I'm so new to carnatic music so what do you suggest to improve myself? Thanks :*
hi!!!! :’) sorry, this is such a late reply I haven’t been on here in forever, but I’m so glad you reached out to me! I’ll just tell you some stuff that have really helped me because I’ve only been learning for 5 years so I’m not all that advanced either.
For theory:
Raaga Rasika: It’s a really defined series of podcasts meant for beginners who want to understand the theory behind Karnatic music. It’s somewhat complex but it’s so helpful, I can’t tell you how much it’s helped me grow as a singer. If you want to be respected as a karnatic singer, you should know some theory so like, this helps a lot. Also, it introduces you to compositions and ragas that are popular and not as popular as well. Just use this to the extent you can tbh.
Lecture Demonstrations: I love T.M Krishna, I own his book, and I watch an interview of his everyday– his views are extremely revolutionary and he’s so genius. But, I think watching his demonstrations and also, a demonstration that helped me a lot was this one especially in the beginning because I struggled with a lot of voice culture problems that hindered me. Watch interviews; try to get to know the artists out there on a personal level because then you can try and dissect their views which in turn will allow you to enjoy music more.
Music: The best thing you can do is listen. Listen, listen, listen, listen. Watch concerts, listen to music, figure out what kinds of ragas you like and what you don’t like and why. Try to dissect the kind of moods that music gives off, because that’ll segway you into raga recognition. I wish I listened to Karnatic music earlier in my music learning because I would have been far off. If you don’t have time to write, read. (It’s a popular quote, so:) If you don’t have time to practice, listen.
Personal fave, pro-tip: Coke Studio (India or Pakistan) helps you a lot too, I personally find that it lets me kind of stay in touch with Karnatic music while being not as hardcore because listening to Karnatic music all the time is exhausting sometimes. It’s a very analytical art form, especially once you start recognizing raagas because then you have to actively listen.
Then, Practice:
These are just pro-tips at this point that have helped me. Secrets, per se, that my teacher has told me.
Hold a note with the tanpura on, and just sustain it as long as you can. Turn on your stopwatch as well, and then just time yourself. See if you can beat 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds. But if your note starts to waiver, stop.
Aakaram- same thing, do the notes with yourself saying “aa” vowel instead of the note’s name. So instead of Sa, you say Aa.
Make little patterns in a raga. So if you have Kaanada Scale: Ar: S R P G M D N S, Ava: S N P M P G M R S. Then try singing little phrases: S, R, P; M D M R; S N (low) D (low) N (low) S, you get the point, I’m sure. This helps you with active pattern recognition.
If you need help with reaching notes or clarity of notes, go up and down the scale, so for example: Kalyani: S R2 G3 M2 P D2 N3 S avarōhaṇa: S N3 D2 P M2 G3 R2 S. So you want to follow this scale up until the highest note you can reach in the higher octave and lower note in lower octave. It helps a lot with clarity and range. If you want a challenge, try it in a shruti lower or higher than your regular.
And, again, just be patient and confident. If there’s one thing I wish I had it’s confidence when it comes to me as a singer.
I congratulate you on starting your career as a Karnatic student and if you have any doubts or need any recs, I’m always here to help.