Learning Carnatic ornaments (gamakas)

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uddhavadasa
Posts: 25
Joined: 10 Aug 2011, 10:59

Learning Carnatic ornaments (gamakas)

Post by uddhavadasa »

Hi,

Is there any recommended resource for learning Carnatic Ornaments? I'm practicing the Sarali Varishai exercises but I need to start working on my ornament training.

With Love,
Uddhava dāsa

mohan
Posts: 2806
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 16:52

Re: Learning Carnatic ornaments (gamakas)

Post by mohan »

While sarali varasai should be sung with some ornamentation, I don't think they are the best exercise for learning gamakas. Gamakas are unique to each raga and the same note may have many different types of ornamentation depending on the phrase it is sung in. For example in raga Thodi, the gAndhAram (ga) has at least 10 different oscillations.

Varnams and krithis will give a better insight to the ornamentations. These are generally only taught after you have learnt sarali varasai, janta, alankaram, pillari geethams and swarajathis.

uddhavadasa
Posts: 25
Joined: 10 Aug 2011, 10:59

Re: Learning Carnatic ornaments (gamakas)

Post by uddhavadasa »

Is there a system that explains why each Gamaka is used on a certain note? Can I apply the same Gamaka to any note? Is the only way of learning Gamakas then to learn traditional songs?

ganeshkant
Posts: 963
Joined: 05 Feb 2010, 11:59

Re: Learning Carnatic ornaments (gamakas)

Post by ganeshkant »

Yes.I think the best way to know traditional gamakAs is to learn as many time tested songs as possible.Each rAga has its own way of using the individual notes.Like in Maths in music too face & place values are important.For e.g the place value of G may be the same for MOhanam & bEgada.But they are treated in a totally different manner.It is better to approach a good teacher to know the niceties.

vasanthakokilam
Posts: 10956
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 00:01

Re: Learning Carnatic ornaments (gamakas)

Post by vasanthakokilam »

Check out Akellaji's scheme for gamaka notation along with audio samples for each of the gamakas: http://www.sangeethamshare.org/chandra/ ... hods-2007/

File: AMS Easy Methods-2007-English-Page-01 to 34.pdf

uddhavadasa
Posts: 25
Joined: 10 Aug 2011, 10:59

Re: Learning Carnatic ornaments (gamakas)

Post by uddhavadasa »

Dear Vasanthakokilam,

Thank you for the link. It is indeed a very interesting resource. It’s the first time I see any kind of attempt of giving the teaching in a written form. The recording quality is very low, but better than nothing.
Also, very hard to download the files one by one (the whole course is like 500 mp3's).

Any other resources would be appreciated.

With Love,
Uddhava dāsa

msakella
Posts: 2127
Joined: 30 Sep 2006, 21:16

Re: Learning Carnatic ornaments (gamakas)

Post by msakella »

Dear brother-member, uddhavadasa, Raga & Alapana is one main thread which I very rarely visit. But, today I have accidentally gone through it, found another interesting sub-thread ‘Learning Carnatic ornaments (gamakas) and gone through all the posts. Among them while the scheme of Gamakas furnished by me in my CD, AMS Easy Methods-2007 was recommended by our brother-member, vasanthakokilam you wrote in your post that the recording quality is very low. Of course, what you wrote is true as I did not record them in a suitable recording-studio but in my drawing room only that too with the help of an ordinary recorder. Thus the quality of recording may be very poor for which I feel very sorry. Now, at this old age I cannot rectify it.

To tell the fact, our Carnatic music is more complicated and wealthier in any respect than any other system of music on the globe but been neglected by our conservatives and other reckless and selfish musicians who doesn’t care to keep our culture in tact properly for the posterity. Thus, no care has ever been taken by them in preserving so many things relating to our culture and among them, in respect of our music, Talaprastara is a great science of mathematics relating to Tala of our music which has never been brought out fully in any of our treatises. Only by the grace of the Almighty I was able to dig this lost topic out fully and it took 40 years of my precious life. In the same manner, having sincerely felt my duty, as a music-teacher, to properly and efficiently train my students in music, I was compelled to make an attempt to symbolize all the oscillations (Gamakas) of our music and, ultimately, brought out this CD along with the respective audio-files. As a first attempt there may be some lacunae and I shall be grateful to you if you kindly inform them to me for the betterment of them.

While many of our people are used to tell that nothing is impossible in the world all our musicians are always used to tell that it is impossible to bring out all the nuances of our compositions in notation. But, by making frequent and sincere efforts in this respect, gradually we can make it perfect even over a period. In this direction I did some spade work and made an attempt. If needed I shall try to clear off any doubts of this scheme. amsharma

Musicmusic
Posts: 4
Joined: 09 Nov 2019, 13:35

Re: Learning Carnatic ornaments (gamakas)

Post by Musicmusic »

Dear all,

At which stage of carnatic music one starts learning gamakams? My daughter is doing geethe now and I am just curious...when she will be taught gamakas...

SrinathK
Posts: 2477
Joined: 13 Jan 2013, 16:10

Re: Learning Carnatic ornaments (gamakas)

Post by SrinathK »

I started gamakas for the first time at varnams. Only after that I came back to sarali varsai etc. and did them with gamaka.

Learning gamakas through notations of varnams, kritis, alapanas and swarakalpana in various ragas with audio is a IMHO the best step for beginners and it will help you understand 80% of what is there. But after that point it is too much an art and you have to learn it directly.

Your question in post #3 can only be understood through years of experience in music.

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