A balancing act

[ragam-talam]

Very sensible article: A balancing act
"Incredible as it may seem, this compulsion of most organisers of Carnatic music concerts to amplify the sound beyond reasonable limits of loudness has actually become part of the tradition itself and the consequent distortions are normally just taken for granted by all concerned. And, as mentioned in this column earlier, the problem caused by excessive overall volume is usually compounded by the ineptitude with which the relative volumes of the voice and various instruments are controlled (or, to put it more accurately, not controlled!)."

[vasanthakokilam]

amplify the sound beyond reasonable limits of loudness has actually become part of the tradition itself
and the consequent distortions are normally just taken for granted by all concerned.

That, my friends, marks the beginning of the end.

Just as a coincidence, I was narrating to someone just this evening how great the Sri raga portion of the navaraga malika
varnam sounds when heard live without any mic. I do not get that even in good quality studio recordings...
Especially the beginning portions of the last set of chittaswarams in Sri.

In concert hall cacophony, all those nuances are completely lost.

[Nick H]

A cry in the wilderness. It will not be heard, let alone acted upon.

On the other hand, if The Hindu critics started complaining every time the sound balance/volume is bad, I feel that would get a reaction: I'm suspect that the Sabha secretaries value their reviews even more than the artists do.

The other thing is for audience members not to put up with it. A word to the organisers, rather than just sitting there... is it too much to expect that we only grumble when we are not actually in the hall?

If this word comes from the VIPs and senior musicians to be found in the the front rows, then respect would be assured, but they (possibly deafened by continuous exposure, like rock musicians of the West) seem to be oblivious.

I think that the general situation has improved in the last couple of years, but there are still too many exceptions. I am still angry at the Sastri Hall man. I am more angry that he ruined the concert than that he gave me a headache: such headaches pass, but I can never get that concert back.

[Purist]

Nick wrote : 'A cry in the wilderness. It will not be heard, let alone acted upon.'

Thats exactly what happened to me when this mindless amplification was brought
to the notice of organisers/mikeman on many occassions.
For instance the Ramanavami concerts at Seshadripuram (Blore) which used
to be a treat, is all lost in the jarring loud noise inside the quadrangle and a 15 min
exposure is sure recipe for headache. I stopped attending them since three years

[uday_shankar]

I don't think the volume problem in Chennai sabhas can be solved "externally" (I will explain what I mean by that ).

I really believe that Chennai audiences, especially the older maamaas and maamis, for whatever historical reasons, have been habituated to very high volume. They are not hard of hearing but for some reason don't feel comfortable without adequately deafening amplification. They can be detoxed only slowly over time, and only if they recognize that they have a problem. Any attempt by normal folks to reduce volume is met with an equally strident demand from the pro-amplification group for more (I don't think they have a limit to their threshold).

An exact analogy to this situation is in the matter of salting and spicing one's food. Over time many south Indians, especially Tamilians and Andhraiites, start adding obscene amounts of salt, spice and pickles to their food (I am guilty of this and am trying to rectify the situation ). So much so that all the delicate flavors of the vegetables and other milder spices in the food are completely obscured by the overwhelming "hotness" of it all. Much like the delicate underlying music is obscured by the deafening volume.

There is one good "internal" solution this problem which I have advocated in this forum in the past. Cotton wool. Just plug both your ears with generous buds of cotton wool and your Chennai Carnatic experience will be magically different. This is especially true because the artists on stage usually only hear the monitor which is at a reasonable level. So they play delicately and sensitively. As long as the amplifiers have not railed out or gone into high distortion ranges, the cotton wool will catch all the nuances.

[rshankar]

IThey can be detoxed only slowly over time, and only if they recognize that they have a problem.

Ah! Needs another 12-step program I guess!

[ragam-talam]

the cotton wool will catch all the nuances.

Uday, any particular brand of cotton wool you could recommend? Ideally something that can bring out all the nuances of the music! Perhaps different ones during alapanam, neraval, swaras, thani etc?

I carry a set of ear-plugs during my season trips - but they don't stay well inside the ears. Should try out cotton wool next time. Thanks for the tip.

[Nick H]

I really believe that Chennai audiences, especially the older maamaas and maamis, for whatever historical reasons, have been habituated to very high volume.

Some of them are hard of hearing: one can tell by the volume at which they mutter to each other! I belong to this club too, and if I talk to against a background noise, you will ask my why I am shouting. But many of us who are "hard of hearing," paradoxically, find loud noises actually painful. There's a word for it, which I forget.

It is strange to think that the "maamaas and maamis" of Chennai might even have suffered as much harm from their classical music as western youngsters in a rock concert!

r-t: I'm prepared to experiment with this, but I feel that we should be using pure cotton for carnatic music, not some sort of synthetic mix!

[mahakavi]

>>....we should be using pure cotton for carnatic music, not some sort of synthetic mix!<<

What synthetic mix? cotton wool is pure cotton in its raw state as it flowers out--isn't it?
There may be a problem with using cotton wool though. It might slowly thread inward and slowly weave itself into a cloth in the inner labyrinths of the ear and permanently arrest all hearing.

[vasanthakokilam]

>permanently arrest all hearing.

After a while, the cotton is not necessary then

Get an ear plug.. I know that industry is quite nascent in India.. December season would be a great time to launch that product in Chennai !!

[kssr]

I am a positive thinker I think the blaring speakers are a blessing. Just imagine what would happen, if the volume is kept low, and:

a. audience discuss the concert- the current one and the past ones- with their neighbours
b. children yell. (It is highly advisable to bring kids to concerts so that they start appreciating CM right from childhood, I am told
c. we have to finish off the bhakshanam packet (could be chips or pop corn) with its characteristic crunching noise
d. neighbours among audience are in a total blissful state oblivious of the concert discussing maamiyar- marumagal (m.i.law/d.i.law) matters
e. people join in the singing
f. greet each other welcome and farewell in the course of the programme.

Hats off to sabhas and their speaker managers for making your concert experience a memorable one

[VK RAMAN]

Instead of blaring speakers, why not organizers provide an ear piece attached to each chair similar to airlines so whatever decibhel the fan wants to use for hearing he/she can increase/decrease the volume without worrying about abcdef.

[mahakavi]

Good idea but very difficult to put into practice-- wiring into every seat. It is an expensive proposition. Also in the Indian scene the flooring and walls being concrete/brick etc, wiring will be a nightmare. Even in the US no auditorium, to my knowledge, is equipped with individual seat sound adjustment.

[Nick H]

Err, I think he was joking --- which does not even need a structural survey!

Instead of blaring speakers, why not organizers provide an ear piece attached to each chair

With screens in the seat backs, showing films for those who loose interest in the music!

[kssr]

Instead of blaring speakers, why not organizers provide an ear piece attached to each chair similar to airlines so whatever decibhel the fan wants to use for hearing he/she can increase/decrease the volume without worrying about abcdef.

First step should be to provide chairs

[ragam-talam]

First step should be to provide chairs

Yes, and clean toilets! Dream on...

[Nick H]

Perhaps the two could be combined somehow?

(and if so, should it be Indian or Western style... the mind boggles. I think I'd better cease this line of imagination!)

Clean toilets we have success in a limited number of venues such as Narada Gana Sabha; music academy is not bad, BVB (I hadn't been there for ages) seems to have spruced up a bit, but many lag behind, and Sastri Hall stands out (as well as in sound spoiling) by having built a ridiculous new toilet where the ladies and gents are practically sharing, and the gent's urinals are , as people open the door, open to all!

[ragam-talam]

We are discussing rasika awards etc in another thread...

Why don't we as a group make a concerted effort and change the practices in one or two sabhas we choose? Persuade them to improve the sound system, seating, toilets etc.

Perhaps we can institute an award for the rasika or group of rasikas who achieve success in this effort. Would be a worthwhile outcome.

Until this happens, we can carry our ear-plugs/cotton-wool with us...
(and no, not for the bladder!)

[Nick H]

Why don't we as a group make a concerted effort and change the practices in one or two sabhas we choose? Persuade them to improve the sound system, seating, toilets etc.

Whilst it is a brilliant idea, I can't help feeling that any sabha secretary prepared to listen to it would be interested in seeing our open purses to finance it!

And, of course, they might just invest it all in even more powerful amplifiers and bigger speakers

If only they can be, somehow, persuaded... setting the knobs properly, on what they have already, is free!