Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Do you want this ?

I have the resources to set up REGULAR ONLINE MUSIC LESSONS (delivered by Video)
- for beginner/intermediate/advanced levels


lessons can include
  • Gurbani Kirtan - Classical / Semi-Classical / Light Shabads - can even do requests. Send the file and someone will de-construct the tune and teach it SLOWLY so its easy to follow.
    • Singing
    • Playing along on Waja
    • Playing along on Dilruba
    • Advanced Compositions: Partaals and uncommon beat compositions: 11 beat, 9 beat, 13 beat, etc.
  • Tabla for Accompaniment - Beginner/Intermediate level only- but there will still be plenty of cool Tihais and Kaidas.

  • Vocal - PROPER singing tips and exercises ( Didi Aruna has agreed to teach - see the two posts below for sampling of her Skill - I will get more teachers to join up as well)

  • Dilruba / Tar Shehnai / Taus ( if you can play one , you can play 'em all ) - Tips, Techniques, Exercises, and USING everything that you've learned in compositions.
  • Classical Hindustani Bandishes, Ghazals, and Old Hindi Songs.

It'll be like this blog - except the lessons will be REGULARLY UPDATED (aiming for 1 time a week per Teacher) , and PROPERLY PLANNED.
Also there will be multiple videos in Each Lesson :

Random example :--
Lesson:
Shabad: "Satgur Poorai Naam Diya"
tune Heard from Narinder Singh Banaras Wale
Raag Prabhati Biphas
- so this lesson will be divided into:

1) Alaap of Raag

2) Just Singing the shabad - with repeated emphasis on the difficult bits, how to embellish and sweeten the tune, proper pronunciation of Bani

3) The notes on Waja

4) How to Play along on Dilruba so it sounds good + Perhaps a Shaan thrown in

5) Tabla accompaniment - how to make it sound good: Playing so it sounds light and happy / or heavy. Adding embellishments. Playing off-beat, and then fitting back in. Tihais, Kaidas. Mixing Beats (playing Dadra in Tintaal maybe) etc. etc. Whatever knowledge the teacher can give.

6) The Shabad Sung properly without interruptions , with tabla accompaniment.

optional 7) Taans/Sargams/Tihais - for both Vocal and Dilruba ( for classical tunes - so People who are interested more in the MUSIC than the Bani , can just use the composition )






It'll have to be a membership site so we can keep it running on a consistent ongoing basis. I'm estimating membership fees will have to be about US$40 per month, depending on how much it costs to set the whole thing up- ( which if you calculate is ONLY around $3-5 per lesson ) .. and all old lessons will still be there for you to check out at a later date.

If you're interested .. please leave a comment.
If at least 50 different people confirm that they want this - I will put it together IMMEDIATELY.
Kindly spread the word - and let me know in the comments section of this post if this is something you would like to have.

Thanks.



additional Note:

most of the info may be based around Gurbani / Sikh music (I'm planning about 50%) - but it will be applicable to general Hindustani Classical as well.
If you can play tabla along to one piece of music, you can play along to everything.

And - a lot of times, if you omit the words and just play the tunes for the Shabads, you'll end up with something very similar to hindustani classical compositions. A lot of Shabad tunes are based on Hindustani Classical compositions anyway.

But of course we will try to accomodate everyone - I will make sure there are enough tunes and compositions to keep non-Sikhs interested too.
Perhaps we can add a taans/sargams/tihais section to each lesson so people who are interested in the Tune and not
the Bani (words), will still get benefit from it.
I'll even make sure to put up songs.

The more people I can serve, the better.


ANOTHER NOTE:

Once in a while : We'll be able to get (audio) studio recordings of our "Teachers" - and most of those will be put up on the site and available to members for download.

14 comments:

vsingh said...

That's not just a good idea; it's a GREAT IDEA.

It's an awesome idea; which will helpa lot off peoepl out there on completly random places.

Something I think is really really important is; that you somehow check that the person is doing it right, and not just keep on putting up new lessons on the net.

Count me in! and if you need any help with the technical bit (like making a basic website/html, or anything else related to it), do let me know; as I'll try my best to help this great cause =D

vsingh said...

Also, will there be a mixed solution for those (like me) want to develop their dilruba/taus playing AS WELL, as their joRi skills, and Vocal skills?

Mnv said...

Ah yea we must have feedback - students must commit to posting videos of their progress at least once a month for teachers to check and give pointers.

Other students will also quickly be able to help you.

Regarding mixed solution: yes this whole idea is a mixed solution. Students will become all-rounders. I edited the post to make this more clear.

thanks.

Got 2 so far . 48 to go.

vsingh said...

Wicked.

Let me know if you need any help setting it up; I got a few ideas when I started thinking about it.. (",)

Unknown said...

I've been reading your blog for a while without commenting and I think this is a really good idea. I'm in a totally random place and have literally no access to such education. The only desis within hundreds of miles of me are non-musical professionals. There is no Hindu/Sikh community anywhere nearby so I never get to hear Indian classical music live and finding recordings of sarangi is hard, dilruba/taus impossible. Your blog is the only place I get to hear much dilruba!

I do have western classical training and can play the cello and guitar, which is a helpful skill set, but it's so hard to find quality information about raag and tala in English. Most of my understanding of sarangi/dilruba/taus comes from listening to Sultan Khan, Ram Narayan, and you and your teacher. You're in great company!

Anyway, I unfortunately can't afford this right now, as I'm still paying for my western classical education, but I think it's a fantastic idea and I would love to see it succeed. I would definitely be interested in joining in the future when my financial situation is in better shape, especially because I recently bought a taus!

Really I'm ashamed of myself for only posting now to let you know how much I appreciate your efforts here. Please keep up the good work--I'm sure I'm not the only random stranger you've reached through this blog.

pk said...

yes yes yesss!

preetsingh said...

Yes, please! This will be a great online resource, and I know many people will be able to benefit from it!

Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh said...

For sure...this would be such a great step...me and my friends are learning the taus, dilruba and esraj...theres about 5 or 6 of us and this would greatly be appreciated since we dont really have any sources to learn from. Good stuff

sukhmani kaur said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

I'd be very interested in this! I enjoy your work. Im trained on western instruments. Any recommendations on where to buy an instrument (dilruba) etc, from a reputable maker? Im in the states. - Mangalam

HansSingh said...

yes please go ahead with it

'Puff said...

Yes please! That would be amazing!

'Puff said...

I have just bought an esraj and am totally new to Indian Classical but I am a very enthusiastic learner and am competant at a variety of western musical instruments. It would be so good to take part in this

Sukhi said...

hello, I was just wondering when the new site will be up and ready? I just bought a dilruba and I am very anxious to learn.