the desired pitch (accompanists of course tune to the main performer's pitch) or sings at whatever pitch is most comfortable. This is called the Kattai. Traditionally, the G above middle C is kattai 5, F is 4, A is 6, etc. Most Indian instruments do need tuning for each performance, according to the main artists' pitch - even percussion instruments are tuned.

The notes used correspond to do re mi, but are called sa ri ga ma pa da ni. Sa is shadjamam, the basic note that exists in all scales. It is used as a drone note (played on a tambura), along with Pa, pancamam, its fifth. In concerts, you will hear sa pa Sa playing in octaves in the background to allow musicians to stay in tune. The other notes are rishabam (ri), gaandaaram (ga), madyamam (ma), daivatam (da), and nishaadam (ni). These notes are called swaras.

While all scales have sa, not all have the other notes. Though sa ri ga ma pa da ni sa comprise the main vocalized notes of Carnatic music, the actual notes (relative frequencies) that they form number 12. There is only one sa (not counting octaves) and one pa, but there are 2 types of ma and 3 each of the other notes.

Relation between Taalam and rhythm

Rhythm in carnatic music changes for each composition. Songs are set to a specific taalam, or beat. Each taalam comes in cycles of a number of beats, called an aavartanam.

For example, one of the most common taalam is called aadi.
In aadi taaLam, 8 beats (commonly 4 swaras to each beat) make one cycle. Thus, up to 32 swaras may comprise one cycle, lengthened and shortened to accomodate the taalam. Taalam is kept by beating the right hand gently against the right thigh while seated with your legs crossed ("Indian style").

For aadi taaLam, first beat the palm of the hand (1), then tap the fingers pinky (2), ring finger (3), middle finger(4). Then beat palm (5), turn the hand over and beat the back of the hand (6), palm (7), back 8. This is one cycle.

This cycle will repeat throughout the song. Although often the number of swaras per beat will change during a carnatic song, the actual beat changes within a song VERY rarely, and even then, it is a fixed change, not a slowing down or speeding up of the beat itself.

A Carnatic classical Concert and compositions

Compositions are composed in a fixed raga. This means that they do not deviate from the notes in the raga. In carnatic, there are no "accidentals" or variations in rhythm (there are exceptions but rarely). Each composition is set with specific notes and beats, but performers vary widely in their presentation. Improvisation occurs in the MELODY of the composition as well as in using the notes to expound the beauty of the raga.

As you enter the hall, you will notice the main performer(s) sitting in the middle. The musical sound you hear first is the drone (tambura) playing sa, pa, Sa. Accompanists like violin and veena sit to the main performer's left (your right), and percussion instruments are usually to your left. All performers sit on the stage without chairs or stools.

A concert (called as Kutcheri) will usually begin with a piece called a varnam. This piece is composed with an emphasis on swaras of the raga. It is lively and fast to get the audience's attention. Varnams also have words, the saahityam.

After the varnam, compositions are performed called kritis or keertanams. Most often, these compositions are religious in nature. These stick to one raga, although a few have sections composed of different ragas (a raagamaalika).

Let us wind our study (reading) class here today and enjoy some good music.