Literally, the meaning is 'one who showers amrit, the elixir of immortality.' It is a combination of two words: amrit and varshini.
Different schools of music place the origin of this raga under different melas. One school places this raga as the janya of the 39th mela Jhalavarali. But the present day Amritavarshini does not have any resemblance to the 39th mela. There are no compositions in this type of Amritavarshini.
The present day Amritavarshini could be placed as the janya of the 65th mela Mechakalyani. Or the 66th mela Chitrambari. It can be fitted to either of these melas as the raga does not have a Dhaivata. As the note Dhaivata is the only difference between Mechakalyani and Chitrambari, in the absence of that note, it could belong to either of these melas.
But the practice is to choose the earlier of the two ragas in case of such a dilemma.
Amritavarshini as it is sung today has the following Aarohana and Avarohana:
S G3 M2 P N3 S
S N3 P M2 G3 S
It is an Audava raga and is very melodious. It does not give scope for treatment as a major raga in a concert. One reason could be the absence of major compositions in the raga.
The very popular and frequently heard ones are Muthuswamy Dikshitar's 'Anandamritakarshini' in Adi Tala and Muthiaha Bhagavatar's 'Sudhamayee' in Rupaka Tala.
The raga is a hot favorite for ragamalika swara singing in ragam-taanam-pallavi.
There is a popular anecdote about this raga. It is said that while visiting Ettayapuram, a small village in Tamil Nadu, the great composer Muthuswamy Dikshitar was anguished to see the drought-hit arid land and people facing severe water shortage. Moved by their plight, Dikshitar looked up to the sky and burst forth in praise of the goddess in this raga. He beseeched Devi to bring rain and alleviate the plight of the drought-hit people.
He addressed the Devi as 'Anandamritakarshini, Amritavarshini'. When he sang 'Salilam Varshaya Varshaya', meaning 'let the rain pour', it is said the sky opened up. There was such a torrential rain that the place got flooded. He had then to plead 'Sthambhaya Sthambhaya', meaning 'stop, stop'.
This incident has given rise to the practice of musicians gathering together to sing this composition when there rains fail.
Wonderful rendition by T S Sreekumar
A unique Vocal+violin concert by a single person.
Film Music
Another Amrithavarshini
Showing posts with label lessons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lessons. Show all posts
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Hamsadhwani
HAMSADHWANI, a Janya Ragam from Melam 29 Dheerasankarabharanam
is an audava-audava (Pentatonic scale)
Arohana: S R2 G3 P N3 S
Avarohana: S N3 P G3 R2 S
The Rasa associated with this Ragam is "Vira" (Bravery). Majority of the compositions in Hamsadhwani are on Lord Ganesha and the rest (well almost) are on Lord Rama. Hamsadwani features as a Ragam in many Ragamalikas. An Anecdote: Once, Tiger Varadachariar, a renowned musician of yesteryears, was listening to a poorly rendered hamdashwani by some musician, and he quipped: This is not Hamsadhwani - but Himsa dhvani!! (Sound of torture).
Famous compositions in this raga are
Vatapi Ganapathim, Vinayaka, Raghunayaka.
Vatapi Kalpanaswaras by Aishu
A Tamil Film Song
A Song from the albunm Colonial Cousins
A Punjabi Pop in Hamsdhwani !!!
is an audava-audava (Pentatonic scale)
Arohana: S R2 G3 P N3 S
Avarohana: S N3 P G3 R2 S
The Rasa associated with this Ragam is "Vira" (Bravery). Majority of the compositions in Hamsadhwani are on Lord Ganesha and the rest (well almost) are on Lord Rama. Hamsadwani features as a Ragam in many Ragamalikas. An Anecdote: Once, Tiger Varadachariar, a renowned musician of yesteryears, was listening to a poorly rendered hamdashwani by some musician, and he quipped: This is not Hamsadhwani - but Himsa dhvani!! (Sound of torture).
Famous compositions in this raga are
Vatapi Ganapathim, Vinayaka, Raghunayaka.
Vatapi Kalpanaswaras by Aishu
A Tamil Film Song
A Song from the albunm Colonial Cousins
A Punjabi Pop in Hamsdhwani !!!
When is a scale a raga?
Here are some basic rules for calling a given scale a raga
1. The raga has its origin in a scale called ‘thaat’ or ‘mela’.
2. There should be at least 5 notes in a raga.
3. The 2 forms of a note i.e. flat and sharp, should not come in succession in a raga.
4. A raga has both ascending and descending (aaroha and avaroha) order of notes.
5. A raga should have the note ‘sa’ i.e. ‘do’ of the solfa notation.
6. A raga should have at least one note from ‘ma’ and ‘pa’, i.e. ‘fa’ and ’so’ of the solfa notation.
7. A raga should have both ‘vadi’ and ‘samvadi’ notes.
8. A raga should have an aesthetic value.
1. The raga has its origin in a scale called ‘thaat’ or ‘mela’.
2. There should be at least 5 notes in a raga.
3. The 2 forms of a note i.e. flat and sharp, should not come in succession in a raga.
4. A raga has both ascending and descending (aaroha and avaroha) order of notes.
5. A raga should have the note ‘sa’ i.e. ‘do’ of the solfa notation.
6. A raga should have at least one note from ‘ma’ and ‘pa’, i.e. ‘fa’ and ’so’ of the solfa notation.
7. A raga should have both ‘vadi’ and ‘samvadi’ notes.
8. A raga should have an aesthetic value.
Janya Raga classification
What is a janya raga?
It is a "derived" raga from one of the 72 Melakartha ragas. This derivation may be by
1. Excluding one or more sware from the "parent" or the janaka either in aarohana or avarohana or both
2. Including one or more swaras that do not belong to the parent. Such swaras are called anyaswaras.
3. Reordering the swaras differing from their natural flow.
1. Exclusion of Swaras: When this happens we end up with ragas having 6 or 5 swaras in either arohanam or avarohanam or both. A raga that has 7 swaras is called a sampoorna raga. By definition all Melakartha ragas are sampoorna ragas.
A raga with 6 swaras is called a Shadava Raga. A raga with 5 swaras is called a Audava raga. A raga can have different number of swaras in Arohanam and avarohanam. Therefore you can have sampoorna-shadava or shadava-sampoorna, sampoorna-audava or audava-sampoorna, shadava-audava or audava-shadava, sampoorna, shadava-shadava or audava-audava ragas (phew!!!)
Examples:
Sampoorna: Any melakartha raga like Shankarabharanam or Kalyani.
Shadava Sampoorna: Kambhoji. Janya of Harikambhoji (28th Mela).
Audava Sampoorna: Saveri (Janya of Mayamalava Gowla 15th Mela)
Shadava Shadava: Sriranjani (Janya of KH Priya 22nd Mela)
Audava Shadava: Malahari (Janya of MMG 15th Mela).
Audava Audava: Mohanam (Janya of HariKambhoji 29th Mela)
2. Including Anyaswaras: A raga that is "faithful" to its parent is called a Upanga Raga and one that uses foreign swaras are Bashanga ragas. All of the above janyas mentioned are upanga ragas. The Bashanga ragas may have one or more anya swaras.
Example:
Bhairavi (janya of natabhairavi 20th Mela). D2 is used as an anyaswara in the arohana. It is a sampoorna raga with D2 in arohana but D1 in avarohana.
Begada (janya of Shankarabharanam 29th Mela). Uses N2 in the avarohana.
3. Reordering of swaras: A raga where the swaras are sung in a different order every time they occur. Such ragas are called Vakra Raga (or twisted ragas)
Example:
PurviKalyani (Janya of 53rd Mela -Gamanshrama). S R1 G3 M2 P D2 P S | S N3 D2 P M2 G3 R1 S
Sahana (28th Mela's Janya) S R2 G3 M1 P M1 D2 N2 S | SN2SD2N2D2PM1G3M1R2G3R2S :)
It is a "derived" raga from one of the 72 Melakartha ragas. This derivation may be by
1. Excluding one or more sware from the "parent" or the janaka either in aarohana or avarohana or both
2. Including one or more swaras that do not belong to the parent. Such swaras are called anyaswaras.
3. Reordering the swaras differing from their natural flow.
1. Exclusion of Swaras: When this happens we end up with ragas having 6 or 5 swaras in either arohanam or avarohanam or both. A raga that has 7 swaras is called a sampoorna raga. By definition all Melakartha ragas are sampoorna ragas.
A raga with 6 swaras is called a Shadava Raga. A raga with 5 swaras is called a Audava raga. A raga can have different number of swaras in Arohanam and avarohanam. Therefore you can have sampoorna-shadava or shadava-sampoorna, sampoorna-audava or audava-sampoorna, shadava-audava or audava-shadava, sampoorna, shadava-shadava or audava-audava ragas (phew!!!)
Examples:
Sampoorna: Any melakartha raga like Shankarabharanam or Kalyani.
Shadava Sampoorna: Kambhoji. Janya of Harikambhoji (28th Mela).
Audava Sampoorna: Saveri (Janya of Mayamalava Gowla 15th Mela)
Shadava Shadava: Sriranjani (Janya of KH Priya 22nd Mela)
Audava Shadava: Malahari (Janya of MMG 15th Mela).
Audava Audava: Mohanam (Janya of HariKambhoji 29th Mela)
2. Including Anyaswaras: A raga that is "faithful" to its parent is called a Upanga Raga and one that uses foreign swaras are Bashanga ragas. All of the above janyas mentioned are upanga ragas. The Bashanga ragas may have one or more anya swaras.
Example:
Bhairavi (janya of natabhairavi 20th Mela). D2 is used as an anyaswara in the arohana. It is a sampoorna raga with D2 in arohana but D1 in avarohana.
Begada (janya of Shankarabharanam 29th Mela). Uses N2 in the avarohana.
3. Reordering of swaras: A raga where the swaras are sung in a different order every time they occur. Such ragas are called Vakra Raga (or twisted ragas)
Example:
PurviKalyani (Janya of 53rd Mela -Gamanshrama). S R1 G3 M2 P D2 P S | S N3 D2 P M2 G3 R1 S
Sahana (28th Mela's Janya) S R2 G3 M1 P M1 D2 N2 S | SN2SD2N2D2PM1G3M1R2G3R2S :)
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Simmendra Madhyamam
ārohaṇa: S R2 G2 M2 P D1 N3 S
avarohaṇa: S N3 D1 P M2 G2 R2 S
This is the 57th Melakartha. It has very few janyas so it's not as popular as a parent (or janaka) raga. By its own merit, it is often sung as a main piece in concerts and also quite often used on Ragam Thanam Pallavi. More on Ragam Thanam Pallavi in a later post.
It is very closely related to Shanmukapriya (56th mela) and differs from it only in the N. This causes it to be confused with Shanmukapriya more often than not if the musician is not careful about bringing out the N3 in the rendition.
Rendition of SM on Sax
http://www.musicindiaonline.com/p/x/pJX00I5jZS.As1NMvHdW/
Songs in SM from Films
Listen to the violins and the flute at the beginning
avarohaṇa: S N3 D1 P M2 G2 R2 S
This is the 57th Melakartha. It has very few janyas so it's not as popular as a parent (or janaka) raga. By its own merit, it is often sung as a main piece in concerts and also quite often used on Ragam Thanam Pallavi. More on Ragam Thanam Pallavi in a later post.
It is very closely related to Shanmukapriya (56th mela) and differs from it only in the N. This causes it to be confused with Shanmukapriya more often than not if the musician is not careful about bringing out the N3 in the rendition.
Rendition of SM on Sax
http://www.musicindiaonline.com/p/x/pJX00I5jZS.As1NMvHdW/
Songs in SM from Films
Listen to the violins and the flute at the beginning
Karaharapriya
This is the 22nd Melakartha.
It's scale is
Aarohana: S R2 G2 M1 P D2 N2 S
Avarohana: S N2 D2 P M1 G2 R2 S
This is a very important and melodious melakartha and also important because it gives rise to a lot of janya ragas. Kharaharapriya has been decorated with compositions by many composers. All except the Dikshitars, including Muthuswami Dikshitar,[1] have composed songs in this rāgam. Thyagaraja has composed many in this rāgam. Muthuswami Dikshitar, one of the three most important composers in Carnatic music, has not composed kritis in Kharaharapriya, but has composed kritis in a closely related ragam Harapriya, which bears stark similarities to Kharaharapriya.[3] A few of the popular compositions are listed here.
Chakkani rajamargamu, Pakkala nilapadi, Mitri Bhagyame, Rama ni samana, Nadachi Nadachi and Rama neeyata by Thyagaraja
Moovasai konda thiruman by Muthiah Bhagavatar
Senthil andavan, Srinivasa Thava Charanam by Papanasam Sivan
This is often sung as a main piece in concerts and is very conducive for elaborate alapana and kalpanaswarams. Karaharapriya in Hindustani system is called the Kafi thaat.
Here's a carnatic piece sung by great MS. Play close attention to the rag alapana at the beginning. Such a wonderful KHPriya
Nice demo of KHPriya on Keyboard. Not as faithful due to the inherent limitation of playing carnatic on keyboard but nevertheless, a good rendition.
Some movie songs in this raga
It's scale is
Aarohana: S R2 G2 M1 P D2 N2 S
Avarohana: S N2 D2 P M1 G2 R2 S
This is a very important and melodious melakartha and also important because it gives rise to a lot of janya ragas. Kharaharapriya has been decorated with compositions by many composers. All except the Dikshitars, including Muthuswami Dikshitar,[1] have composed songs in this rāgam. Thyagaraja has composed many in this rāgam. Muthuswami Dikshitar, one of the three most important composers in Carnatic music, has not composed kritis in Kharaharapriya, but has composed kritis in a closely related ragam Harapriya, which bears stark similarities to Kharaharapriya.[3] A few of the popular compositions are listed here.
Chakkani rajamargamu, Pakkala nilapadi, Mitri Bhagyame, Rama ni samana, Nadachi Nadachi and Rama neeyata by Thyagaraja
Moovasai konda thiruman by Muthiah Bhagavatar
Senthil andavan, Srinivasa Thava Charanam by Papanasam Sivan
This is often sung as a main piece in concerts and is very conducive for elaborate alapana and kalpanaswarams. Karaharapriya in Hindustani system is called the Kafi thaat.
Here's a carnatic piece sung by great MS. Play close attention to the rag alapana at the beginning. Such a wonderful KHPriya
Nice demo of KHPriya on Keyboard. Not as faithful due to the inherent limitation of playing carnatic on keyboard but nevertheless, a good rendition.
Some movie songs in this raga
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Kalyani
It is the 65th Melakartha and arguably the queen of ragas. It is the most important Pratimadhyama raga. It is also known as Mecha Kalyani to conform to the Katapayadhi system (More on Katapayadhi later). It's scale is
Arohana: S R2 G3 M2 P D2 N3 S'
Avarohana: S' N3 D2 P M2 G3 R2 S
Looking at the scale it looks like it differs from Shankarabharanam only in M. However, the swaraprayogas of Kalyani are very different from that of Shankarabharanam and they are poles apart in their distintive ways. Kalyani is also considered a very auspicious raga and a evening raga in general. This corresponds to Rag Yaman in Hindustani and to the C Lydian scale in Western Classical Music (Thanks Rajesh for pointing this out).
Here's a link to a mandolin rendition of Kalyani Varnam Vanajakshi
http://www.musicindiaonline.com/p/x/jUI0qkU-Wd.As1NMvHdW/
Here's a link to a very beautiful Krithi in Kalyani
http://www.musicindiaonline.com/p/x/b4p23skYgd.As1NMvHdW/
Arohana: S R2 G3 M2 P D2 N3 S'
Avarohana: S' N3 D2 P M2 G3 R2 S
Looking at the scale it looks like it differs from Shankarabharanam only in M. However, the swaraprayogas of Kalyani are very different from that of Shankarabharanam and they are poles apart in their distintive ways. Kalyani is also considered a very auspicious raga and a evening raga in general. This corresponds to Rag Yaman in Hindustani and to the C Lydian scale in Western Classical Music (Thanks Rajesh for pointing this out).
Here's a link to a mandolin rendition of Kalyani Varnam Vanajakshi
http://www.musicindiaonline.com/p/x/jUI0qkU-Wd.As1NMvHdW/
Here's a link to a very beautiful Krithi in Kalyani
http://www.musicindiaonline.com/p/x/b4p23skYgd.As1NMvHdW/
Shankarabharanam
This is the 29th Melakartha and one of the main ragas in Carnatic Music. It is also a very important janaka raga (that is a lot of ragas are derived from it). It is usually sung either as a varnam or a main krithi with elaborate raga alapana. The placement of swaras in Shankarabharanam make it very conducive for alapana and numerous swaraprastharas (using swaras during a krithi to bring out the raga). Shankarabharanam literally means "jewel of Lord Shiva" and is considered to be favorite raga of the deity. It's scale is
Arohana: S R2 G3 M1 P D2 N3 S'
Avarohana: S' N3 D2 P M1 G3 R2 S
The placement of it swaras makes it resemble the C major scale very closely.
Some Carnatic compositions in this raga are Swara raga sudha, Saroja dhala nethri. Here's a link to a thillana in Shankarabharanam
http://www.musicindiaonline.com/p/x/rUp2f7tONS.As1NMvHdW/
Here's a pseudo western piece but played Carnatic style in Shankarabharanam.
http://www.musicindiaonline.com/p/x/bUI09vl5wd.As1NMvHdW/
Movie Songs in Shankarabharanam
Arohana: S R2 G3 M1 P D2 N3 S'
Avarohana: S' N3 D2 P M1 G3 R2 S
The placement of it swaras makes it resemble the C major scale very closely.
Some Carnatic compositions in this raga are Swara raga sudha, Saroja dhala nethri. Here's a link to a thillana in Shankarabharanam
http://www.musicindiaonline.com/p/x/rUp2f7tONS.As1NMvHdW/
Here's a pseudo western piece but played Carnatic style in Shankarabharanam.
http://www.musicindiaonline.com/p/x/bUI09vl5wd.As1NMvHdW/
Movie Songs in Shankarabharanam
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Brief overview of beginner lessons
This is a repost from my external blog on carnatic music. I think this will be useful for some of you.
Music is Universal (yeah I know it sounds cliched), but hey how do you explain the fact that music is made of seven notes in almost all forms. Sa ri ga ma pa da ni forms the basis. I am currently learning the Carnatic style and that is what I explain in this blog. Here is the series of lesson in Carnatic music. The first 5 lessons are taught in Mayamalavagowla raga (though the 5th lesson Alankaram may be done in other ragas to train the students in swara prayoga - the right use of notes for that raga).
1. Sarali varisai - Saral means easy in hindi. This the first lesson or baby steps in music.
http://www.hummaa.com/music/album/Basic+Music+Lessons+-+Sarali+Varisai/31163
2. Mel sthayi varisai - The higher notes lesson. This has notes sung at a higher frequency to train the vocal chords. This is sometimes also known as thara sthayi varisai. Alternatively there is also the mandhra sthayi varisai that trains you in the lowest frequencies. This training helps you later on when you effortlessly move over the scale.
http://www.hummaa.com/music/album/Basic%20Music%20Lessons%20-%20Upper%20Stayi%20Varisai/31165
3. Thaattu varisai - Here the swaras are sung out of their usual order sometimes skipping as much as 3 notes in between. This helps fix the swara sthanas in your mind so that later when you have make similar jumps in songs, it becomes easier.
http://www.hummaa.com/music/album/Basic%20Music%20Lessons%20-%20Thattu%20Varisai/31168
4. Jandai varisai - This emphasises on repetition of swaras and is usually sung in fast speeds. This trains you to gain speed in singing without losing your sruthi.
http://www.hummaa.com/music/album/Basic%20Music%20Lessons%20-%20Jandai%20Varisai/31164
5. Alankaram - Literally means decoration/makeup. It is named so since this is where we start beautifying the music with different meters and ragas. This is where you are introduced to different thalas (meters) such as rupaka, ata, eka, jamba thalam etc. In addition to the change in thalam, the swaras are also sang in different order. This is the first time that the student is introduced to different ragas especially the ones that remain unaltered in arohana and avarohana such as sankarabaranam, mohanam, hamsadhwani etc. For example the rupaka thala alankaram in mayamalavagowlai (mmg) looks like
sr srgm| rg rgmp| gm gmpd| mp mpdn| pd pdns|
The same in mohanam (srgpds) looks like
sr srgp| rg rgpd| gp gpds|
http://www.hummaa.com/music/album/Basic%20Music%20Lessons%20-%20Alangaram/31170
6. Geetham - means song. This is first time you "graduate" from singing just swaras to songs. These are small songs where you first learn the swaras that make up the song and then the sahitya (or lyrics) of the song. It is considered auspicious to begin any endeavor with an invocation to Lord Ganesha. Accordingly "Shri Gananadha" in the raga malahari is the first geetham that is taught. This is followed by 3 more in the same raga. Typical other geethams are mohanam, kalyani, suddha saveri, kamboji etc.
http://www.hummaa.com/music/album/Sangeetha+Bala+Paadam/23200
7. Swarajathi - This is longer than the geethams and usually involve intricate swara patterns. There is little or no gamaka (the slight shake of swaras to give beauty to the song). It is quite plain and follows the swara pattern faithfully. Two most common swarajathis are Rara veNu in raga bilahari and "Sambha siva" in Ragam Kamas. Since until this point the songs are sung only based on swaras with no gamakas, it is quite difficult to identify the raga just based on the singing. Later when we start with varnams we learn a lot of gamakas that help us identify raagas in other songs.
8. Varnam - When you reach varnams, and especially after you have learnt a handful of them, you have crossed the initial learning phases and are ready to venture into learning more and more complicated pieces. In fact even seasoned singers continue to learn varnams once in a while. Varnam is more like a full fledged song. It has a pallavi, anupallavi, followed by plain swaras called mukthayiswaram and finally charanam with a set of 4 (typical) chittaswarams. Varnams are important from two aspects
1. The songs have very few words so you have to fill the time with aaaa...eeee etc. These are called gamakas. Learning the gamakas and singing them properly gives you a better feel for the raga. While you may have seen little similarity between "vasudevayani" (a famous krithi in kalyani) and "kamala jaathala" (a geetham in kalyani), the moment you learn "vanajakshi" (a varnam in kalyani), the pieces tend to fall in place. You begin to appreciate patterns of swaras in various ragas.
2. The second advantage is that typically while training, varnams are sung in two kaalams (or sometimes in 3). Kaalams refers to the tempo with which the song is sung. The first speed is normal, the second speed is 2 swaras per beat and the 3rd speed is 4 swaras per beat. In effect 2nd speed is twice as fast and 3rd 4 times. It requires lot of practice to sing the varnam correctly in higher speeds while still sticking to the tune and the sruthi (octave). Once you have mastered it, it gives your voice flexibility to effortlessly glide over the swaras even at breakneck speed. When you stand mesmerised by Nithyashree's rendition of "Kannodu Kaanbadellam" in Jeans, especially the end with the swaras, thank her practice of varnams for that :)
http://www.hummaa.com/music/album/Music+Lessons+Varnams+Vol+1/28578#
While it typically takes about 2 to 3 yrs to cover all of the above, the mundane lessons are now over and now we move onto the more interesting world of Keerthanas.
Music is Universal (yeah I know it sounds cliched), but hey how do you explain the fact that music is made of seven notes in almost all forms. Sa ri ga ma pa da ni forms the basis. I am currently learning the Carnatic style and that is what I explain in this blog. Here is the series of lesson in Carnatic music. The first 5 lessons are taught in Mayamalavagowla raga (though the 5th lesson Alankaram may be done in other ragas to train the students in swara prayoga - the right use of notes for that raga).
1. Sarali varisai - Saral means easy in hindi. This the first lesson or baby steps in music.
http://www.hummaa.com/music/album/Basic+Music+Lessons+-+Sarali+Varisai/31163
2. Mel sthayi varisai - The higher notes lesson. This has notes sung at a higher frequency to train the vocal chords. This is sometimes also known as thara sthayi varisai. Alternatively there is also the mandhra sthayi varisai that trains you in the lowest frequencies. This training helps you later on when you effortlessly move over the scale.
http://www.hummaa.com/music/album/Basic%20Music%20Lessons%20-%20Upper%20Stayi%20Varisai/31165
3. Thaattu varisai - Here the swaras are sung out of their usual order sometimes skipping as much as 3 notes in between. This helps fix the swara sthanas in your mind so that later when you have make similar jumps in songs, it becomes easier.
http://www.hummaa.com/music/album/Basic%20Music%20Lessons%20-%20Thattu%20Varisai/31168
4. Jandai varisai - This emphasises on repetition of swaras and is usually sung in fast speeds. This trains you to gain speed in singing without losing your sruthi.
http://www.hummaa.com/music/album/Basic%20Music%20Lessons%20-%20Jandai%20Varisai/31164
5. Alankaram - Literally means decoration/makeup. It is named so since this is where we start beautifying the music with different meters and ragas. This is where you are introduced to different thalas (meters) such as rupaka, ata, eka, jamba thalam etc. In addition to the change in thalam, the swaras are also sang in different order. This is the first time that the student is introduced to different ragas especially the ones that remain unaltered in arohana and avarohana such as sankarabaranam, mohanam, hamsadhwani etc. For example the rupaka thala alankaram in mayamalavagowlai (mmg) looks like
sr srgm| rg rgmp| gm gmpd| mp mpdn| pd pdns|
The same in mohanam (srgpds) looks like
sr srgp| rg rgpd| gp gpds|
http://www.hummaa.com/music/album/Basic%20Music%20Lessons%20-%20Alangaram/31170
6. Geetham - means song. This is first time you "graduate" from singing just swaras to songs. These are small songs where you first learn the swaras that make up the song and then the sahitya (or lyrics) of the song. It is considered auspicious to begin any endeavor with an invocation to Lord Ganesha. Accordingly "Shri Gananadha" in the raga malahari is the first geetham that is taught. This is followed by 3 more in the same raga. Typical other geethams are mohanam, kalyani, suddha saveri, kamboji etc.
http://www.hummaa.com/music/album/Sangeetha+Bala+Paadam/23200
7. Swarajathi - This is longer than the geethams and usually involve intricate swara patterns. There is little or no gamaka (the slight shake of swaras to give beauty to the song). It is quite plain and follows the swara pattern faithfully. Two most common swarajathis are Rara veNu in raga bilahari and "Sambha siva" in Ragam Kamas. Since until this point the songs are sung only based on swaras with no gamakas, it is quite difficult to identify the raga just based on the singing. Later when we start with varnams we learn a lot of gamakas that help us identify raagas in other songs.
8. Varnam - When you reach varnams, and especially after you have learnt a handful of them, you have crossed the initial learning phases and are ready to venture into learning more and more complicated pieces. In fact even seasoned singers continue to learn varnams once in a while. Varnam is more like a full fledged song. It has a pallavi, anupallavi, followed by plain swaras called mukthayiswaram and finally charanam with a set of 4 (typical) chittaswarams. Varnams are important from two aspects
1. The songs have very few words so you have to fill the time with aaaa...eeee etc. These are called gamakas. Learning the gamakas and singing them properly gives you a better feel for the raga. While you may have seen little similarity between "vasudevayani" (a famous krithi in kalyani) and "kamala jaathala" (a geetham in kalyani), the moment you learn "vanajakshi" (a varnam in kalyani), the pieces tend to fall in place. You begin to appreciate patterns of swaras in various ragas.
2. The second advantage is that typically while training, varnams are sung in two kaalams (or sometimes in 3). Kaalams refers to the tempo with which the song is sung. The first speed is normal, the second speed is 2 swaras per beat and the 3rd speed is 4 swaras per beat. In effect 2nd speed is twice as fast and 3rd 4 times. It requires lot of practice to sing the varnam correctly in higher speeds while still sticking to the tune and the sruthi (octave). Once you have mastered it, it gives your voice flexibility to effortlessly glide over the swaras even at breakneck speed. When you stand mesmerised by Nithyashree's rendition of "Kannodu Kaanbadellam" in Jeans, especially the end with the swaras, thank her practice of varnams for that :)
http://www.hummaa.com/music/album/Music+Lessons+Varnams+Vol+1/28578#
While it typically takes about 2 to 3 yrs to cover all of the above, the mundane lessons are now over and now we move onto the more interesting world of Keerthanas.
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