VOCAL GRADE 4 Introduction Welcome to Grade 4 You are about to start the wonderful journey of learning to sing, a journey that is challenging, but rewarding and enjoyable! Whether you want to jam with a band or enjoy singing solo, this series of lessons will get you ready to perform with skill & confidence. What will you learn? Grade 4 covers the following topics : 1) Guruvandana and Saraswati vandana 2) Gharanas in Indian Classical Music 3) Pandit Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande 4) Tanpura 5) Lakshan Geet 6) Music & Psychology 7) Raag Bhairav 8) Chartaal 9) Raag Bihag 10) Raag and Time Theory 11) Raag Kafi 12) Taal Ektaal 13) Bada Khyal 14) Guessing a Raag 15) Alankar 1 What You Need Harmonium /Synthesizer Electronic Tabla / TablaApp You can learn to sing without any of the above instruments also and by tapping your feet, however you will get a lot more out of this series if you have a basic harmonium and a digital Tabla to practice. How to Practice At Home Apart from this booklet for level 1, there will be video clippings shown to you for each topic in all the lessons. During practice at home, please follow the method shown in the clippings. Practice each lesson several times before meeting for the next lesson. A daily practice regime of a minimum of 15 minutes will suffice to start with. Practicing with the harmonium and the digital Tabla will certainly have an added advantage. DigitalTablamachinesorTablasoftware’sareeasilyavailableandideallyshould beusedfor daily practice. 2 Lesson 1 GURUVANDANA SARASWATI VANDANA & Guruvandana Importance of Guruvandana : The concept of Guru is as old as humanity itself. Primarily, the word Guru means a 'teacher' and as such it is a universal concept based on the idea of transmitting knowledge from a person, who knows something, to a student or a disciple. In an extended view, a Guru can also be a priest, a master, a school teacher, even a father or a mother. Guru does not mean a teacher imparting formal training but a person who contributes to the overall development and learning of an individual. The syllable ‘Gu’ means darkness & the syllable ‘Ru’means he who dispels it. Hence Guru is one, who has the power to dispel darkness. Guru transforms his disciple through his presence and spiritual knowledge. Musical knowledge cannot be attained completely by reading books. But for obtaining complete musical knowledge Guru’s presence is a must. Only when there is a strong bond between Guru and Shishya can musical knowledge be imparted. It is impossible to get any knowledge without a Guru. From the 3 Guru-Shishya tradition in the past, the Guru has been given the place of God, which continues till today. It is very important to pay homage to the Guru with a calm mind, to be able to absorb the knowledge given by the Guru with full concentration and dedication required especially for the art of music. GururBrahma GururVishnu GururDevo Maheshwaraha| Guru Saakshaat ParaBrahma Tasmai Sri Gurave Namaha || Meaning of Shlok : GururBrahma - Guru is the Creator (Brahma), GururVishnu - Guru is the Preserver (Vishnu), GururDevo Maheshwaraha - GuruDeva is Destroyer (Maheshwara) Guru Saakshaat ParaBrahma - Guru is the absolute (singular) Lord himself Tasmai Sri Gurave Namaha - Salutations to that Sri Guru Meaning of Words : Guru: Dispeller of Darkness/Teacher Brahma: Creator; Personification of Creating Quality of God Vishnu: Preserver; Personification of Preserving quality of God Deva: God Maheshwara: Destroyer; Personification of Destroying Quality of God Saakshaat: Self/ Himself ParaBrahma: He who is the highest Lord; Consciousness Tasmai: To him/ To such Sri: Holy, splendorous Namaha: Salutations 4 SARASWATI VANDANA Importance of Saraswari Vandana : Saraswati is the goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning.[ She is the mother of the Vedas, and chants directed to her are called the 'Saraswati Vandana’ Vedic lessons also often begin & end with this. As she is believed to be the goddess of music and knowledge, it is important to grace her with the saraswati Vandana before embarking on any journey of knowledge. Ya Kundendu Tusharahara Dhavala Ya Shubhra Vastravrita। Ya Veena Varadanda Manditakara Ya Shveta Padmasana॥ Ya Brahmachyuta Shankara Prabhritibhir Devaih Sada Pujita। Sa Mam Pattu Saravatee Bhagavatee Nihshesha Jadyapaha॥ Meaning of Saraswati Vandana : Let us try to understand the meaning of the saraswati Vandana. May Goddess Saraswati, who is fair like Jasmine colored moon and whose pure white garland is like frosty dew drops, who is wearing radiant white clothes and on whose beautiful palm and arm rests the Veena, whose throne 5 is in the white lotus, and who is surrounded and respected by Gods including Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Mahesh, protect me. I plead her to totally remove my inertia and sluggishness. Meaning of words : Ya – Who; Kund – White Jasmine flower; Indu – moon; Tushar – frost, dew; Hara – Garland; Dhavala – White and pure; Shubhra – White and radiant; Vastra – Clothes; Avruta – adorned with; Veena – Veena; Var – beautiful; Danda – arm; Mandit – adorn; Kara – palm; Shwet – White; Padmasana – Lotus throne; Brahma – Brahma; Achyut – Lord Vishnu; Shankar – Lord Shankara; Prabhritibhi – beginning from; Devaih – by the lords; Sada – always; Vandita – respected; Sa – she(that); Mam – Me; Patu – protect; Saraswati – saraswati; Bhagavatee – Goddess; Nihshesha – without any remnant; Jadya – inertia; Apaha – remove; 6 Lesson 2 GHARANAS IN INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSIC Gharanas in Indian classical music is an age old tradition and is based on the Guru-Shishya Parampara. The master or Guru invents his/her own unique style of singing which is passed down to the student’s generation after generation & eventually results in the formation of a Gharana. In other words, a Gharana refers to a particular style of singing. In the older times, everything, including art was pretty much localized. People living in one particular region had no idea of what was happening in another region. So the style of singing in a particular place remained confined to that region & didn’t travel. As a result, all the Gharanas got their names from the places they originated in. There are 10 major Gharanas in Hindustani classical music 1) Gwalior Gharana 2) Agra Gharana 3) Kirana Gharana 4) Bhendi Bazaar Gharana 5) Jaipur - Atrauli Gharana 6) Patiala/Punjab Gharana 7) Rampur-Sahaswan Gharana 8) Indore Gharana 9) Mewati Gharana 10) Sham Chaurasia Gharana 7 1. Gwalior Gharana: This is one of the oldest Gharanas. It was started by Miya Tansen. Some of the popular singers of this Gharana are Krishnarao shankar Pandit & Raja Bhaiyya Poonchwale. Some of the contemporary artistes of this Gharana are Meeta Pandit, Shashwati Mandal, Vasundhara Komkali etc. The prominent features of this Gharana are as follows: a) Singing in an open & loud voice b) Khyals have a touch of Dhrupad style. c) Taans are straight & 'Sapaat'. d) Laykari in Boltaan e) Extensive use of Gamak. 8 2. Agra Gharana: This Gharana was founded by Haji Sujan Khan and Ustad Ghaghe Khuda Baksh. Some of the popular singers of this Gharana are Faiyyaz Khan, Khadim Hussain Khan and Zohrabai. Some of the contemporary artistes of this Gharana are Waseem Ahmed Khan and Bharati Pratap. The prominent features of this Gharana are as follows: a) Aalap using the words 'Nom-Tom'. b) Bandish occupies a special position in this Gharana & involves a lot of Laykari within the Bandish. c) Singing in an open & clear voice. d) Specializes in Dhrupad-Dhamaar also alongwith Khyal. e) Specializes in singing Boltaan as well as singing words without breaking Them so that their meaning remains intact. 9 3. Kirana Gharana: This is a very popular Gharana in terms of the artists that it has produced and was founded by Ustad Bande Ali Khan who incidentally also used to play the Rudra Veena.Some of the most popular singers of this Gharana are Bhimsen Joshi, Firoz Dastur and Prabha Atre. Some of the contemporary singers of this Gharana are Sumitra Guha and Sanhita Nanda. The prominent features of this Gharana are as follows: a) A special way of rendering the notes b) More importance to Swar than words. c) Aalap dominant singing. d) Aalap is done by expanding the notes slowly one by one. e) A touch of Thumri style to singing. f) A touch of the style of playing string instruments to singing. g) Extensive use of Meend and Gamak in Taan. 10 4. Bhendi Bazaar Gharana: This is one of the oldest Gharanas and was founded by Chhajju Khan, Nazir Khan and Khadim Khan. The most famous singers of this Gharana are Lata Mangeshkar, Manna Dey and Begum Akhtar. Manna Dey Lata Mangeshkar Begum Akhtar Prominent features of this Gharana are as follows: a) Use of 'Merukhand' system in Aalap. 5. Jaipur - Atrauli Gharana: This Gharana was started by Alladiya Khan in the late 19th century. Some of the disciples of this Gharana are Ashwini Bhide Deshpande, Raghunandan Panshikar, Shruti Sadolikar and Sanjay Dixit. Raghunandan Panshikar Ashwini Bhide Deshpande 11 Prominenet features of this Gharana are as follows: a) Predominantly Khyal singing. b) Unique Laykari. c) Rich collection of Ragas. d) Complex formations of Swar. 6. Patiala/Punjab Gharana: This Gharana was founded by Ustad Fateh Ali Khan and Ustad Ali Baksh. Some of the famous singers of this Gharana are Ghulam Ali and Shafqat Amanat Ali. Ghulam Ali Ustad Ali Baksh The prominent features of this Raag are: a) Fast compositions & rhythm play in its compositions. b) Extensive use of Alankarik Taan & Phirat Taan. c) Known for its Chhota Khyal compositions. d) Singing influenced by the ‘Tappa’ style. e) Expertise in singing Taan. f) Expertise in Thumri singing. 12 7. Rampur-Sahaswan Gharana: This was founded by Ustad Inayat Hussain Khan. Some of the famous disciples of this Gharana are Pt.