Research Topic

[harimau]

When one attends concerts, one sees vocalists gesticulating with one or both hands. In many instances, as they reach the upper octave with their voice, they indicate this by raising a hand high up in the air, though K N Sasikiran cranes his neck upwards also at that time. Folks like T M Krishna execute tremendously complicated dance mudras during their singing.

There has been recently a reference to the Theramin on this website. In this instrument, moving one's hands in a vertical plane near the instrument produces a tone whose pitch increases as the hand moves up.

This gave me the idea that perhaps one could undertake a research project where the hand movements of a musician are correlated to the note they produce by using a Theremin or other instruments. The Kinect ($199) from Microsoft is supposed to recognize facial expressions in addition to hand movements and then there is the product from Leap Motion Technology ($99 only!) that recognizes hand gestures to turn them into computer commands. Both come with a Software Development Kit (SDK) that enable third-party vendors to develop new applications for them.

An enterprising PhD student could perhaps use a combination of these devices and come up with a scheme by which the hand and facial gestures are related to the actual note that the musician sings. If it is sufficiently generalized, one could take a single musician, let us say T M Krishna, and see if he is consistent in all his concerts. We can then extend this to other musicians and see if their gestures are identical to T M Krishna's or not and if each musician is consistent within his own vocabulary of gestures.

This of course applies only to vocalists as violinists, vainikas, mridangists, kanjira and ghatam players all use both their hands for their instruments and have no opportunity us use gestures; silent middle-finger salutes may or may not be there but we don't know about them.

One wonders what this system would make out of Sanjay's attempt to levitate -- so far unsuccessful -- on the platform.

[mahavishnu]

Actually, this is not a bad research idea. It is based on shared spatial representations between pitch and movement.
Please see: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar ... 2612001352

[Rsachi]

Guys,
Let's run a dumb charade with tickets. Play videos of famous artistes without sound, and let people guess raga/song/niraval etc.!!!!
Believe me, watching an animated Carnatic singer without sound is hilarious.
Old joke:
Mother takes her reluctant boy to a concert. After the prima donna a la Castafiore finishes the first item with a vigorous c conducted orchestra, the boy asks the mother, 'mom, why is that man threatening the lady with a stick?' 'no, son, he's only conducting.' 'then why is she crying so much!'

[braindrain]

Quoting from Daniel K Levitin's "This is your brain on Music"

"By watching musical performance with the sound turned off, and attending to things like the musicians arm, shoulder and torso movements, ordinary listeners can detect a great deal of expressive intent of the musician."

[cacm]

THOSE WHO WERE LUCKY TO LISTEN TO MADURAI MANI IYER WILL REMEMBER THAT HE MANAGED TO PRODUCE PERFECT SWARSTANAM AS WELL AS SRUTI WITHOUT ANY OF THE CONTORTIONS SEEN WITH MANY VOCALISTS OVER various octaves......VKV P.S.: He attributed it to PRACTICE, PRACTICE & PRACTICE OF Sarali vsarisai, Janda varisai etc. M.S.S also told me almost the same thing. At age 78 she told me she practised Akara Sahdhakam for 6 hours/ day from childhood....VKV

[kittappa]

Usually, instrumentalists do not make gestures. But there was one exception and that was S.Balachander. Sometimes when he would play four or five swaras in a single meeTTu, he would pluck the strings with his right hand and then play the four or five swaras. Since, because of his external mike, people could listen to the continuity, he would take off his right hand and gesture with it, simultaneously showing mudras on his face. MSG was another who exhibited beautiful mudras on his face while playing.

[Nick H]

It is an ongoing research project of mine to try to determine why I find the gestures of some artists completely acceptable, and those of others to be somewhere on the scale of ridiculous to objectionable. A preliminary thesis is that it is a case of whether the music is greater than the motion, or the motion greater than the music: in the former case, the motion happens as something natural, in the latter, my motion may well be out of the door.

As a sideline study, I wonder why there is not more motion in the audience. I am known for objecting to it on stage, but I have no problems (as long as I don't get punched in the face) with it in the audience. Even the tala can be put ("air tala," please, rather than slapping) either with graceful motion or, as is more usual, with mechanics of the metronome.

If Hariamau's project takes off (should I use that expression?) I can imagine reports such as, "It was a dreadful concert. No, of course I don't mean his voice, that was perfect, but his left hand departed from the shruthi less than five minutes in and never came anywhere near finding it again."

[varsha]

Most of the times when the Television is producing soap froth around me , I put on my headphones and listen to hindusthani .
And get the finest of remix effects . Try it and you will never forget the first time .

btw Voleti was the ace in these matters .Imbibed so much from BGAK ,whom he used to rever .

[cmlover]

Many of these gestural moves are physiological (neuro-physiologcal) and some psychological to create the illusion of reaching a high pitch subjectively. Even animals make such gestures when excited. In humans they are associated with typical emotions.

Just be aware that some of the levitation moves may be to let gas out

[girish_a]

To see how gestures can actually enhance a concert, watch RK Srikantan sing.

[Rsachi]

CML,
rAmabhakti pavanamukti dEhi prabhO hanuma namO
A fine pallavi line it can be...in tishranade
(based on the famous yogic PavanamuktAsana)..

[cmlover]

pavanamuktam bahusukhadattam
rasikajanE (a)niShTha gandha vidharaNam
sa shabda kriyA upahAsAspadam
nishabda kriyA durgandhapradam

[Rsachi]

Yours is more a ragamalika shloka, CML, not a pallavi
Ine.
The suggested ragas can be as follows:
1. Athana first line - a burst of a start
2. Rasikapriya second line - an ambivalent response given the circumstance
3. Bilahari third line - a titter of a response to auditory stimulus
4. Saveri - fourth line - what a tragedy!

[cmlover]

In accordance with tradition let us keep the last line in madhyamavati which is appropriate since the Rasikas will then be in a mood to depart in a hurry
(while during the bilahari they will be on the look out for a bilam to hurry and hide

[cmlover]

In fact the vocalist will appreciate Bhaktavatsalam for an accompanist during stage three

[Rsachi]

I have heard that rocket scientists like Kalam and K'rangan feel inspired during some Carnatic concerts.we should weave in a rocket of a raga- kuntalavarali.
Adding so many lines and ragas also compels the imagery of 'burning at both ends'.