saadhakam

saramati · Post by **saramati** » 05 Jan 2009, 11:23

it is said that with saadhakam (sincere and daily practice), the quality of music of a singer improves. can any one guide me as to how to
go about doing the saadhakam. is it singing in full throat one hour in the morning and one hour in the evening, or 2 hours continuously?
will repeatedly singing the songs improve the quality. what about perfecting brigas and gamakas. would appreciate some enlightenment on this. thanks in advance.

cmrasika · Post by **cmrasika** » 05 Jan 2009, 18:57

well I guess am not sure how to guide technically on sadhakam.. but here are a few points which might interest you

1) For most of the people just after waking up or after a meal the voice range increases say by 1 or 2 notes in the lower octave reaches. So if you practice the lower octaves in the mornings daily, definitely the smoothness in the lower octaves of the voice range will improve...

2) Repeated singing of songs is absolutely essential because the more you practice each kriti the better etched the kriti will get onto your mind so much so that you should be able to sing the kriti without even putting the talam (with the right kala pramanam). Of course you can put the talam for certain parts like pallavi-anupallavi intersections anupallavi-charanam intersections, neraval, swaram, kuraipu etc to just be sure that your layam track is going perfect.

3) As for gamakas listen to various artist sing the same kriti and observe the different sangathis. This will give you a good idea where to apply which gamaka and in general catch the hang of the flow of the ragam.

4) As for brigas, its not that tough yet it not that easy. Requires tremendous practice. You can start with simple SRGMPDNS and start singing it in akaram slowly and gradually increase the speed and stretch upto the maximum speed that you can achieve. Once you are done with this you can attempt on tougher patterns like SR SRG SRGM SRGMP SRGMPD SRGMPDN and so on in akaram at high speeds...

Hope it helps...

saramati · Post by **saramati** » 05 Jan 2009, 19:06

many thanks. i find it useful and informative

sramaswamy · Post by **sramaswamy** » 06 Jan 2009, 02:02

saramati wrote:.................. is it singing in full throat one hour in the morning and one hour in the evening, or 2 hours continuously?
........

Vocal Chords are just like any other muscles. While constant usage will increase their strength. You definitely should not overstretch the chords to the point it starts hurting. So, if it starts hurting then you should stop and give rest to the chords. However, with practice you can increase the continuous time spent in practice.

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 06 Jan 2009, 02:56

Interesting sramaswamy. So the same concept of 'sets' and 'reps' for toning other muscles should work for vocal chords too, except here the sets are probably ragas and reps are just that, repetitions.

What is actually invovled when singing the same swara( frequency) loudly ( increased volume/amplitude ) as opposed to softly? Are the vocal chords vibrating with more stress when singing loud?

Taking the analogy one step further, may be we should allow for a warm up period, full practise and then a cool down period as part of the sadakam for proper maintenance of the vocal chord muscles.
Warm up and Cool down here means, do not abruptly start/stop singing. Start slow and be in an increasing stress mode for a few minutes, practise at full blast and then bring it to a soft landing over a period of a few minutes.

Shivadasan · Post by **Shivadasan** » 06 Jan 2009, 13:57

I beg to be pardoned because I venture into this field without being a musician. I am music lover an observer and an analyst. The only confidence with which I write is that I have closely watched and heard many musicians practice and instruct.

Music practice has several aspects which need separate attention .
Voice and its control, Sruti Shuddham, Laya Shuddham, Clear and correct pronounciation, Patanthara Shuddham, Control of Angacheshtai. There may be may other aspects about which I am unaware at present.

Each of the above matters require different approach and technique and I do not think that there exists a single practice which can bestow all the benefits together. There is so much information on the matter that I am afraid that the length of the postings might deter readers from reading it. It might be worth the while to have a separate thread for each one of them.

sramaswamy · Post by **sramaswamy** » 07 Jan 2009, 04:01

vasanthakokilam wrote:Interesting sramaswamy. So the same concept of 'sets' and 'reps' for toning other muscles should work for vocal chords too, except here the sets are probably ragas and reps are just that, repetitions.

Hmmm..... I will have to say I am not qualified to comment on that.

What is actually invovled when singing the same swara( frequency) loudly ( increased volume/amplitude ) as opposed to softly? Are the vocal chords vibrating with more stress when singing loud?

I guess so. If we try visualize, it looks as if we are trying to push the air more forcefully at a higher volume. I am trying to go through some books on biology behind it. I will have to pass that one until I know what I am talking about.

Taking the analogy one step further, may be we should allow for a warm up period, full practise and then a cool down period as part of the sadakam for proper maintenance of the vocal chord muscles.
Warm up and Cool down here means, do not abruptly start/stop singing. Start slow and be in an increasing stress mode for a few minutes, practise at full blast and then bring it to a soft landing over a period of a few minutes.

Most certainly yes. In western music there seems to be a whole set of specialized lessons just to have higher volume and higher range of your voice. It will be interesting if someone has tried and succeeded. I remember reading somewhere (maybe Sruti magazine) that Aruna Sairam went to a European vocal specialist for better voice.

I think in Carnatic Music, the SA-PA-SA in the beginning and end maybe as a short vocal warm-up and cool-down! Although it does not seem to be taken up seriously.

This link http://www.gbmc.org/voice/voice/speaking.cfm specifically gives the following advice.

10. Always warm up your voice before or cool down after prolonged speaking or singing. Try quiet lip or tongue trills up and down your range, or softly and quietly hum
five-note descending scales in the middle of your range.

The other webpage from the same site http://www.gbmc.org/voice/voice/vocalwarmups.cfm talks in detail about vocal warm-ups and cool-down. If I remember correctly, this link was originally forwarded by Mohan.

P.S. VK you are always there with inquisitive question and relevant thoughts in the posts, thus elevating the discussion to a higher level and motivating the posters. I admire you for that.