Musical Experiments

Chalanata

2008-07-31T18:07:00.000-07:00

Chalanata is the 36th Melakarta raga, and has a number of swaras which are "teevra" or "sharp" versions of the swaras. As a result of a symmetric agglomeration of sharp swaras, there is a tendency for this raga to sound extremely dreamy and jazzy, making it perfect for chilled out jamming.

Two of the greatest and most celebrated songs in Carnatic music, Jagadaanandakaraka and Mahaganapathim Manasasmarami are both set in ragas derived from Chalanata, and hence sound jazzy and profound when played on the guitar, while if they are played on the conventional instruments of Carnatic music, bring a mood of elation, gambheeram, etc., to the mind.

I have conducted another experiment on my guitar in order to learn to play this raga. I thoroughly enjoyed playing and recording this, since mostly, the EBEBEB tuning on my guitar suffices for quick improvization on just such a raga, since the key swaras are all closeby and the fingers can move swiftly between them.

The following is a one minute sample of my experiment today. Please listen and comment on how I can better use the raga.

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Experiments in Hamsadhwani

2008-07-26T20:18:00.000-07:00

Hamsadhwani literally means "the song of the swans". Hamsadhwani to Carnatic aficionados is a raga of surpassing beauty, of symmetric ascent and descent (aarohana and avarohana) cycles, which allow for a lot of dexterity. It is a pretty uplifting and relaxing raga, and shows ample scope for improvization.

I was introduced early to songs in this raga, before I was interested in Carnatic music. The first Carnatic song I heard in this raga was the excellent Vathapi Ganapathim Bhaje, as rendered by Maharajapuram Santhanam in his heyday. I have heard countless renditions of this raga in various songs by various artists, but U Srinivas' mandolin performances in this raga and Santhanam's mellifluous versions of Vathapi stand out.

Here is my humble attempt at this eloquent raga, which transgresses across two octaves (that being the main objective of the experiment). The result is a paradoxical low-pitched happiness, if that were an apt description ever. This is not to say that the high pitched versions of the song are any less beautiful - in fact, their beauty is only accentuated because of the limited use of high pitches throughout the recording.

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Experiments in Keeravani

2008-07-26T19:58:00.001-07:00

Another Melakarta raga in the sampoorna raga system is Keeravani. Perhaps it is my disposition that I should record all the ragas which convey a surfeit of emotion and no grim or jazzy ones yet. Athana and Nattai fall into that category and I do have recordings of those, but I think I need to improve on those just yet. Keeravani is another very effusive raga which conveys happiness and sadness all at once. It is often used by Ilayaraja and has been the fundamental raga for many of his popular songs. Keeravani being a Melakarta raga, has a lot of scope for improvization, and what I have recorded is a fraction of what the raga is capable of conveying.

I should be grateful to many of Ilayaraja's songs that are set in Keeravani (here's an incomplete database) - they've been inspirations for learning this raga and nuances of it. Like a lot of others who learn Carnatic music I am of the opinion that ragas cannot be conveyed merely by listing the swaras out. Although I have learnt Carnatic music by myself and am largely self-taught, I am aware of the limitations of learning by oneself. The tutelage seems to encompass sahitya, not merely sangeetha and also aspects of music not apparent like bhava and laya that truly convert the system of ragas and raganubhava into an art.

The recording follows. I hope to improve on the playing sometime. This was recorded about a month back.

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Experiments in Thodi

2008-07-26T07:38:00.000-07:00

Thodi has long enchanted me and is a difficult raga to play because of the (slides) gamakas involved. The only composition I know in this raga is Thaye Yashoda. Since Thodi is a Melakarta raga, one can perform elaborate alapanas in this raga. The mood of the raga is one of mystery, devotion, strangeness and beauty. Thaye Yashoda conveys this sense of mystery and wonder aptly, since the sahitya of the song is written from a layperson's perspective - the song is about Lord Krishna and his divine antics as a child. I made two recordings of Thodi, one is a (failed) trial of Thaye Yashoda, and the other is a general Thodi alapana.

Thodi Experiment #1

Thodi Experiment#2

Thodi is a fascinating raga and is reserved for my more contemplative moods. I will make sure I revisit this musical gem and hopefully learn to play it better, more effectively and more creatively handle its wide scope for experimentation.

Shivaranjani

2008-07-24T15:27:00.001-07:00

Shivaranjani has got to be one of the ragas that excel at showing off a surfeit of emotion, specifically, contrasting emotions, in one unbroken scale. What I enjoy about this raga is that in the specific case of my guitar tuning, it becomes extremely easy to play, extremely comfortable to improvise. As a Melakartha raga, Shivaranjani gives me a lot of opportunity to experiment between pairs of swaras and carry out elaborate and complex alapanas, which is swell, because I dislike being constrained - or perhaps haven't learnt how to handle complex ragas. In any case, this is one of my favourite ragas, there are plenty of popular songs in it. The piece I play is freestyle, improvisation in the raga. I also hope to play variations on this raga sometime, with emphasis on the nishada, so that I can obtain the especially piquant musical expression that this raga is capable of conveying.

I have two recordings in this post. The first is a rendition of Shivarajani that is more conventional, and the second is fast, improvizations on the Shivaranjani scale with low pitched overtones.

Here is a more conventional Shivaranjani recording, which is unfortunately recorded in with my laptop's built in poor quality microphone:

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This is the second, more unconventional recording, thankfully on a better microphone:

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Experiments with Charukesi

2008-07-24T15:11:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my musical experiments blog where I post stuff from my guitar recordings and experiments. My first post is on one of my favourite ragas in Carnatic music - Charukesi.

Charukesi is a ponderous, enchanting, scale which can be used to convey feelings of attachment, devotion, loss, beauty and profundity. Parts of it sound sad, other parts ecstatic. The Charukesi scale transcends high pitches and low pitches with a sort of perfection unseen in many other ragas. It is one of my personal favourites and has been one of my inspirations to learn Carnatic music, and guitar.

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