One small regret in life
While Carnatic singers are adored, worshipped in chennai during every music season,
I am mesmerised by instrumental music ever since childhood - music of both east and west. The feeling is indescribable when i listen to the likes of Yanni, KennyG (The Moment, Breathless), Vanessa Mae(”Storm” and my favorite is Aurora) and our own Mandolin U Srinivas, Ganesh Kumaresh, Kadiri Gopalnath’s sax just before sleep.
I like Nadaswaram and Thavil(NPN, Jaishankar, Valayapatti) too. But i don’t see many youngsters learning these nowadays. Why is that?
IBH has written about MJ. There is one guitar piece in Dangerous (Give in to me). Does anyone remember?
I did not get to learn music when i was young and that remains my small regret. I should’ve learnt atleast the rudiments to appreciate good music.
Hey, maybe i will learn along my kid:)
November 22nd, 2005 at 10:09 am
Not many youngsters want to learn Nadhaswaram. They want to join Infosys.
November 22nd, 2005 at 10:19 am
Hey PK,
Swapna
I thot ur sense of english music ended with summer of 69…:-P
Nice to see it flowing with the other compositions as well….
November 22nd, 2005 at 11:01 am
@keerthi
let them join. side la kathukalaamla? as a hobby?
November 22nd, 2005 at 12:05 pm
pk, in india there isnt enuf money, uless u go into film music,
carnatic too unless u can acchieve the levels of a ganesh kumresh or kunnakodi u wont make money, not every one can reach that level.
mukhyama makkals suport is lacking,
November 22nd, 2005 at 2:42 pm
There are more people learning instruments like keyboard. Traditional instruments are getting neglected.
November 22nd, 2005 at 3:55 pm
me too like to play Keyboard.
November 22nd, 2005 at 6:21 pm
for that fact PK, i got the oppurtunity and stopped in 3 years
as u said I guess i will continue it with my kids :))
I LOVE Vanessa Mae.. she is awesome!though I dont know any technical aspect of Music , I listen to lot of them…if u are interested u shuld listen to these unique musicians!( am drawn towards this African music oflate)
1. Erkyah Badu - she is an African Singer and has this absly marvelous voice
2.Africando - this is afro cuban music so it has lot of salsa and latino touch to it…this mix is awesome coz it is both Africana and Latina
November 22nd, 2005 at 8:48 pm
PK,
As cliched as it may sound, it’s never late to start learning new things. I am trying to follow that myself. I have always wanted to play the guitar myself. About 6 months back, I had a chance to do so, and I took it. Not that I did well or anything, but I took the opportunity and I am proud about it. Atleast, I can say that it’s not something that will go unexplored for the rest of my life.
November 22nd, 2005 at 9:00 pm
PK - If you can appreciate music, then you have already learnt it. That’s my take on it. As you rightly said, I wish I had learned the fundamentals at a much earlier age. I also wish our schools had more emphasis on music.
Keyboard/piano is an excellent instrument to start learning music, it is much easier to grasp the theory on a keyboard, which I believe is because of the linear arrangement of the keys.
When you get the chance pls. do visit my site, I’ve a few compositions up there.
PA
November 23rd, 2005 at 2:27 am
@Keerthi — In my childhood I wanted to learn Carnatic, but everyone in the family thought my interest in music could ‘ruin’ my future.
After a long time one of my cousins told me “Oh you’re in computer field now? That’s great. I thought you’re going to waste your life with that singing thing and all”.
I don’t blame them because in the music industry, money is something that only the biggies make. Others live and die with their passion for music and only with that. And they are shown as the best example of failure by our society.
As PK said, get into Infosys, work hard, earn money, so that you can try whatever you wanted to do. That also is achieving the dream.
PK — Am not a pro to say this, but in my opinion, you dont need to know the technical know-how to appreciate music. Even before these tradional music and stuff were formed there was music in nature. We never needed anyone to teach us how to appreciate that.
You should listen to more of his works in the GNR (Guns N Roses) songs.
And about “Give into me”, yeah, I do remember that song. For the rock lovers, Slash is the guitar God after Claption.
November 23rd, 2005 at 8:33 am
@vatsan
money laam secondary daan.
the satisfaction you get from good music wiol propel u enough to make money thru some other legal and ethical means.
Nee dhaan “How to be creative padichiye?”
@kaps
true.i dunno whats wrong with learning those tradtional instruments. rombo kashtamo?
@ibh
yeah. i understand. and andha africano and latino kandippa ketkaren., thanks for the info:)
November 23rd, 2005 at 8:36 am
@dinesh
long time no see.
Absolutely. its never late. i almost enrolled myself in a art school (adu innoru periya love)
vela bore adicha quit pannitu edhavadu design program la enrol pannalaamnu kooda thonum. thats another reason why mom wud not let me be single:)
and reg your guitar. I always admire guys like u
November 23rd, 2005 at 5:05 pm
just hopped here from keerthi’s, good to see another instrumental lover. I have’nt heard Vanessa Mae till now. Primary inspiration being 107.1 Chennai FM, Kenny G, Robert Miles, vangelis, Lord of the Dance are some of my favourites, not to forget truckloads of Yanni tracks. indian instrumentals’la largely I liked only movie themes, never took interest and heard nadaswaram or thavil, except during occasions.
I too share your regret of not being able to learn an instrument, there lots of instruments that inspired me, especially the sax and the guitar.
But i don’t see many youngsters learning these nowadays. Why is that?
one reason i could think of is, playing these instruments did’nt sound fashionable.
-narayanan
November 23rd, 2005 at 7:59 pm
PK,
More than it being a profession or way of earning money, music is for one’s own personal growth. Singing one’s heart out definitely is therapeutic and makes one feel very light..:) Believe me, I’ve tried it!
And there’s no age to learn music. You can pick it up at any time in your life if you have the interest and motivation..
November 24th, 2005 at 6:56 am
@ranganathan st
as i mailed u. great people think alike:)
@subha
Absolutely. it definitely makes u feel light. and yeah music, drawing/painting, swimming are things in my TTDBID(things to do before i die) list:)
right now things are too confusing
November 24th, 2005 at 8:52 am
Hmm…I learnt 4 years of bharatanatyam and then we shifted to Bangalore…wish I hadn’t stopped there, I know what you mean
March 9th, 2007 at 5:17 am
hi,i stay in chennai. i would like to learn nadaswaram.but could not find a guru who can come home and teach me. do u know one.let me know
raksha
June 14th, 2007 at 1:31 am
Prabhu,
That guitar piece in “Give in to me” is by Legendary Guns ‘N Roses guitarist Slash!
MJ generally invites top guitarists for some of his songs. The guitar riffs in “Beat it” were by Eddie Van Halen, another legend.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slash_(musician)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Van_Halen
For more info on Slash, email me. I’m a die hard fan!
June 14th, 2007 at 1:32 am
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slash_(musician)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Van_Halen
March 20th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
I couldn’t understand some parts of this article One small regret in life, but I guess I just need to check some more resources regarding this, because it sounds interesting.