The Shruthi paradox.

[ganesh_mourthy]

Dear Rasikas

I always had this question on how paradox can a shuthi alignement can be!!! Say for instance, when I try to sing a sing with normal kattai of 2 along with someone with a domineering 1.5 kattai , mine would naturally adjust to 1.5 , more so if the song is new. I think this is more universal and the reason why we practising with shruthi box.

However, this does not happen when we sing with , say for instance , a female singer singing at 5 kattai and vice versa. In such a case, I maintain my 2 kattai and there is a steady gap of 3 kattai though I can very well align her with great ease. When a lady starts ( in the absence of a shruthi box) something like ga ma ga ma pa ma ga of kalyani , my mind understands it automatically as ga ma ga ma pa ma ga and sing ga ma ga ma pa ma ga instead of singing ni sa ni sa ri sa ni . I have always wondered this. Well , some might argue my brain immediately hints as I have already learnt kalayani several times, but this is very true even with non knowledgeable and some little vocal practice. Today I was humming a song Aananda raagam ketkum kaalam , and of course much before I could get a grasp of the raaga i was aligning with the song and made out the notes for my niece . The singer is several pitches higher than mine obviously.

[VK RAMAN]

This is interesting. Do all CM teachers teach their students male, female or children in their respective sruthis or they are taught in teachers sruthi?

[ganesh_mourthy]

If a male singer , in advanced age sing in kattai sever 6.5 low and if he is teaching a young kid , there is no way they can match or sing the same shruthi.

[Nick H]

I have never learnt to sing, and I doubt that I ever will, but I have been around a lot of learning youngsters, and I think that the simple, common-sense, answer is pointed to by ganesh_mourthy: the students will sing in whatever shruthi they are comfortable/capable. Is it not part of the teacher's task to guide them in this?

When student groups sing together there is always a difficulty and a necessary compromise. For this purpose I invented (well, just modified, really) a very low-shruthi morsing. I think it was low 5 or 6. I had to add weight to the spring, which I did with solder. It has lead content, so it is probably poisonous to play!!! But I am still alive

[munirao2001]

Teacher has to listen and understand his student comfort and ease for handling adhara madhyama and tara madhyama and fix the pitch for practice. Depending upon the age of the student, the physical change in vocal chords, the sruthi has to be refixed.
If one does not practice in the ideal sruthi, has not attained the steadfastness, any thing can happen and can reach all kattais, not being aware.

munirao2001

[vasanthakokilam]

ganesh_mourthy is asking a different question, I think.

[ganesh_mourthy]

Indeed the thread has gone on a tangential path

[Nick H]

ganesh_mourthy is asking a different question, I think.

I think I got my questions/threads mixed up!