playing the tambura while singing

brs · Post by **brs** » 29 Aug 2009, 18:37

i find it a little confusing to both sing and play the tambura at the same time. does it happen to all? and if im able to sing with it, i keep confusing that with the talam- ie, according to the beat. can anyone help?

narayan · Post by **narayan** » 31 Aug 2009, 14:03

Same here! Like most of these physical co-ordination things, it gets better with practice. Playing the tambura and singing (which itself is multi-tasking - remembering and saying the words, constructing the ragam, keeping the basic rhythm, then being 'creative' and all those other things, is tough enough) is great because first of all you've taken the trouble to tune the instrument. That itself is an achievement.

Was it Gerald Ford about whom someone said that he could not walk and chew gum at the same time?! Compared to that, you're doing fine. All the best.

srinivasrgvn · Post by **srinivasrgvn** » 31 Aug 2009, 15:03

Rasika911 · Post by **Rasika911** » 31 Aug 2009, 15:35

Bombay Jayshree does it with ease and i have seen her do it live in a concert as well.

keerthi · Post by **keerthi** » 01 Sep 2009, 09:49

narayan wrote:Same here! Like most of these physical co-ordination things, it gets better with practice.

Was it Gerald Ford about whom someone said that he could not walk and chew gum at the same time?! Compared to that, you're doing fine. All the best.

another similar activity is waving the arati in one hand and clanging a bell in the other.. when we try it as kids, the bell goes in circles too, and the Arati plate oscillates, as it makes its orbit..!

It may help if you practise the varasai-s and alankAra-s first with a tambura, then progress to singing the simpler varnam-s and then try keeping sruti for krti singing and kalpanaswara singing..

i think it is easiest to play it while singing an alApana.. the going gets tough for ata tala varna-s, singing tisram, songs in chApu and while singing swarakalpana..

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 01 Sep 2009, 10:20

And yet, most vocalists are seen in pictures (on CD covers for example) with their tamburas. Of course, while they practise at home, they play their tamburas, though not in concerts.

cienu · Post by **cienu** » 01 Sep 2009, 11:32

In her earlier days there were quite a few occasions where Smt MSS used to play the tambura while singing the concert.

In the website www.msstribute.org in the chapter "images", go to subsection "MSS in concerts."

In of the pictures you can see MSS singing with the Tambura with TKM looking on. (link below)

http://www.msstribute.org/gallery/gallery4.php

vs_manjunath · Post by **vs_manjunath** » 01 Sep 2009, 15:41

Thanks for the link, in addition one could enjoy so many many snaps of MSS

shishya · Post by **shishya** » 01 Sep 2009, 20:00

It is a matter of practice. It will seem awkward and as if you're doing too many things at a time, but you will get used to it and in time, it will become like riding a bike. You won't even notice that you are doing it.

VK RAMAN · Post by **VK RAMAN** » 01 Sep 2009, 20:14

Yes it is a matter of practice and getting used to. I have seen some playing their manual sruthi box by one hand, play tamporin by another hand and then sing

keerthi · Post by **keerthi** » 02 Sep 2009, 10:34

VK RAMAN wrote:Yes it is a matter of practice and getting used to. I have seen some playing their manual sruthi box by one hand, play tamporin by another hand and then sing

sure doesn't beat this..

"He(NisAr husain khAn of the rampur-sahaswan gharana,) would practise for four hours everyday, from midnight to 4 a.m....

... since no tabla player was available for practice sessions through the night, he used to play the dugga himself with his left hand while strumming the tanpura with his right hand."

- From The Splendour of the Rampur -Sahaswan Gharana
Bu Sakuntala Narasimhan

perhaps Prof.Sambamurthy was right in saying that the musician is like an aSTAvadhani, having to do eight different things at a time..

brs · Post by **brs** » 02 Sep 2009, 18:36

VK RAMAN wrote:Yes it is a matter of practice and getting used to. I have seen some playing their manual sruthi box by one hand, play tamporin by another hand and then sing

ha! that must be really dificult!

vmr · Post by **vmr** » 14 Sep 2009, 18:18

Shadkala Govinda Marar who was a contemporary of Swati Tirunal & Saint Thyagaraja used to play the tambura while singing and also play the Kanjira with his left hand. Following is an extract from an article on the great artist. A potrait of of him also shows the same.

*******
Tyagaraja himself was taken aback by his laya sampat. During the performance he was strumming the tambura with his right hand , and playing the ganjira with his left hand, holding the latter instrument in position between the toes of his right leg. Tyagaraja immediately perceived in Marar a brilliant musician of rare genius.

*******

thenpaanan · Post by **thenpaanan** » 14 Sep 2009, 18:28

cienu wrote:In her earlier days there were quite a few occasions where Smt MSS used to play the tambura while singing the concert.

In the website www.msstribute.org in the chapter "images", go to subsection "MSS in concerts."

In of the pictures you can see MSS singing with the Tambura with TKM looking on. (link below)

http://www.msstribute.org/gallery/gallery4.php

(This was a topic in a different thread on tambura playing as well) I see that MSS used two tamburas earlier in her career and then the photographs show only one in her later years. Does anyone know why?

- Then Paanan

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 14 Sep 2009, 21:29

Among contemporary singers, Vijay Siva often has two tambuRAs, young men (twins?) playing them.

hemavathy · Post by **hemavathy** » 26 Sep 2009, 21:20

playing the thampura& singing is only a matter of practice& get used to . throught my learning process under a greatteacher , my Guru always made it a point to see that i play the Thampura,sing & put the thalam with left hand .thats how i got the practice & now i have no difficulty in doing all at a time