Hi,
I wish to expose myself in carnatic music. I stay in South India. I am learning veena. Can anyone tell me your suggestions how can I expose myself in music. Where do I get the list of competitions held at various places in South India? How can I make myself as a stage artist? Please send me your suggestions.
Regards,
Shobana Ram
To become an artist
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arasi
- Posts: 16877
- Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30
Shobanasree,
You have come to this forum, and there are plenty of things about music you can learn by reading the posts (I am learning all the time). I do hope that you listen to a lot of good music. That helps. Learning from a good teacher and practising what you learn is vital. After years of doing it, you would find yourself where you want to be...
Stage? I don't know. In olden days, one had to sing very well in order to work on stage. Not any more. I am assuming that you are thinking of acting.
You have come to this forum, and there are plenty of things about music you can learn by reading the posts (I am learning all the time). I do hope that you listen to a lot of good music. That helps. Learning from a good teacher and practising what you learn is vital. After years of doing it, you would find yourself where you want to be...
Stage? I don't know. In olden days, one had to sing very well in order to work on stage. Not any more. I am assuming that you are thinking of acting.
Last edited by arasi on 12 Mar 2007, 15:45, edited 1 time in total.
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mahakavi
I guess Shobana means getting on to a stage (mEDai ERudal) for performing (perhaps vINA).
Shobana, your best bet is to contact various sabhas in Chennai (if you live close to Chennai) or at other cities (close to you). If possible contact the secretary of the sabhas and enquire about competitions. In Chennai Music Academy does conduct competitions and so do others. As for getting on to the stage, you have to begin small and make incremental progress. Good luck!
Shobana, your best bet is to contact various sabhas in Chennai (if you live close to Chennai) or at other cities (close to you). If possible contact the secretary of the sabhas and enquire about competitions. In Chennai Music Academy does conduct competitions and so do others. As for getting on to the stage, you have to begin small and make incremental progress. Good luck!
Last edited by mahakavi on 12 Mar 2007, 19:26, edited 1 time in total.
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jayaram
- Posts: 1317
- Joined: 30 Jun 2006, 03:08
My suggestions would be as follows:
1. prepare a well-written biodata of yourself. (check it for both content and writing style, spelling etc.!) Make sure you include information on your guru/s, any performances given so far, prizes won, etc. Also make sure you mention other artistes who have accompanied you (the more famous ones the better!)
2. prepare couple of sample audio clips of your music. Make sure these are representative of your strengths, e.g. swaras, tanam etc.
3. approach temples, special organizations that promote upcoming artistes, etc. You can get more opportunities in these venues before you 'graduate' to the more established sabhas
4. look for opporunties in various festivals (e.g. Tyagaraja aradhana) held in your area, where you can get a slot to perform.
All the best! And do tell us how you are getting along. In case you are peforming in a place where one of our forumites resides, do make sure you inform us about your upcoming performance, and you may get a review here. That can add to your publicity for the future.
1. prepare a well-written biodata of yourself. (check it for both content and writing style, spelling etc.!) Make sure you include information on your guru/s, any performances given so far, prizes won, etc. Also make sure you mention other artistes who have accompanied you (the more famous ones the better!)
2. prepare couple of sample audio clips of your music. Make sure these are representative of your strengths, e.g. swaras, tanam etc.
3. approach temples, special organizations that promote upcoming artistes, etc. You can get more opportunities in these venues before you 'graduate' to the more established sabhas
4. look for opporunties in various festivals (e.g. Tyagaraja aradhana) held in your area, where you can get a slot to perform.
All the best! And do tell us how you are getting along. In case you are peforming in a place where one of our forumites resides, do make sure you inform us about your upcoming performance, and you may get a review here. That can add to your publicity for the future.
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shobanasree
- Posts: 8
- Joined: 21 Dec 2006, 10:10
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coolkarni
Shobhanasree
Here is a nice story , narrated by Gangubai Hangal herself- in an interview to a Kannada Magazine long long ago.I am writing this from what I remember (who knows..Meena may fish out thie full story from somewhere in the Web !!)
Hope this acts as a source of strength for you .
Gangubai was once invited to sing at a Sammelan in Gwalior (she was still young then , perhaps in her 40s )
After reaching the place she was dismayed to notice that she was gven only a 15 minute slot.
(One must remember that she pursued her music, braving the taunts of villagers and others in her town , who could not stand the sight of a woman learning music.)
Though younger in stature, to the rest , she made it a point to rebel and tell the organisers that she would refuse to sing at the allotted hour the next day , if the time duration was not increased.
Later in the evening , many seniors -most particularly Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Bismillah Khan , cajoled her and requested her to sing the 15 minutes , reassuring her that ,the small duration was enough to show her class.
Gangubai sang for 15 minutes the next day and received a thunderous ovation.
And she went on to sing another 90 minute recital -based on the demand of the audience -after a few days --before the Sammelan concluded.
Nandagopal- Next time you visit Ajji , please get the complete and unabridged version of the story.I volunteer to accompany you, to take notes..
Anyone else has such interesting stories which may be of help to a youngster (I presume ??)starting on this long journey ?
Here is a nice story , narrated by Gangubai Hangal herself- in an interview to a Kannada Magazine long long ago.I am writing this from what I remember (who knows..Meena may fish out thie full story from somewhere in the Web !!)
Hope this acts as a source of strength for you .
Gangubai was once invited to sing at a Sammelan in Gwalior (she was still young then , perhaps in her 40s )
After reaching the place she was dismayed to notice that she was gven only a 15 minute slot.
(One must remember that she pursued her music, braving the taunts of villagers and others in her town , who could not stand the sight of a woman learning music.)
Though younger in stature, to the rest , she made it a point to rebel and tell the organisers that she would refuse to sing at the allotted hour the next day , if the time duration was not increased.
Later in the evening , many seniors -most particularly Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Bismillah Khan , cajoled her and requested her to sing the 15 minutes , reassuring her that ,the small duration was enough to show her class.
Gangubai sang for 15 minutes the next day and received a thunderous ovation.
And she went on to sing another 90 minute recital -based on the demand of the audience -after a few days --before the Sammelan concluded.
Nandagopal- Next time you visit Ajji , please get the complete and unabridged version of the story.I volunteer to accompany you, to take notes..
Anyone else has such interesting stories which may be of help to a youngster (I presume ??)starting on this long journey ?
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chalanata
- Posts: 603
- Joined: 06 Feb 2010, 15:55
i've a few advices ofcourse.......
1.attend to the daily chores of a guru. this will only give you the status of the most favoured student. you have all the privilege to tune the tambura and spread the mat on the floor.
2. getting on to the stage may take some time. the guru has to find you fit enough to perform. at times it may take longer times because the guru himself is waiting for a long time for his turn to come. if guru's guru is alive it may take longer time.
3. do not show any where that you are a performing artist. that is adikaprasangam. let people identify your talent. do not at all allow your parents to boast about you. that is blasphemy.
4. go around the sabhas seeking chance. your initial investment should be substantial. that keeps you in lime light.
5. do not forget to go to thyagaraja aradhana at tiruvaiyaru and move your lips for the pancharatna whether you know the pancharatna or not. that gives you wide tv coverage.
6. when you have really mastered the art please develop a thich skin thick enough to withstand the remarks of critics. it is not their mistake. they are addicted to listening to the same perfomer for the last 45 years and the performer's music got so much in to their system that they can not appreciate any other music.
7. despite all this if you are unable to be on stage do not worry; the guru's chair would have become vacant. you can conveniently sit on it.
all the best!
1.attend to the daily chores of a guru. this will only give you the status of the most favoured student. you have all the privilege to tune the tambura and spread the mat on the floor.
2. getting on to the stage may take some time. the guru has to find you fit enough to perform. at times it may take longer times because the guru himself is waiting for a long time for his turn to come. if guru's guru is alive it may take longer time.
3. do not show any where that you are a performing artist. that is adikaprasangam. let people identify your talent. do not at all allow your parents to boast about you. that is blasphemy.
4. go around the sabhas seeking chance. your initial investment should be substantial. that keeps you in lime light.
5. do not forget to go to thyagaraja aradhana at tiruvaiyaru and move your lips for the pancharatna whether you know the pancharatna or not. that gives you wide tv coverage.
6. when you have really mastered the art please develop a thich skin thick enough to withstand the remarks of critics. it is not their mistake. they are addicted to listening to the same perfomer for the last 45 years and the performer's music got so much in to their system that they can not appreciate any other music.
7. despite all this if you are unable to be on stage do not worry; the guru's chair would have become vacant. you can conveniently sit on it.
all the best!
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Sam Swaminathan
- Posts: 846
- Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 08:45
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vasanthakokilam
- Posts: 10958
- Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 00:01
Chalanata should then modify his item 4 to say 'Send in your agent or proxy to negotiate the amount' . That actually raises a legitimate question. Do some CM artists nowadays have booking agents or PR people? I wonder if there is a formal procedure one needs to follow if you want to book a particular artist, especially the popular ones.
. That actually raises a legitimate question. Do some CM artists nowadays have booking agents or PR people? I wonder if there is a formal procedure one needs to follow if you want to book a particular artist, especially the popular ones.-
mahakavi
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shobanasree
- Posts: 8
- Joined: 21 Dec 2006, 10:10
Hi All, Thank You for all your suggesstions. I do have plans after one year as I feel this time would be too early for me. Anyhow I should start planning and hence thought of asking suggesstions. Now I joined to another Guru for advance lesson as I completed basic with one Guru. Initially I thought, for basic I can go to an artist who is not that famous and for advance study go to a famous artist. Now I realise my thoughts are wrong. We shouldn't change teacher as their style differ person to person. Anyhow I should learn and then start my steps forward as per your suggesstions.
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coolkarni
You are on the right track.
maybe you can play for rasika.orgites If you are in Chennai-sometime in the future-
Offer is open to all artists visiting this site- or any site for that matter.
Just the other day we were dicsussing -among members for the monthly concert group-
(not the formal meet-rajesh and others)
the idea of featuring the countless Violin and Mridangam and Ghatam and Khanjira and..artists , who are just names to us and mostly as accompanists .
( and I am talking of the mistakes some of us made as youngsters running after the big names , again and again )
Artists who have spent a lifetime under the shadows of greats nurturing the activity with their choice to pursue this career ..
( is there any other field of artistic excellence-as Indian Music-that has seen so many outstanding Vidwans practising and performing - all at the same time - give and take a a few decades.
But for AIR , a lot of us would have to do some real soul searching.
Talking of Senior-Junior issues..
I was similarly stumped when I was 20 , to see a full page in TOI featuring HM Musicians in a Special issue..
A matrix of 5 across and 9 down.
The vertical layers went down in a descending order of seniority
And My Hero, Bhimsen Joshi, who I then thought was the greatest Hindusthani Musician alive , appeared on the 5 th row.
and that was in 1977, mind you.
maybe you can play for rasika.orgites If you are in Chennai-sometime in the future-
Offer is open to all artists visiting this site- or any site for that matter.
Just the other day we were dicsussing -among members for the monthly concert group-
(not the formal meet-rajesh and others)
the idea of featuring the countless Violin and Mridangam and Ghatam and Khanjira and..artists , who are just names to us and mostly as accompanists .
( and I am talking of the mistakes some of us made as youngsters running after the big names , again and again )
Artists who have spent a lifetime under the shadows of greats nurturing the activity with their choice to pursue this career ..
( is there any other field of artistic excellence-as Indian Music-that has seen so many outstanding Vidwans practising and performing - all at the same time - give and take a a few decades.
But for AIR , a lot of us would have to do some real soul searching.
Talking of Senior-Junior issues..
I was similarly stumped when I was 20 , to see a full page in TOI featuring HM Musicians in a Special issue..
A matrix of 5 across and 9 down.
The vertical layers went down in a descending order of seniority
And My Hero, Bhimsen Joshi, who I then thought was the greatest Hindusthani Musician alive , appeared on the 5 th row.
and that was in 1977, mind you.