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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- From: Rohan (@ 24.247.121.197.kzo.mi.chartermi.net)
on: Fri Aug 2 12:59:39
The amount of size change with the fiber glass will be minimal, as not to affect our process of fastening the faces.
As I stated, some fiber glass bodies are very light, but one can make them heavier.
- From: Rohan (@ 24.247.121.197.kzo.mi.chartermi.net)
on: Thu Aug 8 12:12:14
I have a few queries for anyone who knows something about mridangam construction:
1. What is the purpose of koochi (the small wooden pieces we insert on the right side to produce the nadam)? What is its actual role in producing the sound? Does it simply elevate the skin so sound waves can pass between the skin?
2. Does anyone know of substitutes for koochi? In India, Darbai (a holy wood) is used. I have tried the broomstick pieces, and that seemingly works.
3. Why is the koochi sliced in half? Is it so it will sit more rigidly on the mridangam skin?
- From: nick (@ host.sumitomomarine.co.uk)
on: Fri Aug 9 06:33:05
Rohan,
re 1.
No, it is not just that holds the skins apart. It acts like a snare (the spring bit of wire under the skin of a snare drum) and gives the vibration that typifies mridangam sound. Compare tabla: tabla players use a little cotton or fishing line. This separates the skin without the damping snare effect of kochi hence the 'purer' sound of tabla. Kapi is more like tabla, except there is light snare vibration effect from the grit.
re 3:
It is sliced in half so that it will fit ! ;-)
It is a thin reed, circular in cross section, soit is cut and any material from the inside scraped away to give the flat segments that are used.
re 2:
Yes! but my teacher regards it as his secret
- From: Rohan (@ 24.247.121.197.kzo.mi.chartermi.net)
on: Fri Aug 9 12:12:09
Thanks for the advice Nick. I'll try it out, as the Darbai always seems to be breaking when I put it. I am also having trouble getting the same width of each koochi. Lastly, I am having trouble keeping the koochi in place as some mridangams do not have the skin tightly sitting on the right side frame (due to some reasons).
- From: Rohan (@ 24.247.121.197.kzo.mi.chartermi.net)
on: Tue Aug 13 12:59:39
What is the story with the mridangist in CA who is trying to make an adjustable thoppi using notches? Anyone have any info on that? That seems to be quite interesting...
- From: Rohan (@ 24.247.121.197.kzo.mi.chartermi.net)
on: Fri Aug 16 15:12:16
I do not rememebr if I posed this question before, but I will do it again: Whta causes mridangam sruti aligning abnormalities, specficially when one part is hit, other parts are also effected (e.g. if I increase one "kunna" or part, another part that is already high is also increased). Does this occur when the mootu (face) is not sitting properly on the wood?
I appreciate the help.
- From: nick (@ host.sumitomomarine.co.uk)
on: Mon Aug 19 09:29:11
a change in tension when tuning does not only affect the diagonal but all other points on the circle to some extent ????????
- From: Rohan (@ 24.247.121.197.kzo.mi.chartermi.net)
on: Mon Aug 19 11:33:26
Yes this is true, but it is not suppose to alter it as to change the sruti (that is it is conspicuouly different to the human ear). Theoretically, many things take place in music, but humans cannot perceive them.
- From: Rohan (@ 24.247.121.197.kzo.mi.chartermi.net)
on: Tue Aug 20 15:36:13
I referred to some mridangam books and I deduced that the problem occurs becuase the face isn't sitting flat.
Does anyone else know of other ravai subsitutes for the mridangam thoppi?
- From: pradheep (@ 207.177.73.100)
on: Wed Aug 21 12:00:45
i am in iowa state and i want to learn mridangam (i bought one now). Can any one help.
- From: rohan (@ 24.247.121.197.kzo.mi.chartermi.net)
on: Wed Aug 21 14:34:39
Pradheep, I would go to the internet forum rec.indianmusic... and post a topic on mriadngam teachers in the Iowa area. I am not aware of any in that area, but there may be some. The link to the forum is:
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&oe=ISO-8859-1&group=rec.music.indian.classical
- From: hari (@ 203.199.213.5)
on: Wed Aug 28 05:34:41
hi rohan ... nice meeting u!!!
i have posted my doubt in the thavil section.. here i'll post it again...
i have learnt mridangam for few years.. My guru was basically a kanjira vidwan.(Sri vaikom Gopalan Nair.. who use to accompany madurai mani iyer etc..) I could not learn the gumki from him since he was not a mridangam player..can u please tell me how to do that.. i have developed my own style which resulted in injuring my palm.. but still i continued and now i have hard skin near the wrist.. i can play gumki now but i am not sure whether i am doing the right thing..
i heard bhaktavatsalam and srimushnam rajarao playing gumki recently in concerts at IIT Madras. It appears they play that so cool.. and it is audible without a mic. i am not getting that sound on my mridangam... but i have obeserved if i play gumki with thoppi facing a wall in my room, gumki will be clear and audible.. but in open air it is not audible. Does it have something to do with quality of thoppi??
have a good day
hari
- From: nick (@ host.sumitomomarine.co.uk)
on: Wed Aug 28 10:21:59
Hello Hari, First you must get the right note from your mridangam: the tension must be right, the amount of rava must be right and, if necessary, the skin must be wetted enough.
When you have good, deep (but still with a ring to it) Thom sound (open sound with fingers of left hand close to edge nearest to your body (usually described, confusingly, as 'up') then comes next stage...
try to get same kind of sound by hitting skin with one of more of two middle fingers (my guruji specifically uses two middle fingers to get more sound). keep the 'heel' or base of palm of the hand close to edge of skin near you and strike near to edge of skin away from you. It is very difficult to get good sound as you are only moving your finger tips a short distance so it is difficult to hit hard. Then...
When you have this sound, immediately follow the hit with movement of the hand near base of thumb either directly towards the centre or in circular movement around edge of skin.
- From: nick (@ host.sumitomomarine.co.uk)
on: Wed Aug 28 10:29:21
more... Yes, you will get blisters on your hand or even cut it. My guruji says you are not practicing right if you do not bleed at first! But here is a hint or two:
Do not waste your energy by pressing on the hard buffalo-skin rings: it does nothing but increase the friction on you skin as you slide over the hard edge.
also it wastes time: the sound may have stopped by the time your hand reaches the skin!
[Rohan may not aprove of this one] You can make that hard buffalo skin edge a little less cutting by 'bevelling' it, ie cutting very small 45 degree angle on the edge instead of 90 degree original.
Now, Rohan's guruji has the most amazing left-hand technique I ever heard, so I hope he gives his advice here.
- From: Rohan (@ 24.247.121.197.kzo.mi.chartermi.net)
on: Wed Aug 28 15:25:36
What Nick has mentioned is all useful information. The part about the bleeding palm, etc., is a bit of an exaggeration I must say. It should not take much time to get the vibration sound with the two fingers (middle and ring), but the sliding motion with the palm takes some practice. You will develop a callus on your palm after playing the gumki, but's that all. Bleeding, etc., means that something you are doing is incorrect.
There are many styles of gumki, as well. You have the repeated gumki without gap (my guru plays this often), or the prolonged gumki (also my guru's forte), and the double/triple gumkis (Trichy Sankaran is good with this). I suggest you see someone playing this to learn it properly.
As for the sound, many issues are involved. 1. The skin must be of good quality (that applies for the tone on the right side too). 2. The construction of the location you are playing in (to a degree). 3. Most important, practice. Only with practice will the righ sound come.
Keep at it Hari!
- From: Rohan (@ 24.247.121.197.kzo.mi.chartermi.net)
on: Wed Aug 28 21:24:39
I just wanted to post a URL of an interesting site I came across a few days back: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/musicphotos/
It is a site that is trying to collect as many photos of carnatic and hindustani musicians as possible. Whatever pictures you have are welcome.
Perhaps we should start a folder just of mridangist, past and present...
- From: hari (@ 203.199.213.5)
on: Wed Aug 28 23:45:46
hi
thanx a lot for the suggestions, nick and rohan... .. i think i am doing the right practice as i could understand from ur description..
cheers!!
hari
- From: hari (@ 203.199.213.4)
on: Thu Aug 29 00:13:24
hi,
what is ur opinion about learning from cassettes etc.. well u cant learn the tricks like gumkis with the help of cassettes.. but some "cholkett" etc.. i have learnt many chollkettu (64 maatras, 192 maatras, 288 maatras etc..) recently i learnt one from a TVG cassette.. that was complicated .. but i could decipher what he was playing.. that was a mixture of chatusram and tisram together..
only thing if u want to apply these in thani, u need to properly "develop" it using "jati".(i think u r getting my language!!).Otherwise u would be playing everything in a disordered manner.
do u have any suggestion on how the structure of a thani should be? i mean .. first we start with a "vilamba jati" and a 64 matra cholkettu later a "druta jati" with a longer cholkettu.. then "nadas". finally ending with "mora and koruva"..
- From: hari (@ 203.199.213.4)
on: Thu Aug 29 00:21:47
hi,
here is one of my doubts!!
will a brand new mridangam (as bought condition) give good gumki sound? or is it that one has to play for somedays to get the leather tuned for gumki sound? like the "running in" period for motor vehicles..
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