From the Editor’s Desk
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For this month’s editorial, I thought I would list some technical terms and their definitions- that we, as students of Karnataka Sangeetham use on a regular basis;-some - used by musicians when they put forth an idea amongst peers, some used in sangeeta granthas and those that are essential to reading any of the Sangeeta granthas like Sangitaratnaakara, Brihaddeshi, Sangita Makaranda etc.
Aadiyappayya Pacchimiriyam- He is the celebrated composer of the famous Bhairavi varnam Viriboni, which stands as an acid test for any student/musician. He is said to have systematized the rendition of alaapana, madhyamakaala and Pallavi. He was a court musician of Tanjore. Prominent among his disciples were Syama Sastri, Pallavi Gopalayyar and Ghanam Krishna Iyer. Vina Seshanna belonged to Adiyappayya’s family.
Aadi- the first tala a student learns and the most common one, known as Chatusra Jati Triputa tala in the Sulaadi Sapta talas. It’s one of the classical 108 talas taking laghu alone. Interestingly it’s also the name of the first Mela in the scheme of 4624 Sampurna Melas explained in the work Melaadhikaaralakshana.
Abhyaasa Gaana - Music intended for practice as opposed to Sabha gaana which is music intended for performance. This includes all swara exercises, tala exercises that build shruti and laya jnana, vocal and instrumental techniques and musical forms like Gitas, Jatiswaras, Varnas. The early training in these helps a student to sing concert pieces in an accurate and embellished manner.
Aadhaara Shadja - The tonic key note or Shruti.
Aahata- music made by the conscious efforts of Man as opposed to anaahata music audible only to the Yogis. Aahata music is classified into Gita, Vaadya and Nritta. Aahata is also the name of one of the panchadasha gamakas (15 gamakas)
Akshara- literally a letter, used in the sense of unit time in music. One syllable. Also name of a rare tala used by Ramaswamy Dikshitar in his 108 ragatala malika
Aksharakaala - Time taken to say an akshara, for instance a beat in adi tala is one aksharakala.
Aalapa/Aalapana- a creative exposition of a raga. It is unmeasured music. This is the most distinguished feature of Indian Music. It has 3 sections- Aakshiptika, Raga vardhani, sthaayi and Makarini
Alpatva- one of the trayodasha (13) lakshanas (characteristics) of a raga- the term denotes a swara that is sparingly used in a raga. For eg. D2 in Sri raga.
Amsha swara- the note that brings out the melodic identity of the raga, also called Jiva swara. This is one of the Trayodasha lakshanas of a raga.
I just realized that there are so many of such terms!!
I intend to continue this in the next few series of the newsletter🙂
Sandhya Anand
Director of Samskrtasangitam School of Music
Fun Corner at School
STUDENT'S SPECIAL
I challenged my students Indu and Dhruva to decode the swaras of this beautiful Western piece from Maestro Ilayaraja's album 'how to name it'. It's a difficult composition, set to a Karnatic raga.
The raga takes a lot of twists and turns and yet the students took the challenge with gusto and they cracked it!
It was such a pleasure to see these kids decode music presented in a different form. Way to go Indu and Dhruva!
Now, question for you🙂
What is this raga? Can you decode this music and notate the swaras of the entire song?
Student Scribe
by
Ashritha Vijayakumar
IT'S PLAYTIME
by Indira Subramaniam
Discover the joy of creativity with our Carnatic Jigsaw Puzzle! Engage your mind and enhance your appreciation for the rich traditions of Carnatic music as you piece together this beautiful representation. Perfect for all ages. Enjoy playtime while diving into the world of music and art!
Instructions to play:
Please scan the QR code on your mobile device or click on play time button to play Carnatic Jigsaw Puzzle!
October Playtime's answers!
Music is the highest art and to those who understand, is the highest worship.
~ Swami Vivekananda
Indian monk and philosopher
Timeless Wisdom: Inspirational Quotes