Comments on: Tuning – in Detail

By: mnv

mnv — Fri, 21 May 2010 03:04:47 +0000

Raveena:

– Yes Pa can be used. My teacher taught me that you can use Pa when you are descending. . But I’ve heard many recordings of people not sticking to this rule.

what i mean by “when you are descending” : when the next note is lower , you can use Pa … or If you are at PA, you can only go down to Ma , Ga , Re , etc. can’t go up to Dha Ni .
If you want to ascend , you have to go up from Ma … like Ma Dha Ni or Ga Ma Dha Ni etc.

like I said , I’ve heard many artists not stick to this rule.

- Yes there are specific words, but I’ve never learned them formally – only read them on the internet.
Note emphasized the most for the Raag , I think is VADI
Second most emphasized note – SAMVADI
the patterns to be used are – PAKAR ( like catch / hold )

If they make exceptions – you should still be able to recognize the main PAKAR

By: raveenak

raveenak — Thu, 20 May 2010 06:54:19 +0000

Questions:
- Does Raag Yaman use Pa? It is not written in the notes used.
- Is there a specific word (like Aroh) for ‘notes to be emphasized’ and ‘patterns to be used’?
- When some artists make an exception and use notes that are not in the raag, how do we know it is still raag yaman? Do we focus on the pattern instead?

By: Lisa

Lisa — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 04:18:23 +0000

Hi, I wasn’t sure because I don’t hear that sound with the musicians that really know what they’re doing. Here’s a couple of goodies:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zX6O7BxRnog
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDRRrSYieU8

I’ve noticed that if I slow it down and if I’m more careful transitioning from note to note that I can eliminate the random pinball ping. Maybe the art of it is to learn how to increase your speed while taming that sound. We’ll see!

By: mnv

mnv — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 03:12:23 +0000

Or you could try blocking the Jawari strings with a small piece of cloth – so they don’t make any sound.
( I think that’s better than removing them )

By: mnv

mnv — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 03:07:38 +0000

Hi Lisa,
Checked the link you sent . It’s a normal, good thing for a Dilruba. You can tune the Jawaris to the notes you want to emphasize.

The Esraj does not have a Jawari bridge for sympathetics, so it doesn’t make that sound.

If you really don’t like it – you could see if it’s possible to loosen and remove the Jawari strings.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 23:41:35 +0000

Hi, I have a question about dealing with Jawari strings. I get a “vvvvvvrrrrriiiiiiinggggg (anyone home?)” when I hit certain notes. Right now it’s around Re & Ga, and if I retune the Jawari strings, I just move the vringing to different notes.

Is this a tuning issue or a playing issue? Is this sound a good thing or a bad thing? If it’s tuning, what’s the best way to off-set this effect?

I don’t have a video of me attempting to play yet, but here’s one that shows the issue: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY6PifTP9HE
This guy vrings around Dha & Ni all over the place, but check out 0:58, 1:17. 1:45, 2:05, etc. Thanks a lot!

By: haribhakta

haribhakta — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 19:48:30 +0000

I had a real difficult time trying to tune my esraj, then I got sidetracked with college. Is there a way to get an extension on the lesson. Also, what’s a good email to reach you with. I had a hard time finding one on this site.
thanks,
Hari

By: haribhakta

haribhakta — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 19:36:51 +0000

it would help if tuning in detail had more detail

By: Lessons: Update

Lessons: Update — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 10:47:01 +0000

[...] Detailed Lesson on tuning for people with no previous knowledge of the Indian music system is complete for now, but may be [...]

By: mnv

mnv — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 11:55:47 +0000

ah yes , i’ll fix that . thanks for pointing it out.
The position is still correct though.