Its been a while since I updated this space with any music. Hopefully, I'll do so soon.
Couple of weeks ago when I was on vacation, I passed on a youtube link to Sathya's rendition of Kaapi on keyboard to my dad, in response to which he told me of T.M.Krishna's article in The Hindu against the use of keyboard and certain other instruments in Carnatic music. Thanks to a friend, I got the link to the article on The Hindu's website. Here it is: http://beta.thehindu.com/arts/music/article67245.ece
Quite an interesting perspective sparking off a debate for this season, I thought.
I read it and my immediate reaction was complete disagreement. I started thinking about what it means to preserve a tradition, what purpose do labels serve (could Carnatic keyboardists for instance just get off the hook by saying "If your problem is that the keyboard cannot handle Carnatic, then just take it that what I play is not labeled "Carnatic"- its some new genre"??), what defines a tradition and so on. Soon enough, found Anil Srinivasan's reponse to TMK reflecting a lot of my views: http://www.hindu.com/mag/2009/12/27/stories/2009122750110300.htm
And then came TMK's rejoinder (this was getting more and more interesting!) : http://beta.thehindu.com/arts/music/article70899.ece
The rejoinder made me revise some of my earlier thoughts. I found it to make a lot of sense. It seemed to me that TMK's main point was that the keyboard is not suited to handle *certain ragas* satisfactorily and NOT that it cannot play *any* raga satisfactorily:
"Let me give you an example. Let's say that certain ragas are not played in an instrument because the instrument cannot accommodate them. What do we then do? Just ignore them and let them become irrelevant over a period of time? This way we only narrow down the mural of Carnatic music. Carnatic music is not only about scales like Gamanashrama and Dharmavathi, it's also about Dhanyasi, Sahana, Ahiri, Anandabharavi, Devagandhari, Manji, Varali, Nayaki, Narayanagoula, Surutti and these are only samples. There are so many more ragas like these that every instrument should be able to express represent." - Words of TMK taken from The Hindu dated Dec 26 '09.
What was the difference between the former and latter sets of ragas? I think it is that the latter set of ragas are all gamakam-intensive, relying little on the arohanam avarohanam. That is, characteristic phrases involving certain very specific gamakams speak more for the raga than the arohanam avarohanam. Where as for the former, the arohanam avarohanam can bring out the essense of the raga reasonably well- and it is always easier to play the former on an instrument such as a keyboard since they are not gamakam-intensive and can be played reasonably well with just the use of phrases from the arohanam-avarohanam.
Since his references seemed indirect, I had to infer that he meant the keyboard/ saxophone cannot handle these ragas the way they should be. I may be wrong- I'm not sure if he exactly has keyboard in mind when he talks about these ragas. I then did a youtube search for Sahana by Sathya and sure enough, found one :) And to my ears, it sounded quite pleasant (may be not as good as some of his other renditions though, but I don't think that's because of the inability of the instrument- I see lot of potential for a better rendition). I'm yet to look for Carnatic keyboard renditions of the other ragas that TMK has mentioned, although I have heard (IMO) very good keyboard renditions of ragas like Bhairavi (Viriboni) and Nattakurunji (Chalamela) which are out and out gamakam based.
Throughout, I was left with this one nagging question: Why is TMK not talking about the modern keyboard with the pitch bender??? Like a friend said, "the idea that the keyboard is not suited to Carnatic is as old as the mountains"- for the simple reason that it can only produce straight notes and not gamakams. This having been the case for so many years, in my opinion the introduction of the pitch bender in the keyboard was a great revolution- one could now produce gamakams on the keyboard! And I imagine this to be the kind of keyboard that serious performing Carnatic keyboard artistes would use. If there are some who don't use a keyboard with a pitch bender and if TMK's arguments are only directed at them, then I have absolutely no problem with his views. And, if on the other hand there are some who do use a keyboard with a bender but don't use the bender well enough, then the issue is just about talent and not about an inherent shortcoming of the instrument (since to me, Sathya's instrument and playing are testimony to the possibility of superlative rendering of Carnatic music on keyboard). I'm pretty sure though, that the disagreement (between my and TMK's views) lies in the effectiveness of even the best pitch bender used by the best Carnatic keyboardist. I think TMK wants to say that even the best pitch bender cannot render the gamakas intrinsic to certain ragas. Then the issue really comes down to ignorance on my side with respect to authenticity and sufficiency of gamaka rendition.... All that said, I'm nevertheless curious about why TMK did not talk about the bender at all.
I don't mean to contest a stalwart such as TMK's views (I don't think I have the credentials to do that) and my sample space of Carnatic keyboard renditions is probably too small. I need to listen to more. So as always, comments, insights most, most welcome!
Anyway, lets just enjoy some music for now :) I find this kid Sathya- all of fourteen years- highly talented!!
Here's the Sahana I was talking about: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XATq9qMzVi4&feature=related
And here's a malika of five "SGMDNS" ragams- a duet with his uncle Embar Kannan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l18DXRhhjtQ
This kid is amazing.
Oh, what a coincidence- today happens to be the birthday of one of the most brilliant composers we have today- who started off as an ace keyboardist! (not Carnatic, though :) ) Here's to all fellow Rahman fans: HAPPY RAHMAN'S BIRTHDAY!!
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Last Edit: 01/22/2012
17 comments:
Awesome-- nice article Sindhuja :)
And long live ARR :D
I heard of an instrument called the continuum which can produce the intermediate notes that a normal keyboard cannot.
It was invented by a professor in some university...not sure, and ARR was involved. It's used in the song Rehna Tu.
Curious, what do you think of it?
Pitch benders are not easy to use at all, and restrict freedom of movement. That's because you have to set the amount of notes you want to move to say +/- 2. So if you want to move smoothly between a Sa and a Pa (not necessarily for the gammakas, but even for general movement in a raaga), you have to set the pitch bender at +/- 7, and with that setting, its not possible to move between closer notes as the bender is too sensitive. Maybe technology will overcome that someday, but none of the current keyboards allow you to change the bending limits easily. Makes sense?
Meera: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it.
Diya: Yeah, I think I heard of that- very interesting. Should look it up. On a related note, an Indian musician/ musicologist (don't remember the name) has also created a harmonium with 22 (instead of the usual 12) keys in an octave- based on the Indian 22 shruthi system.
Ajit: Thanks!! That was some useful info coming from a keyboardist :) But have you heard Sathya? I seem to hear all sorts of slides/ gamakams when he plays- he seems to transition both between sa and pa and sa and ri, say (among lots and lots of others- he seems to be able to do all combinations). Did you check out the Sahana link and find something seriously amiss? I didn't...
Ah! A post from the musicologist in you, after a long time! :)
The harmonium might be a case in point in this discussion. The layout is exactly similar to the keyboard, and the base models usually don't have a pitch bender, either. And accordingly, the instrument might be used as accompaniment for bhajans and other such "Carnatic-like" implementations but not for a full-fledged heavy-duty Carnatic concert, either as the main piece or as accompaniment. (Tell me, how many bhajan numbers do you know in, say, bhairavi? or thOdi?)
I'm told, some triple-reed models do come with a pitch bender (though I've personally not seen one in operation). Now, does that mean the harmonium might be used on par with, say, the violin?
Even if so, who and what governs these decisions? Is it just the potential of an instrument to do justice to "all" (or at least, "most") of the nuances in Carnatic music, or is it also about how well you are able to convince the sabha authorities?
How do you view these points in the context of this discussion:
1. Kunnakkudi famously used thavil, instead of the traditional mrudangam, for percussion support.
2. Students learning to play the flute do their saraLi varisai not in the traditional maayaa-maaLava-gowLai but in hari-khaambOji, if I'm right. (This is because, on the flute, a whole note increase from sadjam is easier to accomplish for a beginner than a half-note increase.)
3. What about chitra-veeNa (earlier known as gOttu-vaadyam) as a possible substitute for the violin as regular accompaniment? You might find this interesting: http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/fr/2006/03/03/stories/2006030303130200.htm
4. Though not part of the mainstream, whistle concerts have happened. What's your take on them? (I think, you can find a few of them on musicindiaonline's Carnatic music pages.)
5. And what about the jalatharangam? No possibility of gamakam at all!
I think it has to do with the music patch he used. They are called 'mono' tones I think, which produce only one note at a time even when you press two (much like the vocal chord which can only produce one frequency at a time).
So if you are pressing a Sa, and then press a Pa while holding the Sa, it does not play both simultaneously, instead it goes from Sa -> Pa in a continuous manner. And when you take your finger off the Pa, it comes back to the Sa continuously (and almost instantaneously). So with those patches, gammakas are easy as continuously notes are produced (without a pitch bender!). And it looks like he is using one such patch. If he played the same using Piano/Violin or any other default patch, the gammakas would sound as distinct notes (and probably bad). So I guess it is possible to reproduce carnatic music quite well with that, it didn't strike me earlier.
Its not a new thing either, it can be seen in so many old songs! Can't think of a good example, but listen to the 2nd interlude from Kaatril Enthan Geetham (Johnny), the ending of the interlude esp.
@Vijay: Thanks for your (as usual) detailed insights. I'm left with the same questions as you are. Sabha authorities and politics- tell me about it! That can form a whole separate discussion by itself! Recently had a chance to interact with a few performing violinists and learnt a lot of sad things about them (yes, violinists- not keyboardists or other "heretics") - pay scales, (lack of) autonomy on stage etc..
On your other points: Thavil may not be considered total off track from tradition- mandolin srinivas and guitar prasanna use it often... And of course, no South Indian Hindu wedding is complete without it! I think its pretty well accepted in Carnatic- not sure though why then it is not as popular as mrudangam (coz its too loud?)
Harikambodhi and flute- thanks, I'd read this on Sikkil Mala's website but didn't know the reason. Again, I don't think this causes a conflict with tradition- many good teachers emphasize that we (vocalists/ instrumentalists- anyone) should practise all the varisais in all the melakartha ragas and be fluent in all of them to enable us to sing kalpanaswarams well. But would learning HK as the *very first* raga as opposed to MMG be seen as non-traditional...? I would think not...
Chitraveena: Before violin came to India, I thought the veena was what was used... so I wouldn't find it too surprising to find chitra veena accompaniment- after all its indigenous! Interesting article... instruments in Carnatic face a sad state of affairs indeed- instrumentalists are perenially complaining that all the attention goes to vocalists.
Whistle: I've heard renditions that sound just like the flute! Quite amazing. With a dad who whistles Carnatic like crazy (in his own interesting ways :D ) I've grown up constantly listening to "concerts" at home :) On a more serious note (pun intended :P) I'd love to hear full fledged whistle concerts!
Jalatharangam: Not heard enough to comment, but am skeptical about how it can bring out nuances of Carnatic... I don't think I'd be able to appreciate ghana ragas like Bhairavi on it (wonder if it can even play such ragas!) But I do need to check out some jalatharangam renditions before I form a judgment!
@Ajit: Thanks dude! Heard the interlude in kaatril endhan... I see what you're saying. I tried very hard to observe Sathya's left hand and see what it was doing... I'm not very sure.. sometimes it seems like a gamakam is produced even when his left hand is not doing anything at all with the bender! So you may be right in that he uses a patch (also coz I hear stuff that is similar to that interlude)... but I think he uses some kinda combination of a patch and a bender coz in an interview (Hari Giri assembly, also on youtube) he said he uses a bender.
//On your other points: Thavil may not be considered total off track from tradition- mandolin srinivas and guitar prasanna use it often... And of course, no South Indian Hindu wedding is complete without it! I think its pretty well accepted in Carnatic- not sure though why then it is not as popular as mrudangam (coz its too loud?)//
No no, I didn't mean the thavil to be non-traditional in general; I meant, the thavil not being the traditional accompaniment FOR the violin, BEFORE Kunnakkudi. With him, an exception was made probably for the first time, ever. Srinivas, Prasanna, and others, I think, came after him.
The point is, there's always a first time. Tradition has to have started somewhere, be it for the violin, or the thavil as an accompaniment for the violin, or you name it!
Sometimes, the start of a new tradition (okay, here, it's not an oxymoron!) happens smoothly; in other instances, it's not as smooth; in yet other instances, it never takes off successfully and fails after the first few attempts. (Whistle concerts might be a case in point; for all the beautiful nuances it can produce, nobody ever took it really seriously! Check out the Carnatic - Special page in musicindiaonline.com for whistle performances by one Shivaprasad K.)
As regards the keyboard, I have a feeling that the instrument is here to stay, though, as you have noted, it might take a while before technology evolves enough to render all nuances satisfactorily.
(Coming to think of it, do we have full-fledged naadaswaram concerts? I have only heard them in weddings and temple-related customs. Is the naadaswaram not fine enough, or is it again a matter of sabha 'policy'?)
//Harikambodhi and flute- thanks, I'd read this on Sikkil Mala's website but didn't know the reason. Again, I don't think this causes a conflict with tradition//
I wanted you to focus on the idea of adaptations being made for a particular instrument BECAUSE what's traditional is intrinsically difficult to achieve on THAT instrument.
After all, it's not as if maaya-maaLava-gowLai cannot be played on the flute! That being the case, why should an exception even be made?
(That, as you would've suspected, IS a rhetorical question, my point being that such exceptions are routinely made, so in what way is the keyboard particularly problematic? Why can't we take it that the keyboard manifests yet another set of facets of Carnatic music? The only objection I can think of is that these set of facets that some of these new-entrant instruments manifest happens to give a "popular" twist to Carnatic—because these facets usually constitute the peppy, high-tempo variety "thukkadaas"—which goes against what Carnatic music essentially is—Classical. And this, it's true, could be a very valid line of argument.)
I'm of the view that of all the possibilities that Carnatic music holds, each instrument manifests a few. I don't know if there is ONE single instrument that can manifest ALL the nuances.
For instance, glides (I'm not talking about gamakams traversing just adjacent notes; I'm talking about, say, glides between the octaves, from lower sadjam to the higher for instance.) cannot be achieved in the flute as effectively and smoothly as on the violin. On the violin, you can glide to the higher Sa traversing THROUGH the notes in between, but on the flute you don't actually glide but LEAP from sa to Sa; or, if you do traverse through the notes in between, they will be rendered as discrete notes, not as a continuous glide. This IS a big difference, as I'm sure you will acknowledge. Does that mean the flute is any inferior to the violin, or less than well-equipped to handle Carnatic music? After all, we DO acknowledge the flute as an instrument perfectly suited for Carnatic music!
Notwithstanding all of that, however, in a way, I think that both these tendencies (to experiment and to resist) are important, on the overall. They would be like the accelerator and the brake, respectively, in an automobile. Though the principle of the automobile is mobility, brakes—whose function runs counter to the very basic principle of an automobile—would be an integral part of the concept of a safe automobile, after all! So, I perfectly understand why any area of activity needs its Nakkeerans! :)
Vijay: No one instrument can bring out all the facets of Carnatic? Hmm... interesting point, although I'm not sure. Listen to some pieces by Shashank (particularly, bantureethi on youtube) to see how he glides and doesn't leap. Its perfectly smooth. (In fact sometimes the glide is SO smooth- smoother than normal- that it sounds odd!) Veena? Violin? What do they lack? And we've seen people like Srinivas push the limits of their instruments farther and farther. I understand that in the larger picture, your point is that there are no strict lines to be drawn as to which instrument is legitimate and which isn't; I was just responding "locally" to that one point that no one instrument can bring out all qualities of Carnatic.
All your other points well taken; noted! Thanks!
There is a lot to read on your blog sindhuja. Just catching up. Good that i landed on a good place.
Nice post.Makes lot of sense. But have you checked out "Continuum Fingerboard", which ARR has used in Delhi 6 song "Rehna Tu". There are few demo videos on youtube which showcase what the instrument is capable of! Can we say that it overcomes the shortcomings of a keyboard?
Aakarsh: are you asking specifically wrt Carnatic? I don't know. I must listen to it more.
Sindhuja,
yes.. the instrument has lot of potential for gamakas and microtones, like in Veena, because the instrument does not have keys..it has a flat board on which we can move our finger(up& down; left & right; and also in & out.. so 3 axes).
Thanks for Excellent and elborate analysis.
I came across this blog about one kid
Mahathi abt 11 yrs who plays carnatic on key board. She has several awards to her credit.
See this site to listen to her music.
http://keyboardsathya.blogspot.com/
A.Hari
Dear Friends,
Here is a small correction.
I had given wrongly the link to
Satya's web page.
Here is the correct link to
Mahathi's web page.
http://keyboardmahathi.blogspot.com/
She is just aged 11 years and she
started her career at the tender age of five years. You can listen to her music in the site and also view her interview on Doordharsan Pothigal channel.
A.Hari
Thanks for the info Hari.
I just happened to go through this blog ( not yet completely, will do it) - yes, the modern keyboards have lead settings - you don't even need pitch bender. Here is my daughter's link when she was a beginner (she is imuch improved now) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzB94cA1KVM
she learns from nmuralikrishnan.com (NMK)
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