Topic started by Rohan Krishnamurthy (@ pm533-26.dialip.mich.net) on Mon Jul 16 15:47:14 .
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.
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As many of you may know, I am a 14 year old mridangist who is a student of Sri. Guruvayur Dorai. I have played extensively throughout the USA and India, for leading artists like N. Ravikiran, "Flute" Ramani, R. Vedavalli, and many more.
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Responses:
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- From: Rohan (@ 24.247.121.197.kzo.mi.chartermi.net)
on: Fri Oct 25 09:57:39
Though that is true, I would assume that you could speed up the process by heating each layer with a hair dryer or someother electronic tool. Above all, the most time consuming part is the scrubbing of each layer with the polished stone.
I have read that T.K.Murthy, UKS, TVG, and a few others have 'invented' gadgets to speed up mridangam production. Anyone have any info on this...
- From: Rohan (@ 24.247.121.197.kzo.mi.chartermi.net)
on: Thu Oct 31 21:49:48
Hey Nick,
Are there any stores in London that sell mridangams and other Indian instruments, and if so, do you know where they get them made?
- From: nick (@ 211.234.35.212.in-addr.arpa.ip-pool.cix.co.uk)
on: Sat Nov 2 05:12:46
Rohan, re stores: yes, but we only hvae two proper Indian instrument shops in London. They are both in Southall, which is quite a long way away from me, so I go there only very rarely. They both have very knowledgable staff, but specialise in North Indian stuff with only occasional South Indian, I've seen mridangams there. In fact one of them replaced the heads on my first mridangam before I started going to class: it took my teacher's knowledge to make it sound right, but the work was basically very good quality. The guy who did it plays tabla and sitar. I don't know where they get the stuff from
- From: Rohan (@ 24.247.121.197.kzo.mi.chartermi.net)
on: Sat Nov 2 16:50:59
I see.
I recently got ahold of a "talo-meter" by Radel and was wondering if any of you have seen it yourselves. What are your views on it?
- From: nick (@ 70.234.35.212.in-addr.arpa.ip-pool.cix.co.uk)
on: Sat Nov 2 17:19:51
Yes, got one a few years ago. It sits on the shelf with a great deal of other stuff I thought was a good idea at the time :-(
It really could be useful: its just that I haven't found it so yet.
- From: Rohan (@ 24.247.121.197.kzo.mi.chartermi.net)
on: Sat Nov 2 18:38:57
The main drawback I find with the talo-meter is that it provides a respective pattern for each nadai, for instance for Misra Nadai, it ticks 2-2-3, 2-2-3, and so on. Of course, it does make a louder beep at the begining of each aksharam but the pattern they use in between aksharams is quite bothersome and distractive.
On the plus side, the talo-meter does keep the pulse steady (even though too steady!) which can improve one's sense of rhythm and can be used by higher level mridangists to "check" if patterns or korvais come properly to the thalam.
- From: nick (@ 206.234.35.212.in-addr.arpa.ip-pool.cix.co.uk)
on: Sun Nov 3 06:58:25
Yes, I think that would be a good use, especially when dealing with the lesser known talams. I'm still a long way from being a mridangist, let alone higher level. ...But I did compose my first korvai this week :-)
- From: Rohan (@ 24.247.121.197.kzo.mi.chartermi.net)
on: Sun Nov 3 09:38:45
That's good news!
I can bet you now have an entirely new appreciation about the greatness and brilliance required to be a mridangist!
- From: nick (@ host.sumitomomarine.co.uk)
on: Mon Nov 4 09:15:37
Hmm, yes. I've appreciated for a while that it is one thing to be able to jugle numbers and quite another to be able to jugle numbers *and* make the result sound musical. A newcomer to our class came to a concert recently and said, afterwards, "Wow, now I know what I'm up against." Nope: after a couple of years of learning he might begin to have an idea of what he is up against!
- From: Rohan (@ 24.247.121.197.kzo.mi.chartermi.net)
on: Mon Nov 4 15:14:21
Exactly. Rhythm has melody in-built. It is not merely dry math but melodic calculations.
- From: Rohan (@ 24.247.121.197.kzo.mi.chartermi.net)
on: Mon Nov 4 20:57:10
Nick,
I was reading an article on the net about a mridangist who tunes his mridangams to different notes (lower sa, pa, upper sa, etc) during the concert. Have you heard of this before? What does your teacher generally tune his mridangams to?
- From: nick (@ host.sumitomomarine.co.uk)
on: Tue Nov 5 06:53:09
Rohan, is this the guy who plays three mridangams at once? I think he got a mention in kutcheribuzz.com in a news item. Sounds like a bit of a gimick to me, but it could be nice in a thalavadya kutcheri. Of course I'm making judgement without haveing heard him play. As far as I know my guruji always tunes to Sa unless there is a practical reason why not (eg small girls singing very high or unexpected solo item and not having mridangam to suite) in which case he will use Ma or Pa according to what suits the song.
- From: Rohan (@ 24.247.121.197.kzo.mi.chartermi.net)
on: Tue Nov 5 15:08:59
I forgot where I read the article, but it was NOT K.S.Anirudha, the mridangist you are referring to. Anirudha recently released a mridangam recording and this too was covered by kutcherbuzz.com and some other music sites (the chief guest for the relase was A.R.Rahman is I remember correctly). You can hear a short clip of the recording on kutcherbuzz.com.
- From: hari (@ 202.141.24.2)
on: Fri Nov 8 04:56:51
hi,
can u plz tell me about "sruti". what does
"one - kattai, two-kattai" mean? how will u relate this kattai "scheme" to western keyboards? can u explain plz? or provide me with some websites explaining this?
- From: nick (@ host.sumitomomarine.co.uk)
on: Fri Nov 8 07:04:08
Sruti = pitch
"One" = "C", "One-and-a-half" = "C#", "Two" = "D" etc etc. This deterimes where "Sa" is, just like determining where "Doh" is in Western stuff
So, you see it is not so far off the Western system. It is an approximate correlation, though, as there is no requirement in Indian music for any standard pitch eg "C=440" as in the West. However, with the increasing usage of automatic electronic sruti boxes and pitch pipes "standard pitch" is going to end up being adopted by default.
- From: hari (@ 203.199.213.4)
on: Fri Nov 8 09:10:23
hi nick,
but recently i saw on a web page that the C of the "middle C octave" which is 240 Hz is equivalent to 4 kattai.
i would like to know what is the frequency of the 1 kattai sruti
- From: Nick (@ host.sumitomomarine.co.uk)
on: Fri Nov 8 10:57:20
Hari, I think I want to argue with that, but can you let me know what web page so I can have a look first?
By the way, I should have said **A** = 440, not C, as the 'anchor' point of Western standard pitch.
- From: hari (@ banjo.cs.iitm.ernet.in)
on: Fri Nov 8 11:33:51
hi nick,
this is the site i was refering to.
www.khazana.com/music/gentle1.html
- From: nick (@ host.sumitomomarine.co.uk)
on: Mon Nov 11 10:02:46
Hari,
Have a look at http://www.mjorch.com/hertz.html. As this gives A=440 I suspect that it is right: Ramesh,in his article, has set it at 402. Wher did he get this from? is he relating to a different scale altogether? That might be the answer if he wasn't relating to the keyboard, but he is. Then he gives the quote you originally refer to: How does he manage to start his scale (like everyone else does) at C and then say that C is 4? There are about 7 octaves on a piano, so middle-C would be the beginning of the *4th* octave, I guess. Maybe this is what he is thinking. But if so, I think he is wrong. There are other words in carnatic music to talk of lower or higher octaves (I forget what), kattai is pitch as in starting note of the octave.
I'm not going to comment on hte other numbers he gives as I'm no good at that sort of thing.
- From: Rohan (@ 24.247.121.197.kzo.mi.chartermi.net)
on: Mon Nov 11 21:29:55
Regarding the mridangam and other south indian percussion instruments, the term "thaggu" and "etcha" are used to describe low pitched and high pitched instruments, respectively. A thaggu mridangam is generally in the range of C-D# (1 - 2.5), while an etcha ranges from F-G# (4 - 5.5). Normally E (3) is also considered a thaggu sruti.
- From: radhakrishnan (@ 12-246-10-21.client.attbi.com)
on: Tue Nov 12 20:37:34
Based on the singer's pitch do you select the mridangam to use (male vs female voice) ?
- From: radhakrishnan (@ 12-246-10-21.client.attbi.com)
on: Tue Nov 12 20:39:26
Is there a major difference between playing mridangam for vocal vs. dance ?
- From: Rohan (@ 24.247.121.197.kzo.mi.chartermi.net)
on: Tue Nov 12 21:10:40
Yes, a mridangist takes a suitable mridangam depending on the vocalist/isntrumentalist. The same hold true with the violinist and other percussionists.
Playing during classical dance is far different from playing during a classical concert. In a concert, the mridangist has much greater improvisational capabilities, while in a dance performance, not as much, since many aspects of a dance recital are pre-planned.
- From: nick (@ host.sumitomomarine.co.uk)
on: Wed Nov 13 06:15:53
the mridangam is accurately tuned to the performer's sruti, ie Sa. some mridangists refuse to retune and instrument, keeping it specifically for the pitch at which it sounds best. a mridangam can be tuned up/down one to one-and-a-half tones, so all mridangists have a number of instruments. I think my teacher may have as many as thirty! more than half of these are at his house in India.
- From: nick (@ host.sumitomomarine.co.uk)
on: Wed Nov 13 06:31:38
Playing for dance is a different style as well; much more vigorous and up-front. It is usually rehearsed and the mridangist has to understand the dance jatis and memorise a great deal of the performance. The mridangists concentrates on and accompanies the dancer; the vocalist and instrumentalists come second in this. My guruji; "Usually we will have three rehearsals, this is enough for me, sometimes the dancer wants more. In India I might send my assistant to some of these rehearsals if I am very busy. Some of the performance I have to memorise, some I just need my experience. When you play for dance there is no "warm-up time" you have to play strong and fast from the beginning".
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