Indian Classical Music And Sikh Kirtan
by Gobind Singh Mansukhani (M.A., LL.B, Ph.D.) © 1982
Sadhana
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by Gobind Singh Mansukhani (M.A., LL.B, Ph.D.) © 1982
Sadhana
Indian Classical Music And Sikh Kirtan by Gobind Singh Mansukhani (M.A., LL.B, Ph.D.) © 1982 Sadhana |
| Sadhana The cultivation of one’s music-talent is serious work. The student of music must be willing to spare time, effort and money for acquiring a thorough knowledge of the essentials of ragas. He must do the sadhana (practice with devotion) and learn the grammar. Sadhana implies a regular routine of practice of music- svara, laya, tal, and gaiki- steadily and correctly over a period of time for voice modulation. It is no use adopting a casual attitude to music like getting a few lessons. Great musicians have devoted their entire lives to its cultivation. If the student learns vocal music, he must cultivate his voice and make it steady and tonal. He must do the alaaps and tans over and over again. If he learns an instrument, he must practise it well and keep the time-beat (tal) so that the proper rasa of the raga is produced which he may be able to enjoy himself and communicate to his listeners. He must zealously safeguard the tradition and purity of music and acquire a thorough mastery over the svara-vadi and sanvadi, tan and tal so as to reproduce the very ethos and personality of the composition. Finally, his creativity must get a chance to display itself in innovations and improvisations of tans and gamakas (tonal graces). The following graded steps are suggested for a student of Indian music: a) He should learn to tune his tanpura and play on it to get the sense of the drone (tonic or SA). b) He should modulate his voice with the help of the tanpura and with the help of a teacher, with regard to its quality, tone, speed and flexibility. c) He must practice the alankars: SA, RE, GA, MA, PA, DHA, NI, SA, up and down in different tempos, several times. The permutations of alankars are given in chapter 3. It will be helpful if his teacher keeps time by clapping his hands. The slow tempo would mean one beat to each note, the medium tempo would mean one beat to two notes, and fast tempo would mean one beat to four notes. d) He must start to learn tal (rhythm) with a beat of his hands. The easiest tal to begin with is teental of 16 units (matras)
It will be better if the teacher sings the raga and the student keeps the tal. |