My Ustad's Ustad's Ustad

Thanks to Angad for sending me the link!
And thanks to whoever uploaded this video!

Ustad Piara Singh on TarShehnai.

Bhai Baljeet Singh learned from Ustad Piara Singh.

Maiya Singh picked up a lot of the tunes and style of Ustad Piara Singh by listening to him play during Diwaans and Informal Gatherings. Maiya Singh also spent time with Bhai Baljeet Singh as his student.

Rageshri Without Ga - try 2

Try 2 .
Heard from Recording of Ustad Rashid Khan.
It's like Rageshri Without Ga
.. or even Pahari without Ga and Pa .

According to me, It's an improvement because the flow of notes is more accurate according to the recording I heard .
- but I Will try improving on it again soon.

Rageshri without Ga

I picked this up from a recording of Ustad Rashid Khan. I have no idea what the Raag is called - but it's basically like Rageshri without Ga and some modifications to the flow of the notes, which I'm still trying to catch.


Re-take to come soon. I feel I can improve on my choice of notes for the alaap - It's not feeling quite right.

Raag Pahari Alaap and Tunes.

Maiya Singh on TarShehnai.
Manav Singh on TarShehnai - playing Along.
(TarShehnai = Hybrid Sitar + Sarangi + Mechanical Amplifier)

Raag Pahari Alaap.



Song tune in Raag Pahari.




Traditional Namdhari Shaans (Tunes) in Raag Pahari.

1)


2)



Here's an Idea of how he "randomly" composes Tunes. We were just jamming, I switched to Ik-Taal at just the right point (without being asked to) - he got an idea - and this is what happened afterwards. (by the way: In between, he's speaking THAI - I forgot to cut that out :)



Here's a Shabad Tune he's teaching me: Kanchan Sio Pa-e-yai Nahi Tol

Raag Patdeep

Maiya Singh, My Teacher, teaching me Raag Patdeep

Alaap:



Jamming, Tune 1:



Jamming, Tune 2:

Bhimpalasi Lesson + Jamming

Bhimpalasi Practice :



My Teacher Jamming - Bhimpalasi Medium Tempo



My Teacher Jamming - Bhimpalasi Fast Tempo ( very tiring :S )

Tuning Dilruba

Hello,
I got a message asking me how to tune the dilruba.

Basics:
The resonating (sympathetic) strings at the back will be tuned according to the raag.
Suppose you're playing Bilawal
tune .ma .Pa. Dha. .Ni Sa Re Ga ma Pa Dha Ni Sa Re. Ga. Ma. (until you run out of strings .. or you can repeat prominent notes like SA and PA as well )

The main playing string is tuned at Ma
My second string is SA
My third string is SA again or Ni - depends on whether I'm at Pehla Kala (C#) or Dooja Kala (D#).
My fourth string is either Pa or Ma - depends on whether I'm at Pehla Kala (C#) or Dooja Kala (D#).

Please note that nothing is Fixed - everyone has their own style. As long as you have each note covered and tuned accurately, The Saaj will sound good.

Generally - there's an optimum level of tightness for each Saaj. My Saaj sounds best at Dooja Kala (D#) for some reason - the resonance is much better than if I were to tune it at Pehla Kala.


Tuning the Saaj WELL is a different issue, which I hav not mastered completely yet - it's often very slightly 'off' - I can't tell , but my teacher can . I am getting better at it .

I will get my teacher to make a video about tuning when I get the proper 'online music lessons' site up. Btw: yes, I will be going ahead with it.
Give me 2 months to get another project off the ground, and then I will get it started. I already know what I need from a technical standpoint , all that's left is actually investing the time and money to do it.

Traditional Sikh Kirtan - Puratan Reet

If you're a Kirtan-lover or even if you're generally intersted in music - check the following link:

Jap Man Narhare Narhar Swami - Raag Shudh Sarang

This is Puratan Reet Kirtan (Translation for those not familiar with Sikhi: Old School "Sikh Music")
The chorus is first sung in a 15 beat cycle - yep, no type-o: 15 beats.
And then they switch to a fast 12 beat cycle for the verses.

Switching rythmic cycles is an old Sikh tradition started by Our 4th Guru , Sri Guru Ram Das Ji.

This composition is about 350-400 years old.

.
.

I dont know about you, but every time I hear it, I get chills (in a good way). 
On top of that, If you are in to spirituality/Sikhi etc and understand the meaning - it just takes you to another level.

Improvement In Playing

I was watching videos of Bhai Baljeet Singh's UK Tour. I got totally lost in the way he was playing his Tar-Shehnai. After 15 minutes in awe of how sweet his music sounds - a question hit me: "How does he play differently from the way I do?"

"I want to be able to play like him" <- I've had this thought in my head since the first time I heard Bhai Baljeet Singh and Gurmeet Singh's rendition of "OHA PREM PIRI" on Sikhnet.

So, this time I had a new thought: "What do I need to adjust to be able to get closer to the way he plays?" "How does he play differently from the way I do?"


Anyways - I noticed 2 very very subtle things that make a HUGE difference. And the weird part is that my teacher Maiya Singh has mentioned these to me before in passing. Somehow It's slipped my awareness, and during my lessons he hasn't noticed that I'm not playing the way he told me to - because it's so subtle you have to really be looking for it to catch your attention.


I tried making those two adjustments and - I sound better !! Really!


1) See my previous videos - the neck of my saaj is resting in between My neck and the end of my shoulder. Adjustment: Rest My Saaj's neck on my collarbone, RIGHT next to my neck.

2) My wrist should not be bent. If I hold my left hand up and pretend to play - my wrist should be in line with my forearm.

No twisting or bending left wrist while playing. Whole hand/arm must move.

Fingers should be resting on the playing string like dead weight - PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THE HIGH NOTES :P - No need to push down at all.

---

So there's a reminder to myself that everyone might be able to benefit from. Try it out.

I'll show y'all the result soon.

---
By the Way .. If you're following the news, Youtube doesnt work in Thailand anymore, So for now I'll be posting all new videos to Google video.

Can someone do me a favor and put comments in a 2-3 of my videos on youtube telling people to check here (if they're interested).

Pati Torai Malini

Round 2!!:



Got this on the 4th take. Still a few mistakes, but according to me it's much better than yesterday.

Will try again soon - not committing to a date. :P

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I swear this is a tough tune to play.



I tried 8 times today.. And only got this.

I see where I need to improve -
- Saaj went off tune .. didn't notice until after I saw recording.
- I need to bow harder on the High notes - it's sounding weird currently
- The playing lacks a certain Lively Bounce
- anything else ? kindly suggest

My brother is also saying he wants to try improving his tabla sound.

We will be back with another take at this!!! :D

3 Tunes in Raag Bhairavi

3 Tunes in Raag Bhairavi

1st: Tune using both MAs and both GAs .. took me quite long to understand what was going on when I first heard it :P

2nd: Nice tune, but very hard to play - and My teacher said he didn't remember the rest of it, hence the short segment.

3rd: Old hindi song - see if anyone can guess what song. apparently it's VERY old.


My younger brother is on tabla.


Enjoy.

Raag Durga

By Request:
Alaap and Tune I learned for the Shabad "Gur Jaisa Nahi Ko Dev"

Very sweet Raag -