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: Rohin (@ ba1120ws13.ecf.utoronto.ca)
on: Fri Feb 27 18:07:09 EST 2004
The mridangam was a D mridangam when I first bought it, but it had come down to about B. I then had it retightented to D#, and currently it is at about D. I don't think it is unusual to increase the pitch to a value higher than the original in this way -- in fact the man who made the mridangam for me said he knowingly did this in anticipation that it would come down after I brought it back to North America.
Just to let you all know, I've tried some of the things you've all suggested. The use of oil/wedge + thoppi tuning has been somewhat successful, but the pitch has not come down very much. Perhaps this needs to be repeated several times for the skin to fully become pliable. I was able to bring the pitch down significantly by applying a LOT of water to the skin and the nadam is just excellent. Once the water evaporates, however, the pitch again rises by nearly an octave. Even as I am playing, I can hear the pitch of the "thom" rising slightly over time. I don't mind reapplying water each time, but I don't know what long term effects this will have on the skin. Rohan himself points out on his website that this can lead to deterioration of the skin. I am still hoping that there is a more permanent solution to lowering the pitch to lessen the amount of water that is used.
- From: kumaranraven69@hotmail.com (@ cache1-popl.server.ntli.net)
on: Sat Feb 28 04:02:05 EST 2004
Another solution, that you probably already use, is that you could use very very warm water. It doesn't exactly cause the skin you are playing to deteriorate but the skin underneath the rim of the "thoppi" side. This however isn't much of a problem. Natham doesn't deteriorate as much.
- From: kumaranraven69@hotmail.com (@ cache1-popl.server.ntli.net)
on: Sat Feb 28 04:07:38 EST 2004
Nick, As far as i know Sudha Ragunathan is going to sing here on the 27th of March but i haven't got full details. She is mean't to go to Germany first but her violinist and mridangist have been here for the last 2 months teaching me and don't have a visa to go to Germany.
- From: Nick H (UK) (@ nhaynes.adsl.wizards.co.uk)
on: Sat Feb 28 15:33:31 EST 2004
Thanks Kumaran; please let us know the venue as soon as you discover it
- From: Rohan (@ 66.227.167.69.kzo.mi.chartermi.net)
on: Sat Feb 28 15:33:53 EST 2004
Rohin,
I am sure you are aware of the "chemical destructiveness" of water, for instance in natural weathering, etc. Thus, water will certainly deteriorate leather.
You may want to try tuning the thoppi with another slanted, wedge-like peg that goes under the thoppi leather rim. This is specifically meant for reducing the pitch of the thoppi, especially on new mridangams and newly tightended mridangams.
If you do not tune the thoppi now, it will likely never be satisfactory.
- From: Nick H (UK) (@ nhaynes.adsl.wizards.co.uk)
on: Sat Feb 28 20:29:51 EST 2004
Rohin, the tool that Rohan is talking about is like a fairly large chisel, not like the smallish stick usually used for tuning. They are made of wood, but I have seen a steel chisel (not, of course, the razor-sharp wordworking kind, but the blunt kind used on stone or brick) used.
Rohan and I disagree about the destructiveness of water! I say you can wet and dry leather many times with no problem, but leaving it wet when put away might well cause moulds, fungi etc that would cause damage.
- From: Nick H (UK) (@ nhaynes.adsl.wizards.co.uk)
on: Sat Feb 28 20:35:56 EST 2004
...Do not be shy when tuning thoppi: you have to hit hard!
As a last resort, I guess you have to slacken the strap, but then you have the task of setting it up evenly and it is a pain to redo some of the work you had done in Madras.
- From: Rohin (@ ba1120ws57.ecf.utoronto.ca)
on: Wed Mar 3 14:13:24 EST 2004
Hi everyone,
Rohan, I'm wondering where I can get these wedge-like pegs. From what my guru has told me, these are usually made of bamboo and can only be obtained at mridangam stores. I won't be going to India in the near future, so I'm wondering if there is a suitable substitute. For example, would a thin wedge-shaped piece of wood from the hardware store suffice? Also, do these wedges have to be placed around the entire circumference of the thoppi or only at certain locations?
Thanks,
Rohin
- From: Nick H (UK) (@ nhaynes.adsl.wizards.co.uk)
on: Wed Mar 3 18:13:07 EST 2004
Rohin, I have done some quick pics and made up a web page so that you can see what the tool looks like and where, as I understand it, to apply it
http://www.mridangam.com/mrd-tool.html
You have to put the whole path into yout browser; this is just a quicky and I haven't made links from anywhere else on the site.
Hope it helps
- From: Nick H (UK) (@ nhaynes.adsl.wizards.co.uk)
on: Wed Mar 3 18:16:42 EST 2004
Another thought... You could easily make one froma suitable piece of wood: I did once out of a spare handle for a hammer, which I used because they are very hard and tough wood. But be careful: when you hit the end with your stone, splinters might fly and could damage your eyes.
- From: Rohan (@ 66.227.167.69.kzo.mi.chartermi.net)
on: Wed Mar 3 19:27:41 EST 2004
I think Nick's webpage should answer your question.
I got my "pullu" (tuning device) from a mridangam maker in India. You can easily get them made from a carpenter in India, but since you are not going there anytime soon, you can go to a hardware shop and ask them to make a wedge in that shape with the wood they have in stock. The wood may not be of the best quality, but the only serious problem that can result from this is that the pullu may break, in which case you can just buy another one.
- From: Rohin (@ ba1120ws06.ecf.utoronto.ca)
on: Thu Mar 4 18:56:52 EST 2004
Thanks for posting the pics, Nick, it's much clearer now. I will definitely pick up one of these tools when I go to India next, but for now I think I will have to use a substitute. Glad we could all keep in touch and share our thoughts.
- From: Nick H (UK) (@ nhaynes.adsl.wizards.co.uk)
on: Thu Mar 4 20:41:17 EST 2004
Ahh the wonders of technology! Having recently got a camcorder I was able to take stills and get them on the web within minutes of seeing your post.
Glad it was useful.
- From: Kumaran Ravendradas (@ cache1-popl.server.ntli.net)
on: Sun Mar 14 15:32:33 EST 2004
Anyone know where i can get an analysis of Palghat T.S. Mani Iyer's thani avarthanems?
- From: Rohan (@ 66.227.167.69.kzo.mi.chartermi.net)
on: Mon Mar 15 15:39:13 EST 2004
Kumaran,
You can take a look at my article titled "The Mridangam Trinity: A Stylistic Analysis," which can be accessed from through webpage: www.RohanRhythm.com
- From: Kumaran (@ cache1-popl.server.ntli.net)
on: Mon Mar 15 16:16:31 EST 2004
Rohan, The audio on that site of yours Rohan isn't working! Life without sound!!! ARGHHHHHHHH!
- From: Rohan (@ 66.227.167.69.kzo.mi.chartermi.net)
on: Mon Mar 15 16:45:36 EST 2004
Kumaran,
I recently transferred my entire site to another webhost and so many of the links became broken. I have corrected this and it should be working now.
- From: Nick H (UK) (@ nhaynes.adsl.wizards.co.uk)
on: Mon Mar 15 18:51:00 EST 2004
Rohan, A very interesting page, although of course each of the sound samples leaves me wanting more!-)
How do you view T V Gopalakrishnan's place in all this? Although I have seen him sing a number of times, and heard recordings of his mridangam playing, I have only seen him play once. I was astonished, for, quite apart from his hall-mark left-hand-melody playing, his whole style seemed to be unique.
Would you say that he is just one of the present day players who have evolved their own style?
- From: Rohan (@ 66.227.167.69.kzo.mi.chartermi.net)
on: Tue Mar 16 22:38:09 EST 2004
Nick,
I posted that article quite a while ago (~five months ago). I thought I even sent you a personal email about it. By any means, glad you enjoyed it.
TVG is a stunning musician, no question. As far as I am concerned, he, along with today's other senior artists, are living legends in the field. The trinity hold a special place in the annals of carnatic music/mridangam due to their pioneering work in the field. They are akin to the Niels Bohr, Isaac Newton, of science.
- From: Kumaran Ravendradas (@ cache1-popl.server.ntli.net)
on: Wed Mar 17 07:04:18 EST 2004
We have the great Mridangam trinity but Rohan and Nick who do you think is the "best out of the best"? I think in that trinity the best ever is Palghat Mani. Iyer. I've listened to one of his performances back in the sixties (i wan't alive then but i listened to it on the net) and the style he played for songs is totally different to all others i have heard. I also believe that Karaikudi. R. Mani and Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman are the greatest influences for me at present.
- From: Nick H (UK) (@ nhaynes.adsl.wizards.co.uk)
on: Wed Mar 17 08:17:51 EST 2004
Rohan, yes, we did exchange e-mails about your site, but I only just now got around to giving it some proper attention.
Kumaran, I have nothing like the level of experience and education that guys like you and Rohan have. I'm certainly not qualified to express opinions, even purely subjective ones, on great mridangists from the past; I've hardly heard them at all.
But a beginner's inexperienced unqualified opinion? (so many caveats!). It's hardly surprising that I am always attracted to the PSP school of playing to which my own guruji belongs. If I *have* to then I would single out Guruvayur Dorai and Trichy Sankaran for the melodic, musical nature of their playing. And TVG; I love his playing.
- From: Nick H (UK) (@ nhaynes.adsl.wizards.co.uk)
on: Wed Mar 17 08:21:08 EST 2004
As the one of us that *was* alive in the 60s, I greatly regret that, at the time, I was completely ignorant of all this until just a few uears ago.
But, hey, I must have had some good reason for being born in the UK!-)
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