Serendipity and Learning

Recently, I got a chance to see a fusion band - Kalarava . These guys mixed Carnatic music with non-traditional instruments - and interpreted the music in a more eclectic fashion. The songs were fast paced, the instruments non-traditional - yet with a traditional undercurrent - and the kept the audience wanting for more at the end of it. And just a few weeks before that I got a chance to see a Carnatic maestro perform. The concert was fairly traditional - but the maestro gave a virtuoso performance. Now which of these is creative? The fusion band is a young set of people - trying out various combinations. The maestro is also fairly young - but at the same time - pushing the limits of his art by virtue of talent and experimentation. Obviously both are creative - in their own ways. There is no good creativity and bad creativity (there is, but not in this context). So what is the creative element here? One is where the fusion band pushes the envelope by bringing in different inst...

I dont remember clearly, how I stumbled onto Shivakumars website for learning Carnatic Music . It was a sheer coincidence, but this is probably the single best learning site ever. And it is completely free. The site has lessons from basic to very advanced, songs sung at different pitches, the 'swarams' and the 'sahityams', downloadable mp3, explanations - I could go on and on. It is a treasure trove for anyone who wants to learn music or is learning music. And with this wealth of information, it could very easily have been a 'paid' site. But keeping in tune with how music has spread over the years - the site is just that - free. From a learners perspective, it has everything one needs to know. Especially if you are learning Carnatic music and want a little bit of guidance or want to know more at any level or to revise your knowledge or have fun listening or practicing, it is a great site. Comprehensive is the one word for it. And perhaps one of the great ...

No, this is not a post that evokes memories of a bygone era and wishes that we were still in an era where there was socialism and a radio. Now that I got that out of the way, lets get onto the topic. When I grew up, we heard songs on the radio – at home, at the barber shop, sometimes in a shop - more than on television. Since televisions were far and few to begin with and there was just one channel, so the chances of seeing a song was quite rare and chancy. Thus it was, that our mind created images of the song in the way that we created our own picturization of a song. So, when I heard a song, I would have no idea who it is picturized on (though sometimes I did) and how. And our mind creates a mental map of how the song would possibly look like. And later, when you see that song on say, a youtube or even a TV, sometimes you go – what? This song was picturized this badly? Or I did not know this song was picturized on XYZ. On the other hand, there are those tha...