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What people are saying about "Chord Piano""I just played your tape on chords and am fascinated with your playing and your ingenious approach to chords and what an expert can do with chords and you sound like a nice guy." Ralph "I got your Chord Piano course and I was finally able to learn chords. For the first time I was able to learn scales then. The course was so good it "disappeared" and was not returned." Yvonne "Just a note to inform you how delighted I have been with your piano courses. You have a very easy teaching style and you truly make the lesson easy to understand and what's more, enjoyable and fun! Thank you -- where have you been all my life?" Sherry "After many piano teachers that I studied with as an adult student, your methods provided much superior instruction and, as a result, a new awareness of accomplishment to me in my pianistic efforts." Bob (CPA in Seattle) " I had to let you know how much I appreciate your course in Chord Piano! You teach in a fun and simple way. I never thought I was smart enough to learn music and how to play the piano. I don't have enough time to practice as often as I would like, but it's nice learning at my own convenience and going at my own pace. This is something I've always wanted to do. Thanks a million!" Jayne Melody In Carnatic Music -Part 3Kiranavali, the granddaughter of the late legendary Gotuvadyam Narayana Iyengar, was born on 2nd Jan. 1973. Her father, N Narasimhan, is a musician of great merit, and has nurtured the musical talents of Kiranavali and her illustrious brothers, Chitravina N Ravikiran and K N Shashikiran. When hardly three years old, Kiranavali was able to identify more than 200 Ràgas and the 175 Tàlas, besides answering numerous technical questions pertaining to Carnatic music. If Indian Express called her "astounding in her precocity" (14 June 1975), the music critic of The Hindu wrote, "More fantastic is the manner in which Kiranavali, the three-year old sister of Ravikiran and Shashikiran is able to tell the Ràga even at the commencement of its outline." Kiranavali's performing career began at the age of eleven. Both her solo recitals and the duets with her brother, Shashikiran, won the hearts of the knowledgeable and laymen alike. In her quest for excellence, Kiranavali pursued advanced vocal music training under the late Sangita Kalanidhi T Brinda, the highest authority on the works of many a great composer. Under her guidance, Kiranavali has matured into a sensitive musician with a deep commitment to highly refined musical values. At the young age of twenty-eight, she brings a degree of maturity and involvement to Carnatic music that is commensurate with her professional experience of over two decades. Kiranavali also plays the Chitravina, true to her family tradition. She has performed solo, and has also accompanied Ravikiran. Her concerts have been featured by many leading organisations like the Madras Music Academy, Krishna Gana Sabha, Narada Gana Sabha and Shanmukhananda Fine Arts (Mumbai). The first artiste to be graded high for both Vocal and the Chitravina by AIR and Doordarshan, her music is regularly featured in broadcasts. To access her earlier articles click here. In my previous article, I gave you the basic outline of the 72 Melakarta scheme. We shall now go into further details. So far we saw the various possible combinations of notes in a full or sampoorna scale (a scale that has all the 7 basic notes). We also know that the 72 Melakartas are first divided into 2 halves of 36 ragas each, based on the Ma. The next step is equally simple. The entire 72 Melakartas are further subdivided into twelve parts of six ragas each (12 X 6 = 72). These 12 parts are called Chakras, and we also have interesting nomenclature for them, which enable us to find out the exact Chakra number even from its name. The Chakras are given in the table below with the reason for naming them so. I have given them only to show the thought and wisdom that has gone into every little detail. It is not particularly relevant to our discussion on the Melakarta scheme. Table 1 - The 12 Chakras Indu Moon - The earth has one moon Netra Eyes - We have two of them Agni Fire - There are three fires maintained in the Vedic ritual Veda The original scriptures of Hindu religion, which are 4 in number Bana Arrow - Kama or cupid is believed to have 5 arrows Rutu Seasons - Of six types namely, Vasanta, Greeshma, Varsha, Sharad, Sisira and Hemanta Rishi Sages - We have the famous sapta or seven rishis Vasu A group of deva-s or celestial beings, 8 in number Brahma Mythological reference to the nine cycles of the universe, each presided over by one Brahma Dishi Direction - 10 in all, including above and below Rudra The set of 11 deva-s headed by Lord Siva Aditya The group of 12 deva-s headed by Lord Vishnu Coming back to the musical aspects, we now have to see how the rest of the notes are determined for each mela.
Table 2 Possible Ri-Ga combinations - Changes with every Chakra Ri1 - Ga1 Ri1 - Ga2 Ri1 - Ga3 Ri2 - Ga2 Ri2 - Ga3 Ri3 - Ga3 Table 3 Possible Da-Ni combinations - Changes with every mela within the Chakra Da1-Ni1 Da1-Ni2 Da1-Ni3 Da2-Ni2 Da2-Ni3 Da3-Ni3
This can be illustrated easily with a couple of examples. For example, take mela number 31. It is the first mela in the 6th Chakra. Therefore it will have Ma1, the 6th combination of Ri-Ga (which is determined by the Chakra number) and the first combination of Da-Ni (which is determined by what mela it is within the Chakra). So the notes will be Sa-Ri3-Ga3-Ma1-Pa-Da1-Ni1 and back in the reverse order. Now, let us take the example of mela 52. Since it is after the 36th mela, we know that it will have Prati Madhyama or Ma2. It is the 4th mela in the 9th Chakra. Therefore the notes would be Sa-Ri1-Ga3-Ma2-Pa-Da2-Ni2 (3rd Ri-Ga combination as the 9th Chakra corresponds to the 3rd Chakra, and 4th Da-Ni combination). In my next article, I shall give you the names of the 72 melakartas with their scales. In the meantime, if you have any doubts, please feel free to write your comments. Music articles
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